Recent media reports related to a city promotional campaign in Durban put the South African digital industry into direct line of fire. Investigative reporting undertaken by KwaZulu-Natal newspapers and technology pundits revealed that not only was the campaign, allegedly paid for by eThekwini Municipality, initiated without the proper tender processes followed, but a large part of the campaign’s elements were, in fact, falsified.

While many around the country have sought to demonise the company involved, perhaps there’s a bigger issue at stake here – the notion that digital campaigns need to be transparent to all parties, including agencies, clients and online communities. As local and national media coverage exposed more and more of the disingenuous dealings, digital industry members in South Africa began to voice their concerns over how this situation was enabled. One common insight came to the fore – the importance of client education.

An informed choice