Businessuite Top 50 Caribbean Marketers to watch for 2023

Final selection will be based on factors that include business results driven by breakthrough advertising and smart strategic thinking, as judged by fellow marketing professionals. It is expected that Marketers and their brands selected will have shown throughout the year, the ability to grow, innovate — and more importantly — cut through the noise in 2022 into 2023. To Nominate Click This Link

Businessuite top 20 most influential Caribbean CMO’s for 2023.

So what is influence? We define it as the impact a CMO’s actions and words have on their organization internally as well as externally in their industry, in Jamaica and in the Caribbean more broadly. That of course includes corporate brand perception, but also marketing and advertising efforts, trends, financial performance and overall conversational and societal impact in 2022 into 2023. To Nominate Click This Link

General Terms and Conditions

The  finalists will be chosen by marketing professionals in Jamaica and around the Caribbean, Businessuite contributors, reporters and editors.

All Marketers nominated must be listed on LinkedIn.
To vote you must be a marketing professional listed on LinkedIn

The Final lists for both categories will be published in June and July 2023 on businessuiteonline.com

Sponsored by

AMK Communications Limited

BlackTone Technologies Limited

Bluetooth Low-Energy Transmission

As consumers spend more time traveling and venturing out of their homes this year, brands are returning to billboards and incorporating technology to reach consumers in new and impactful ways.

Beacon technology has been in existence since 2013. Recently, marketers are using beacons that transmit Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) signals to smartphones within a 300-meter proximity per beacon. These BLE signals carry small packets of data, which can be a form or a specific product being advertised, directly to the audiences’ smartphones.

This innovation in outdoor advertising may help brands connect directly with consumers and increase their engagement with ads. The challenge with this innovation, however, is that recipients must accept the BLE signals coming into their phones before the ad can be delivered. Augmenting this with an outdoor display ad can increase the BLE signal acceptance rate.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/03/10/the-ooh-advertising-landscape-of-2023-innovations-and-challenges/?sh=5dc4ab5b3967

The reason is simple. About 55% of Walmart sales come from its grocery business, and these sales are relatively low margin. In order to generate better profits, Walmart’s effort is to increase the income from advertising, business-to-business activity, and third party sellers on its marketplace. Delivery services from stores and other activities are also under consideration as sources of additional profits.

“The company will shift more attention to advertising sales, third party income, and business-to-business sales to improve its bottom line. More vendors want to spend advertising money with Walmart because it attracts so many shoppers. The advertising revenues typically fall into the 70 to 80 percent range and can change the composition of the company’s profit and loss statement.”
Insider Intelligence expects Walmart’s ad revenues to grow +42 percent in fiscal 2023.
John David Rainey, CFOCFO of Walmart, speaking at a recent Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/walterloeb/2023/03/10/walmart-profits-to-depend-more-on-advertising-and-other-income/?sh=31a29dc754b8

Peter Clarke Chairman of Guardian Media Limited has released the following audited results for the twelve months ended 31 December, 2022.

The steady contribution of our newspaper was re-enforced by our hugely popular special publications and increasingly popular digital presence. Combined, these campaigns stimulated increased activity and advertising spend, and drove the reversal of Guardian Media Limited’s Q3 year to date loss before taxation of $6.5M, and the delivery of its full year result.

In similar fashion to 2021, the final quarter’s performance was very strong. In 2022, for the quarter ended 31 December, Guardian Media Limited reported profit before taxation of $10.3M, just behind last year’s fourth quarter result of $11.5M profit before taxation. These results were driven primarily by our successful 2022 FIFA World Cup Finals campaign.

For the year ending 31 December 2022, Guardian Media Limited reported profit before taxation of $3.9M compared to a $6.5M profit before taxation in the prior year.

Revenues reported for the year were $117.8M ($104.7M – 2021) reflecting an increase of $13M or 12.5% in advertising revenues.

Operating expenses increased year over year due to our efforts to stimulate commercial interest, and in order to fund growth strategies across all business segments.

The year 2022 opened without the much-anticipated levels of commercial recovery and activity. The Russia-Ukraine war, supply chain challenges and financial market pressures forced businesses to focus on survival instead of advertising campaigns.

As part of our 105th year celebrations, we at Guardian Media Limited, spared no effort to re-connect advertisers with their customers by investing heavily in irresistible content, whilst continuing to be the trusted media partner across all platforms.

During the year our branded Radio campaigns included the Caura Fest, Sangeet Premier League, bar crawls and other outside broadcasts, through which our loyal listeners were again able to connect with their favourite on-air personalities. After introducing our citizens to iconic global motivational speaker Sadhguru in August, we covered the 2022 Caribbean Premier League, and acquired the rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar, as well as the English Premier League.

In spite of the challenging commercial environment, we remain resolute in our
conviction that the business is well positioned to face the future. It has bravely weathered the pandemic, stabilized its operations and re-defined its strategic objectives to achieve delivery of enhanced shareholder value.

Your Board of Directors is pleased to announce a final ordinary dividend of 4 cents per share (2021 – 7 cents). Preference shareholders will receive a final dividend of 3%. Dividends will be paid on 15 June, 2023.

In accordance with section 110(1)(a)(i) of the Companies Act 1995, the Directors have fixed 22 May, 2023 as the Record Date for payment of this final dividend. The Register of Members will be closed on both 25 May and 26 May, 2023.

For More Information CLICK HERE

The Government will be establishing a $1-billion Jamaica Screen Fund to provide financing for the development and production of film and television (TV) shows in the country.

Opening the 2023/24 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 7, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. Hon. Nigel Clarke, said the Government will continue to support the growth of a local film, television, and animation industry.

He informed that the Fund will be established in partnership with the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce.

Dr. Clarke said that the $1 billion, which is an initial amount, will be provided over two years, with $500 million in 2023/24.

He said that the Fund will enable creatives to devote time and sweat equity to developing their projects to the point where they can receive financing.

This includes, for example, writing a feature script or a TV series pilot script, producing a short film as proof of concept, or producing a teaser video as proof of concept for animation.

Dr. Clarke said the Jamaica Screen Fund will also support production of films locally by providing a defined percentage of the production costs up to a maximum contribution for local productions, with other percentages and thresholds for foreign films being shot in Jamaica once certain criteria are met.

Dr. Clarke informed that the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce will be responsible for governance arrangements, which will be multi-stakeholder .

Portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, will publish the rules of the Jamaica Screen Fund, along with guidance on how to access grants and financing, inclusive of what is expected of writers, creatives, and production companies, which receive support.

Dr. Clarke explained that the resources for the Fund will remain with the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service to be drawn down in tranches once the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce approves eligible projects that have completed and fulfilled the application requirements.

The Minister, in noting the potential of the film industry, said that creative content production can make a significant contribution to Jamaica’s economy and to gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

He said that film and television involve the employment of skilled production crew, technicians, support and logistics staff behind the camera and talented cast in front.

“Hundreds of persons can be employed in a single production for months at a time. In addition, the production of film and television generates indirect and spin-off economic impact through the provision of goods and services required and spending in the local economy,” Dr. Clarke pointed out.