At the registration tables at the Durban airport there was a lone sponsor banner and very little else to indicate anything special is happening in Kwazulu-Natal this weekend. Apart from the unspectacular goody bags at registration at the airport and in Margate containing sponsor-branded beach balls, Frisbees and flip flops, there was no other branding on the special Kulula flight, at the airport or on the road to Margate.
Huge branding opportunities were missed all the way down, agreed Nathan Reddy, who led his posse down to Margate where his agency have rented two houses on the beach.
On our plane from Jo'burg, half of which was filled with creatives, media and entertainers for the big nights, some of whom already started hitting the vodka and energy drinks at 9am, there was a measure of excitement and cries of "Ooh look, there's the sea..." and "Why is this taking so long to land, are they clearing the cows from the runway?" an indicator that Gautengalengs need to leave their electric-fenced compounds more.
But apart from the usual Kulula.com script-driven patter, there was nothing special on the flight - with such a high profile captive audience, how do you not try wow them? And what happened to Kwazulu-Natal tourism's marketing plan to put up billboards and welcome mats at the airport?
The only visible branding was on the window of a general dealer as you enter Margate with "A warm welcome to The Loerie Awards" and the amusing street pole posters by Mnet as one drives into Margate:
"Gold Loerie: Your Boss Loves You
Silver Loerie: Your Colleagues Love You
Bronze Loerie: Your Mom Loves You"
Let's hope for the majority of the industry flying in on Saturday, that their experience will be more welcoming.
It is a big deal when an industry takes over an entire town, injecting millions of rands into the local economy and ensuring continued investment years into the future. It is also a big deal when the target audience control most of the media and media spend in this country.
