BENEFITS FOR CORPORATE MEMBERS
In its current form, the Guild focuses heavily on membership issues and brings several tangible and intangible benefits to the table. By supporting the Guild, OEMs play a significant role in assisting the Guild to maintain these functions. In return, OEMs and other corporate members benefit in the following ways:
- Guild Calendar
- Corporate members have access to the centralised Guild calendar and the services of a coordinator;
- When used correctly, the calendar allows members to avoid launch schedule conflicts and so ensure that all launches are attended by as many as possible journalists;
- By virtue of being impartial, the Guild’s coordinator helps to facilitate the smooth functioning of the calendar.
- The Guild’s Website & App
- Corporate membership grants OEMs collective access to professionally accredited journalists through the Guild's communication platform (which has been completely redeveloped and will go live in August 2016);
- The website will serve as a communications platform between journalists and corporate members and will give members access to regularly updated membership information;
- In the second of development, a Guild app for smart devices will go live, further improving communication between role players;
- The new website will also significantly improve the membership application process for new members.
- South African Car of the Year
- Corporate membership grants manufacturers access to the South African Car of the Year competition;
- Although the competition may have stagnated to a degree in previous years, a process of renewal has been underway to revive the competition and ensure its relevance into the future. This process has so far yielded positive results for the industry as a whole, but specifically so for the Finalist participants. Please see research from Newsclip indicating the high level of value generated for the participating finalists in 2016.
- Industry Support
- Corporate membership fees contribute to the Guild's insurance scheme for accredited journalists;
- Industry support allows the Guild to maintain its bursar programmes which have been successfully expanded to identify young journalists with potential and to support them financially as it exposes them to the industry during the Guild’s internship programme;
- Membership fees contribute towards the annual hosting of the Guild's prestigious Motor Sportsman and Motor Journalist of the Year events;
- Membership fees allow the Guild to conduct and pay for regular advanced driving skills courses which promote a high level of professionalism in motoring journalism, and assist manufacturers in their efforts to minimise risk of damage to test vehicles;
- Membership fees allow the Guild to maintain its services to its community of journalists, which includes maintaining a Benevolent fund as part of its constitution for motoring journalists who have fallen on hard times.
Future Role
Recognising that the Guild needs to expand its functions to greater benefit of the motor industry as a whole, we are already in the process of adding several new aspects to what the Guild does.
- Transformation Process
The Guild has embarked upon a transformation process that aims to identify key aspects of transformation that the motoring journalism industry needs to focus on in the future. The Guild will actively use its bursar programmes and other tools at its disposal to promote transformation in the industry. As the only organisation advancing transformation in the industry, the Guild needs the support of OEMs to successfully promote its transformation agenda.
- Road Safety
The Guild already promotes aspects of road safety by donating funds to the Wheel Well project. However, the dire state of road safety in our country requires additional interventions, and to this end, the Guild aims to actively participate in, and fund road safety initiatives. By supporting the Guild, OEMs will indirectly contribute to these initiatives.
- Training Programmes
Besides the traditional advanced driving courses, the Guild aims to add additional training courses for its members. These will include, but may not be limited to:
- Basic Motoring Journalism course;
- Introduction to the Motor Industry lecture (in conjunction with NAAMSA);
- Basic First Aid course.
Guild / PR Forum Co-operation
The Guild is more than willing to meet the expectations of the NAAMSA PR Forum and enter into a conversation around the value that the industry collectively receives from the work done by the Guild, both tangible and intangible, and to be guided as to how it can bring more value to the industry. We recognise that this understanding is essential to promote co-operation between the PR Forum and the Guild, and that this cooperation will add value to the industry as a whole.