Eleni Giokos' live coverage and inserts definitely raised the profile of the eNCA, once again bringing viewers in South Africa something brand-new in terms of insightful business coverage and analysis directly from Davos on the channel, from one of the biggest business stages in the world's global economic politik.
With her outstanding television coverage, Eleni Giokos' was also extremely clever - maximising her visibility to WEF delegates as well as building recognition under viewers - by draping her South African scarf in the country's colours every day around her shoulders. It not only made for dramatic, eye-popping and brilliant brand reinforcement of her and South Africa, but also as a reporter for the eNCA.
I asked Eleni Giokos about her trend-setting trip, highlights, coverage challenges production-wise behind-the scenes and what it takes to get a seat at the table so to speak as a media outlet and TV reporter. Eleni Giokos shares remarkable insights - from whom she met, how she thinks South African media is doing with big event coverage, not wasting a moment - and falling on wet ice!
What was your personal and professional highlight of the Davos visit?
Eleni Giokos: Simply attending in itself was a highlight for me; I have wanted to cover the WEF since I started my career in financial journalism.
My team and I arrived in Davos with great ambitions to cover all sides of the Forum, to give our viewers a picture of the conference, deliver hard-hitting interviews, and also show the lighter side of what is an extraordinary event. We worked extremely hard to achieve those targets, and I think in the end we actually delivered more than we had planned, which was hugely satisfying. Highlights are almost too numerous to mention, but meeting Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and Nuriel Roubini certainly reckon among them.
Despite what must have been an incredibly busy schedule, CNN International's Richard Quest and John Defterios made time for us, and we also managed to get to know some of the really helpful and friendly CNN crew working there.
A wonderful moment was the chance to watch Quest Means Business broadcast live from Davos.
I was invited up to CNN's live location to see the show go out, and it was a fascinating experience to watch one of my favourite anchors at work. In fact meeting other journalists was a big feature of reporting from the WEF. I bumped into many reporters and anchors from around the world, many of whom were extremely keen to talk to me about Africa.
A personal high point was interviewing Jacob Zuma, as well as a number of SA ministers. All of them were very upbeat about Africa's prospects, and all sported SA scarves. But actually it's very hard to pinpoint one specific event, as every day was special in its own way. It was certainly physically demanding – from climbing up a mountain on the first day, getting caught in a snow storm and falling on wet ice, to moving heavy equipment around constantly.
We seemed to be forever trying to prepare for interviews, which came thick and fast, and looking out for relevant stories, while negotiating tight security and going from the warmth of the hallways to the bitter cold outside.
What was difficult or challenging to accomplish regarding this specific eNCA?
Eleni Giokos: The biggest challenge is in the preparation, knowing what your agenda will be at the Forum and making sure you follow through on your angle.
Arriving in a new place is in itself challenging, having to find a way to get from the airport to Davos, changing trains with equipment and luggage almost impossible for three people to carry around. And that's not even the important part.
Once you arrive in Davos the hard work starts and the truth is you have to have the confidence to talk, ask, beg and even demand in some cases to get what you want.
Davos is not a place for the shy - once you see someone you recognise you cannot waste that moment. Exchanging business cards is a part of Davos culture so you have to be well equipped.
The secret is also knowing how to sell your brand, once you do this you'll find the dynamics change with the people around you. I'm sure I embarrassed my team a few times running after potential guests while calling out their names.
Eleni Giokos: Apart from meeting African and South African, a person from The Associated Press recognised me – it seems we have more than just a few loyal eNCA viewers in the UK!
It was great to hear that we have a following in Britain, and we enjoyed an illuminating conversation.
One thing I loved was the impact my SA scarf made on delegates.
I lost count of the number of people who asked me where they could get one. Also, because the South African delegates were all sporting them, it made our quarry easy to spot – and a glimpse of SA colours was enough to get us running after a few potential interviewees.
It was the same clever marketing strategy adopted prior to the World Cup, and it was clearly still alive and kicking in Davos. I was also intrigued by the numbers of locals who had either visited South Africa, lived in South Africa, or planned to visit very soon.
It was almost uncanny; from coffee shop owners to the man who sold us a euro plug - so many people seemed to have some kind of link to SA.
The best way to get around Davos quickly was via one of the many official WEF shuttles, and I quickly discovered that these were also a great place to network. We found ourselves sharing space with, among others, a Nobel laureate, a group of ministers from Peru, and some gregarious high-flying businessmen from Russia.
Of course, I have to say that it was very, very cold. Nothing prepares you for minus 15 degrees Celsius in the Alps; you simply cannot buy clothes in South Africa and think they will pull you through a chilly January in Switzerland. If a company here says "buy this it's made from technical material for up to minus 10" buy two of everything! Unless they've been to the Alps don't believe what they say!
Apart from the cold, it was also eye-wateringly expensive: a simple meal cost me at least R200 to R300. To economise we shopped at the local Euro Spar, where a packet of crisps cost R50, four tomatoes about R30 and coffee R80. Chocolate and Swiss Army Knives were pretty much the only two items I can say were cheaper there than in SA.
How easy or difficult was it for eNCA to “get a place at the table” at Davos for the first time?
Eleni Giokos: As the planning and booking of guests evolved prior to the forum, it was fascinating to see which delegates were keen to speak with us.
The vast majority were very eager to expose themselves to African audiences, which I think is testament to the growing strength of the continent on the global stage.
So many businesses and organisations are now looking to tap into the African market, and it was evident that the chance to get their messages across via local African media was an opportunity many delegates were keen to grasp.
Africa was such a hot topic, and coverage by African media is also clearly increasing; I certainly think we made our mark within that environment.
This was our first year covering WEF on the ground (as Richard Quest told us, we were Davos Virgins!), but the feedback we've had has been extremely positive. We have been invited to attend WEF Africa in Cape Town in May, which I'm sure will attract global names once again.
Eleni Giokos: I had been speaking with the WEF for quite a while before we received our accreditation. There is strict protocol regarding media and all profiles are carefully reviewed. Media coverage and attendance is growing rapidly, and there is limited space at the WEF - over 1 500 journalists, producers and so on attended this year, so competition to attend was pretty fierce.
Naturally preference is given to those that have been covering the event for years. But once you're in and do a good job, I'm told it gets easier.
With regards to access, we tried to make the right contacts early on. When we arrived I decided to visit one of most prestigious hotels in Davos, The Seehof, knowing we would be conducting a lot of our high profile interviews there.
We met the Hotel Manager and spent an hour or so with him. This helped enormously on the days we needed to enter the hotel.
Above all though, you need your accreditation badge with you at all times. Without it you simply cannot do anything around the congress centre.
One Hotel where we couldn't access was the Garden Inn. We were scheduled to interview Tito Mboweni there and security would not allow us onto the premises. Luckily Mr Mboweni caught my eye and called his name.
I booked all my interviews before leaving South Africa and I was careful to ensure that I made contact with as many companies, politicians, and analysts as possible before we travelled. If you took a look at my inbox I'm sure you would laugh, as I’m talking about literally hundreds of emails.
Requesting interviews and hearing that hoped for "yes" is one step, but agreeing on a time and a venue is also tough – it normally happens very close to the event, which means you're often on tenterhooks until the last minute, counting on a combination of luck and good time management to see you through.
The WEF does give you contact details of the delegates who will be attending, but this only happens a week before the event, which just isn't enough time to make contact and book time with all the attendees whom you'd like to meet. Interestingly, I found politicians tended to be more flexible than CEOs. I guess they're a little more keen to be seen and heard!
Overseas 24-hour news channels are well-versed with these kinds of global events, but South Africa and TV channels here are still learning, not so?
Eleni Giokos: Some media have been covering the WEF for over 30 years. You simply cannot compare a team of three to a team of 50, and you only need to look at the colours of their badges (anchors from the major broadcasters tended to have the prestigious white "participant" badges, while we had to make do with lesser yellow ones) to see who has earned their stripes.
Put simply, the more often you attend, the more people your organization can send, and this dictates what you can realistically achieve at Davos.
Pre-recorded interviews, live crossings and packages all need to be planned well in advance. Some media broadcast entire shows from Davos, which require both enormous technical resources and a hefty budget.
In contrast, we were a team of just three; but we still managed to deliver six live crossings, about 20 pre-recorded interviews, and 6 packages, over 5 days – not bad going I'd say.
One thing that is really noticeable is what a good job South African and African media are doing covering big events now.
We've earned our stripes recently, with COP 17, the World Cup, the Olympics and so on. I think African media and audiences are now more engaged with the world, and want to draw their own conclusions rather than rely solely on the big networks to deliver international stories to them.
We are sending journalists to offer Africans something a little different – something geared towards their specific interests and outlook. This is a hugely encouraging development; we should be proud that we're delivering our audiences access to a global event from a genuinely African perspective.
