JOBURG BAD, CAPE TOWN NOWHERE
City of Gold needs more parks and museums, says world survey
Joburg has been named the world’s third-least desirable city for creatives while Tokyo tops the table with the highest number of creative jobs, the most green spaces and parks, museums and art galleries as well as creative classes and workshops.
The UN says the creative economy is projected to reach a global valuation of $985bn by the end of this year.
The global survey was compiled by the website Business Name Generator from 50 cities, later reduced to 48. It found that South Africa’s largest city has just 17 classes and workshops, 47 museums and art galleries, and 25 green spaces and parks. The only city with fewer green spaces and parks is Manila, which has 22.
Creative salaries in Joburg average $25,523 annually, which works out as $2,127 a month, the highest of any country in the bottom five. New Delhi, Mumbai and Tel Aviv are also in the bottom five.
The average salary for creatives in Tokyo is the equivalent of $3,223 a month or $38,674 a year, against London creatives who earn $4,350 a month ($52,300 a year). However, the monthly cost of living minus rent for a single person in Tokyo is lower than any other city in the top five at $990. London, Paris, Chicago and Toronto complete the top five.
Cape Town, considered by many in the global ad industry to be a premier creative city, does not feature on the list.
The six cities with the highest earning potential for creatives are all based in the US, with San Francisco on top overall. On average, creatives in this city can earn an annual salary of $86,300, or $7,192 a month.
Oresti Patricios, CEO of the Ornico research agency, moved to the Joburg CBD some years ago, partly to harness the energy of the city. He questions the study. Patricios says Joburg has dynamism and diversity, but he admits it would be a more desirable space to work if there were more green spaces and parks.
Chloe Chai of Business Name Generator tells the FM: “With creative hubs … aiming to attract and retain talent, they must be able to offer an environment for individuals to flourish, by investing in the wide range of industries in which creatives play a key role, as well as paying competitive salaries that can keep up with the rising cost of living.”
Phumi Mashigo, founding partner of the Ignitive agency, says creative cities are hubs for a range of artistic and media industries, which can give ad agencies access to a wealth of talent and perspectives.
“By hiring young people from these creative cities, agencies can tap into this talent pool and gain access to fresh ideas and innovative approaches,” says Mashigo.
“These young people are also likely to be early adopters of new technologies and platforms, which is extremely valuable in the advertising industry. They can help agencies stay ahead of the curve and create campaigns that are engaging and novel, and can translate to sales and brand equity for clients.
“By hiring young people from South Africa’s diverse creative industries and giving them a platform to showcase their unique perspectives, agencies can help infuse this local flavour into their global campaigns. This not only benefits the agency by creating more innovative and engaging campaigns, but also helps to elevate and celebrate the local talent that South Africa has to offer. After all, for such a small country, our creative exports have always managed to wow the world.”
Alistair King, founder of the Cape Townbased King James Group, now part of Accenture, believes creative people gravitate to where they believe they can do their best work.
“Life and salary are part of the lure, but it’s nearly always mostly about how they can advance their careers and their talents. Many of the cities on this list live up to that promise in some respects. Many of them have and are very aggressive in their drives to attract the best creative talent. Toronto and Chicago have plundered a lot of South African talent in recent times, and Paris and London before that. Given the emphasis on salaries in this survey, I think our exchange rate doesn’t help the South African story. But I do know that a lot of creatives are earning huge salaries in London but living in pokey apartments, not coming close to the living standards that Cape Town can offer. Despite this list, I believe Cape Town is starting to become a significant magnet for creatives globally.”