Media Moves… TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up. Sad ABF announces the passing of one of its great champions. Primedia Broadcasting boosts converged solutions capacity. FleishmanHillard announces key African appointment. New business brings about people growth at Webtickets. Stephen Doyle appointed as Loeries communication design jury chairman. Joan Madibeng chooses Greater Than for Women, The Real Architects of Society. e.tv and eNCA partner with Habari Media. Moving Tactics and MediaLoop launch digital trade channel. SA’s most strategic PR firm named. Adams & Adams extends its sponsorship of the Loeries for another three years. Tribeca PR achieves Level 2 B-BBEE rating. New IAS office in ‘vibrant, surprising’ Cape Town. GfK introduces digital team and new digital offering to SA.
Sad ABF announces the passing of one of its great champions
“Dave Granville-Roberts passed away this morning, the 23 June. Dave was a tireless ABF committee member who worked for the good of others,” says Sharlene Vallance, ABF Fundraiser and friend. “He introduced me to the ABF and was instrumental in getting me to assist and help those in need. Dave was well known in the outdoor arena and was well respected. His loss is devastating to us and we feel as though the wind has ripped through our sails.”
His funeral will be held at Saint Stithians on today, Thursday 26 June at 15h00.
Who’s moved where
Primedia Broadcasting boosts converged solutions capacity
Primedia Broadcasting has announced changes to their sponsorships and promotions team following the departure of group promotions manager, Simon Parkinson.
Parkinson leaves Primedia Broadcasting after 15 years with the company, both on-air and in management. He will be joining Ultimate Media as a shareholder and will continue to work closely with Primedia Broadcasting on campaigns and briefs. His departure has opened the door for a re-structuring of the sales department to build capacity in this vital area of the business.
Jadi Tillim will head the portfolio. Tillim has extensive experience in campaign management, converged offerings and client services as she has been running the sponsorships across all stations for years. Tanya Cruse and Sian MacGregor will join Tillim in the Joburg team.
Samantha de Araujo has been promoted to sponsorships and promotions manager in Cape Town, bringing her experience of both multi-platform campaigns, and the Cape Town market, to bear.
The team will work very closely with Paulo Dias, Primedia Broadcasting’s convergence specialist. Dias’ background blends radio, creative agency work and digital campaigns. He is ideally placed to create tailormade solutions that answer a client’s brief.
Sponsorships and promotions will leverage the strong operational competencies in digital teams led by Allan Kent, former MD of Saatchi AtPlay and Khwezi Magwaza, award-winning editor and recent Fulbright Scholar at NYU’s Studio 20, which focused on innovation and the adaptation of traditional journalism to the web environment.
Stephen Doyle appointed as Loeries communication design jury chairman
A 2014 AIGA medallist and the winner of the 2010 Cooper-Hewitt’s National Design Award for Communication, Stephen Doyle of New York based agency Doyle Partners has been appointed as the communication design jury chairman for the 2014 Loeries.
He will also speak at the DStv International Seminar of Creativity on 19 September as part of Loeries® Creative Week Cape Town from 15-21 September.
Celebrated as the supreme ‘designer’s designer’, Doyle leads a small, impactful studio renowned for the elegance of its insightful, humane, evergreen work across a broad spectrum, from branding to packaging, environmental graphics to site-specific installations, animation and constructions.
FleishmanHillard announces key African appointment
FleishmanHillard South Africa has formally announced the appointment of Mimi Kalinda as its Africa Lead, cementing its presence as a dominant force in professional communications across the continent.
Kalinda, who will be responsible for managing FleishmanHillard’s engagement with current African affiliates and developing partnerships in new markets, has a remarkable track record in international media relations, content creation and digital integration.
Joining FleishmanHillard from Weber Shandwick, where she was responsible for leading key pan-African development projects and social impact accounts that include the Innovation Prize for Africa and the Michael and Susan Dell foundation, Kalinda brings a wealth of experience to a growing team that is increasingly focused on executing large international campaigns that champion client interests throughout the African region.
This appointment clearly signals FleishmanHillard’s intent to extend and nurture its already well-established African practice, adds FleishmanHillard SA managing director, Kevin Welman.
New business brings about people growth at Webtickets
Webtickets has made a number of key appointments to bolster their offices in Cape Town and Durban.
“In 2013, we experienced a fabulous year of growth and success and I believe we are poised to reach even greater heights this year. We have taken on many new clients in the last few months, such as the Wits Theatre, The Springbok Experience museum, the Walter Sisulu Gardens and the Cape Town Science Centre; and I believe our new appointments will strengthen our management and web development teams in line with the demand from new clients,” said Jonathan Wayne, co-founder of Webtickets.
Clare McIlroy has been appointed as Webtickets’ KwaZulu-Natal regional manager.Hannah Muskett, originally from Grahamstown, is Webtickets’ Cape Town office manager, who has been using her undergraduate degree in English and psychology to create dynamic and engaging content for its online and mobile audiences. Johan Kotze joins the team as web developer and is responsible for developing back and front-end applications for Webtickets.
Who’s won what
Joan Madibeng chooses Greater Than for Women, The Real Architects of Society
Former Miss South Africa, business woman and philanthropist Joan Madibeng has appointed Greater Than to manage the public relations and communications for the Real Architects of Society, an annual women’s event held in August in the city of Tshwane.
Women, the Real Architects of Society is a concept launched by Madibeng in 2011 with the aim of providing women the opportunity to network and celebrate their achievements whilst examining key topics “This year is a very special one for us, in that we are celebrating 20 years of democracy and we will be looking back and covering what this means to women in particular at this year’s event. One of our key objectives is to get a dialogue started amongst South African women and share issues as well as successes in order to carry forward our achievements,” Madibeng said.
She will host the fourth annual Women’s event on 30 August 2014 at International Convention Centre (CSIR) in the city of Tshwane. Guest speakers for the event include Phuti Mahanyele (CEO of Shanduka Group), Jenna Clifford (World-renowned jewellery designer), Dion Chang (Corporate trend analyst and design consultant) and Tumi Frazier.
e.tv and eNCA partner with Habari Media
Habari Media has announced the addition of etv.co.za and eNCA.com to its growing portfolio of leading web properties and mobile advertising platforms.
e.tv, South Africa’s first independent free-to-air television channel, and eNCA, South Africa’s leading 24-hour news channel, have engaged Habari Media as their official online sales agency. Both broadcast brands have become household names in the South African news and entertainment market, and both have recently extended their activities into the growing online space.
“After an encouraging first year in which our editorial product was well received, we felt it was time to take advertising sales to the next level and Habari, with its impeccable track record in monetising South African online properties, was the obvious choice of partner,” said Timothy Spira, general manager of eNCA Online.
Who’s making moves
Moving Tactics and MediaLoop launch digital trade channel
MediaLoop has joined forces with Moving Tactics, the digital signage solutions company, to develop and introduce a unique platform that utilises a network of high definition digital screens that are strategically placed in the workspaces of media agencies throughout South Africa.
With the increase in media channels and the constant barrage of information facing media agency professionals on a daily basis, sourcing and engaging with essential industry information has become increasingly challenging.
However, MediaLoop’s innovative digital trade channel addresses this increasing problem by collating and packaging essential industry-specific updates into a 15-minute content loop that repeats itself 40 times throughout a 10-hour day. The loop includes media news and trends, innovations and insights, general news, as well as information on media owners and their opportunities. Through the network, media owners big and small are offered a constant presence within media agencies throughout the country and the opportunity to control the flow of business information into these agencies.
This digital signage network was recently piloted at PHd in Cape Town and the aim is to have the system up-and-running in the Cape Town and Johannesburg offices of the country’s top 10 media agencies by the end of 2014.
Adams & Adams extends its sponsorship of the Loeries
Law firm Adams & Adams has announced that it will renew its sponsorship of the Loerie Awards for the next three years. Adams & Adams has been the legal advisor to the Loeries, and sponsor of the Adams & Adams Young Creatives Award for three consecutive years. The firm also extends its support to the Loeries Creative Week this year as it sponsors the Student Portfolio Day for the first time.
This is the first real collaboration between a law firm that specialises in the protection of intellectual property (IP) and related services and the creative world of the Loeries.
“The Loerie Awards are synonymous with the celebration of creativity and are seen to be one of the world’s most prestigious and highly-regarded platforms for the brand communication industry. For this reason, it is vitally important that the awards are supported to continue to showcase the best creative minds of our time,” says Märiette du Plessis, senior partner at Adams & Adams.
SA’s most strategic PR firm named
Marcusbrewster has been named as Strategic PR Company of the Year: South Africa in the 2014 M&A Awards. Sponsored by UK-based AI Global Media, Acquisition International Magazine and DealFlow Source, the awards celebrate excellence in all areas of Mergers and Acquisitions, recognising not only individual deal success but also the firms and individuals behind the scenes.
Joining marcusbrewster in the winner’s circle were ENSAfrica (Overall Law Firm of the Year), Nortons (Regulatory Law Specialists of the Year), PwC (Sustained Excellence in Accountancy Practice) and Adams & Adams (Sustained Excellence in Intellectual Property). Bernardt Vukic Potash & Getz were named as Rising Stars in Corporate Law.
Voted for by a global network of expert M&A professionals, advisers, clients, peers and industry insiders, the awards are handed out solely on merit and are awarded to “only those most deserving for their outstanding work over the past 12 months” said Kathryn Turner, chief co-ordinator of the 2014 M&A Awards.
“This award is further validation of the firm’s ability to assist clients in the business-to-business arena and not purely in the business-to-consumer space where we already enjoy a formidable reputation” says chairman Marcus Brewster. “Our multi-award winning work for Unilever brand Magnum, partnering with creative agency The Hardy Boys and with digital agency Liquorice, has shown that as a managed communication services firm, marcusbrewster continues to raise the bar in both corporate and commercial environments.
Tribeca PR achieves Level 2 B-BBEE rating
Tribeca Public Relations has achieved a Level 2 B-BBEE rating in its latest BEE verification audit conducted by leading economic empowerment rating agency, Empowerdex. The Level 2 status, combined with the fact that the company has qualified as a value added supplier, will afford a B-BBEE procurement recognition level of 156.25% for Tribeca clients.
This rating enables the company to be retained by private and public sector clients who have certain minimum B-BBEE requirements in their procurement policies.
“There are very few public relations agencies in South Africa that have achieved a B-BBEE rating at such a high level,” says Cian Mac Eochaidh, co-owner of Tribeca Public Relations. “We have worked really hard to achieve this rating, and look forward to working with clients who have rigorous procurement policies that are aimed at redressing economic inequality in South Africa.”
New IAS office in ‘vibrant, surprising’ Cape Town
The Independent Agency Selection has opened an office in Cape Town. “Cape Town surprises me every time I go there,” says Johanna McDowell, managing director of IAS. “There are currently over 200 agencies of all types, from public relations and communication to advertising and marketing. It’s a hotspot of creativity, making choice difficult for the 400-plus client companies also based there.”
For this reason, IAS will be opening offices on Lower Main Road, Observatory in July this year. “Our new premises are in Kipling Place, surrounded by some very creative companies,” says McDowell. “We have a number of existing clients in Cape Town and being close to them and a large group of agencies means we’re able to be more agile in our service, while also growing our client base.”
In working to strengthen relationships between clients and their agencies, the IAS currently makes frequent trips to Cape Town and the opportunity to open an office there makes logistical sense.
GfK introduces digital team and new digital offering to SA
The way people communicate, shop, consume media and engage with brands has changed significantly over the last few years. As more consumers use the internet, smartphones and tablets, the digital environement is becoming a crucial battleground for brands to engage with customers. Which is why GfK has launched DMI (Digital Market Intelligence) across the globe – including here in South Africa.
Headed up by an experienced and passionate team, the GfK South Africa team helps clients understand the digital landscape, and how to leverage channels to support business objectives . From monitoring social media to online behavioral measurement and ad tracking, through to website evaluation and purchase journeys.
GfK’s Mobile Audience Measurement platform, which is set to be released in the next few weeks, will enable brands to understand which URLs and applications are being used most commonly by smartphone users in South Africa, supporting their mobile media strategies. The cloud based tool will allow clients to specify their target market, as well as the specific content categories they are interested in, and then compare the usage and reach across those platforms in order to optimize their media placement.
Rage launches Ystore, the easiest way to go from retail to e-tail
Rage Communications, India’s leading web-services company, announced the launch of Ystore, a comprehensive eCommerce platform to enable retailers to go online with significant ease.
Modeled as ‘build, manage and promote’, Ystore provides a complete solution to online retailers in a modular fashion. The canvass covers design and development of a state-of-the-art eCommerce solution on a platform of choice, ongoing management of the store and designing and running marketing programs to promote the stores. Ystore is developed on a proprietary online-commerce platform based on open source technologies but has the flexibility to be deployed third party platforms like Magento, Drupal commerce, etc., also.
“This launch is providing a single window experience for all ecommerce requirements for the online retailer. The depth of the offering covers a wide spectrum of requirements. From first-timers migrating from retail to e-tail or seasoned ecommerce players looking at upgrading the store for the nth time, Ystore solution caters to all” said JRK Rao, Director, Rage Communications Pvt. Ltd.
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