Media Moves… TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up. This week’s BIG move: PR Powerhouse and Irvine Bartlett to merge. Tonya Khoury resigns from DDI Africa, starts own company. MasterChef winner Kamini Pather joins Heart 104.9FM. Radio news journalist Graeme Raubenheimer joins Heart 104.9FM news. e.tv’s Sunrise welcomes two newsreaders. Joanna Oosthuizen promoted to national MD of Ogilvy PR. Cott Lawrence joins the cinema evolution. MMA announces new appointments to South Africa board of directors. New COO for Gijima, and HR executive appointed. Press Room wins the Luxottica Group account. marcusbrewster appointed to promote Cornetto Cupidity Series. AFI appoints CSA for Cape Town Fashion Week. Hayley Upson Communications rebrands as Moon Walk. Amorphous New Media launches digital publishing division. AccessData, ARM partner in Africa
This week’s BIG move: PR Powerhouse and Irvine Bartlett merge
Two of South Africa’s emerging public relations agencies have announced that they are to merge in order to consolidate their combined national reach. Johannesburg-based PR Powerhouse merged with Cape Town’s Irvine Bartlett on 1 July 2014.
“PR Powerhouse and Irvine Bartlett have collaborated on a number of projects over the past few years, and this merger is the next logical step,” says Lebo Madiba, managing director of PR Powerhouse.
Both agencies are currently headed up by highly experienced individuals with many years of experience in PR and communications behind them. This strong leader profile has accounted for each company boasting impressive client portfolios, despite being relative newcomers in the industry. Their combined client list now includes national and international heavyweights such as Marriott International, the Maersk Group, Novo Nordisk and Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty.
“The merger will give us on-the-ground capability in two of the country’s most important business centres,” says Rachel Irvine, managing director of Irvine Bartlett. “It will also enable us to offer our client base even greater reach and impact across South Africa.”
Madiba and Irvine are long-time associates, having met when they worked together at the same company several years ago, before establishing their own communications agencies.
Who’s moved where
Tonya Khoury resigns from DDI Africa, starts own company
Tonya Khoury, the former managing director of DDI Africa, has launched her own company.
“The great news is that I will remain in the media monitoring space but this time with vastly innovative technology at my new company, ROi AFRICA (ROi). I have been privileged to secure the financial and administrative support of one of South Africa’s most exciting listed companies. I am building a media monitoring solution that promises to be the first of its kind in the world and for the first time, South Africa’s marketing and PR industry will have monitoring work for them,” she says.
Khoury says ROi will be one of a few media monitoring companies in the world to offer immediate analytics and sentiment. “My new company’s link to the listed company means I have BEE credentials, added to a global footprint and several African offices” she says.
“To add, we will be continuing on the groundbreaking media statistics that I provided on big events like the Oscar Pistorius Trial, the 2014 Elections and the 2014 FIFA World Cup,” adds Tonya.
MasterChef winner Kamini Pather joins Heart 104.9FM
Well-known 2013 MasterChef winner, Kamini Pather has joined Heart 104.9FM as a guest presenter on Kim Cloete’s show. Pather will present a feature called ‘My Favourite Things’ at 10h40 every Tuesday. Kim and Kamini will chat about the very latest in lifestyle, fashion, food and trends.
Patheri only started cooking when she was 18 and studying towards a Bachelor of Commerce degree. She felt that this qualification didn’t leave enough room to be creative, which left her feeling rather frustrated. It was then that she turned to the stove.
She started her own food blog in 2010. “Somehow being able to cook – to create something from nothing – made me feel powerful and in control of some, seemingly important, part of my life. It was then that I began stalking chefs at every possible food show. I hounded editors and wangled my way into food conferences. Believe me, I was a nuisance. !” says Pather.
But it all paid off when in 2013 when she won the reality cooking show, MasterChef SA.
Radio news journalist Graeme Raubenheimer joins Heart 104.9FM News
Graeme Raubenheimer has joined the Heart 104.9FM news team. After spending four years reporting in the field, running in and out of the Western Cape High Court and news conferences, he is very eager to present the news and keep the listeners informed in a manner that is relevant, accurate, fair and balanced.
At the age of 22, Graeme won the best short radio documentary award at the 2012 MTN Radio Awards for an expose on metered taxis in Cape Town, and just a year later received the accolade for best Western Cape radio reporter in the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards for his coverage of the trial of Anni Dewani’s killer, Xolile Mngeni, as well as the farm worker strikes in the Western Cape.
“I’m extremely excited to start this new adventure at Heart 104.9 FM in the news department,” Raubenheimer says.
e.tv’s Sunrise welcomes two newsreaders
e.tv’s morning breakfast show, Sunrise, has welcomed two newsreaders: Nthabiseng Ndhlovu as the sign language news interpreter and Nolufefe Msomi as isiXhosa newsreader. The duo premiered in late June 2014 and have joined the line-up that includes Neo Monyetsane for Sotho bulletin, Thabo Masithe for Setswana bulletin, Elsa Esterhuizen for Afrikaans bulletin and Mawandumusa for Zulu bulletin.
“Joining the Sunrise team has allowed me to step out of my shell and helped me to explore the media industry and what it takes to stand out and be heard,” says Ndhlovu.
“I am really excited to be part of the Sunrise team. I have wished for a long time after many years of doing radio journalism, to get an opportunity to anchor television news and get behind the news on a regular and daily basis,” says Msomi.
Joanna Oosthuizen promoted to national MD of Ogilvy PR
Ogilvy & Mather South Africa has announced the promotion of Joanna Oosthuizen to national managing director of Ogilvy Public Relations (Ogilvy PR) South Africa. Oosthuizen currently serves as MD for the Ogilvy PR office in Johannesburg and will continue to report to Abey Mokgwatsane, CEO of Ogilvy & Mather South Africa.
Oosthuizen is an experienced and high-impact leader, who has championed the transformation of a classic PR and reputation consultancy into an offering that includes cutting edge social media practices and a dynamic, responsive content hub. She has built the public relations discipline of O&M South Africa to be one of the country’s leading reputation and communications agencies, while still playing an active role across every client within the business.
“Joanna is a great asset to our company, to our clients and to the PR industry as a whole,” says Mokgwatsane, Ogilvy & Mather South Africa’s CEO.
Scott Lawrence joins the cinema evolution
Scott Lawrence has become the national sales manager for Cinemark, putting his rich industry experience and diverse set of skills into his love for the big screen. “Who doesn’t love cinema? On a personal level, it’s working with a medium that I enjoy. On a professional level, I believe cinema is evolving in an incredibly exciting way,” he says.
A born and bred Capetonian, Lawrence recently returned home after six years working in the Middle East. It is the first time that he and his wife are living in Johannesburg, and the gadget-loving sales guru now works alongside the sales and marketing teams at Cinemark to reach their shared goals and targets.
Being in the cinema business and running a successful sales teaminvolves a willingness to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in. Perhaps this is why his heroes are people like Mohamed Ali, Madiba and his own father.
MMA announces new appointments to South Africa board of directors
The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), the leading global trade association for the mobile industry, has announced the addition of 13 new industry leaders to its MMA South Africa board. They join an active board drawn from the marketer, agency, media owner, tech enabler, research and telco communities representing mobile interests within SA.
“The growing number of marketers and agencies on the South African Board aligns directly with the MMA’s recently announced marketer first and innovation-focused mission,” says Chris Babayode, managing director of MMA EMEA.
The new and re-elected board members are:
AAT
Alan Haarhoff
AdClick Africa
Velly Bosega
Advine
Gavin Emes
BulkSMS
Samantha van Putten
Buzz City
Nicholas Hodge
Coca Cola
Muhammed Jassat
DSG
Yaron Assabi
GfK
Ryan Smit
Mobiclicks
John Butler
Nokia
Allana Barber
SABC
Philip van Tonder
Sivlerstonecis
Raymond Buckle- Honorary Guest
Standard Bank
Sagren Pather
Telkom Mobile
Helga Bates
Unilever
Nazeer Suliman
Vine
Neil Hutchinson
WiGroup
Howard Moodycliffe
Current board members whose terms continue:
Allana Barber, Microsoft
Candice Goodman, Mobitainment - Chair Emeritus
Neil Hutchinson, Grapevine Interactive
Nicolle Harding, Maxaxion - Incoming Chair
Philip van Tonder, SABC
Rick Joubert, Yonder Media
Raymond Buckle, CEO, Silverstone Solutions (Honorary Guest)
New COO for Gijima, and HR executive appointed
Gijima, a leading JSE-listed ICT company, has named Maphumuzana (Maphum) Nxumalo as its new chief operating officer and an executive director and Bheki Khumalo as its new human resources executive.
Nxumalo has 37 years’ corporate experience, at first in the mining and retail industries, and then in ICT companies. He joins Gijima from T-Systems, where he held the position of vice president:
Khumalo has a distinguished academic record and holds four degrees, including an LLB from the University of South Africa and an MA (Clinical Psychology) from the University of Natal. He has over 17 years of experience in a wide variety of roles.
“We look forward to welcoming both Maphum Nxumalo and Bheki Khumalo to our executive leadership team,” says Eileen Wilton, CEO. “ They both bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to Gijima and their excellent track record will be a worthy asset to Gijima. I am looking forward to working with them as we continue to progress on our turnaround strategy.”
Who’s won what
Press Room wins the Luxottica Group account
Boutique fashion consultancy, Press Room, has announced the addition of the prestigious Luxottica Group to their already comprehensive and growing portfolio of fashion and lifestyle brands.
Luxottica (Pty) Ltd. is the world leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and sale of fashion, luxury and sports eyewear and includes leading brands such as Ray-Ban, Oakley, Oakley apparel, Vogue Eyewear, Emporio Armani, Persol, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada and more. Their retail chain, Sunglass Hut is the leading eyewear retailer in South Africa.
Press Room will undertake and manage all the public relations campaigns and product placement services across all the divisions of the group.
Lorrianne Cloete, wwner and founder of Press Room, said, “We’re thrilled and proud to be appointed as the agency to be working with Luxottica.”
marcusbrewster appointed to promote Cornetto Cupidity Series
Cornetto, part of the Unilever stable of brands, has appointed integrated communications firm marcusbrewster to promote the launch of the second instalment of the Cupidity series.
The iconic ice cream brand synonymous with love and romance launched a hotly anticipated new series of Cupidity; seven beautifully shot films all about the all-consuming ups and downs of teen love. No in its second year, the Cupidity series has been a global triumph and this year welcomes music superstar Lily Allen to the cast of one of the films, 40-Love.
“The first series of Cupidity generated over 45 million views and included the most shared branded music video of 2013 as well as the 5th most shared piece of branded content of last year and 13th most shared of all time. We hope to see the second instalment claim success by exceeding these figures,” says account manager Saadiyah Hendricks.
AFI appoints CSA for Cape Town Fashion Week
African Fashion International (AFI) has appointed Communication Services Africa, the media specialist & communication strategist division of Celebrity Services Africa (CSA), to manage the full media & communication roll-out of South Africa’s premier annual Spring/Summer sartorial showcase, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Cape Town (MBFWCT) 2014.
AFI is the leading Fashion authority on the African continent and is committed to the promotion, growth and sustainability of South Africa’s fashion & textile industries by supporting talented designers and creating world-class platforms that create global opportunities for African ingenuity.
For MBFWCT 2014 – which takes places at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 24-26 July – CSA will undertake all PR, media accreditation & promotions while further amplifying the media messaging surrounding AFI’s development platforms, AFI Fastrack™, AFI Next Generation & AFI Fashion Talks.
Estee Lauder makes a Clear Difference with Fashion Media
To promote its anti-blemish serum, Clear Difference, Estee Lauder has called on Primedia Unlimited’s in-store advertising business Fashion Media to spread the word to upmarket women.
Window displays that clearly illustrated the product’s features and benefits were prominent in Edgars and Red Square stores throughout national premium malls. To create a full 360° experience for consumers, the in-store advertising was further bolstered at entrances with the use of beeper sleeves (security sensors). In the Red Square stores gondola ends were additionally used.
“The two week national campaign had a very clear objective, and that was to announce the availability of the new product in store and to drive sales,” says Sean Reed, Fashion Media’s CEO.
Who’s making moves
Amorphous New Media launches digital publishing division
Digital agency Amorphous New Media has introduced Amorphous Digital Publishing, its digital publishing arm that will focus on offering content producers and consumers an enhanced experience of traditionally print publications.
Amorphous Digital Publishing is one of only two Adobe Digital Publishing Suite accredited agencies in Africa.
Amorphous Digital Publishing is committed to helping businesses and publishers alike who are looking to create innovative digital solutions for their respective markets. It offers publishing solutions across a number of different sectors, including corporate and marketing magazines, retail and business catalogues, sales tools, annual reports and client facing communications.
Hayley Upson Communications rebrands as Moon Walk
Hayley Upson Communications has created a new identity for the business, rebranding as Moon Walk.
Moon Walk will continue to offer the same services and expertise it always has, and the processes, systems and people will all remain.
AccessData, ARM partner in Africa
AccessData, the leader in incident resolution solutions, has signed a distribution agreement with African Risk Mitigation (ARM), a leading value-added distributor of cyber security and other consumer-related IT software products in Africa. This partnership will see ARM growing AccessData’s footprint across the continent and building the company’s the channel partner community.
“Traditionally we invested in a very small number of technology partners because our heritage business in the forensics space was very niche and focused almost entirely on the law enforcement vertical,” says Simon Whitburn, senior vice president and general manager at AccessData.
“However, our operations in Africa now need to be driven by a larger channel. This is because the corporate sector in this region demands the capability to conduct their own in-house digital investigations, as well as in-house rapid detection and response to defend against hackers, malware and advanced persistent threats. They want the option to control their own information assurance and cyber security programs without having to resort to a third-party or divulge information to law enforcement, as the threat of cyber terrorism and breach attacks continues to grow.”
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