Media Moves… TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up. Maria Phillips resigns as CEO of Mindshare SA, hunt on for new CEO. Marcus Stephens appointed managing director of Kagiso Digital. Wongiwe Siwisa new account director at Lowe Johannesburg. Anthea Petersen new A+E Network’s regional director for Africa, JHB office launched. Business Positioning Systems welcomes new head of sales. Carat SA wins Woolworths business across SSA. John Brown Media celebrates a bumper start to 2015. Red Touch Media Africa launches in South Africa. Keys Communications introduces Township Wall Media. Britehouse Digital leads South African organisations into a digital future.
Who’s moved where
Maria Phillips resigns as CEO of Mindshare SA, hunt on for new CEO
Mindshare CEO Maria Phillips has resigned. Helen McRae, CEO of Mindshare’s EMEA territories, will oversee the company in the interim.
“No I won’t be based in SA but I will be working with the team on weekly updates as well as be physically one week out of every month,” McRae said. “In addition we will be using this interim period to bring international network talent for trainings, workshops (both internally and with clients). This has started with both Alex and Tendayi who were here at the Huddle, which we had yesterday (Tuesday). This will continue until we find a new CEO, she said.
McRae said they were looking for a CEO We are looking “to continue our journey to be the adaptive media agency. We are proud of our values and want someone who will represent speed, teamwork and provocation as well as be focused on delivering the best work for our clients”, she said. This person could be international, but McRae says she just wants to find “the right person”.
Phillips told The Media Online she was “retiring, with no plans but yoga, art and walking!”
Marcus Stephens appointed Managing Director of Kagiso Digital
Kagiso Media has announced the promotion of Marcus Stephens to the position of managing director of Kagiso Digital. Stephens has been general manager since 2010.
Stephens will be responsible for driving the Kagiso Media group’s digital publishing, programmatic and content strategy. He has wide ranging experience within the media industry, having spent time as a media strategist for various leading media companies; TBWA Hunt Lascaris, Mediacom and Draft FCB. He also spent time as a new business development manager for a highly successful digital media agency before successfully repositioning the commercialisation of Avusa Media Live’s online and mobile businesses.
“I’m extremely excited about the future at Kagiso Media; we have a focused and talented team working to ensure technology adoption across our business is fostered and harnessed to deliver quality advertising and consumer products,” said Stephens.
Wongiwe Siwisa new account director at Lowe Johannesburg
Lowe and Partners Johannesburg has appointed Wongiwe Siwisa as account director. Siwisa joined Lowe and Partners as account manager in 2014 and has made a huge impact in a short space of time.
Talking about what attracted her to the Lowe Group, she attributes the fact that the culture fits her personality with the right mix of good work and fun. “One of the aspects I love about the team at Lowe is the collaboration between creative and account management,” said Siwisa.
Prior to Lowe Johannesburg, Siwisa worked with clients such as Mini, Legit and BBC at Black River FC. She was also involved in the successful launch of Nedbank Mpesa and Vodacom Mpesa nationwide during her time at The Creative Council.
Anthea Petersen new A+E Network’s regional director for Africa, JHB office launched
A+E Networks is establishing a Johannesburg office as part of the company’s commitment to growing presence across Africa. Anthea Petersen has been appointed regional Director, Africa – A+E Networks’ first hire on the continent.
Petersen will be responsible for commercial development and marketing for A+E Networks’ local channel portfolio across Africa. She will also be responsible for opening the new Johannesburg office and building the local team.
A+E Networks UK manages operations for HISTORY, Crime + Investigation and Lifetime in Africa.
Petersen is an experienced media executive who previously held senior-level positions at DStv Media/M-Net and currently runs her own South African-based consultancy.
Business Positioning Systems welcomes new head of sales
Leading location based search company Business Positioning Systems (BPS) has announced the addition of Buster Pitt to its team as head of sales.
Pitt joins after over two and half successful years at Media Union where he worked on platforms such as Justplay and JAG Marketing. These ROI focused digital platforms have left him with the ideal skills to join BPS, a business that focuses on driving acquisition for its range of blue chip clients.
BPS founding director Neil Clarence said Pitt’s “skill set, ambition and established network will be a welcome addition to our team as we continue to lead the local SEO space across the African continent.”
Who’s won what
Carat SA wins Woolworths business across SSA
Carat South Africa had a fantastic start to 2015, having won the Woolworths media business including the digital media component. Carat is “elated” by this news, as Woolworths is a prestigious brand and is coveted by many media agencies. Carat will be lead agency and service the business in collaboration with iProspect and Posterscope.
This win includes servicing the Woolworths business in SSA and connecting with Carat Australia on the recently acquired David Jones business. Carat has serviced the business for six years, with the full planning being done by Carat over the last two years.
“We are thrilled to be selected as the media partner for Woolworths going forward,” said Quinton Jones, “Carat has had a strong relationship with the Woolworths business and it’s great to be partnering with them, during a time when the business is expanding into Africa and globally. We look forward to doing some amazing work together and helping them redefine media.”
John Brown Media celebrates a bumper start to 2015
Following a five-way agency pitch, John Brown Media has been selected as the content partner for prestigious brands BMW and MINI. John Brown Media will take over as the content partner of BMW Drive, a bi-annual print and annual online publication that will include a mix of both international and local content focusing on product, BMW and lifestyle related news.
MINI-Living’s brand-new digital edition, developed with a view to communicating more effectively with the brand’s savvy, connected market, will replace the print edition. The digital edition, which will be produced by John Brown Media, will continue to focus on content that is representative of the MINI brand.
John Brown Media will also manage the content for the BMW and MINI e-newsletters, focusing on owners’ circle content information, lifestyle and brand news. “Adding these fabulous blue-chip motor brands to our growing portfolio is really exciting and cements our position as an innovative world-class content marketing agency,” said MD Lani Carstens.
Who’s making moves
Red Touch Media Africa launches in South Africa
Red Touch Media, the technology company behind the fastest-growing digital media content management platform in the entertainment industry, has announced it has formally entered the African market and established headquarters in Cape Town, South Africa under the brand Red Touch Media Africa (RTMA). It is the first African market in which the company has a presence.
Red Touch Media is known throughout the global media industry for its ability to protect and distribute premium content, including movies, TV shows, music, games and e-books, via its white-label technology platform. Custom branded delivery solutions include mobile, tablet, web, OTT TV, and kiosk as well as bespoke platforms.
Establishing a base in the South African market is the first phase Red Touch Media Africa’s expansion plans for the continent. Phase two includes expansion plans in Nigeria, Ghana, Namibia and Kenya.
Keys Communications introduces Township Wall Media to rest of Africa
After over five years of leadership in the township wall advertising industry throughout South Africa, township media specialists, Keys Communications are expanding their successful business model to include the rest of Africa. The African operations will be headquartered in Zimbabwe.
This model has a pivotal CSI component, providing community members with revenue opportunities for the use of the township wall as an advertising platform. In turn brands enjoy a strategic advertising location which facilitates direct access to a captive audience within the context of their daily experiences – be it going to work, school or a place of leisure.
“This is our ABCD model of township outdoor media which we are now introducing into the rest of Africa,” says Anisa Kale, owner of Keys Communications.
“Zimbabwe and similar countries in Africa are an ideal environment for Township Wall Media, where like South Africa, there is always an ever increasing consumer market. This medium provides a perfect solution for brand advertising,” says Kale.
Latest eventing technology now in SA
Event organisers in South Africa will, for the first time, be able to interact with their audience through a one-stop online network. Kagiso Digital, a division of Kagiso Media, has launched EventCloud, which instantly turns the browser on an event goer’s smartphone into a marketing platform.
The first system of its kind in the country, EventCloud is a marketing tool for event organisers but will also greatly enhance the event experience for attendees, whether it’s a concert, conference or congress. Through features like interactive maps, content download and backstage pass the audience is able to use their phones to see a detailed event line up, find their way around the event, watch live stream of other stages and even take home exclusive content.
EventCloud was piloted at Jacaranda FM’s ‘Sisters with Blisters’ walk in November last year. It showed significant page depth, with over 70 percent of users going through the entire app and the average user duration in the system being over four minutes long.
Britehouse Digital leads South African organisations into a digital future
Britehouse has created a digital division that will provide the full spectrum of consulting, mobility, marketing, social media, and application development capabilities organisations need to remain competitive by digitising their products, services and business models.
Britehouse Digital has industrial strength credentials, via its well-established Microsoft and SAP practices, to provide a holistic digital offering that will enable large and medium-sized enterprises to convert the data in their ecosystem into bottom line value.
Recently appointed MD of Britehouse Digital, Graham Parker, has brought more than a decade of experience in Dimension Data’s solutions and services business – and therefore of identifying and enabling new market opportunities for clients – to the task of creating a single interface for clients to the Britehouse divisions that have specialist Digital capabilities.
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