Media Moves… TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up. Habari Media Content Marketing wins Sanlam Reality. Bletchley Park wins Mxit communications account. Fintech signs Stone Soup PR. marcusbrewster wins Ubank account. Kimberly Clarke selects Mxit for Global Kotex Campaign. M-Net extends its parkade advertising campaign with Primall Media. CARAT Number 1 Global Media Agency Network. Moving Tactics continues growth in Gauteng.
This week’s BIG move: Habari Media Content Marketing wins Sanlam Reality
Habari Media Content Marketing, just a few months old, netted a big fish: blue chip corporate Sanlam has moved its publishing and communications contract for its lifestyle programme, Sanlam Reality, to Habari Media Content Marketing, effective from October 2013.
Behind the move is sound business sense, says Francois Uys, head of marketing and business development for Sanlam Reality. “Over the past few years, the Habari Group has been managing some key member rewards. Without a communications strategy that synchronises lifestyle and wellness benefits with the publishing efforts, the upside of a lifestyle programme falls on members’ deaf ears. The synergy is very exciting: our rewards partners now sit around the same table as our media partners.”
Neal Farrell, CEO of Habari Media Content Marketing, and Content Director Robyn Daly are no strangers to Sanlam Reality. Under their former employers, RamsayMedia, they’ve managed the publishing since 2009. “They bring with them a deep understanding of our strategic objectives, the trials and tribulations that every brand goes through in developing a lifestyle programme and a passion for the brand that we really appreciate,” says Uys.
Who’s won what
Bletchley Park wins Mxit communications account
Creative marketing agency, Bletchley Park, has announced its recent appointment as Mxit’s South African communications agency as of September 2013.
The Cape Town based agency will be driving communications, focusing on strengthening and redefining the brand’s positioning within the South African mobile technology and consumer market.
Mxit is one of South Africa’s prominent mobile social networks, with 7.4 million monthly active users, of which 6.5 million are in South Africa and predominantly feature phone users.
“Bletchley is proud to have won the Mxit communications account, it brings an exciting tech focus to the agency’s growing brand portfolio and is a great opportunity to promote a prolific home-grown South African company making such a big impact in the social and mobile space,” says managing director of Bletchley Park, Jonty Fisher.
“It’s a pivotal time for Mxit. We have some exciting announcements coming up in the next few months, which will showcase the innovation that sits at the core of our business. We are very pleased to have appointed Bletchley Park to help us lead the charge,” commented Mxit CEO Francois Swart.
Fintech signs Stone Soup PR
Fintech, South Africa’s premier provider of business equipment finance has appointed Stone Soup Public Relations to develop and manage their communications strategy as part of the company’s drive to reposition itself in the market.
Ellen Edwards, head of marketing at Fintech explains their thinking behind the move. ”We’ve known for quite a while that there are untapped markets that we are not reaching and for the last 12 months we have been through a rebranding process as the first step in reinforcing Fintech as an experienced and knowledgeable brand and business partner. Public relations was always going to play an important part in our new strategy, and I think the timing is perfect to bring Stone Soup on board.”
marcusbrewster wins Ubank account
Integrated communications firm marcusbrewster has been appointed as the PR agency of record for financial services provider Ubank. The firm will consult to Ubank on a spread of managed communication services delivering brand visibility, proprietary content and the engagement of stakeholders and influencers.
A mandate to service the broader working market in South Africa has led to a strong presence and customer accessibility in select mining, rural and metropolitan communities. “Ubank is driven by a social consciousness that underpins all we do” says Marketing Head, Max Modise. “Our customers are our owners and we exist to serve them through the provision of financial services that meet their needs and improve their lives”.
“Ubank has a rich history of providing basic financial services to select mining and rural communities for almost 40 years, and in the last few years they have expanded operations to a few metropolitan communities as well.” says marcusbrewster Johannesburg account director Monica Braganca. “We look forward to entrenching the bank’s position in the marketplace through strong messaging, thought leadership and strategic alliances”.
Kimberly Clarke selects Mxit for Global Kotex campaign
Kimberley Clarke has selected Mxit as the sole digital property for its Kotex brand. In partnership with Ogilvy and media agency MEC, Mxit took the Kotex Make-Over Project to the mobile domain, securing substantial campaign engagement with young females aged 13 – 35. Post-campaign stats from Mxit’s Preferred Development Partner Kazazoom reveal that users spent as much as 14.7 minutes on the app with 1.9 million Kotex Splash Screens being delivered during the campaign.
The vibrant Mxit and Kotex Kotex Make-Over Project app proved highly relevant to the targeted audience, providing a platform to engage directly with young women. The Kotex Make-Over Project was also embedded into a third party Mxit app called Ask.Kim. This app is designed to help young women deal with the problems they face daily and is followed by 350 000 users.
In conjunction, MEC booked Mxit’s Splash Screen advertising – full screen ads that display each time a user launches Mxit, ensuring that call-to-action is loud and clear. Kotex Splash Screens were targeted only to young girls, driving them to visit the Kotex app in order to quickly build a substantial community.
M-Net extends its parkade advertising campaign with Primall Media
M-Net has extended its contract with Primedia Unlimited subsidiary Primall Media to generate awareness of Carte Blanche’s 25th anniversary until the end of October.
Captivating advertising creative on dominant parkade sites makes use of Carte Blanche’s presenters to celebrate the show’s popularity and longevity with consumers. “Primall’s parkade advertising platforms reach current and potential M-Net viewers at the entry and exit points in the Menlyn Park, Gateway and V&A Waterfront shopping centres, to showcase the channel and Carte Blanche’s 25th anniversary,” says Primall Media’s Lee Curtis.
“Parkade advertising platforms make use of tactical placement to remind patrons, who are either entering a mall or are on their way home, what they can look forward to watching,” he adds. M-Net has a current parkade holding in Sandton City and Montecasino which it utilises to promote its upcoming shows.
Who’s making moves
CARAT Number 1 Global Media Agency Network
Carat has been announced as the number one global media network by RECMA, the global evaluator of media agencies, in its qualitative assessment.
This month, RECMA (Research Company Evaluating the Media Agency Industry) announced that, based on a qualitative evaluation of media agencies in 49 countries, the Carat Global Network achieved the number one position. Furthermore, Carat South Africa also achieved the number one position in South Africa in the local qualitative ranking. Carat South Africa joined 10 markets, including USA, China and Russia, who achieved first place in their local ranking.
The study gathers the scores and profiles of 697 agencies in 49 countries, with the evaluation based on between 16 and19 criteria. The evaluation looks at Vitality – Momentum and Competitiveness, and Structure, including resource and client profile.
“It is great to work for a network that is moving forward and achieving. We are happy that our local achievements over the last few years also are able to contribute to the fantastic global network positioning,” says Carat SA MD Quinton Jones.
Moving Tactics continues growth in Gauteng
Moving Tactics, the South African digital signage solutions company, had experienced rapid growth in the Gauteng region with an increasing number of successful digital signage projects being undertaken by the company. With sectors such as Retail and Quick Service Restaurants realising the value of effective in-store digital media, their expansion into South Africa and Africa is set to continue.
With new digital signage networks consistently being secured and with the staff complement having tripled in the last few months, the need for larger premises was evident. Having had a presence in Johannesburg since 2002, Moving Tactics has recently moved into new offices in the Metropolitan Business Park located at 82 Wessels Road, Rivonia.
Chris Day, Managing Director of Moving Tactics, says, “The Johannesburg operation has traditionally had a technical focus with mainly maintenance and technical teams on staff. However, due to the increasing demand for digital signage and the positive word of mouth we continue to receive from existing clients, we’ve geared up all our divisions, including sales, design, account and content management”.
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