The Media Online’s weekly round up of moves in media. Spree App is Apple ‘App of the Day’. 24.com and The SpaceStation tee-up for the future. Buckland to Focus on Burn Media. MTN Group commits to creating 1000 jobs in support of the YES initiative. Relativ Media brings much needed aid to local community. IAS to represent South Africa at the annual AdForum Worldwide Summit in New York.A step closer to the implementation of the journalism occupational qualification. A New logo for the Rugby Africa Gold Cup
This week’s BIG move: SA fashion ecommerce first – Spree App is Apple ‘App of the Day’
In a first for fashion ecommerce in South Africa, a team of editors at Apple has selected the Spree App as App of the Day. Being featured as one of the best apps available by the App store team, is a proud achievement for an in-house team that constantly strives to provide their customers with the best experience possible.
App of the Day status is awarded by a team of editors from Apple who pick an iOS app and game to showcase daily.
Leading the way with innovative features such as the recently launched #SpreeGallery – a social shopping hub where customers share images of themselves wearing products bought on the site – Spree’s mobile app-first approach is clearly paying off.
Orders placed via the app have grown by 70% YOY (Jan – Mar ’17 vs Jan – Mar ’18), and in 2017 Spree won the CXA Digital Innovator Award for the first image search shopping feature in Africa.
Speaking about the App of the Day inclusion, Sven Schoof, Spree’s Head of Customer Experience, says, “We are thrilled to have been selected as Apple’s ‘App of the Day’ and even more proud that all our in-house team work has paid off by receiving this accolade. We’re always striving to optimise the shopping experience for our customers, and it’s great to see that Apple has recognised this.”
People moves
CEO Changes at Kagiso Media
Mark Harris, Group Chief Executive Officer of Kagiso Media, has resigned from his role to pursue new opportunities. Rob Abraham has been appointed as the interim CEO of Kagiso Media. Abraham returns from retirement having previously served as CEO of Bytes Technology Group (“Bytes”) for five years. He spent 17 years at Bytes and retired two years ago. Historically, Abraham worked closely with KTH’s management team during KTH’s investment tenure in Bytes.
Kagiso Media is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kagiso Tiso Holdings (“KTH”) and is one of the largest black-owned media companies in South Africa, with primary assets including Jacaranda FM, East Coast Radio, Urban Brew Studios and Juta.
Mbonisi Danisa, the chairman of the Kagiso Media Board commented, “On behalf of the Board of Directors we, would like to thank Mark for his commitment and dedication to the company. We wish Mark everything of the best in all his future endeavors”
Abraham commented, “I am excited by this opportunity and am certainly looking forward to working with the Kagiso Media executive team, the Board and over 900 colleagues across the Kagiso Media group.”
24.com and The SpaceStation tee-up for the future; Goosen and Beukes make major moves
With an ever-changing digital landscape continuing to evolve at a rapid pace in South Africa, 24.com has made some strategic changes to its organisational structure , integrating its sales division, The SpaceStation, with its publishing business unit, and establishing a new commercial unit focusing on data-driven sales technology.
“We ensure clarity of focus and faster turn-around times for clients by integrating the full value chain of our market-leading publishing division into one business unit, and we establish a data-driven commercial unit that will take our current abilities to segment audiences and deliver targeted advertising campaigns to the next level,” said Andreij Horn, CEO of 24.com.
Gustav Goosen, who has been head of The SpaceStation since 2013, has been appointed as head of Conversion Science in a newly created division called 24.com AI. This new team brings together a team of highly skilled data scientists and engineers, specialised in machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) with the specific mandate to extend the data-driven engineering competencies 24.com has developed to improve reader engagement, to commercial conversion.
The SpaceStation will now report into the publishing division under the leadership of Charlene Beukes, and with nearly three decades in the Media24 group, Beukes is perfectly poised to take over the leadership of the sales and support teams at The SpaceStation. This alignment brings the sales, business management, operations and publishing teams much closer together to deliver an enhanced and streamlined service to clients and agencies.
The sales divisions at The SpaceStation have also realigned to create regional structures. Craig Nicholson and Gavin Ruiters will each take responsibility as sales directors for their North and South regions respectively.
Management changes at Creative Spark, Buckland to focus on Burn Media
Digital Agency Creative Spark has announced management changes at the company, with its founder, Matthew Buckland, moving from his chief executive position to focus on news and media outlet, Burn Media.
Tanja Lategan, managing director of Creative Spark, expressed support for this move. “While myself and the Creative Spark team are incredibly sad to see Matt move on to other projects, we are supportive of him chasing his passions. We wish him nothing but the best on this new and exciting chapter of his journey, and as we ourselves look to the future of Creative Spark, we’re excited to forge our way forward and continue down our path of success.”
Burn Media is an online publishing business which includes brands like memeburn.com, ventureburn.com, gearburn.com, and motorburn.com. The sites report on digital trends and disruption, delving into the incredible rise of entrepreneurship, startups, and venture capital in South Africa and Africa.
Acquired by the M&C Saatchi Group in 2015, Creative Spark is a Johannesburg and Cape Town-based specialist digital agency partnering with clients Kimberly-Clark, EOH, and Gautrain. More recently, the agency has been appointed the digital transformation partner for Medscheme and full-service digital agency for the Danone stable of brands which includes NutriDay, Ultramel, and Yogi Sip.
In addition to his new focus on Burn Media, Buckland will continue to consult for Creative Spark on some of its key clients.
Massiv move for Faith Mangope
Faith Mangope, e.tv’s Sunrise anchor, entrepreneur and radio personality, has taken on a new challenge – managing a one-of-a-kind hybrid radio station, Massiv Metro, which celebrates its first anniversary in May with version two of the Massiv Metro app, along with a vibrant new lineup.
Dynamic and driven, in 2014 Mangope described herself as “a broadcaster, a businesswoman, and a world-changer” in her address to introduce President Barack Obama at a Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders programme event.
She joined Massiv Metro as senior producer in May 2017, was soon promoted to head of programming, and this year to station manager. She is an achiever and is well equipped for the task of managing the innovative Massiv Metro radio station that will be “the biggest radio station in South Africa” in the not too distant future, she said.
Massiv Metro is a hybrid online and terrestrial radio station that reaches 672 000 listeners per six-day week, streaming live in eight Johannesburg taxi ranks and 800 taxis and online at www.massivmetro.com. Massiv Metro is the brainchild of DJ Sbu and Massiv Media.
Financial PIanning Institute appoints Zukisa Nduneni as board member
The Financial PIanning Institute of Southern Africa (FPI) Board of Directors has announced Zukisa Nduneni as the newly appointed non-executive director for consumer affairs on its board.
The decision to appoint Nduneni ensures that a strong voice is well represented at the highest levels of decision making of FPI, as we work on building a profession of financial planning that helps improve the lives of all South Africans. Nduneni has over 17 years’ experience in marketing communications, strategy and relationship management, 10 of which have been at senior and executive management levels in both private and public sectors.
She served as a regional head for communication and stakeholder relations at Correctional Services, senior manager in communication at the Eastern Cape Legislature, regional head in economic affairs at the Department of Environment and Economic Development, general manager for stakeholder relations at the Road Accident Fund responsible for developing and implementing the Fund strategies on marketing, media liaison, communication and stakeholder relations. She is currently the senior executive for Road Traffic Infringement Agency.
Business moves
MTN Group commits to creating 1000 jobs in support of the YES initiative
MTN Group has confirmed its support of the Youth Employment Service (YES) and has committed to the creation of 1000 jobs within the first year of the initiative.
In March, President Cyril Ramaphosa launched YES, a business-led collaboration with government and labour which aims to empower one million young South Africans by offering paid quality work opportunities over the next few years.
MTN will be creating the 1000 jobs across its South African business and Group head office, covering both operational and functional roles.
“YES is an innovative social partnership that has the potential to be a significant catalyst for economic growth and development,” said MTN Group President and CEO, Rob Shuter.
“MTN loves fresh and bold solutions and that’s what YES is bringing to South Africa’s unemployment crisis. We’re proud to be a supporter of the YES programme and look forward to welcoming more companies to the YES Team so that together, we can drive sustainable change for the unemployed youth of our country,” Shuter says.
Meltwater acquires leading social analytics company Sysomos
Meltwater, a pioneer of media intelligence and now Outside Insight, has acquired Sysomos, a leader in social analytics and engagement. he addition of Sysomos to Meltwater enables organisations to analyse social media, news and other human-generated content in one platform, furthering Meltwater’s mission to give businesses the insights from outside data, helping them stay ahead.
“All the social analytics companies look at social data in isolation, limiting the insights for brands and businesses,” said Jorn Lyseggen, founder and CEO of Meltwater. “With our acquisition of Sysomos, we can bring together news and social media under one company, giving social data context while adding social engagement to our news and media monitoring offering.”
For the PR and communications teams who engage with influencers over social media, Meltwater’s existing Media Intelligence division will now offer integrated news monitoring and social engagement. Under Meltwater, Sysomos will become the Social Analytics division with a focus on delivering timely and relevant insights to brands and marketing teams. Both divisions support Meltwater’s mission to give businesses insights from external data.
The Sysomos acquisition is Meltwater’s seventh in the last 18 months.
IAS to represent South Africa at the annual AdForum Worldwide Summit in New York.
The 2018 AdForum Summit, held biannually in selected cities across the globe, is featuring Johanna McDowell and the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) as part of an exclusive, captive audience of search consultants.
The 2018 AdForum summit is taking place in New York between 23-27 April 2018, providing Johanna McDowell and the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) with the opportunity to assess and forecast global advertising industry trends; and, with up-to-date information constantly being exchanged, an exclusive forum to share ideas, challenges and opportunities.
“The main reason we accept the invitation to attend is to ensure that the IAS continues to be at the forefront of global issues and trends facing the advertising and communication industry and the complex world of agency selection. AdForum offers us the chance to discuss the future of the marketing communications industry. This will be especially important this year with the rapid growth of alternative communication partners and management consultants with whom marketers are starting to engage,” said Johanna McDowell.
News Services Group officially announces the rebranding of ME NewsWire to AETOSWire“
News Services Group (NSG) officially announces the rebranding of its news distribution arm ME NewsWire to AETOSWire.
Tony AbiHanna, President and CEO of NSG, AETOSWire and Esmaa News, explained the reason behind this timely move: “In 10 years, we have grown exponentially as a company. Middle East (ME) NewsWire as a name no longer encompasses the real essence and depth of our services. Hence, we handpicked a new brand name that we believe reflects who we are now and will continue to embody us in the future.”
The name AETOS captures the heart and soul of the company’s services. It’s derived from Greek Mythology, AETOS DIOS, which translates to “The Eagle of Zeus.”
AETOS is the Giant, Trusted, Loyal, Fast and Personal Messenger of Zeus, the very same characteristics that the company brings to its valued and esteemed clientele.
Today, AETOSWire has the largest and most extensive media outreach in Middle East and Africa (MEA). Being the news distribution arm of NSG, the exclusive representative of Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, in the MENA region, gives it direct and unequalled access to the newsrooms of the most eminent news agencies and media outlets across the globe.
Making moves
Relativ Media brings much needed aid to local community
Out of Home specialists Relativ Media has recently made several charitable donations to causes in need:
Women of Vision: As a part of Relativ Media’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme, the company donated a brand new Suzuki Super vehicle to Woman Vision, a non-profit organisation that addresses high levels of gangsterism, violence and substance abuse within the local and surrounding community.
Woodrock Foundation: Earlier in the year, Relativ Media donated 20 blankets and 30 towels to the Woodrock Foundation, who provide valuable assistance to neglected and unwanted animals. The foundation began in 1992 by Nicholas Estelle and is heavily involved within the local community by providing education relating to the humane treatment of animals. The foundation also feeds, spays and neuters animals in the community where necessary, and provides blankets and kennels where possible.
Celebrating Life: In February, Celebrating Life; a formal affair where guests were given the opportunity to give back, to converse and interact with a range of South Africa’s finest ambassadors for a great cause, was held at the Rand Club and attended by over 200 guests.
The event was inspired by the realisation by the Tucker Family that life is short and needs to be celebrated every day. Celebrating Life was held in partnership with the Rand Club. Founded in 1887 the magnificent clubhouse was the perfect venue for friends, family and loved ones to celebrate life. Some of the local legends attending the event included James Small, Mpumelo “Pommie” Mbangwa and guest speakers John Robbie and Joel Stranksy.
A New logo for the Rugby Africa Gold Cup
On 16 June 2018, Rugby Africa will welcome African fans to the first matches of the 2018 Rugby Africa Gold Cup. The defending champion, Namibia, will face Uganda at home while Zimbabwe, led by their new coach and former Springbok star, Peter De Villiers, will play the Moroccan challengers.
To mark the start of this countdown, Rugby Africa is officially unveiling the new competition logo. Rugby Africa’s managing director, Coralie van den Berg, said, “Promoting our events with a new branding identity is a logical step forward as we evolve. We now have seven international competitions that are widely acknowledged in the sporting world. Our objective was to create a strong visual identity to reflect the dynamism and passion of the African rugby fans: On that front, I think our initiative is a big success!”
A step closer to the implementation of the journalism occupational qualification
The South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) in partnership with frayintermedia oversaw the first workshop aimed at developing the assessments for the new journalism occupational qualification.
The two-day workshop brought together 20 seasoned journalists, media experts and journalism trainers to contribute to the development of the national assessment standards. The process is funded by the Fibre Processing and Manufacturing (FP&M) Seta and quality assured by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO).
“I am pleased with the level of participation so far. We are inviting experienced media practitioners and editors to attend upcoming meetings and contribute based on their experience. It is only in consultation with practitioners that the skills gaps in our newsrooms can be addressed.” says Tshamano Makhadi, Chairperson of SANEF’s Education and Training Sub-committee.
The workshop follows the official registration of the journalist occupational qualification with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). The new journalism qualification takes the fundamental journalism skills needed in modern newsroom environment to produce a qualification that meets the needs of the sector.
The qualification is at NQF level 5 and 6 and is aimed at entry-level journalists, school-leavers who wish to pursue a career in journalism, graduates who lack newsroom experience or experienced journalists working in converged newsrooms. It will enable journalists to create stories for radio, television, print and on-line using text, video, still images and sound. Part of the learning process will include work based skills development, during which learners will be placed in newsrooms to gain real-life experience.
SANEF calls industry experts including senior journalists, news editors and media trainers to participate in future workshops and meetings during the course of 2018 and help define and uphold standards for journalism education. The FP&M Seta also urges the industry to take advantage of this opportunity to contribute.
By the end of the year, SANEF will have a complete package with learners’ study guide and workbook, a facilitator guide, national external integrated summative assessment (EISA) tools and a registered learnership.
AfricArena announces 2018 World Tour to introduce top startup talent to global investors
AfricArena, in partnership with Wesgro & Silicon Cape, revealed they will be hosting the AfricArena 2018 International Africa Tech Conference for a second consecutive year with their first ever World Tour scheduled for May.
The announcement came at an official press conference hosted at the InvestSA One-Stop Shop in Cape Town hosted by Wesgro. Proceedings included a panel discussion on how to successfully do business in Africa.
“On the back of a highly successful first edition of AfricArena with over US$2 million in deal impact and much more in commitments, we have decided to double down on our investment and exponentially increase our impact. This year AfricArena will be expanding its pan-African footprint to find the best startups of the continent. We will also be taking some of the winners of the AfricArena 2017 challenges on an investor roadshow in Paris and New York. With a fully open collaboration model bringing an increasing number of sponsors and ecosystem partners, AfricArena is committed to its mission to accelerating the African Tech ecosystems,” saidChristophe Viarnaud, founder of AfricArena and CEO of the international digital firm Methys.
Kicking off their 2018 journey in May, the AfricArena team will visit 6 of the fastest growing African tech cities including: Mauritius, Reunion Island, Nairobi, Casablanca, Lagos and Dakar. Whilst in-country a ‘pitch battle’ will be held – giving each startup the opportunity to present their product or idea as a digital clock counts down 3 minutes.
Notices
Entries are now open for the FAIRLADY Santam WOMEN OF THE FUTURE 2018 Awards
FAIRLADY and Santam are once again calling for female entrepreneurs: three amazing women who have taken the leap to work for themselves and are now creating opportunities for others – and boosting our economy!
“South African women are such an impressive bunch – each year I’m blown away by what our entrants have achieved, and not only in “traditional” female businesses like design and PR. They’ve done everything – from starting giant construction firms to filling transport gaps with innovative ideas and a whole host of other genius businesses along the way. They are amazing,” says FAIRLADY editor Suzy Brokensha.
The FAIRLADY Santam Woman of the Future 2018 award goes to an entrepreneur, 30 years of age or older, who has overcome the challenges of the first three (3) years as an entrepreneur and made it beyond 1 000 days in business. The prize comprises R50 000 cash, an invaluable mentorship session with one of the judges, an Issey Miyake fragrance hamper worth R6 990, an IMM Graduate School short course worth R15 000, a Michel Herbelin watch worth R10 500, a Karissa Biz Bailhandle and Spinner from Samsonite worth R7 298, a Madrid ladies handbag and purse from Jekyll & Hyde valued at R4 799, a Cross pen worth R2 500 and one media training session.
“There’s a new optimism in South Africa, but at FAIRLADY we have always been optimistic. We’re all about the future, and we believe in the extraordinary power of women to create the future we want for ourselves and our children in this country. We award success, but we also award potential (the Rising Star award). This year I’m delighted to say we’re also including the social entrepreneurs who are using their businesses to contribute to their communities,” said Brokensha.
Entry forms and terms & conditions are available on www.womenofthefuture.co.za. Entries close on 8 June 2018.
The general public can now nominate a female entrepreneur for entry into the Woman of the Future, Rising Star or Social Entrepreneur Awards. Nomination forms can be found on https://www.womenofthefuture.co.za/nominate-now/