Media Moves – TheMediaOnline’s weekly wrap on news about who in the media is moving where, and what companies have won which accounts.
Izelle Venter now editor-in-chief of Huisgenoot, YOU and DRUM
Media24 announced this week that Izelle Venter has been officially appointed as editor-in-chief of Huisgenoot, YOU and DRUM, as of July 1, 2011. Venter has been acting editor-in-chief since May 2011.
“To say it is a privilege to fill this position sounds like a cliché, but it’s not. I am very aware of the privilege, but also of my responsibilities. Huisgenoot, YOU and DRUM are my absolute favourite magazines and I see them as a reflection of South Africa.,” Venter said of her appointment.
“It is a huge job to entertain and inform this country’s readers and it is a challenge every week; but with a focused team and the legendary examples of those before me, I am looking forward to what is ahead.”
Venter has also been editor of Move!, TVPlus and INSIG, as well as head of the Huisgenoot and YOU Johannesburg office. She has also been publisher of Huisgenoot, YOU and DRUM.
Brand Inc grows communications, design team
Design and advertising specialists, Brand inc, has appointed Juri van Zyl as junior communications and account executive at its Johannesburg branch.
Grant Pringle has joined the Cape Town branch as trade marketing assistant to the marketing director, Goodwill Moyo.
Luke Wilhelm has joined the Brand inc team in the capacity of graphic designer.
“Luke is the first employee that we have hired without an interview. His portfolio was that good and we immediately saw similarities to our Brand inc style. He’s flying with the graphic design work given to him, with a particular focus on event theme design,” says Chris Heaton, managing director of Brand inc.
Former OgilvyAction man joins The Hardy Boys.
Why would an ambitious adman on the fast-track with a global advertising behemoth leave to join a smaller, if highly respected, Durban-based independent agency? It’s a decision Alan Bell, client service director at The Hardy Boys, admits some may find puzzling, “But only if they don’t know me or The Hardy Boys.”
Bell, formerly managing director of OgilvyAction, Durban, the South African activation arm of Ogilvy, describes himself as intensely ambitious. “I’m driven to be at the centre of things, to make an impact on a global stage. In a company the size of Ogilvy, that was never going to be easy,” Bell says.
But his decision to join The Hardy Boys, wasn’t about being a big fish in a small pond. “I need to be inspired by the people I work with, to learn something new each day. The Hardy Boys has a reputation for attracting people like that. Many of the things we were doing at Ogilvy Action, The Hardy Boys had already been doing for years. It’s also working with some exciting national and global brands. So when I was offered the opportunity to join the team I grabbed it with both hands.”
The Hardy Boys was founded in 1994 by Dale Tomlinson, its current chief executive officer, and is one of South Africa’s biggest independent agencies. Its clients include Unilever, Tedelex brands, SA Home Loans, Rainbow, Miladys, Nouwens Carpets and Spar.
