Media Moves… New ideas man for Brand Inc; marcusbrewster appoints wine fundi as account manager. Jet signs deal with Joe Public. Isilumko Media makes moves with SIMONSAYS. 365 Digital expands African footprint through partnership with Umuntu Media.
Who’s moved where
New ideas man for Brand Inc Cape Town
Andy Croly has joined the Brand Inc Cape Town team in the role of idea engineer. He is tasked with creating new marketing opportunities for existing clients as well as adding value to current marketing and advertising initiatives.
Croly has immense creative and strategic experience having previously worked as creative director for both SuperSport and ComutaNet.
“With Andy onboard, the Brand Inc Creative Group will be able to generate new and immediate ideas to help further develop our clients brands,” says marketing director, Goodwill Moyo. “We like to think of ourselves as being able to deliver more than what most agencies achieve on a day-to-day basis, and we pride ourselves in the fact that we always go that extra mile to give our clients more than what they ask of us, so Andy joining our team adds to that collective concept.”
Croly worked in the marketing department looking after all of SuperSport’s promos and on-air imagery, and handling 26 channels for South Africa and Africa. At ComutaNet, his pro-active business approach saw ComutaNet create customised commercials and advertising funded programming for their clients.
“It’s this very kind of thinking and approach to business that made us see the value in Andy. His significance within the business is key to the substantial growth we have planned for Brand Inc in 2012,” adds Goodwill. “In addition Andy will look out for fresh opportunities to expand the Cape Town branch.”
New account manager appointed at marcusbrewster
Jeanri-Tine van Zyl has been appointed as account manager at PR firm marcusbrewster. Formerly the web editor and staff journalist for Wine magazine until the title’s closure late last year, Van Zyl was a freelance writer, translator and social media worker before accepting the post at marcusbrewster’s Cape Town head office.
Van Zyl has a BA (Media Studies) from the University of the Free State, a B.Phil Honours (Journalism) from the University of Stellenbosch and a M.Scs. (International Relations) from Cape Town University.
“Jeanri-Tine is what is known in the business as a triple threat,” says the firm’s chairman, Marcus Brewster. “She not only writes, but she is able to engage with media with an insider’s edge. Finally, with the depth of her post-graduate work in international relations, she brings strategic insight to matters of reputation management.”
In her spare time, Van Zyl is a member of the South African chapter of the Commanderie de Bordeaux, a qualified wine judge acting on various tasting panels and also blogs on her private online portal called Ruby Tuesdays.
Ogilvy PR signs Jessica Knight as account director
Ogilvy PR has made another addition to its highly skilled team of PR professionals. Jessica Knight has been appointed as account director looking after a dynamic team, which boasts clients like Castle Lager, Ford SA and Peroni.
Before joining Ogilvy PR, Knight was Public Relations, Event and New Business Acquisition Manager for Sanctuary Group. She worked on clients that included Red Carnation Group, Rani Resorts, Saxon, Moya, Design Indaba and Jaguar. During her time at Sanctuary, Rani’s Indigo Bay was awarded Leading Spas of the World by Condé Nast Traveler as a direct result of a relationship developed with international editors.
Prior to her time at Sanctuary she worked as Brand Manager before being promoted to New Business Development Manager for NXT with Caxton and SuperSport as her major clients.
Frank van Rooijen for Trinergy
Trinergy Brand Connectors welcomes aboard Frank van Rooijen as Creative Director. Van Rooijen has come through the ranks of SA”s best agencies, including The Jupiter Drawing Room and Ogilvy. He joined Trinergy because “we believe in pulling audiences instead of just pushing communication”.
New Faces at Brand Inc Johannesburg and Durban branches
Samantha Ford has joined Brand Inc in Johannesburg in the capacity of junior graphic designer and Charity Maphosa as their front of house receptionist and PA to all directors.
Designer Luke Wilhelm, who started out at the Johannesburg branch, has since relocated to Brand inc Durban in the capacity of senior graphic designer, where he will be tasked with all creative around the Unilever account alongside all other Durban based clients too.
Who’s won what
Jet appoints Joe Public as new advertising agency
Jet has announced the appointment of Joe Public as its new above-the-line communications partner. A leading family clothing retailer, Jet is the flagship brand within southern Africa’s clothing, footwear and textiles group, Edcon, and has more than 400 stores across South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland and Zambia.
Following a rigorous selection process, the account – which also includes the JetMart portfolio – was awarded to Joe Public, a medium-sized, dynamic agency started in 1998. The agency has received numerous creative awards recently for its work on brands such as Clover, Tracker and Nike.
Acknowledging and thanking its previous agency, The Jupiter Drawing Room in Johannesburg for over 14 years of dedicated service, Jet looks forward to joining forces with the team at Joe Public and anticipates exciting growth prospects and creative solutions for the Jet and JetMart brands.
SIMONSAYS signs Isilumko Media
Below-the-line activations and experiential media company, Isilumko Media, powered by Studentwise, have appointed SIMONSAYS communications to handle its ongoing public relations portfolio. Focused on providing its clients with superior one-on-one interactions between the brand and the consumer, Isilumko Media prides itself on its ability to bring any brand to life.
The PR appointment is effective February 2012 and the campaign will focus on developing the Isilumko Media public image within South Africa and profiling its operational capabilities, campaign successes and differentiation strategy.
“Isilumko Media is an exciting win for us and we are looking forward to working with this dynamic company.,” says SIMONSAYS communications MD, Melanie Stevens. “With over two decades in the industry Isilumko Media has already built up a strong presence and we intend to develop this even further by aligning and exposing the brand to opportunities that will enhance its reputation and sound market position.”
Isilumko Media has a BBBEE rating and a diverse set of clients that include major players from the financial services, FMCG, retail, medical/pharmaceutical, technology and liquor industries.
Talk2Us expands exclusive Reseller Agreement to rest of Africa
Talk2Us has expanded its exclusive reseller agreement for SnapComms to cover the whole of Africa. Digital brand management tools – such as screensaver messages, desktop newsfeeds and staff quizzes – are in high demand across the continent, and Talk2Us is now able to offer them to all African nations.
In November 2011, the company negotiated an exclusive deal to offer internal digital brand management tools – such as screensaver messages, desktop newsfeeds and staff quizzes – to southern African and the Islands. Due to an unprecedented demand for the offering by leading blue-chip national and multinational organisations, and an influx of queries from across Africa, a geographical extension was signed.
The SnapComms internal communications software was created in 2002, seeking better ways to communicate to employees. Since then, it has developed into a full suite of tools designed to overcome challenges faced by internal communicators in medium and large organisations. SnapComms solutions are currently being used in some of the world’s largest multinationals, including Vodafone, Time Warner, Netcare, BP, Hewlett Packard, Ericsson, Commercial Bank of Africa, KPMG Russia, South Africa Broadcasting Corporation, Cisco, and others.
Fetch Medical is Lime Envelope’s latest signing
Johannesburg PR agency, The Lime Envelope, has been appointed by Fetch Medical to manage the launch and brand evolution of the company’s My Omega 3 Index through a comprehensive PR and communication campaign.
According to The Heart and Stroke Foundation in South Africa, 17.1 million people die globally every year from heart disease and stroke, with 33 heart attacks and 37 heart failures occurring daily in South Africa alone. For the first time in South Africa, an affordable ‘Fatty Acid Profile’ test kit is available through your health practitioner or online at www.myomega.co.za.
Who’s making moves
365 Digital expands African footprint through partnership with Umuntu Media
Umuntu Media (https://www.umuntumedia.com/) and 365 Digital Publishing (https://365digital.info/), a division of Primedia Online (Pty) Ltd, have signed an agreement in which 365 Digital will handle all media sales for all of Umuntu Media’s online content portals.
Under the agreement, 365 Digital’s sales team, Dash of Lime, will be responsible for all media sales for Umuntu iportals across Africa. Through the partnership, Umuntu will be able to draw on the considerable resources of an established sales base. In turn, 365 Digital can expand its base beyond South Africa’s borders to the rest of Africa.
Umuntu Media — which recently received a USD1m investment from eVentures Africa Fund — currently has four live portals and will be launching two more by the end of January. iZimbabwe, iZambia, iNamibia and iBotswana are fast gaining traction as the most popular sources of local content in those countries. iAngola and iMozambique are the next two additions, and Umuntu is looking to expand into more African markets by the end of April this year.
Tanja Lategan of 365 Digital says: “We are very pleased that we are able to support Umuntu Media, which we have admired for its innovation and ambition. We can use its reach and influence across Africa to tap into the vast market beyond South Africa’s borders, placing us in a prime position to drive digital uptake and digital advertising across the continent.”
NXT\ Digital Innovation updates the look and feel of NXT\SMS
Easy to navigate and designed with the end user in mind, NXT\ Digital Innovation has given its NXT\SMS platform a fresh new look. When it comes to mobile messaging, NXT\ Digital Innovation understands that the very familiar SMS is still king. Despite the rapid growth of other mobile communications channels such as mobile email, mobile web applications, multimedia messaging (MMS) and mobile social networking, including Facebook and Twitter, consumers still love to send and receive an SMS.
With this in mind, NXT\ has announced the launch of its newly revamped NXT\SMS.com bulk SMS portal, which features improved navigation, reporting, managing of recipient address books, sending of SMS messages, managing of replies and several new bulk SMS applications. The new portal will continue to function as a central messaging hub that allows users to create customised two-way communication with their customers/clients/consumers via a bulk SMS service. What really sets this platform apart is that it allows users to customise messages for individual recipients – but still distribute them as part of a bulk SMS.
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