Media Moves… TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up. MA(SA) searching for new board of directors. A mother city win for Avusa Media. DMMA PR awarded to Positive Dialogue Communications; MetropolitanRepublic Uganda on a winning streak; Snapplify signs largest Arabic e-book publishing house; Notching up the wins at GGi; NXT\ appointed to take well-known household brands into the digital marketplace; DMMA and PMSA to collaborate; VWV Appointed to Produce Bavaria Conference in Colombia.
This week’s BIG move: MA(SA) searching for new board
The 2012 Annual General Meeting of members of The Marketing Association of South Africa [MA(SA)] is being held in July, and the organisation is looking for a new board of directors.
“Senior corporates in the following sectors would help a lot: retail, media, motoring, manufacturing and liquor,” says outgoing executive director, Sarel du Plessis. “They get assigned to one of the board sub-committees and are required to bring their knowledge and experience to assist members through these committees.
“Most board members are also asked to represent MA(SA) on industry boards such as SAARF, ASA, etc. There are four board meetings annually (in Randburg) and they are elected for a period of three years. Not retired, we want active CMO’s who will bring value.”
MA(SA) supports the concept of self-regulation, independent and credible research, professional marketing practices and is actively involved in influencing national policy, legislation and strategy on marketing and related business issues.
The Association promotes professional and ethical practices both in organisations as well as for individuals, for example through the Chartered Marketer and Marketing Practitioner designations.
The formal AGM agenda includes a feedback report by the chairman, Brenda Koornneef, as well as the outgoing executive director (Sarel du Plessis, and the election of directors to vacancies. During the AGM a new chairman and deputy chairman will also be elected. Questions that are submitted to the Association in writing by Friday 29 June will also be addressed.
Queries regarding the AGM can be obtained from the Association by e-mailing info@marketingsa.co.za. It is essential to RSVP and by no later than Friday 29 June, by mailing Bonny Benadé at: info@marketingsa.co.za
The AGM will be held at The Bryanston Country Club, No 63 Bryanston Drive, Bryanston on Wednesday, 18 July 2012 at 3pm.
Who’s moved where
A mother city win for Avusa Media
Avusa Media has announced the promotion of Janine Bywater as the new regional sales manager for the Western Cape. With a career in media sales which started in 1981, Bywater brings a wealth of experience to this top management position, offering further benefit to advertisers in the Sunday Times, The Times, Sowetan and Sunday World. Bywater will be based at Avusa Media’s offices in Cape Town.
“Janine’s experience and expertise at the ‘frontlines’ of advertising sales within the group makes her the ideal person to manage the team, and drive advertising sales within the Western Cape. We remain very proud to have her onboard”, says Trevor Ormerod, general manager of advertising sales and strategic communications, Avusa Media.
Before joining Avusa Media in 2006 as a business manager, Bywater was the national sales manager for Associated Magazines, responsible for the advertising revenues of top glossies Cosmopolitan, Femina, House & Leisure, and Brides & Homes.
Who’s won what
DMMA PR and social media campaign awarded to Positive Dialogue Communications
Positive Dialogue Communications, a specialist PR and social media consultancy based in Cape Town, has been awarded a prestigious new client campaign, The Digital Media and Marketing Association (DMMA- formerly the OPA).
“Our goal is to develop and share knowledge, foster a member driven association and enhance and empower a fresh generation of media and marketing thinkers as the industry transforms to digital,” explains Suzanne Little, DMMA head of marketing and head of social media at Quirk. “Positive Dialogue will assist us in managing the roll-out of this campaign.”
Tracy Jones, MD of Positive Dialogue, attributes this client gain to the consultancy’s multi-pronged strategy, which sets it apart from other PR agencies. “Our clients benefit from a cross-fertilisation approach which incorporates the effective use of social media platforms and traditional PR in order to achieve optimum results.”
MetropolitanRepublic Uganda on a winning streak
MetropolitanRepublic Uganda last week announced that they have won the PR and media relations for search engine giant Google, starting in Uganda with the potential to handle Rwanda and South Sudan operations once these are up and running.
Having pitched against some of the best and most established agencies in Uganda, this was a significant win for MetropolitanRepublic as Google has a history of using advertising agency groups globally for their work.
Uganda Health Marketing Group (UHMG), a USAID sponsored company and biggest social marketing organisation in Uganda, have also been added into the fold. UHMG promotes behavioral change around AIDS, malaria and family planning. The agency will be responsible for their full marketing communications function.
“These wins are really meaningful to MetropolitanRepublic as we are such a new agency in the country. We might be young but we have years of combined experience. The agency has demonstrated a combination of hunger, experience, culture and strategic ability –mixed with solid creative and an insightful approach to clients business,” says Alex Rukundo MD MetropolitanRepublic Uganda
Snapplify signs largest Arabic e-book publishing house
Snapplify, a publishing engine for mobile platforms that became Africa’s biggest mobile app developer in just a year since inception, cemented its global standing when it signed Kotobarabia – the first mobile e-book store that specialises in Arabic content.
“Snapplify has actually been very active on the global book publishing scene with the recent Frankfurt and London Book Fairs,” says Wesley Lynch, CEO. “We have also recently signed Ka Boom Studios, the creators of the Peanuts comic strip, and set up a London office to better manage local content deals and support.
“But it was only when we got the attention of Kotobarabia that it really sank in: we’re now multi-cultural and multi-lingual as well as multinational, and the possibilities are even greater than with English. As gratifying as this is for Snapplify, it is also enormously valuable to content owners in emerging markets, and their readers – domestic as well as expatriates, he says.
“Emerging markets, due to the high preponderance of non-English-speaking cultures, cannot easily distribute their content on the mobile platform, as international standards like EPUB, used in iBooks, do not support many “foreign” languages. As a result, there are large untapped markets in Arabic speaking communities, India etc.”
Notching up the wins at GGi
Not even 100 days into her new position as MD of GGi (@GGiCmns), Keri-Ann Stanton has been on an account win rampage to boost the consumer and corporate teams. The account wins include both retainer and bespoke project work for Collect-a-Can, ABI, Kapsch, QRent, Great Stock, Communispace, Cims and Sunrise Express.
“There is a good mix of corporate and consumer wins,” says Stanton “As well as a challenging global account and some good B2B opportunities. We have also re-strategised the consultancy into new divisions and are just a few weeks away from launching an exciting Africa offering.”
Belinda Belseck, aka Marie Straub, has also joined GGi as account director cnsumer, bringing a wealth of writing, social media and general crazy experience to the table.
“GGi celebrates its 30th anniversary next year AND we have a level 2 BEE rating,” says Stanton, “So we are gearing up for an explosive 2013, never mind 2012.”
NXT\ appointed to take well-known household brands into the digital marketplace
Following the successful execution of Reckitt Benckiser’s recent digital marketing campaigns for its Vanish and Dettol brands, NXT\ Digital Innovation has been given the opportunity to cuts its teeth in new areas of the company’s best known brands.
After building a firm reputation with the organisation over last year, NXT\ was an obvious appointment. As one of two digital agencies commissioned by the company to develop and build the presence of its brands in the digital space, NXT\ will be taking the digital lead on the Strepsils, Mortein, Clearasil, Mr. Min, Harpic, Cobra, Disprin and Transact brands.
VWV Appointed to Produce Bavaria Conference in Colombia
South Africa’s award winning brand experience agency, the VWV Group, recently flexed its global muscle when it was appointed to produce the Bavaria commercial sales conference in Colombia. Bavaria is an SABMiller subsidiary and the biggest single contributor to profits in the SABMiller global empire.
The conference, held entirely in Spanish, was themed ‘Vamos’ or ‘Let’s Go’, and VWV was responsible for producing and directing the strategic messaging, including 19 different brand presentations. The two day event was held at the Las Americas Hotel, in the beachside resort of Cartagna, catering for 1 380 delegates from all corners of Colombia.
The chairman of the VWV Group, Mark Steinhobel explained, “There were huge challenges involved in producing this conference. Firstly, working on an event in a foreign country is never easy, and then working in a country that isn’t English speaking just adds more stress to the situation.” The other challenge VWV faced was that it was held miles away from any resources and all the equipment required to pull the event together needed to be transported in.
Who’s making moves
DMMA and PMSA to collaborate
The Digital Media and Marketing Association (DMMA) and Print Media South Africa (PMSA) have announced that they will be collaborating on several key areas of mutual interest and importance.
DMMA and PMSA have agreed to investigate and collaborate on specific issues pertinent to both bodies, based on several interdependencies that they have identified.
“After numerous discussions it became clear that there are definitely synergies between the two of us,” explains Jarred Cinman, DMMA deputy chairperson and chief inventor at Native Digital Agency. “It is vital that we work together to understand the challenges our industries face and establish areas of common interest. Upon doing so, we can effectively utilise the resources we have available to tackle these challenges together and thus encourage the growth and development of both print and digital media in South Africa.”
The key focus areas between the DMMA and the PMSA include:
· Transformation: Ingrid Louw will be representing the interests of the PMSA on the DMMA Transformation Sub-Committee, a division of the DMMA which aims to accelerate the growth of the digital landscape through various education initiatives.
· Regulatory: Following the Press Freedom Commission report on Press regulation in South Africa, the DMMA will also be included in an upcoming round table discussion with the Press Council/Press Ombudsman, SANEF and the PMSA, to ensure the representation of digital publishers’ interests. The DMMA will collaborate with the PMSA in representing the media industry to the Parliamentary Committee.
· Awards: The DMMA has agreed to assist the PMSA in developing new categories as part of their annual Awards to acknowledge key achievements within the digital space, specifically within publishing categories. This will run parallel to the DMMA’s own Bookmarks Awards that aim to recognise and reward significant contributions towards the digital industry.
“The key focus areas as identified above are a good starting point, but we expect to discover many more shared interests as our partnership grows,” says Louw. “The collaboration between both print and digital industries will ensure the development, survival and success of both.”
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