Media Moves… TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up. Chu Sawannapha moves to Huisgenoot and YOU. Net#work BBDO appoints new strategic planning director. InMobi appoints Shrikant Latkar as its new VP of global marketing. Three new account wins for The PR Collective. Informa Media & Telecoms reappoints Networx PR. Meropa acquires Credence Consulting. VWV experiences Clover’s ‘Way Better’ campaign. Wag the Dog and Stone Soup celebrate 10 years. Volcano Group joins ICOM+IN. All the moves in media.
Who’s moved where
Chu Sawannapha moves to Huisgenoot and YOU
Huisgenoot and YOU have announced the appointment of a new fashion director, Chu Sawannapha, to the editorial team in July 2012. Sawannapha is best known for his work at Fairlady, where he has worked since December 2004.
“We are delighted that the charming and quirky Chu will join the Huisgenoot and YOU team as fashion director. His success at Fairlady has shown that not only is he super creative but also practical and astute when it comes to dressing for every day. That is exactly the fashion promise we offer our readers each week,” says Izelle Venter, editor-in-chief of Huisgenoot, YOU and DRUM.
He has worked with publications such as Oprah, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire and says the move to Huisgenoot and YOU is a welcome challenge because the magazines have a broad, diverse readership.
“I’m so thrilled and excited to meet the new team and to start a new adventure. I can’t wait to bring my positive energy to the Huisgenoot and YOU team,” Sawannapha says.
His vision is to bring fashion that is stylish and sophisticated, modern, fresh, practical and glamorous to the pages of Huisgenoot, YOU and DRUM, as well as to show how to follow trends on a budget.
He has extensive experience in the fashion industry – he designed his own clothing line in Bangkok and was a freelance fashion designer for 10 years in Paris.
Net#work BBDO appoints new strategic planning director
Carmen Ringelmann has joined leading South African advertising agency Net#work BBDO as strategic planning director. Her strategic aptitude, tenacity and pursuit of marketing excellence has earned her the respect of top marketers internationally and she is not afraid to champion bold ideas that build the bond between brands and consumers, which often requires new ways of thinking and doing business.
Ringelmann, who has more than 20 years of brand strategy and innovation experience across all continents with leading Fortune 100 brands, has helped shape brands such as Jeep, Ford, Dodge, American Express, Pepsi, 7Up, Tropicana, Coca Cola, Pilsner Urquell, Miller and Pernod Ricard.
Ringelmann is excited to have returned to home base, to a country with such energy, dynamism and potential for fundamental and substantial growth and development. “Africa is the hot continent with great expectations for pioneering new approaches to progress, across all levels of society and industry”, Ringelmann says.
She lived and worked in New York for the last 12 years before her return to South Africa to join Net#work BBDO.
InMobi appoints Shrikant Latkar as its new VP of global marketing
Bangalore based InMobi, the largest independent mobile advertising network, has announced the appointment of Shrikant Latkar as vice president, global marketing. In his role, Latkar will lead all aspects of marketing for InMobi, aligning the marketing strategy and brand positioning to embrace a new hyper-growth phase in the rapidly evolving mobile advertising industry.
“InMobi has enjoyed rapid growth and has helped to shape the success of the mobile advertising industry as it stands today. Its ability to offer enormous global reach, combined with a unique rich media platform – Sprout, for building and delivering HTML5 rich media ads to mobile devices gives it a significant advantage over the competition. I look forward to leading InMobi’s marketing during such an exciting time in the industry,” says Latkar.
Latkar brings to InMobi over 18 years of experience in the technology industry, harnessing a wealth of knowledge, gained from global leadership roles in marketing, product management and engineering at Juniper Networks, Avaya and Lucent Technologies. Latkar joins InMobi from Aricent Group, a global innovation and technology services company, where he was responsible for marketing all products and solutions for the three strategic business units: Product Engineering Services, Carrier Services and Solutions, and frog.
Who’s won what
Three new account wins for The PR Collective
The PR Collective has added three new accounts to its growing list of clients. The Johannesburg-based company has recently been appointed as the full-service public relations agency for Jamie D Design, Gin & Chocolate and Home Comfort.
The PR Collective is quickly positioning itself as one of the most versatile PR agencies in the country – working on brands across the entertainment, lifestyle, motoring, environmental and NPO/NGO sectors.
The agency will now also be managing the public relations activity for Jamie D Design, a specialist outdoor design company with a strong, exclusive line of green products. Home Comfort, an industry-leader in energy efficiency, specialising in alternative sources of heating also signed on with The PR Collective along with Gin & Chocolate – an interior design company specialising in interior art including vinyl, wallpaper, floor, wall and exhibition installations.
Informa Media & Telecoms reappoints Networx PR
Networx PR, a communications agency specialising in the ICT, media and telecommunications sector, has been reappointed as the public relations partner for Informa Telecoms & Media’s premier event – AfricaCom 2012, A New Event for a New Era, which will take place at the CTICC between 13 -15 November 2012.
Now in its 15th year, with over 200 speakers and delegates in excess of 7 000 expected, AfricaCom 2012 will host the entire African digital ecosystem across an incredible 11 co-located events. It is the continent’s single most important event and aims to advance innovation and profitability for a digital Africa and is a must for anyone serious about operating in the digisphere.
VWV experiences Clover’s ‘Way Better’ campaign
South Africa’s award winning brand experience agency, the VWV Group, recently produced an internal communications campaign to bring to life Clover’s new “Way Better” positioning. Through the use of lively industrial theatre, the brand positioning was communicated to staff at plant level around the country.
Who’s making moves
Meropa acquires Credence Consulting, Alan Arguile re-joins the company
Meropa Communications has acquired Credence Consulting, a respected business run by former staffer Alan Arguile, who has re-joined the company with immediate effect. He remains managing director of Credence Consulting, which will become a division of Meropa. He will continue to run Credence as a stand-alone entity and will also offer his services to Meropa’s clients.
“As one of the biggest and best PR firms in the country, Meropa offers the kind of scale, skills and back-office support that will add considerable value to a niche practice such as Credence. Meropa shares my conviction that reputation is a client’s most valuable asset, and that effective reputation management requires more than a simple ‘spray and pray’ media release solution,” Arguile said.
AMASA and partner agencies confirm employment of four interns
The AMASA Learnership Programme, now in its fourth year, has confirmed the employment of four new interns selected from the AAA School of Advertising into the industry.
The Starcom MediaVest Group, The MediaShop and NotaBene will be employing students as part of AMASA’s Learnership initiative. Each new industry entrant will be mentored by their partner agencies, be remunerated and enrolled on the AAA media module and AMASA Media Planning Workshop.
“Our core focus is to attract bright young minds into the exciting world of media, and ensure that the individuals not only excel, but remain within the industry,” says AMASA chairperson, Lyn Jones. “The ALP is one avenue which allows AMASA to follow their mandate of education.”
“We extend our sincere thanks to The Starcom MediaVest Group who will be employing Lerato Tsotetsi, The MediaShop who welcomes Nonhlanhla Malobola and Thobekile Badebe, and to NotaBene who will be mentoring Wandile Luduwana,” says Jones. “It is imperative that partner agencies such as these continue to support programmes like the ALP to ensure the continued growth of our industry.”
The ALP calls to graduates who not only possess exceptional academic credentials, but outstanding potential. It offers talented graduates a unique foot into the media industry and the opportunity to be mentored by some of the most respected professionals in the industry. Simultaneously, the ALP assists in curbing the talent shortage from an agency perspective.
Volcano Group joins ICOM+IN
Volcano Group is now a member of the world’s biggest and broadest independent advertising and marketing communications network, called ICOM+IN, as two leading global indie networks join forces to form a stronger international resource for clients.
The combination of the agency members of ICOM, based in Rollinsville, Colorado (USA), and IN, co-ordinated from Paris, is creating the world’s largest independent network. ICOM+IN will have more than 100 agencies, the most number of agencies of any independent global network offering the broadest geographic coverage. The billings of the new network are expected to be US$3.5 billion with gross income exceeding US$500 million. Initially, both networks’ websites and) will reflect the changes and continue to be updated.
“Never before has anything like this been done in the world of independent agency networks,” said Patrick Walhain, president of ICOM (www.icomagencies.com). “The most important outcome of this exciting endeavor is we will have more talent and expertise in many more markets. We will be the first independent network to truly focus on serving international clients.”
Peter Jackson, Group Chief Executive Officer of Volcano Group says, “For Volcano, the combination means we can offer clients a full range of options anywhere in the world, tapping into the collective resource, creativity and intelligence shared by our network partners.
“Volcano has grown to be one of the leading South African independent agencies, and the new network will only afford us an even greater opportunity to extend our services to global brands,” adds Jackson. “
Members are expected to meet each other for the first time at regional meetings scheduled in Milano, Santa Monica and Bali in the fall.
Wag the Dog and Stone Soup celebrate 10 years
Stone Soup and Wag the Dog have celebrated a 10th birthday. “There is a lot of talk about encouraging entrepreneurship in our country,” says CEO, Sandra Gordon. “What they fail to tell you is that only one in five new businesses survive, so I am proud of our track record, growth and plans for the future.”
