Media Moves… TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up. Ads24 realigns senior managers. Woman editor in Automobil driver’s seat. DJ Phat Joe bids farewell to Heart 104.9FM Breakfast Show. Leadership editor, Robbie Stammers, is off on new travels. OFyt appoints prominent SA business leaders to its employee trust. Taweni Gondwe Xaba appointed to John Brown Media board. Aqua appoints General Manager. Central Media looks for marketing manage. Columinate wins DMMA premier research project. November 1 wins Timberland summer campaign. SASOL partners with KAELO. CONTENTUM launches. All the moves in media.
Who’s moved where
This week’s BIG move: Ads24 realigns senior managers
Ads24, the national advertising sales and marketing division of Media24 newspapers and their branded digital properties, has announced a realignment of significant executive personnel, in the disciplines of sales, marketing and business strategy.
Inland sales drector, Louise Birkner moves to national sales director and, Vimla Frank heads up marketing and business strategy. Karen Dyke will specialise in strategy and insights.
“Ads24 is fortunate to have available the talents of multi-faceted staff members. These three women could fill a number of portfolios with marked success, but we have elected to let them use their top skills in the most purposeful and dedicated way. I am confident that they will add even more value to our company and that the fruits of their labours will be passed on to our clients in even more meaningful ways,” says CEO, Linda Gibson.
Birkner was initially appointed as inland sales director in July this year and now brings her savvy and excellent sales skills to bear as national sales director. Vimla Frank’s industry experience includes executive positions in sales and marketing at SABC, Multichoice Africa and Worldspace Satellite Radio. Apart from her extensive print media experience, specifically in newspapers, Karen Dyke can count more than 25 years’ overall experience in the media industry, largely in media strategy – and she has developed rare skills.
“In an industry where talent and skills are quite scarce, we have been lucky enough to have ‘bagged’, so-to-speak, the sector’s experts. Not only do they know the tricky world of newspaper sales and marketing, they also understand how their expertise can be applied to a variety of businesses, which bodes well for our clients and the industry as a whole,” Gibson says.
Woman editor in Automobil driver’s seat
RamsayMedia’s Custom Publishing division has welcomed Tania de Kock as editor of Automobil. With a long history in custom and business-to-business publishing, she brings invaluable experience to the team.
De Kock qualified as a language practitioner and spent several years as a translator and technical writer. She has been at the editorial helm of a broad range of custom and B2B titles, among them the Black Management Forum’s African Leader, Picasso Headline’s Global Trade, Namibian Top Companies and SA Livestock Breeding– which won a Pica – the ESG Green Pages for COP 17, and a variety of Club magazines and award-winning cookbooks.
“Having been exposed to a great variety of industries through custom publications, I have learned that audience engagement boils down to the efficient analysis of and response to a brand that you need to respect and understand. As a passionate motoring enthusiast and admirer of the men and women who deliver a myriad services to the motoring public, I am delighted to join Automobil and the RamsayMedia team,” says De Kock.
De Kock replaced Tim Brink, who became editor of sister title Ride at the beginning of October.
DJ Phat Joe bids farewell to Heart 104.9FM Breakfast Show
On-air morning show host Phat Joe has announced he will be leaving Heart 104.9 FM. His last day on-air will be Friday. “I have decided to focus my time and energy on my television show Real Goboza (RGB) on SABC 1 and MTN’s new cellphone radio service, MTN Play Radio,” Phat Joe says.
“Thank you to the wonderful staff at Heart 104.9FM for inspiring me and making me feel so at home. More specifically I would like to thank the morning show team for their support and dedication over the past three years. We’ve become more than just colleagues, we’ve become family. Finally, I would like to wish the station continued success.”
“Phat Joe has made a huge impact on the local radio industry with his outspoken approach to broadcasting and Heart 104.9 is extremely proud of what he has achieved. He set a new benchmark for radio with his unique approach. Some of his best on-air moments include challenging the City of Cape Town on the ‘open toilet’ debacle; spearheading the Station’s ‘Two Guys and a Wedding’ multimillion Rand promotion, and running for Bafana Bafana during the 2010 World Cup,” says MD Gavin Meiring.
Leadership editor, Robbie Stammers, is off on new travels
After five years at the helm of Leadership magazine and a host of local and international awards, Robbie Stammers has moved on to start some exciting new ventures of his own.
Along with ex-Springbok hooker, James Dalton, Robbie has signed a 3-year contract as the official DVD partner to the SA Rugby Union. Their company, RuggaBuggas Entertainment, will begin by producing a ‘Springboks Greatest Tries’ DVD, hosted by none other than Springboks, Jean de Villiers and Schalk Burger. ‘Springboks Greatest Tries’ will hit the shelves in time for this festive season.
Stammers has also started Insights Publishing and has entered into an agreement with Cape Union Mart to launch an upmarket outdoor adventure and travel magazine on their behalf entitled The Intrepid Explorer.
The Intrepid Explorer will be launched this December and will feature South Africa’s top travel writers, adventurers, environmentalists and experts revealing the best of the best that the outdoors can offer. The magazine will be distributed throughout Cape Union Mart’s 71 stores nationwide, as well as all rooms and suites of 24 of the most luxurious lodges in Southern Africa.
The magazine will be a 100-page quarterly title.
Stammers describes The Intrepid Explorer as his absolute dream publication to work on and has secured influential contributors such as adventurers, Kingsley Holgate and Braam Malherbe; Celebrity TV cook, Justin Bonello on bush cuisine and best-selling book author, John van de Ruit writing ‘On Safari with Spud.’
OFyt appoints prominent SA business leaders to its employee trust
Communications agency OFyt (Old Friends and young talent), has appointed two of South Africa’s brightest business minds as trustees of the Ofyt broad-based ownership scheme. Happy Ntshingila and Unathi Loos are set to give direction to the unique ownership scheme of SA’s youngest ad agency.
Industry veteran and OFyt co-founder, Gary Leih, says one of the foundations on which OFyt is built, is the determination to contribute to the future of the industry by providing mentorship and opportunities to young creatives drawn from a much wider gene pool than before.
As such the OFyt Broad-Based Ownership Scheme, created at the inception of the company, holds 26% of the equity of OFyt in perpetuity. “This equity will be used to educate, uplift, skill and support young, historically disadvantaged talent for our industry, on an ongoing basis. We aim to make a real and significant transformational difference to the business of advertising in South Africa,” says Leih.
Ntshingila first made waves in the ad industry by co-founding HerdBuoys, SA’s first black ad agency, which went on to become one of South Africa’s leading agencies in the 1990s. The illustrious career of Loos includes leadership roles in finance and marketing, and she has made a name as public speaker, writer and trainer.
Taweni Gondwe Xaba appointed to John Brown Media board
As part of John Brown Media’s commitment to continued and sustainable growth in South Africa, they are proud to announce the appointment of Taweni Gondwe Xaba as a non-executive board member. Taweni brings over 16 years of experience from the advertising and publishing industries, with content generation and production as her specialist skills.
“Since John Brown launched in South Africa in 2007 to publish Pick n Pay’s Fresh Living magazine, we have grown to 50 full-time staff, with offices in both Cape Town and Johannesburg. We’ve won publishing contracts for Edgars Club, Discovery and Spur, as well as launched a fully-fledged digital division. Attracting and retaining the best talent to service our growing blue-chip client base is a core focus and we believe Taweni’s wealth of media experience and passion is the perfect fit for John Brown. We look forward to Taweni providing insight, challenging us and adding to what is already a company with fantastic energy,” commented Lani Carstens, MD of John Brown Media South Africa.
Although the John Brown head office is in the UK, John Brown Media South Africa is staffed and run by a talented local team. As a non-executive board member of the South African operation, Taweni will provide strategic input into the growth and development of John Brown Media and assist with the mentoring and training of local editorial creative talent.
“I see this as a wonderful opportunity to contribute more to the South African media industry and after a four-year break, my passion for magazines remains strong. There are few places in the world that offer the opportunity to be creative in the way South Africa does and as custom publishers, John Brown Media certainly pushes the creative envelope for measurable results. The team in place is strong and has a proven track record of delivering exceptional products and results for clients. It was an easy invitation to accept!” Taweni commented.
Aqua appoints general manager
Aqua, South Africa’s largest and leading full-service, new media and digital agency, has announced the appointment of Lauren Damant as general manager of Aqua Group, with immediate effect.
“Lauren has been active in parts of this role already and brings vast experience to our channel agnostic approach. As General Manager, Lauren is responsible for the smooth and efficient operations of the company. She will oversee all divisions and processes – a real holistic view of the business is required for this role,” says Brent Shahim, CEO of Aqua.
Damant joined Aqua in 2009 and previously served as the company’s operations director. In the last 16 years, she has worked for three leading agencies in the WPP group of companies: Y&R, direct marketing agency Wunderman, and Aqua. After completing her studies in travel management, she took up a position at the AAA School of Advertising where she also had the opportunity to study advertising and marketing. Damant has a wealth of above-the-line, through-the-line, direct and digital marketing experience.
What’s out there
Central Media looks for marketing manager
Central Media is looking for a marketing manager to manage the full spectrum of marketing functions on all its brands and trademarks, and oversee marketing strategies that effectively describe and promote the organisation and its products.
The preferred candidate would have a code B driver’s licence and their own transport essential. they must be computer literate with advanced understanding of Outlook, Word, Excel and MS Project. Being able to perform well under stress is key, as is a high level of emotional maturity and sound written and verbal communication skills. Extensive media knowledge is a given.
The candidate’s main responsibilities will be to develop, plan and implement marketing and business plans that build audiences for various media. And to deliver high quality events and promotions for increased revenue, visibility and audience. They would manage multiple marketing budgets and coiordinate and manage research across the group.
Closing date for applications 31 October 2012 at 17h00. Interested applicants are requested to apply with a comprehensive CV to Nicole via e-mail: nicole@centralmediagroup.co.za
Who’s won what
Columinate wins DMMA premier research project
Online research specialists, Columinate, have been awarded the contract to conduct research into the South African digital market on behalf of the DMMA. The project, dubbed ‘The State of South Africa’s Digital Nation: 2012’ will aim to provide robust and rich findings into consumers’ online habits to assist marketers and advertisers to better understand the online consumer.
“We are very excited to have been awarded the project and look forward to providing the industry with insights. We’re confident that our extensive work in this space will add value to this specific project and paint a clearer picture of what South Africans are doing online,” says Elma Smit.
The research will provide a rich account of South Africans’ online habits as currently traditional industry surveys provide information limited to demographics and basic user statistics. Taking a consumer angle, the information will assist marketers to better understand consumers in terms of preferences for online advertising, social network behaviour, online transacting to name but a few avenues that will be explored.
“The DMMA’s decision to appoint Columinate was based on Columinate’s ability to instantly grasp the scope of the research project and the objectives set by the DMMA. Furthermore, Columinate’s understanding of the digital media and marketing environment, proven track record through experience conducting research in this industry and their blue-chip client base, made them most suited from all the providers who indicated interest to assist the DMMA with this research project,” says Gustav Goosen, DMMA head of research.
November 1 wins Timberland summer campaign
November 1 recently was awarded the Timberland Summer Campaign. The implementation of the Summer Campaign was carried out over a total of 18 stores simultaneously nationally. “We are proud to be associated with this prestigious brand and look forward to a great partnership,” November 1 says.
Who’s making moves
SASOL partners with KAELO to bring good news stories to SA television viewers
Kaelo – Stories of Hope (KSOH, etv, Tuesdays at 17.30) is partnering with global petrochemical group, SASOL, as it continues to broadcast good news stories of what companies are doing to uplift communities around South Africa.
From 2 October to 25 December this year, each episode of Kaelo – Stories of Hope will feature a three-minute segment, sponsored by Sasol, during which various sporting heroes will be profiled, along with stories about the numerous community projects in which Sasol is involved.
“Sasol has for many years invested heavily in communities , prioritising the upliftment of South Africans through a needs-driven, sustainable development approach to community development,” says Melanie Kidson, account manager of group brand marketing.
“We’re excited now to have the opportunity to partner with the country’s most influential CSI (corporate social investment) platform to tell stories of what is possible if we work together as a nation. We also want our loyal customers to know what we’re doing so that every time they purchase a Sasol product or engage with us in some way, they’re enabling us to give back even more to the communities in which we operate.”
Some of the three-minute inserts that viewers will be able to look forward to include profiles of the Banyana Banyana soccer sponsorship, Sasol’s water conservation projects and the contributions the company has made to projects of public education and housing provision in South Africa.
The launch of CONTENTUM
Gillian Loos and Lize Sadie have launched a new content creation agency on the precept that “bad communications is bad for business”. CONTENTUM will deliver crafted, strategic content across multi-media platforms as a means of converting prospects into customers and customers into repeat buyers.
“We use the art of brand storytelling to convey the brand’s unique heritage and environment, and to ensure a relationship with consumers by building trust and your brand’s authority on the subject,” says directors and co- founders, Loos and Sadie.
Loos comes into this partnership with extensive retail and publishing experience at Woolworths and Media24. She is currently a part-time lecturer at Vega Brand Communications School.
Sadie cut her teeth in the advertising world, working as a media strategist at advertising agencies before jumping the proverbial fence into publishing at Touchline Media.
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