Media Moves… TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up. Elena Giokos leaves eNCA for Bloomberg TV. Changes at John Brown Media. Mushroom Media growing at a steady pace. BMW signs on Serfontein, Engelbrecht and Beast as ambassadors. New digital touch points bring Jeep closer to its customers. Allycats keeps Marketing Spread in the fold
This week’s BIG move: Elena Giokos leaves eNCA for Bloomberg TV
eNCA has announced that news anchor Eleni Giokos will be leaving the channel. Giokos was a rising star within the organisation having joined eNCA from CNBC Africa in 2011. She will soon be joining Bloomberg TV Africa as an anchor working out of Johannesburg.
“We’re very sad Eleni is leaving us. She is a very popular member of the team and a true professional” says group head of eNCA, Patrick Conroy. “In the competitive world of 24 hour news your talent is always at risk of being poached. eNCA has become a recruitment ground for international networks and rival 24 hour news channels. We actually take it as a compliment. So it is with mixed feelings that we say goodbye to Eleni. We had hoped she would stay with us, however we are proud
Giokos was destined to anchor a new business show on eNCA, but opted to join Bloomberg TV Africa after lengthy talks with both channels.
“I’m very torn about my decision. eNCA offered me a tremendous opportunity which sadly I’ve had to turn down. I had some of my best times as a broadcaster at eNCA. My bosses and my colleagues were always amazingly supportive and great to work with. I learnt so much from Patrick Conroy and working in such a professional environment. And so it is with a heavy heart that I find myself having to say goodbye.”
Giokos was an instant on screen success for eNCA anchoring live breaking news events such as the Nairobi terror attacks and the Oscar Pistorius saga in February. Earlier this year legendary CNN business anchor, Richard Quest, agreed to co-host a show with her on eNCA.
Who’s moved where
Changes at John Brown Media
With 28 issues of South Africa’s most widely-read fashion and beauty magazine under her belt, it’s with great excitement that current editor Justine Stafford is promoted to content director for Edgars. As of September 2013, Stafford will take on her new role managing the Edgars portfolio which includes overseeing and strategically driving Edgars Club magazine and associated projects.
In the same month, Emma Wright joins the John Brown Media team and takes over the reins as editor on Edgars Club with December/January her first issue at the helm.
“The new Edgars team structure will enable us to deliver an even better, more strategic and focussed approach to servicing the Edgars business portfolio. The digital and print teams have delivered consistently outstanding work and we have no doubt with Justine at the helm and Emma as editor, the portfolio will continue to grow from strength to strength,” says Lani Carstens, MD of John Brown Media.
Who’s won what
Mushroom Media growing at a steady pace
Mushroom Media, the go-to-studio for colour grading in commercial and long-form productions, has won a significant amount of new business in the third and second quarter of this year. Headed up by Warwick Allan, the Bryanston-based studio recently completed the grading of new television commercials for MTN, BMW and Vodacom among others.
From a long-form perspective, the studio will soon commence full post-production (offline and online editing) on Leading Lady, a South African feature film directed by Henk Pretorius. In addition to this, Allan and his team are handling full post-production on The Wound, a 10-minute short film directed by John Trengove, which has just been selected for the annual Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, France.
And finally, Mushroom Media is in the throes of editing and finishing a Namibia Tourism Series, 13-episode TV programme all in full HD, with each episode highlighting a different region of Namibia.
BMW signs on Serfontein, Engelbrecht and Beast as ambassadors
BMW South Africa’s support of South African rugby extends beyond their five-year commitment to Springbok rugby as official vehicle partner. The German vehicle brand also backs a number of the players and rugby icons through their ambassador programme and has boosted their current premium team of Springbok rugby ambassadors by bringing on board the young Jan Serfontein, the fast JJ Engelbrecht and the explosive Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira.
The dynamic trio joins Springbok captain Jean De Villiers, Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer, Schalk Burger, Pierre Spies, Francois Steyn, Jannie du Plessis and Springbok rugby legend Victor Matfield in representing BMW’s interests in rugby. As part of the agreement, Beast and Engelbrecht will each receive the use of a brand new BMW 330d while Serfontein, upon his request, will be driving a new BMW 120d.
“Our vehicles epitomise speed, power and dynamism in every respect and deliver ultimate performance in every field. This highlights all of the reasons we’re involved in the dynamic, high-performance sport of Springbok rugby which has played such a huge role in showing the world just what South Africa is capable of,” explains Guy Kilfoil, General Manager: Communications and Public Affairs at BMW South Africa.
Who’s making moves
New digital touch points bring Jeep closer to its customers
With their doors barely open, newcomer Habari Media Content Marketing HAS announceD a big contract win. They’ve signed up with Fiat Group Automobiles and Chrysler South Africa and will be offering a series of digital content marketing solutions.
The diverse brands within the group – Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Alfa and Fiat – present an interesting challenge for the content marketing specialists. “What we have is a series of niches of owners, with very different aspirations, attitudes and mindsets,” says content director, Robyn Daly. “One solution won’t fit all. So we’ve looked beyond traditional print magazines.
The strategy is to produce a series of bespoke digital magazines which speak directly to the owners of each brand, ensuring that they receive content that is relevant, inspiring and informative. “In the relationship between brands and their customers, content provides the chemistry. There’s nothing like a great story to tantalise, excite and inspire people. And once their interest is piqued … you’ve won your readers’ hearts.”
Allycats keeps Marketing Spread in the fold
As a publicity company, Allycats PR knows the importance of communication. However, the company also knows the pitfalls of trying to engage consumers who are bombarded on a daily basis with information.
PocketMediaSolutions’ Z-CARD business card is the same size as a traditional business card, but folds out to provide 22 times more space. “When Allycats recently launched the news portal Marketing Spread, we knew that our business cards would have to be redesigned to capture this new offering. But how to pack the necessary information into the size offered by a traditional business card proved challenging,” says Allycats MD and Marketing Spread founder Allison Cooper.
The credit card-sized Z-CARD proved the ideal solution, allowing the company to print Allycats’ contact information on the front cover, and Marketing Spread’s on the back cover. “We then had ample space inside to print valuable information about the services offered by both arms of our company, in a format that is compact and offers longevity,” says Cooper.
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