TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up. Abdul Milazi takes over editorship of Sunday World. Media veteran Andre Steenekamp to head up Acceleration Media. Sherlock to lead growth of Universal channel’s portfolio across Africa, Benelux, Central Europe and Scandinavia. M-Net makes new appointments. TENS Rugby appoints Frontiers as official commercial agent. Creative Spark wins Mediclinic digital account. House of Monatic chooses Creative Spark. New Botswana Z-CARD and PocketMedia distributor for ZAMI. Niche tech PR agency expands into Gauteng. Business Connexion will be hosting the MyWorld of Tomorrow Africa EXPO. Hellocomputer moves in with Draftfcb. Zinto brings brands to life in roadshow. Julius Bär Group adds weight to L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate. Procter & Gamble (P&G) sponsors first ever edition of Africa’s Next Top Model. Frozen Chimez Animation opens doors in Cape Town.
Who’s moved where
Abdul Milazi takes over editorship of Sunday World
Times Media has appointed Abdul Milazi as editor of Sunday World from 1 December 2013. He takes over from Marvin Meintjies who has been appointed to head up the Times Media London bureau.
Milazi previously edited Sunday World before joining Business Day as trade and industry editor. He has also been deputy editor of GQ Magazine SA, senior editor of Financial Mail, associate editor of Sunday Times, deputy editor of TimesLive and deputy editor of The Witness.
“Abdul understands that a title like Sunday World needs to be edgy as this will drive the circulation of this very important Sunday newspaper. He is a life coach and motivation specialist which means he understands the heartbeat of people and the ‘happening crowd’,” said Mike Tissong, Times Media GM of Sowetan and Sunday World.
Milazi said he is looking forward to editing a newspaper he really loves and which he still regards as special.
Media veteran Andre Steenekamp to head up Acceleration Media
Andre Steenekamp, a media veteran with more than a dozen years of digital experience, has been appointed as the new CEO of strategic digital media consultancy, Acceleration Media. This follows the acquisition of a 50%-stake in the business by Times Media Limited subsidiary, Amorphous New Media.
Steenekamp was previously the chief operating officer for Amorphous. In his new role, Steenekamp will grow the Acceleration Media business in existing areas such as online reputation management and search engine marketing, as well as help to unlock synergies between Acceleration Media and Amorphous.
Steenekamp brings 25 years of media and agency experience to the role. His first digital position saw him help to build Auto Trader South Africa’s highly successful digital platform and strategy between 2000 and 2003. He has also worked for the likes of Independent Newspapers, M-Web Business and HKLM in a range of sales, business development and management positions.
Amorphous’s acquisition of a 50% stake in Acceleration Media from Kagiso Media has strong support from Times Media Limited as well as from Lagardère Active Radio International (LARI), which owns the other 50% of Acceleration Media.
Sherlock to lead growth of Universal channel’s portfolio across Africa, Benelux, Central Europe and Scandinavia
NBCUniversal has announced that Jo Sherlock has been appointed to the newly created role of vice president of commercial, emerging markets at Universal Networks International. In this role, Sherlock will be focused on driving the ongoing expansion of NBCUniversal’s international pay-TV channels in the region.
Based in London, Sherlock will oversee the commercial development of the channel brands of Universal Networks International (UNI), responsible for further enhancing UNI’s presence on affiliate platforms and delivering on advertising sales revenue goals across all territories.
“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for me to join UNI’s dynamic Emerging Markets business and further develop its high-quality portfolio of international channel brands,” Sherlock said.
Sherlock joins UNI from BT where she was business development negotiator leading on negotiations of wholesale distribution of the BT Sport channels portfolio. Previously, she held senior sales and business development positions at Miramax, BT, The Walt Disney Company and Bloomberg.
M-Net makes new appointments
Kershnee Govender has been appointed as the Director of M-Net’s Corporate Affairs department at M-Net.
Jacqueline Langeveldt has been appointed as a Financial Controller for the Finance department at M-Net.
Makhosazana Khanyile has been appointed as Head of Corporate Social Investment for the M-Net Corporate Affairs department at M-Net.
Who’s won what
TENS Rugby appoints Frontiers as official commercial agent
Emerging specialist rights sales and event management group, Frontiers Sports and Entertainment, has been appointed as the official commercial agent for the Cape Town TENS Rugby tournament.
Frontiers will work with TENS to deliver new sponsors and to manage the events, as well as to roll out the TENS brand elsewhere in South Africa, as well as in key territories in Africa.
Launched in 2009 by former Springbok stars Bob Skinstad and Robbie Fleck, the Cape Town TENS Rugby is now the biggest tens tournament in world rugby. Event director, Gerhardi Odendaal comments, “TENS has successfully filled the social sporting gap for the last five years by providing a winning formula of rugby, banter and live entertainment to more than 12 000 people. We have now brought Frontiers on board to help us grow the brand and the events even further.”
“Frontiers appointment is a strong endorsement of TENS Rugby’s on-going commercial appeal and the strength of the Cape Town TENS brand, as we drive towards our pan-African growth plan. It is a pleasure to welcome Frontiers as a partner.
Frontiers Managing Director, Richard Glover, adds, “We have had some recent success in rugby, helping the Sharks find a number of new sponsors and believe we can carry this across to TENS.”
Creative Spark wins Mediclinic digital account
Creative Spark Interactive (CSI) are celebrating a well-earned digital account acquisition. Mediclinic, a respected hospital group, have appointed Creative Spark as their digital agency to assist them with their digital properties and campaigns for 2013 and beyond. The company says it is looking forward to working closely with the Mediclinic team who are dynamic and excited about forging ahead with their digital undertaking.
House of Monatic chooses Creative Spark
Creative Spark were successfully awarded the digital contract for House of Monatic, a top fashion brand with a diverse range of styles for both men and women. “We are fully ingrained in the delivery of a 360º digital solution for all their brands, including: Carducci, CSquared, Viyella as well as the corporate brand House of Monatic. Our aim is to portray the brand as that of an innovative, dynamic and exciting fashion group, deeply entrenched in the digital space,” the company said in its newsletter.
New Botswana Z-CARD and PocketMedia distributor for ZAMI
Z-CARD Africa, India, Middle East and Turkey (ZAMI) has entered into a distributor agreement with Botswana-based Simple Creative, an original high-class advertising agency.
According to John Davis, the managing director of ZAMI, Botswana’s sophisticated market is ideal for the various marketing, advertising, communication and education PocketMedia applications available via ZAMI, ranging from the company’s Z-CARD, Star Fold and Unidentified Folding Object to its Pop-Up, dispensers, plastic loyalty or medical aid cards and even dye-cut covers.
“Botswana offers ZAMI and PocketMedia® the opportunity for growth in various sectors including telecommunications, tourism, banking and mine safety. Government sectors like health, education and safety and security are also solid markets,” says Simple Creative’s Creative Director Taj Kenosi. “Traditional media such as TV, radio and print already exist in Botswana, but PocketMedia® will fill the gap as an easily retainable form of print,” Davis confirms.
Business Connexion will host the MyWorld of Tomorrow Africa EXPO
Business Connexion will be hosting the MyWorld of Tomorrow Africa EXPO (MWOT), a first of its kind, Business Connexion facilitated technology exhibition and conference, to be held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on 16– 18 October 2014.
The event is a fresh platform for various types of technology brands and businesses to exhibit technology solutions, ideas and innovations that will build the next generation of techno savvy African enterprises and individuals in different industries.
“We have a firm understanding of our role as African leaders in the industry, and we’re stretching our relationships with our eco-system of leading technology vendors and thought leaders to deliver a unique, world-class empowering experience for the continent.” said Matthew Blewett, Business Connexion chief operations officer.
Who’s making moves
Niche tech PR agency expands into Gauteng
Specialist B2B technology PR and marketing company DUO Marketing + Communications announced that it will open a Johannesburg office in February 2014. The announcement comes ahead of the company’s 10-year anniversary, which marks a decade of working with some of the most innovative local and international technology companies including Amazon, wiGroup, Vox Telecom and Gartner.
Founder and CEO Judith Middleton says she’s noticed a growing demand for the company’s niche tech PR services in the Gauteng market. “The value based business model is very attractive to tech entrepreneurs who demand high return from their marketing spend both locally and into Africa. With so many of our clients eyeing expansion into broader African markets, establishing a base in Gauteng, which is widely regarded as a springboard into Africa, makes commercial sense. Opening the Johannesburg office is therefore a natural step in our growth strategy.”
Middleton says the recent introduction of an expanded service offering bodes well for the company’s expansion into the Gauteng market. “We’ve introduced new digital content marketing, video and social media services to support and extend our traditional service offering as a direct result of changing client demands.
Hellocomputer moves in with Draftfcb
Hellocomputer has moved into a new space to be shared with Draftfcb Cape Town in Woodstock. The Tramways building, designed in collaboration with StudioMAS Architects, embodies the spirit of creative collaboration. A converted factory is the perfect statement for an organisation whose redefined purpose is ‘all about the work’.
Lead architect on the project Sean Mahoney, explained: “We agreed that facilitating creativity through an environment that is both striking and inspirational would be central to our design ethos.”
But it’s the nature of work that is underscoring Hellocomputer’s new positioning and client proposition.
“Our view is that everything that can be digitized will be. In the future, all agencies will need to grasp the technological layer that wraps all mediums to unlock a higher purpose. Hellocomputer is perfectly suited for that reality. We are the new traditional agency,” said David Moffatt of Hellocomputer’s EXCO.
Zinto brings brands to life in roadshow
Zinto, an established brand activation, entertainment and event company, recently embarked on a roadshow to drive brand awareness and engage with their existing and potential clients at media agencies. The aim was to promote Zinto to marketing decision-makers and showcase their offering, which was supported by washroom advertising.
Unlike other activation companies that outsource their staging, Zinto does staging in-house. To this end the company has invested in portable staging complete with professional sound and lighting production, as well as LED screens that take their activations to the next level and enhance the brand experience. Zinto’s gig rig portfolio includes multi-ton high-tech vehicles and an assortment of mobile, lightweight stage trailers which are suitable for indoor and outdoor use, easy to transport and set up, and versatile in terms of reconfiguring and customising the parts to accommodate clients’ varying needs.
This has positioned Zinto at the forefront in a highly competitive industry, creating new platforms for brands to engage with all market segments through experiential promotional activities and customised campaigns.
Julius Bär Group adds weight to L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate
The Julius Bär Group, leader in Swiss banking, has announced it will be one of the sponsors of the 153rd running of the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate, the Cape’s most prestigious horse-race which takes place at Kenilworth Racecourse on January 11th 2014.
Established over a century ago, the esteemed Julius Bär Group proudly joins main sponsor, L’Ormarins Wine Estate and other illustrious brands in helping to bring this exceptional event to life.
“We are honoured to be part of L’Ormarins Queen’s plate, the Cape’s premier horseracing event. As always, we remain committed to contributing to and growing our business in South Africa and believe in the great growth potential it offers,” says Rémy Bersier, Member of Julius Bär Group’s Executive Board.
Procter & Gamble (P&G) sponsors first ever edition of Africa’s Next Top Model
Global consumer goods company Procter & Gamble (P&G) has announced its associate sponsorship of the first ever season of Africa’s Next Top Model. Africa’s Next Top Model is a franchise format of the ground breaking America’s Next Top Model, a television franchise that was created by American supermodel Tyra Banks.
The local version is hosted by global supermodel Oluchi Orlandi, made famous after winning the Face of Africa contest in the ‘90s. The P&G products that make up the sponsorship are Always Platinum, Oral B, Olay Even & Smooth, Gillette Venus, and Ariel.
“Africa’s Next Top Model represents a credible platform that will ensure continental exposure of many great brands that form part of P&G’s beauty & grooming categories.” says Khululiwe Mabaso, associate director Communications at P&G. “We are thrilled to partner with Africa’s Next Top Model to bring viewers across Africa captivating television and wish all the contestants the best of luck.“
Shot in Cape Town, South Africa, the show features 12 ladies from different parts of Africa competing to be Africa’s Next Top Model and win, among other prizes, a coveted P&G endorsement deal.
Frozen Chimez Animation opens doors in Cape Town
Frozen Chimez Animation, a brand new state-of-the-art animation company, has opened its doors in Cape Town.
CEO of Frozen Chimez Animation, Kurt Schoerie, says, “Our mission is to create high-end animation, design and motion graphic solutions for advertising agencies, companies and individuals.
“Frozen Chimez Animation was built to unleash excitement within a free and versatile art medium. We do it because creativity should be harnessed to inspire, engage and unite the people it’s meant for.”
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