A media industry gathering such as the MOST Awards is where leaders are honoured, but it’s also an opportunity to share their views. This year started with a previous winner of the Media Agency Legend Award, Gordon Muller, interviewing Freshly Ground Insight’s Brad Aigner.
Muller, sporting an EFF beret, asked Aigner, who has been conducting the MOST research for a number of years, about some of the trends he’d noticed emerge from the data, and what the data showed about the winners over the years. Was there a golden thread?
Aigner said he found that it was important to have people in the organisation who are knowledgeable. “Companies that don’t pay lip service to training and knowledge tend to perform better. Good old fashioned service delivery is important too. Dropping off a rate card is not service delivery,” he said, to laughter from the audience.
Muller asked if he had advice for media owners on how to become winners. ”Get a strong leader,” said Aigner. “A high profile leader who understands industry. Recruit people who are smart and enthusiastic. They don’t have to have experience. Keep those people. Invest in them. And fun important too,” he said.
One of the new sponsors of the MOST Awards is the SABC. Wanele Mngomezulu, general manager of business intelligence at the public broadcaster, said he believed the MOST Awards were a “key initiative” for the industry and that the SABC wanted to extend a hand and partner with organisations that worked to help the media industry grow. He said it was vital for players to understand the changing landscape and that everyone had budgetary – and procurement – challenges.
Minette Ferreira, general manager of Media24’s English newspapers, who is soon to take up the position of head of Media24’s Weekly Magazine division, said it’ was “No secret that the media industry has never been more challenging than it is right now. But we will never find ourselves on cusp of more exciting future. We must embrace the challenges and find creative solutions.”
Michelle Randall (Mxit) and Marc Taback (Initiative Media)
Fahmeeda Cassim-Surtee (DStv) and Erica Gunning (MEC)
Jedd Cokayne (The MediaShop) and Gustav Goosen (The SpaceStation)
Minette Ferreira and Kelvin Storie
Darren McKinon, Jedd Cokayne and Lelanie Butler
Jedd Cokayne and Debbie McIntyre
IMAGE: Minette Ferreira (Media24) and Tanya Schreuder (Vizeum Cape Town)
