All the media moves

Media Moves… TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up. Creative Spark opens Joburg office. Joanna Oosthuizen elected to newly expanded 
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide ExCo. Akona Gwiliza joins Jam Media. Leonid Sudakov named president of eurobest’s new Creative Effectiveness category. Publicis Machine adds premium Pernod Ricard liquor brands to its growing client list. Butter Knife PR to head up communications for interior specialists. Media Monitoring App?  ROi Africa introduces a game changer!

This week’s BIG move: Creative Spark opens Joburg office

Full-service digital marketing and development agency, Creative Spark, has opened up a permanent office in Sandton, Johannesburg, to support its growing client base in Gauteng and complement the company’s existing Cape Town head office.

Melissa Chetty, who has been with the company almost since its inception as a startup to its evolution to a full service agency, heads the new branch. She is the company’s head of digital marketing.

The Johannesburg team now includes account management, digital content producers, project management staff and some development capability, supplementing the 45-strong staff complement based in Cape Town.

“I’m excited to start this new chapter in our growth story. With most of our large clients based in Johannesburg, it hasn’t been a miracle that we’ve held out for so long without a permanent office here. Instead it’s been the hard work, strong communication, the dedication, the 6am flights, the incredible support team and the bigger picture,” says Chetty.

Creative Spark is an award-winning, full-service digital agency, specialising in mobile and web development, design and digital marketing solutions for corporate and JSE-listed clients. The agency’s client portfolio includes Philips, Kimberly-Clark, Gautrain, e.tv, SA Government, Ndalo Media, ABI, POWER 98.7, Hoity Toity and more.

The company also publishes the respected Burn Media sites, including Memeburn.com and Ventureburn.com, which report on digital trends across the continent.

Matthew Buckland, the company’s MD and founder comments, “Opening a Jo’burg office marks the next evolution in Creative Spark’s growth. Most of our clients are based in Johannesburg, so it makes sense that we open an office there to ensure higher service levels. We pride ourselves as a driving agency with a penchant for the pedantic and for pushing innovation.”

Who’s moved where

Joanna Oosthuizen elected to newly expanded 
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide ExCo

Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) South Africa, the integrated communications agency for the digital age, is proud that its national managing director of Ogilvy Public Relations, Joanna Oosthuizen has been elected to serve on the Worldwide executive committee of Ogilvy PR.

She joins 12 other heads from all four corners of the world to continue to grow and strengthen the public relations discipline, here in South Africa and globally.

Prior to becoming National MD, in 2014, Joanna was managing director of Ogilvy PR Johannesburg and has since evolved the public relations discipline of O&M South Africa into the second largest Ogilvy PR office in the EAME region.

“I am extremely proud of Joanna’s achievement,” said Abey Mokgwatsane, CEO of Ogilvy & Mather South Africa. “I am confident that she will continue to usher our clients into the the future of  world-class reputation management and content creation.”

The newly expanded ExCo includes:

In making the announcement on Friday, Stuart Smith, Global CEO of Ogilvy PR, said, “We have big, bold ambitions and I felt we needed broader, more diverse representation in the active management of Ogilvy PR to accelerate our plans. This is right for our people, right for our clients and right for the business.”

Akona Gwiliza joins Jam Media

360 degree communications consultancy Jam Media, has appointed Akona Gwiliza as account executive.

Gwiliza followed her passion at a young age and started her studies in a BA Media, Communication and Culture at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.  She graduated at the Durban Vega, Brand of School leadership in April 2015, completing her studies in Integrated Brand Communication. She interned at Roth Communications and joined Jam Media in August 2015.

“Akona is a cheerful and passionate creative who has brought a fresh strategic approach into Jam Media and we are very excited to have her on board,” said Jam Media director, Jess Mouneimne.

Leonid Sudakov named president of eurobest’s new Creative Effectiveness category

With the introduction of a new Creative Effectiveness category this year, eurobest has today announced that Leonid Sudakov, chief marketing officer, Global Petcare, Mars, Belgium, has been named as the president of the inaugural jury.

Sudakov said that he was excited to be serving as the Creative Effectiveness Jury President, adding, “Together with the Jury, I will be looking for true and significant work that gives us a reason to celebrate and that points us towards the future of the most exciting intersection of creativity and effectiveness.”

The category exists to establish a direct correlation between creativity and effectiveness by recognising creative work that has produced a measurable and proven impact on a client’s business – creativity that affects consumer behaviour, brand equity, sales and where identifiable, profit.

 Who’s won what

Publicis Machine adds premium Pernod Ricard liquor brands to its growing client list

Publicis Machine has announced the addition of global producer of premium spirits, Pernod Ricard South Africa to its ever-growing client list. The agency has been appointed to manage TTL communications for two of Pernod Ricard South Africa’s premium liquor brands, The Glenlivet and Martell Cognac, including PR for both brands and the Martell Cognac Digital portfolio, effective 1 July 2015.

“We are delighted to be partnering with the Pernod Ricard South Africa team on these two enviable brands. The cultural synergy between our businesses is remarkable and, with a strong partnership already formed, we anticipate the creation of some groundbreaking work for both Martell Cognac and The Glenlivet,’’ says CEO of Publicis Machine Adrian Hewlett.

The team is especially fired up to partner with Pernod Ricard to launch Martell Cognac into the South African market. With a 300 year heritage, it’s the oldest great Cognac House in the world, and this provides a rich territory to successfully establish the brand and product credentials locally, through an integrated communications approach.

Butter Knife PR to head up communications for Interior Specialists

The Interior Specialists account has been awarded to the Cape Town based agency, Butter Knife PR, who has been appointed to manage the communications for the brand, showcasing their unique bespoke designs and personalised service offering.

Interior Specialists was founded by Craig Parr in 2015, after seeing a gap in the market to curate spaces that people want to be in, where beauty meets function, creating inspiring interiors. Believing in intelligent design and implementation, Interior Specialists cater for not only the retail but also commercial, corporate and residential sectors.

“We appointed Butter Knife PR because just like Interior Specialists, they are very attentive when it comes to detail and execute brilliant unconventional campaigns that resonate with our company ethos,” comments Parr. Butter Knife PR was formed in March 2013 and has since secured clients such as Glenfiddich, Grant’s, MoonBean, James Bensen Eyewear, Cointreau, Piper-Heidsieck and iFix. Following Butter Knife PR being awarded the Nelson Glass & Mirrors account in 2014, the agency has further expanded its décor and design portfolio and welcomes Interior Specialists to the family.

Parr adds, “We leave no stone unturned. If you have a complicated space, we like a challenge. We believe in intelligent problem solving and inspiring outcomes. We implement the entire process, every brick, nail and scatter cushion as well as deal with documentation, council, engineers and builders.” 

Who’s making moves

Media Monitoring App?  ROi Africa introduces a game changer!

ROi Africa is widely regarded as a technological leader in the media monitoring intelligence field and now they’ve taken a giant market leap by launching their own media monitoring app, available for Android and iPhones from September 2015!

“This app is really remarkable,” says Tonya Khoury, the Managing Director of ROi Africa. “In a world where time is short and mobile is turning into our preferred method of communication for all platforms, an app is the natural progression for our offering” Khoury adds.

ROi Africa offers strategic decision making technology based on media intelligence, using a foundation of global expertise that stays at the cutting edge of media solutions, which are integral to any business strategy. In practice this translates to a fully customisable Smart Technology-based online newsdesk which is able to offer exactly what the customer wants – print, radio, television, online and social media – all in one platform.

“Using this new platform, we can further enable clients to make wise and educated business decisions, which are based on market performance and competitor behaviour in that environment. The client will give us a brief of what they want in the app and then we will assist them to immediately download and configure the app, to include only relevant media,” Khoury explains.