TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up. Dovey appointed CEO of Omnicom Media Group Africa. Kagiso Media appoints Faith Daniels as head of news for its radio brands. Havas Village South Africa makes strategic new appointments. Group Africa Marketing launches Turnkey Logistics, appoints new MD. Cannes Lions names Lions Innovation Presidents. Cheapflights appoints the Friday Street Club to manage South African PR.
This week’s BIG move: Dovey appointed CEO of Omnicom Media Group Africa
Omnicom Media Group (OMG) has announced that OMG South Africa CEO, Josh Dovey, will be responsible for the group’s media operations in the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa effective 1 January 2016.
“We have been developing our presence in Africa for some years and already work with a number of major clients across the Continent. As CEO Africa, Josh will drive the continuing expansion of our networks capabilities. Omnicom Media Group South Africa will be fully integrated into our reporting structures under Colin Gottlieb, CEO Europe, Middle East and Africa region, based in London,” said Daryl Simm, Omnicom Media Group’s Worldwide CEO based in New York.
Gottlieb added: “We have been working closely with Josh and his team for many years and this formal alignment reflects the rapidly growing importance of Africa to our global clients. It now gives us market leadership in South Africa and Nigeria and a very strong platform for growth in one of the world’s most dynamic regions.”
Omnicom Media Group South Africa includes two of the country’s major Media Agencies, OMD and PHD, plus other subsidiary operations in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. The Company was founded in 1996 by Dovey and CFO Gary Westwater.
Who’s moved where
Kagiso Media appoints Faith Daniels as head of news for its radio brands
Seasoned radio and TV journalist, Faith Daniels, has joined the Kagiso Media (KM) stable to head up news at Jacaranda FM in Gauteng and East Coast Radio in KwaZulu-Natal.
The 39-year-old newshound, who was born in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape, has extensive experience across media platforms. Daniels anchored the 1pm news on SABC 3 and served as editor in the broadcaster’s Johannesburg newsroom. She has also worked at SAfm and Radio 702 in Johannesburg as a journalist, producer and anchor.
Armed with this vast experience, a firebrand personality and a deep understanding of South Africa’s media landscape, Daniels is up for the challenge, saying she is looking forward to leading the vibrant, dynamic teams at East Coast Radio and Jacaranda FM.
Daniels is tasked with delivering innovative media solutions in line with KM’s vision of “building communities for good.” Enhancing synergies and cross-pollination between the brands is high on her to-do list.
Havas Village South Africa makes strategic new appointments
Havas Village South Africa has announced the appointments of Ian Riddick as managing director of Havas Sports and Entertainment and Bongi Mvuyana, as digital media director for Havas Media.
Riddick has over 17 years of international working experience in developed and emerging markets with a specific focus on sports sponsorship, branding and marketing. He has a proven record of negotiating and closing win-win contracts with the objective of achieving corporate, sales and marketing objectives.
“It was an easy decision to join such a dynamic and energetic business and I already feel at home,” says Riddick. “I am looking forward to mixing it up with some of the best creative minds around and changing the sponsorship and entertainment landscape in our country. Havas’ product offering is truly unique, so watch this space!”
In reference to the other Havas appointment CEO Lynn Madeley said for the media business, she was looking for someone who was “digital at their core” very much like the Village offering.
“We met Bongi at the end of last year and we immediately knew she was right for our business. Clever, confident and focused on the importance of digital media in the communications mix, but also with the ability to collaborate with the entire village. I am looking forward to seeing her take our clients to the next level in digital media.”
Group Africa Marketing launches Turnkey Logistics, appoints new MD
Group Africa Marketing has launched Turnkey Logistics Solutions (Pty) Ltd, a branding, logistics, procurement and warehousing business, as part of a further roll out to its business specialisation strategy of creating expert agencies within the group.
At the end of 2015, Jonathan Argyle, who has been with Group Africa Marketing since 2005, was appointed as the managing director of Turnkey. Argyle holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in marketing and a Master’s degree in Business Administration, and comes with over 10 years’ experience in managing both client and business operations for the group of agencies.
Previously operating as a division under the former EXP South Africa business for the past 10 years, Turnkey was initially launched as a division under the repositioned Group Africa Marketing (GAM) structure two years ago. It has since been registered and launched as an independent statutory business, providing full scale logistics management to a wide range of clients contracted to the various GAM agencies including MTN, National Basketball Association (NBA), Sasol, SAB Limited, SAB Miller brands namely Castle Lager, Castle Light, Castle Milk Stout and Miller Genuine Draft, Wrigley Company South Africa, Kimberley Clark, SC Johnson, Mondelēz, Metropolitan, Nestlé and Naspers brands namely MultiChoice, DStv, M-Net and SuperSport.
Cannes Lions names Lions Innovation Presidents
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has named Tash Whitmey and Emad Tahtouh as jury presidents at this year’s Lions Innovation, the specialist event that explores data and tech as catalysts for creativity.
Emad Tahtouh, director of Applied Technology at Finch and president of the Innovation Lions jury, said that he was “looking forward to Cannes this year with a nervous anticipation and excitement as to how the creative world has either further developed or utilised technologies.”
Tash Whitmey, Chief Executive Officer, Havas helia, commented, “As the role of data in marketing becomes more widely known and accepted, welcomed even, we need to celebrate but also provide guidance to an industry that begins to understand how data can effectively help as part of the creative process. It’s clear to me that data is the future of marketing. As such, the jury need to look for brilliant examples of how data has been used to inform and inspire creativity in a way that delivers insightful and helpful solutions, with business changing results.”
Lions Innovation takes place across 21-22 June 2016. Cannes Lions has now opened for entries, accepting submissions into all 23 categories. Further details on all of the awards, including the Innovation and Creative Data Lions, can be found at www.canneslions.com.
Who’s won what
Go4Word wins Fairtrade’s PR account
Cape Town public relations (PR) and social media agency go4word has been appointed by Fairtrade South Africa as its PR agency for 2016. Fairtrade is an NGO certifying the agricultural supply chain (producers, manufacturers and traders). It is most known for their work in cocoa, coffee, sugar, tea, cotton, wine, fresh fruit and honey among others, against strict social, environmental and economic standards in order to achieve equality and sustainability in the farming sector.
“We are eager to be working with the worlds most trusted ethical certification system and we are looking forward to grow the market for and of Fairtrade-labelled products in South Africa,” says Karen Lowe, joint managing director of go4word.
go4word will be involved with a range of business and consumer campaigns throughout the year in order to increase awareness of Fairtrade and its trademark in South Africa and to educate media, consumers and potential licensees about the importance of Fairtrade and how the Fairtrade model works.
With Fairtrade’s main focus for 2016 on business development, key issues in agricultural trade; such as gender equity, climate change, the living-wage debate and child labour will be emphasised throughout the year.
Cheapflights appoints the Friday Street Club to manage South African PR
Travel search platform Cheapflights.co.za has appointed The Friday Street Club to manage its consumer and trade PR in South Africa from 1 February.
Reporting into the London-based HQ, the agency will focus on increasing the brand awareness in the local consumer and travel market, and cementing its position as a leading and innovative search and travel brand.
Phil Bloomfield, global head of comms and PR for Cheapflights said: “There’s a lot of untapped potential for us in the South African market, and in The Friday Street Club we’ve got the right partner to ensure we unlock it. Emma and her team have great credentials, and we’re looking forward to watching them deliver on their brief in the months ahead as we fulfil our growth plans here.”
The account will be headed up by founder of The Friday Street Club, Emma King, who has years of experience in the travel and tourism sector. She headed up the Cathay Pacific Airlines PR business in the UK for several years, and has more recently worked with the V&A Waterfront as a comms consultant and media spokesperson.
