Media Moves… TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up. Monde Twala Joins Viacom International Media Networks Africa. The SpaceStation appoints Yvette Jones to business development team. Global communications executive Alan Vandermolen joins WE+. The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town celebrates a whopper of a win. Mortimer Harvey wins big at the Direct Marketing Association India’s CMO Choice Awards 2016.
This week’s BIG move: Monde Twala Joins Viacom International Media Networks Africa
Respected TV executive Monde Twala is to join Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Africa, Viacom’s pan-African multimedia entertainment network. The news was announced today by Alex Okosi, Senior Vice President & Managing Director, VIMN Africa.
Twala, formerly Managing Director, e.tv channels, will take on the newly created role of Vice President: BET, Youth & Music at VIMN Africa. In this role, he will be responsible for driving the growth and development of BET, MTV, MTV Base, and VH1 across Africa.
Commented Alex Okosi, “Monde’s proven track record, wealth of knowledge and diverse skills will add great value to our business, entrench the value of our BET and Youth & Music brands, and accelerate the introduction of new brands and products across our portfolio. As we continue to build our business across the continent, Monde’s deep understanding of audiences and his all-round expertise of driving a diverse, multi-channel network will help us achieve our goal of being Africa’s pre-eminent multimedia entertainment company.
VIMN Africa opened for business in Africa on 22 February 2005 with the launch of MTV Base; after 11 years of operations in Africa, the network now boasts the broadest brand portfolio of any international media company on the continent, producing and distributing a wide range of high quality content for viewers from 4 to 40+, including comedy, kids & family, music & youth and general entertainment channels.
Twala joined e.tv as a Sports Producer in 1999 and was appointed Group Head of e.tv in 2009 before his latest position as Managing Director of the e.tv channels in 2014. Twala spearheaded the launch of 5 additional e.tv-branded channels for the free-to-air OpenView HD satellite platform in 2013. He also played an integral role in creating a number of the channel’s flagship local brands, including the highly-rated daily drama Rhythm City and more recently the much talked about telenovelas Ashes to Ashes and Gold Diggers.
Who’s moved where
The SpaceStation appoints Yvette Jones to business development team
The SpaceStation, the Naspers led digital media sales company, has appointed Yvette Jones onto their Business Development Management team. Yvette will be handling a diverse portfolio of brands across web, mobi-sites and apps including several news platforms (Netwerk24, Die Son, Daily Sun and City Press) and Careers24, a new addition to The SpaceStation stable.
Jones brings to the table nearly 15-years of experience working with top media brands like Men’s Health, Women’s Health, O-Magazine, YOU, Drum and Huisgenoot, as well as valuable media owner and agency experience from CineMark and during her time as group account director at TBWA.
Global communications executive Alan VanderMolen joins WE
WE Communications has announced that industry pro Alan VanderMolen has joined the agency as president, International and WE+, a powerhouse move showcasing the agency’s commitment to global expansion and growth. VanderMolen most recently served as global vice-chairman for DJE Holdings, Edelman’s parent company.
In this newly created role, VanderMolen will be responsible for igniting the company’s APAC and EMEA operations as well as playing a cross-agency role in driving strategic growth initiatives. Since the agency’s reintroduction last autumn, both regions are experiencing an influx of client interest. This momentum is also a result of the agency’s unique global partnership network, WE+, where VanderMolen will play an integral role.
“Technology transforms the way the world does business, and innovators need to be creative in their approaches,” said CEO and founder Melissa Waggener Zorkin. “Alan’s track record in growing and building successful businesses, running international operations, and expanding capabilities and service offerings speaks for itself — and complements WE’s commitment to transformation while continuing to offer clients the best agency experience.”
As a recognised leader in the communications arena, he brings more than 25 years of experience in the industry, having built and successfully led communications businesses in North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America with both Edelman and Burson-Marsteller.
Who’s won what
Mortimer Harvey wins big at the Direct Marketing Association India’s CMO Choice Awards 2016
After presenting its new offering, the Loyal Solutions A/S Cloud-based loyalty platform, at two intense meetings of CMOs hosted by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) India, Luisa Mazinter, group chief innovation officer at Mortimer Harvey, walked off with the prestigious CMO Choice 2016 – Emerging Marketing Partner Award.
Started in 2015 to keep marketing professionals up to date on the very latest in services and technologies, the DMA India’s CMO Choice Awards see around 100 CMOs across India vote on their most trusted marketing suppliers. Marketing service providers are chosen annually after a survey done in partnership with Nielsen narrows down the list to a shortlist of 14, with four eventual winners.
Having secured an exclusive partnership with Loyal Solutions for Africa, the Middle East and Asia, Mortimer Harvey can now offer clients a truly unique product – a Cloud-based, fully customisable loyalty platform that allows a company to launch a loyalty programme at a fraction of the time and cost of a traditional implementation and to rapidly bring on board any merchant partner in the world without any IT integration being needed.
“The simplicity, low cost and speed at which the Loyal Solutions platform can be up and running makes it so achievable, which really appealed to the burgeoning Indian market, and we’re starting to get the same response from clients in South Africa, Africa and other parts of Asia,” Mazinter said.
The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town celebrates a whopper of a win
The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town has been awarded the Burger King account.
The agency was selected based on its strategic approach to its existing client base and for creating campaigns that resonate with consumers. Its public relations and digital capabilities in particular were sought out by Burger King as its offering is fully integrated yielding measurable results.
“Our focus has always been to produce emotional work that stays with the consumer long after the magazine has been put down, the television switched off, or the laptop shut down,” says Kevan Aspoas, CEO of The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town. “We plan on doing this for Burger King in South Africa. It takes more than a print ad to sell a Whopper, and with our experience with food brands, and cheeky approach, we’re looking forward to getting our teeth into the brand and delivering impactful campaigns.”
