Media Moves… TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up. Edcon makes sweeping agency appointments. Edcon’s discount division appoints Joe Public. Country Hotels appoints marcusbrewster as its strategic communications partner. Dagbreek Trust joins forces to give Afrikaans wings. The Publishing Partnership and Amorphous New Media win Edcon publishing account. Ornico wins Africa’s first AMEC Awards. The SA Ubuntu Foundation unveils its new colourful logo from a MAD World. Print is not dying, says PocketMedia Solutions
Who’s won what
Edcon makes sweeping agency appointments
South Africa’s leading clothing, footwear and textiles retailer, Edcon, has announced the appointment of Young and Rubicam (Y&R), Promise Brand Specialists (Promise) and The Publishing Partnership (TPP) as its new advertising partners for Edgars Division, Specialty Division and Edgars & Jet Club Magazine publishing, respectively.
This coincides with Edcon’s advancing strategic change process to recalibrate the business to build a stronger and more robust group. The process includes a simplification of the company’s operating model by eliminating complexities and improving efficiencies, in a more cost effective manner. In support of this, Edcon undertook a comprehensive tender of its Group-wide advertising activities, resulting in the agencies being appointed following a rigorous selection process.
The Edgars account has been awarded to Y&R, a well-established and awarded agency established more than 85 years ago.
The Speciality account (excluding Legit, which remains with the Metropolitan Republic Group) was awarded to Promise, a dynamic agency that was established in 2005. Promise has already been the advertising partner for the CNA and Edcon Group Cellular brands within Edcon.
The Edgars and Jet Club Magazine Publishing account was awarded to TPP, a leading content agency with 19 years of publishing experience. TPP has already been the publishing partner for Jet Club Magazine, and together they have won numerous publishing awards. They also have strong experience in retail publishing, with the Clicks Clubcard Magazine as a major client.
Edcon’s discount division appoints Joe Public
Africa’s leading clothing, footwear and textiles retailer, Edcon, today announced the appointment of Joe Public as the advertising partner for Edcon’s Discount Division.
The Discount Division consists of over 500 discount stores selling value merchandise targeted at lower to middle income customers and includes store chains Jet and Jet Mart. The Discount Division product offering includes clothing, footwear, general merchandise, including FMCG, and appliances.
The lead advertising account has been awarded to Joe Public, which is the current agency for the Discount Division’s above the line (ATL) marketing. Joe Public will now assume additional advertising functions including Below the Line, digital advertising and public relations for the Discount Division.
Joe Public is a Johannesburg based agency with a presence in five other African countries and in Europe.
Country Hotels appoints marcusbrewster as its strategic communications partner
Country Hotels has appointed marcusbrewster to manage all PR related services for the group’s portfolio of nine hotels. Selected for the firm’s extensive media relations practice, marcusbrewster will manage all communications and strategy beginning with the launch of a new property, The Springbok Inn, in the Northern Cape. The agency will also assist with travel route announcements and profiling of the CEO of the hospitality brand.
The 87-room Springbok Inn in Namaqualand, which opened this month is the second addition to the group’s portfolio this year. The new hotel will bolster the Country Hotels portfolio to a total of 320 rooms across a variety of properties that range from a historic hotel in Calvinia to a luxury villa in Plettenberg Bay, and includes a picturesque lodge and campsite on the Orange River.
The recent appointment of Country Hotels follows a series of account renewals and new business developments for the firm. The consultancy, now in its 25th year, is South Africa’s most awarded PR agency. Last month, marcusbrewster signed Danish watch brand Skagen, picked up its first overseas campaign for an international client and was announced as the Best Offshore PR Agency in the 2016 Offshore Excellence Awards in London.
Dagbreek Trust joins forces to give Afrikaans wings
With Afrikaans increasingly being buffeted by strong head winds, Dagbreek Trust, in collaboration with like-minded organisations and role-players, decided to join forces and launch a comprehensive campaign to boost Afrikaans anew and establish the language as a strong brand.
According to Dr Theuns Eloff, chairman of Dagbreek Trust, a loyal and long-time platinum sponsor of the Pendoring Advertising Awards, the campaign was conceptualised following a think-tank about the future of Afrikaans some two years ago, which was attended by all Afrikaans-orientated organisations. “Fact is that Afrikaans is politically under pressure, and the time has come for all those who love the language to work together to ensure its future,” he stresses.
In collaboration with, and to the benefit of existing Afrikaans projects, actions and organisations, Campaign Afrikaans’s strategy is aimed at promoting the charm, uniqueness, diversity and usefulness of Afrikaans.
At the centre of the initiative is a media campaign consisting of outdoor, TV, radio and print advertisements showing how many people, old and young, across colour and cultural divides, enjoy speaking Afrikaans. Campaign Afrikaans invites all South Africans via a competition offering attractive prizes to strut their stuff, in Afrikaans.
The Publishing Partnership and Amorphous New Media win Edcon publishing account
The Publishing Partnership (TPP) has been awarded the contract to publish Edcon’s Edgars Club Magazine and Jet Club Magazine. TPP will create the print editions of both magazines and Amorphous New Media will produce the Edgars Club Magazine app.
Edcon’s extensive publishing and advertising portfolio went out to pitch and there was tough competition for the opportunity to work alongside one of South Africa’s foremost retail groups. TPP and Amorphous were up against two other companies in the final round of pitching for the publishing account and were delighted to be successful in their bid.
TPP CEO Mark Beare says, ‘We are delighted to be continuing our longstanding relationship with Edcon on the Jet Club Magazine, which TPP has published for 17 years, and are also looking forward to working on some exciting new developments for the Edgars Club Magazine. Creating content that genuinely engages customers is TPP’s strength and we are thrilled to be continuing on this journey with Edcon.’
Amorphous CEO Grant Shippey says, ‘The commitment to digital publishing in the mobile era offers significant opportunities for both the Jet and Edgars brands. Engaging with customers on their devices throughout the purchase cycle with engaging content and cutting-edge technology, will bring Edcon retail to the forefront of content-marketing, here in South Africa and abroad.’
Ornico wins Africa’s first AMEC Awards
Ornico’s campaign analysis of the inaugural The CEO SleepOut in 2015 has been awarded two Gold Awards at the prestigious AMEC Awards, held in London on 16 June 2016. This is the world’s premium awards celebrating excellence in communications measurement and evaluation. Ornico was awarded Gold for both the “Best use of measurement for a single event” and “Best measurement of a not-for profit campaign”, beating stiff competition from global campaigns featuring Pope Francis, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Unicef.
“The fact that our philanthropic event from South Africa was acknowledged on a global stage, alongside such notable brands as The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mission Australia, not to mention Pope St. Frances, is incredibly humbling. We are proud to position Ornico as a Friend in the 2015 and 2016 CEO SleepOutTM Champions line-up,” says Ali Gregg, CEO of The SleepOut
AMEC (The International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication) is the world’s largest professional body for communications research, media intelligence and insights and boasts membership from more than 48 countries
Who’s making moves
The SA Ubuntu Foundation unveils its new colourful logo from a MAD World
The South African Ubuntu Foundation has unveiled their new logo that reflects its 21st century vision of unity in South Africa. The Foundation appointed MadAdvertising to design the logo, after it saw a need to update its existing logo as a mark of its continued growth and evolution.
Kevin Chaplin, CEO of the SA Ubuntu Foundation, says: “This marks a very special and important time in the life of SA Ubuntu as we grow and evolve. The MadAdvertising brand of passion and vision is well-aligned with ours which has made for an exciting partnership. The new logo allows us to be seen as a vibrant foundation and will play a part in assisting us to achieve our goals to the future.”
After weeks of development and exploring dozens of styles and selections, two options were presented at an Ubuntu Business Breakfast at the Southern Sun Hotel in Newlands, Cape Town. Guests were greeted with a special ballot paper with the two final logo selections, marked “A” and “B” and were asked to designate their favourite to be the new Ubuntu logo. Both designs were created to communicate the spirit of Ubuntu, combining elements of unity and togetherness. In the end the choice came down to aesthetic preference.
The new logo will now be rolled out to all of the foundation’s marketing collateral. For more information about The SA Ubuntu Foundation, visit
Print is not dying, says PocketMedia Solutions
PocketMedia Solutions, a communication solutions company with a specialised finishing unit, patented machinery and a brand new folding machine which can produce greater quantities, at a faster pace, while offering clients the benefit of new technology – continues to see year-on-year growth, despite industry claims that print – as a form of marketing and advertising – is dying.
According to managing director John Davis, “We focus on compact, niche printed marketing and communication solutions which are enjoying an upward growth trend in the market. We are growing because we supply solutions. We are more of an advertising agency than a printer, however, we are very fortunate to have an excellent production arm which can implement the solutions that the sales team sells.”
To keep up with the ever-increasing demand for its products PocketMedia Solutions has expanded its offering to the market and is ensuring even quicker turnaround production times by investing in Herzog Heymann’s latest folding machine, the KL 45, of which there are very few in South Africa.
“The all-purpose machine suits PocketMedia Solutions as it’s able to fold very small products, like our patented Z-CARD that can be produced small enough to fit into a wallet, and our other PocketMedia products. We look forward to ensuring even higher quality products and quicker turnaround times,” says Davis.
The company’s growth has ensured that it is investing in the rest of Africa, which is now ready for the various products that PocketMedia has on offer. “In the past we received small orders from various African countries, however, the size of these orders has grown exponentially. We are now receiving orders for over 250000 Z-CARDs at a time,” says Davis.
