Media Moves… TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up. Primedia Outdoor Botswana celebrates as Botswana turns 50. Net#work BBDO announces new head of strategic planning. Minor Hotels appoints Jackie Williams as regional director of sales and marketing. Karli Stock promoted at Tribeca. Executive moves at HWB Communications. AfricaCom selects Burson-Marsteller as communications agency of record for 2016 event. The Communications Firm (TCF) wins Heineken South Africa Corporate account. Joe Public wins The Times Creative Challenge for POWA. Boity signs to global talent agency. Executive moves at HWB Communications. J. Walter Thompson and FoodBankSA feel the love. Mortimer Harvey’s Knight and Mazinter judging ECHO Awards. Midrand Graduate Institute becomes Pearson Institute Of Higher Learning.
This week’s BIG move: Primedia Outdoor Botswana celebrates as Botswana turns 50
Primedia Outdoor Botswana, voted Best Outdoor Company in Botswana for a number of consecutive years, has joined the ‘BOT 50’ Celebrations.
Preparations for the country’s 50th Independence celebrations started nationwide last year with the hoisting of flags on all tall towers around the country. President Khama urged the country’s citizens to rally behind upcoming events and to take part in various activities that would take place around the country until September 2016.
In a press conference, President Khama said the people of Botswana have good reasons to celebrate: Rising from humble beginnings, Botswana has come to be to be ranked as a middle income country, despite being confronted by numerous challenges along the way. While the surrounding region has often been shaken by political instability, and outbreaks of foot and mouth disease and the HIV/AIDS crisis have at times made life difficult, Botswana has continued to go from strength to strength. The country has been built through the collective effort of all its people, said President Khama, who urged all to take part in the celebrations.
“Primedia Outdoor Botswana is delighted to take part in the celebration of this significant milestone”, says Fatima Whittaker, managing director for Primedia Outdoor Botswana. “We are proud to call Botswana home, and as the country’s leading outdoor company, we look forward to playing our part in working with business and communities to build an even brighter future”.
Who’s moved where
Net#work BBDO announces new head of strategic planning
Net#work BBDO has announced the promotion of Tebogo Koena to head of strategic planning, effective immediately. “The role of strategy doesn’t always get the credit it deserves,” says Net#work BBDO ECD Brad Reilly. “Strategic planning is critical to the creative process and although it doesn’t get a fair share of the limelight, the work behind the scenes is recognised and valued by the creative department.”
Reilly describes Koena as being calm, methodical and as having a good mix of intuition and a curious mind fuelled by data-driven decision making. “He is a rare breed who is equally comfortable partnering with clients to develop a business and brand strategy whilst also inspiring creatives with a human opportunity and a springboard from which big, integrated work can develop.”
Koena maintains the agency philosophy that strategic planning should be at the centre of the creative process. “Keeping it simple but insightful, and understanding that strategy is a means to an end is important for strategists as well for the discipline itself,” he says. “I see the partnership with the creative department as fundamental to our success, and we have seen results over the past 18 months. Rather than a relay in which the brief is passed down the line, I like to think of it as a double helix in which strategists and creatives work closely and iteratively to develop the brief and the work together.”
Minor Hotels appoints Jackie Williams as regional director of sales and marketing
Minor Hotels has announced the appointment of Jackie Williams who has joined the team in the capacity of regional director of sales and marketing and will be reporting directly to Sir Richard Hawkins, regional director hotel operations Africa.
“We are excited to have Jackie leading our regional sales and marketing team. Jackie’s skills and experience is a great match for our agenda, which is to grow and develop the depth and breadth of our brands in the African region. We look forward to taking the business to new heights collectively as a team,” says Hawkins.
Williams has built a successful hospitality career spanning over two decades with the Tsogo Sun Group previously known as Southern Sun Hotels. “I am thrilled to be working with the Minor Hotels Regional team and look forward to the new opportunities this role brings. We aim to increase and penetrate Minor Hotels footprint in the African market and beyond”, says Williams.
Boity signs to global talent agency
Celebrated South African actress and TV star, Boitumelo Thulo, better known as Boity, has signed to global communications, events and talent agency, Celebrity Services Africa (CSA).
“We are tremendously excited to be representing Boity, especially in a time when her career is really just beginning to blossom. In signing her, our intentions are to not only build her South African profile but also to grow her audience and brand across Africa and internationally,” says executive director CSA, communications and talent, Davin Phillips.
CSA will be working closely with Boity with the aim to grow her brand across all mediums, producing new material such as a charity organisation and impending apps, and aligning her with, and enhancing her existing partnerships, from beauty and fashion endorsements to acting performances and appearances. In addition, CSA also plans to further build her media relations, especially social media.
Karli Stock promoted at Tribeca
Tribeca Public Relations, the award winning independent public relations agency, has promoted Karli Stock to account manager.
Stock has played a key role in a number of Tribeca’s client campaigns that have won two gold and two silver PRISM awards over the past three years. Her exceptional day to day delivery and results for her clients and her team set her on the promotion path, along with her strong media relations skills and in-depth client knowledge.
“Karli has been with Tribeca since 2012 where she joined us as an intern, after which she was promoted to account executive. Her growth and dedication has been such an inspiring journey to witness, and we’re looking forward to her continued development within the agency,” says Nicky James, co-owner of Tribeca PR.
Stock’s responsibilities will now extend to managing the daily delivery of client PR objectives, a higher level of engagement with PR strategies and new business initiatives, as well as mentoring junior team members. Karli continues to work on clients including GWK, Cathay Pacific, Slo-jo and Webfluential.
Executive moves at HWB Communications
HWB Communications has announced that CEO Lisa Devi has stepped down to pursue other business interests.
HWB general manager, Lynn Erasmus, has been appointed acting CEO with immediate effect and co founder and executive director, Evelyn Holtzhausen, will take change of new business development and strategy following his recent appointment as President of the Public Relations Global Network (PRGN).
HWB Board chairperson Asim Gani said he wished Ms Devi “success for the future”.
Who’s won what
Blowtorch Advertising lands major motor vehicle account
Blowtorch Advertising has been appointed as lead creative agency for all Tata passenger and light commercial vehicles distributed by Accordian Investments (part of the Imperial Group) in South Africa, following on from successful work done on new passenger vehicle, the Tata Bolt, which was launched into the South African market towards the end of 2015.
As lead creative agency Blowtorch Advertising is responsible for developing creative advertising solutions across all media channels (ATL, BTL and digital) for the entire range of Tata passenger and light commercial vehicles. The brands that they will be working on include, amongst others; the Super Ace, Xenon and the Tata Bolt.
Client services manager at Blowtorch Advertising, Brigitta Annegarn, believes this recent appointment is testament to the agency being able to deliver strong creative. She explains that Tata Motors’ overarching strategy is to build the brand in the South African market, which is why it makes sense for one agency to work on all the vehicles.
The Communications Firm (TCF) wins Heineken South Africa corporate account
The Communications Firm (TCF) has been appointed as Heineken South Africa’s corporate relations agency. TCF will be responsible for managing the corporate relations and internal communications of the brand in South Africa.
“It’s a great honour for a specialised South African agency such as ours to be trusted with building and managing the Heineken South Africa corporate reputation locally,” says TCF CEO, Bonnke Shipalana.
“Heineken is a multinational organisation that is operating for its own account for the first time in South Africa. We are excited to have partnered with The Communications Firm as our Public Relations agency. We were impressed by the industry knowledge, expertise and experience they have within this sector.
“We look forward to working together in disrupting the beer PR landscape as South Africans know it,” said Zodwa Velleman, legal & corporate relations director .
AfricaCom selects Burson-Marsteller as communications agency of record for 2016 event
KNect 365 TMT (An Informa business), organisers of the annual AfricaCom event, have announced that it has selected Burson-Marsteller as its public relations and communications agency for the 19th annual AfricaCom event, taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 14–18 November 2016.
The relationship will be managed by Burson-Marsteller’s Johannesburg office, with support from its Cape Town team and its extensive and award winning African affiliate network covering 52 of the 55 African countries.
“The new conference programme is designed to inspire, challenge assumptions, fuel debate and tackle the most difficult and controversial questions facing the African telecoms, media and ICT industries. We have worked closely with industry experts to inject fresh vigour into our conference to ensure that attendees emerge informed, energised and equipped with relevant knowledge to transform new ideas into action,” said Jake McNulty, Head of Marketing, KNect 365 TMT.
This year, KNect 365 TMT is elevating AfricaCom to a powerful vehicle for digital transformation, economic development and social empowerment. The 2016 event is going to be bigger and bolder than ever before, with an audience of over 10 000 people, representing the entire digital ecosystem.
Joe Public wins The Times Creative Challenge for POWA
The Times Creative Challenge 2016 realised its highest participation from advertising agencies across South Africa, in what is now the fourth iteration of the annual tactical print creativity contest. The Times Creative Challenge invites agencies across South Africa to create full-page, full-colour tactical print ads for their clients’ brands, based on the stories featured in the newspaper.
“The contest reinforces Times Media’s commitment to support creative excellence in print, which appears to be alive and well judging by the quantity and calibre of entries received this year,” says Trevor Ormerod, GM Group Sales & Marketing at Times Media. “The Times Creative Challenge also ties into Times Media’s ongoing sponsorship of the Print Advertising category of the Loeries, with each successfully placed ad receiving a complimentary entry. The winner of this Loerie category will also be awarded a print campaign worth R160 000 from Times Media.”
Stephen Haw, editor of The Times, adjudicated entries on a daily basis to decide those that would be placed in the title the following day. He highlighted the overall winning entry from Joe Public – a piece of work that cleverly drew attention to the issue of domestic violence in South Africa.
Haw explained that he received a call from Joe Public to discuss their idea and the possibility that their work could run alongside the newspaper’s regular horoscope column, should it be selected for placement. When Haw saw the submission however, he realised that it was very powerful.
“It was genius. I thought it a more accurate prediction of many a future than the traditional astrology readings. So, instead of running it alongside the stars, as planned, I ran it instead of them. Not one reader complained. It managed to do something we should take very seriously in a fun and compelling way, which made people pay attention when they otherwise wouldn’t have,” said Haw.
Who’s making moves
J. Walter Thompson and FoodBankSA feel the love
J. Walter Thompson South Africa talent in Cape Town joined their client, FoodBank SA, for the NGO’s vital Meal and Hamper Packing initiative this month.
Every year on International Nelson Mandela Day, South Africans gather to dedicate 67 minutes of personal time to making the world a better place – a contribution that honours the anti-apartheid hero’s 67 years of humanitarian effort on behalf of his nation.
During the 67 minutes with FoodBank SA, the J. Walter Thompson South Africa team formed a pipeline, weighing, packing and boxing nutritious dried ingredients into 200 individual vegetable Biryani Ready Quick Meals. Each box contained enough ingredients to feed 45 people. A total of 9,000 hungry South African mouths will benefit from the team’s effort on the day, with packed boxes being distributed to various beneficiary organisations around the country.
Commenting on the time spent with FoodBank SA, Kwanda Malunga, account executive at J. Walter Thompson Cape Town, said “You could feel the love and warmth going into packing those hampers. It is really great to know we have been able to help provide someone, somewhere in South Africa, with the means to a quick, easy, delicious and quality meal.”
Earlier this year J. Walter Thompson Cape Town was named communications partner for South Africa’s largest food banking network, FoodBank SA. The agency contributes to the organisations communication activities on a pro bono basis.
Mortimer Harvey’s Knight and Mazinter judging ECHO Awards
Winnifred Knight, business director direct, CRM and loyalty, and Luisa Mazinter, group chief innovation officer, were invited to be part of the 90-strong judging panel made up of leading local and international personalities in the data and marketing industry.
Knight and Mazinter will be joined by top judges from BBDO, Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal, Epsilon, Havas Media, LinkedIn, Harte Hanks and OgilvyOne to judge the world’s most strategically bold and creatively brave marketing campaigns.
The DMA International ECHO Awards honour excellence in creativity, marketing strategy, and response results in data-driven marketing campaigns. “We’re delighted with this year’s judges as they represent the best of data and marketing expertise and the dynamic disruptions of modern marketing,” says Tom Benton, DMA’s CEO.
Midrand Graduate Institute becomes Pearson Institute Of Higher Learning
Pearson South Africa has revealed the renamed and rebranded Midrand Graduate Institute (MGI) to students, parents, employees and business. MGI will now be known as the Pearson Institute of Higher Education (PI).
Pearson South Africa is a subsidiary of Pearson plc, the world’s largest education company, and has since 2003 wholly owned and operated MGI.
“The new name is a natural progression and will position the institution as an identifiable centre of higher learning that delivers world-class academic qualifications and student experiences,” says Mark Cunningtion, executive director: direct delivery.
“In addition to the rebranding we are excited to be launching an employability centre at our Midrand Campus, with plans in place to open further five centres in other provinces later in the year and in early 2017.”
