Media Moves… TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up. SPARK Africa incorporated into SPARK Media. Publisher co-op AdJoin Media announces Daniel Courtenay MD. Everest joins Outdoor Network as head of sales. M&C Saatchi Abel wins the Sun International Account. Jupiter CT’s creative work for Virgin Radio rolled out internationally. WeChat turns print media into mobile e-commerce channels. Miss SA 2017 to receive R1-million cash from sponsors. INMA website re-launch adds new value, functionality to global membership.
This week’s BIG move: SPARK Africa incorporated into SPARK Media
SPARK Africa, a long-standing division of Caxton CTP Publishers and Printers, has been incorporated as an additional business unit into SPARK Media. The division will continue to represent the 18 publications across 6 African countries.
“The move was a natural progression for SPARK Media to integrate this division into our 360° print and digital offerings,” says SPARK Media CEO, Gill Randall.
“SPARK Africa represents community focused African based newspapers that are credible and reliable information sources in the countries they serve. Since 2006 these products have been providing local editorial and advertising content that is extremely relevant to their countries and communities within growing economies. Now, the division has the added advantage of extra resources, facilities and personnel to support these products.
SPARK Africa represents newspapers in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Who’s moved where
Publisher co-op AdJoin Media announces Daniel Courtenay as MD
Mobile media specialist Daniel Courtenay has been appointed as AdJoin Media’s interim managing director. AdJoin is a joint venture between Kagiso Media and SilverStone Group’s Digital Media sales house, MaxAxion.
The AdJoin Private Audience Network sees publishers band together in partnership with global technology partners to bring richer audiences to market. Courtenay is currently the CEO at MaxAxion, which he joined in 2014.
“We are very excited to have Daniel on board as the new MD of Adjoin,” says Werner Lindemann, group commercial director at Kagiso Media. “He brings an extensive digital pedigree, and a passion and tenacity that is needed in this tough but fast-growing area of Programmatic Advertising. We believe that with Daniel at the helm, we will quickly establish ourselves as the market-leading player in South Africa and Africa.”
Everest joins Outdoor Network as head of sales
Sales professional and strategic marketer, Jonathan Everest, has joined Outdoor Network’s Johannesburg office as Head of Sales – Street Furniture.
Having started his career packing chocolate slabs onto the shelves of Johannesburg’s corner cafés and retail outlets 28 years ago, Everest moved across to the media industry and has held marketing and sales leadership positions at Group Africa, Corpcom, Inter Africa, Global Outdoor Systems and most recently, Minanawe Marketing.
With a passion for media and sales, coupled with consumer insights and extensive industry experience, Everest is perfectly positioned to lead the Outdoor Network Street Furniture sales team. In his new role, he will work towards not only growing sales in the Street Furniture division, but also expanding the existing business offering.
“I am highly motivated to be leading a dynamic sales team and being part of a creative, evolving and expanding industry. Together with my professional sales team, I look forward to taking Outdoor Network’s street furniture division to the next level,” Everest said.
Who’s won what
M&C Saatchi Abel wins the Sun International account
M&C Saatchi Abel has won the Sun International advertising account.
“This is a very exciting win for us and the extensive retail experience within the agency stood us in good stead during the pitch process and will be an asset on this account,” said founding partner, Jacques Burger.
The agency will work across the full scope of communication requirements for Sun International. “We are excited to be working on such an iconic brand and there are exciting plans for both the business and the brand going forward,” he said.
In recent months, the agency has won Nando’s, Twinsaver, additional work from Heineken and now Sun International.
Jupiter CT’s creative work for Virgin Radio rolled out internationally
Virgin Radio International, the world’s largest radio station group with 14 radio stations around the globe, entrusted the brand’s identity to a team at the tip of South Africa, The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town.
Pitching against international agencies, executive creative director of design at Jupiter Cape Town, Joanne Thomas, and her team were awarded the account and took on the formidable task of evolving the old Virgin Radio logo and creating a visual identity for the parent company, Virgin Radio International.
The brief was to refresh the brand’s identity in a way that drives brand development, works across multiple types of media, and amplifies the unique personality of each individual regional station.
“Virgin Radio’s brand promise is ‘Always listening out for you’, so we wanted the identity to feel responsive and dynamic, where the logo was a living entity. We needed a way to show what Virgin Radio is all about, namely sound, and we needed it to stand out visually too. So, using the star from Virgin Radio logo as our starting point, we explored the use of cymatics,” said Thomas.
Cymatics is the study of sound and vibrations made visible through patterns that are formed when a sound frequency is introduced to a medium like water or fine grains of salt and sand.
It was a truly collaborative project in every sense of the word. Rob Brinkworth from Resonate Sound developed sound frequencies and all the equipment required to create different cymatic patterns. Gavin Coetzee and the team at Jupiter then set out to photograph and film the entire process.
The footage and photographic images were used to create an identity for the global parent brand, and inspired each regional Virgin Radio station. The cymatic patterns not only represent the nature of the brand, but also how listeners respond to sound. “We used this as a simple analogy: the star represents a Virgin radio station, the sound frequency is the input from its listeners, and the resulting pattern is the stations individual broadcasting style.”
Using augmented reality (AR), Jupiter also applied the identity to static media like stationary, making even the Virgin Radio business cards an interactive experience. “By scanning the card with an AR app on your phone, the logo comes to life as you can scan over it and the user is able to automatically save the details for that business card to their phone.” This same approach is pulled through to email signatures which are animated too.
Who’s making moves
WeChat turns print media into mobile e-commerce channels
Print media readers will be able to buy goods using an innovative new payment option using WeChat directly out of Stuff magazine. This ingenious means of enabling e-commerce via smartphones is a first for Africa, which is a mobile-only continent.
WeChat has partnered with Stuff, South Africa’s premier consumer technology magazine, and retailer Incredible Connection, to offer readers mind-blowing product deals which they can buy and have delivered to their doorstep without ever putting the magazine down.
“Through this new, innovative offering, we are able to turn a physical magazine into an e-commerce channel. We’re making every day easier for not only our customers but for Stuff magazine readers and Incredible Connection customers. We have ushered in a new era for brands, making customer access easier,” says WeChat Africa’s CEO Brett Loubser.
From seeing a product in print to having a product in your hands, a lot of effort is required from the consumer in order to purchase a product. As a result, many potential customers are lost in the process.
“WeChat is so much more than a mere instant messaging app,” says Stuff publisher and editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. “The app has offered voice and video calling for ages, something most of its rivals still don’t. And, with the addition of WeChat Wallet, users can now make payments as easily as they’d start a conversation. We’re thrilled to be able to use this functionality to turn Stuff into a buying catalogue, and offer our readers real value in the process.”
Miss SA to receive R1-million cash from sponsors
Miss South Africa 2017 will receive R1-million in cash from sponsors Sun International and Cell C as well as a bouquet of prizes that will elevate the competition to one of the richest pageants in the world.
The winner – to be crowned at a live televised ceremony to be held at Sun City at the end of March 2017 – will receive the cash, a car, an international holiday and other prizes in a package that exceeds R2-million. The finalists for 2017 will each receive a R25 000 cash prize.
The search is now on for the young woman who will follow in the footsteps of the current Miss South Africa, Ntandoyenkosi Kunene, and become one of South Africa’s most prominent ambassadors. Miss South Africa 2017 will have the opportunity to represent her country and compete in both the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants.
For the first time members of the public will be able to watch a part of the auditions when they take place at the various Sun International properties around the country. Miss South Africa 2016 will be in attendance at all these auditions
Those who think they have what it takes can register online on the Miss South Africa website: www.suninternational.com/MissSA
INMA website re-launch adds new value, functionality to global membership
The International News Media Association (INMA) has re-launched its core Web site (www.inma.org) to add new value and functionality for its global membership.
The year-long project represents a total re-think of how INMA tells the stories of its 7 700-member international membership. INMA shares those stories via member-provided case studies, strategic reports, a world-class peer-to-peer member directory, and rich archives of best practices, conference presentations, videos, and industry headlines.
“INMA membership is high value for companies and people, and the new Web site surfaces those benefits in an updated and more manageable way,” said Earl J. Wilkinson, executive director and CEO of INMA. “We are blessed with thousands of contributions from members, and the new site shows off this great work in a very visual, easy-to-access way.”
INMA is an ideas-sharing membership network focused on crowdsourcing ideas to grow the revenue, audience, and brand of news media companies.
