The first Media Moves of 2016. Edelman signs on Chain Reactions as exclusive affiliate in Nigeria; Marcus Brewster announces European expansion; APEX 2017 is officially open for entry; The Holmes Report selects APO as the official newswire to cover the launch of its first African SABRE Awards.
Who’s won what
Edelman signs on Chain Reactions as exclusive affiliate in Nigeria
Edelman, a leading global communications marketing firm, has signed on Chain Reactions Nigeria, one of Nigeria’s most vibrant PR firms, as its exclusive affiliate in the country following a one-year strategic partnership. The affiliation further expands Edelman’s existing operation outside its South African office, located in Johannesburg.
“Our decision to partner exclusively with Chain Reactions Nigeria was informed by the team’s unique understanding of the Nigerian market, the richness of the strategic thinking and the creativity behind their work,” said Robert Holdheim, CEO, Edelman South Asia, Middle East & Africa. “The addition of Chain Reactions Nigeria into Edelman’s network of exclusive affiliates further enhances our ability to provide seamless, strategic communications marketing support across the African continent.”
Commenting on the news of Edelman’s decision, Israel Opayemi, MD/Chief Strategist of Chain Reactions Nigeria, said, “Our admission into Edelman’s affiliate network is an important milestone in our growth trajectory. It is the kind of best-of-breed partnership we have always desired. Our current and prospective clients can anticipate a balance of best-in-class services backed by Edelman’s international reach and expertise. Our affiliation with Edelman will continue to raise the bar of creativity and excellence in all that we do. Edelman’s global resources will propel us to do more of the creative work we have been known for in Nigeria.”
The Holmes Report selects APO as the official newswire to cover the launch of its first African SABRE Awards
The Holmes Report, the most influential and authoritative voice of the global public relations industry, and the African Public Relations Association announced today that APO will be the official newswire of the first ever African SABRE Awards, which recognise Superior Achievement in Branding, Reputation & Engagement.
According to the Holmes Group CEO, Paul Holmes, who chairs the SABRE judges: “We want to make sure that news about the first African SABRE Awards reaches the entire PR community across Africa, and partnering with APO -which reaches more than 250,000 contacts and is used by many of those we are trying to reach – will help us attract the best work in the region.”
More than 40 PR agencies have used APO services over the last 12 months and its services are also used by various blue chips including Uber, Oracle, General Electric (GE), The Economist, DHL, L’Oréal, Starwood (Now Marriott Group), Hilton Worldwide, PwC, Orange, Philips and many more.
APO founder and CEO, Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, declared: “The Holmes Report is highly respected within the public relations industry and being selected as the official newswire of its African SABRE Awards is the ultimate benchmark of press release distribution in Africa. Paul and I have had past discussions on how we could collaborate, and I am pleased that we can start this year with APO as the official newswire.”
Who’s making moves
SA PR firm Marcus Brewster announces European expansion
South African integrated strategic communications firm Marcus Brewster will expand into Europe this year with the launch of Marcus Brewster International (MBI).
Chairman Marcus Brewster, who founded the consultancy in 1991 and led it to a record number of local and global awards, says the next frontier for the business would be offshore opportunity, and particularly in markets in the European Union.
“We ended last year on a high note with the signing of a strategic alliance with Media Revolution, a 100% black female owned PR and marketing services agency in Johannesburg. That deal allowed us to offer a level one BEE service to South African clients and a scorecard in line with the new MAC codes for our sector. In addition, Media Revolution’s implementation capacity and footprint throughout Africa open the way to engaging with EU clients looking to enter the African market and providing them with PR agency support.”
In addition to helping international businesses coming into Africa and South Africa, MBI will also support pan-European clients with brand communication activity on the continent, specifically where the cost of digital campaigns are more competitively resourced out of South Africa. According to Brewster, Media Revolution will be “MBI’s engine room for a broad swathe of marketing services ranging from webdev and social media to strategy, stakeholder engagement and even shop-fitting.
APEX 2017 is officially open for entry
The Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) announced today that the 2017 APEX awards season is officially open for entry. The annual APEX awards is hosted by the ACA, the official, representative body for the Communications and Advertising sector in South Africa.
The APEX awards recognises and awards those advertising and communications campaigns that are not only creative, but effective in delivering a tangible and measurable return on investment or objectives.
Agencies and their clients are invited to enter their best work into the 2017 APEX awards. Given the current economic climate when marketers and their agency partners are required to demonstrate their contribution to the bottom line, the APEX awards presents a great opportunity for client and agency collaboration to showcase exactly that!
“The APEX awards encourages agencies and their clients to develop new, higher, best practise standards for measurement of advertising and communications campaigns. Budget allocation to advertising and communication activities is not an expense, but rather an investment, and APEX promotes a better understanding of business practices and how advertising can deliver a measured and effective return on that investment,” explained Odette van der Haar, ACA CEO.
For more information about the APEX awards, details on how to enter, key dates to diarise, entry fees and so much more, visit https://www.acasa.co.za/apex.aspx , email apex@acasa.co.za or call the ACA on (011) 781 2772/3.
