The Media Online’s weekly round up. Kagiso Media enters the TVET market. Grey Africa’s Fran Luckin is the first South African female jury president at Cannes Lions 2017. Lindy-Lou Gill appointed consultant to IAS. Meltwater starts new year with new appointments. Irvine Partners win’s Cape Point account. Hisense announces Emirates Lions partnership. Rwandan Journalist Johnson Kanamugire wins APO Group invitation. The Marketing Site closes after major hack. Johnnie Walker lengthens its stride with two Sunday Times Leaders on the Move tours. EWN fights back against fake news
This week’s BIG move: Kagiso Media enters the TVET market as Juta and Company acquires a controlling share in Future Managers
The Competition Commission has unconditionally approved a deal whereby Juta and Company (Juta) acquires a controlling share in Future Managers, effective as of 1 February 2017.
Future Managers is the leading publisher of technical and vocational textbooks in South Africa. The transaction extends Juta’s existing publishing footprint into the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector while offering Future Managers access to infrastructure and market reach, technology and investment to further support business growth.
Pieter Bruwer, CEO, and Nickey Cilliers, Executive Director, remain as managing shareholders and will continue to operate the business in the interest of the shareholders. The current Future Managers operation and staff complement will continue to deliver the excellent products and services that the market has come to expect from the Future Managers brand.
“We are excited to work with Future Managers and continue to support the growth of Future Managers as a leading provider of TVET content. This acquisition indicates Kagiso Media’s commitment to the development of education in South Africa, at this important time in our country’s skills development requirements,” says commercial director for Kagiso Media, Megan Marinus. “With Juta’s role in textbook publishing, and Kagiso Trust’s focus on providing quality education for all, this acquisition will strengthen Kagiso Media’s footprint in the education space.”
Who’s moved where
Grey Africa’s Fran Luckin is the first South African female jury president at Cannes Lions 2017
Fran Luckin, chief creative officer of Grey Advertising Africa, has been named President of the Print and Publishing Jury at 2017’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
“It fills me with immense pride to be nominated as Jury President at this year’s Cannes Lions. It’s not only the prestige of the nomination which I am pleased about but also to have been given the honour of standing shoulder to shoulder among some of the finest women in advertising,” she said.
Luckin’s career spans just over two decades. She started as an apprentice copywriter at the Jupiter Drawing Room in 1994 and just five years later was a creative director at TBWA / Hunt / Lascaris. She has served in various leadership roles in the industry, the likes of which include Ogilvy South Africa, where she served five years as executive creative director of the Johannesburg Office, and Quirk South Africa, where she was chief creative officer. She has also had the honour of serving on three previous Cannes Lions Juries and has been a judge at the Clio Awards, D&AD Awards in London, and the One Show. Fran recently acquired an M.B.A from the Berlin School of Creative Leadership. Her thesis focused on the role of awards shows particularly the Cannes Lions in driving creative innovation.
“Print is a medium in transition – it’s being reinvented. It’ll be our responsibility as a jury to put together a portfolio of winners that will inspire further investment and innovation in the medium”, says Luckin.
Lindy-Lou Gill appointed consultant to IAS
With over 30 years of experience across all marketing channels, former head of corporate marketing at Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) Lindy-Lou Gill has been contracted as a consultant to the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) to service clients in the Cape Town area.
“As an accredited senior marketing professional – European Marketing Confederation and a Chartered Marketer South Africa – CM(SA) – Gill brings the expertise and experience to clients in the Cape. Her position in the area is part of the IAS strategy to ensure easy access to all our services countrywide, and to focus on SCOPEN 2017,” says IAS managing director Johanna McDowell.
Gill will be conducting the fieldwork for SCOPEN 2017, the organisation that reviews agency scope in South Africa and provides insights into trends in the communications industry.
Meltwater starts new year with new appointments
Global media intelligence organisation, Meltwater has started the year with new staff appointments and promotions. These new appointments are aimed at ensuring that the Meltwater will be able to meet the needs of all clients in what is expected to be a successful year.
Effective from January 2017, Matthew Barclay has been promoted to Area Director of the global media intelligence giant’s Africa region. He will be responsible for overseeing executive company strategy across the continent.
Sonja Winkler will be heading up Meltwater’s Johannesburg office. As the youngest managing director in the company’s 16-year history, Winkler’s recent appointment represents a further step towards the organisation’s mandate of global female empowerment.
Spearheading Meltwater’s latest business-to-business software offering across Africa – Bevan Boote, managing director of Meltwater: Executive Alerts will ensure clients are informed about key trends and conversations shaping their industry.
Who’s won what
Irvine Partners win’s Cape Point account
Public relations and integrated marketing agency, Irvine Partners, has been appointed by Thebe Tourism Group (concessionaire) to manage Public Relations for Cape Point by Thebe Tourism Group.
“We’re honoured to have been chosen to represent Cape Point, a top tourist destination that last year broke visitor records with over 1 million people arriving to experience this iconic location, and we look forward to further building those numbers,” says Irvine Partners managing director, Jeanine Cameron.
The Cape Point Partnership was formed in 2001 to manage and promote the facilities at Cape Point. Located in the Cape of Good Hope section of Table Mountain National Park, Cape Point is recognised as one of South Africa’s key tourism attractions. Facilities at the Cape Point Concession include the Flying Dutchman Funicular, Two Oceans Restaurant, two curio shops and a food shop at the bottom station, and one curio store at the top station.
Cape Point joins Cape Town Tourism, Protea Hotels (a member of Marriott International), Thebe Tourism Group, and Turkish Airlines as travel, tourism and hospitality sector clients of Irvine Partners.
Hisense announces Emirates Lions partnership
In rugby, a key element to success is selecting the right combinations of players and capitalising on the strength of these strategic partnerships. Hisense South Africa is therefore proud to announce that the company is now the Official Electronics Partner of Lions Rugby.
The sponsorship stretches across the 2017 Vodacom Super Rugby and Currie Cup competitions, with the Hisense logo appearing on the right shoulder of the Emirates Lions and Xerox Golden Lions kits. Hisense also receives exclusive signage rights within Emirates Airline Park.
As part of the sponsorship, the global electronics leader will provide the latest electronic devices, including ULED televisions, all around Emirates Airline Park.
Claire Noyes-Smith, marketing director at Hisense, believes that Hisense and the Lions brand share a common thread in their DNA: both are driven to succeed through quality and innovation. “They are the top local franchise and certainly the team to beat this year. We are honoured to be associated with them,” she notes. “With Emirates Lions always aiming for the top, their motivations align with Hisense’s local AIM HIGH campaign which endeavours to re-ignite the aspirations of South Africans. This partnership aims to deliver the goods, both on and off the field,” Noyes-Smith adds.
Alliance Media is voted the Best Billboard Company in Botswana
Alliance Media continues on a winning streak in their 20th year of business, walking away with the Diamond Award at the PMR (Professional Management Review) Awards. Rea leboga Botswana!
The Alliance Media Botswana team attended the event in Gabarone and they are proud to be recognised above the competition in Botswana. The PMR awards are awarded through an independent survey. Respondents are not prompted to rate any specific company. The ratings are sourced from top decision makers to identify leaders in all major industries who contribute to economic growth and development.
Alliance Media is also the exclusive concession holder for all billboard advertising at the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, where iconic Digital Out Of Home (DOOH) sites have recently been installed, targeting key decision makers on the move.
Rwandan journalist Johnson Kanamugire wins APO Group invitation to cover Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) event in Dubai
APO Group, the advisory firm for companies entering the African market or expanding their presence in Africa, and owner of Africa Wire® and MENA Wire®, has announced that journalist Johnson Kanamugire from Rwanda has won its invitation to cover the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) – one of the world’s largest events for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) – to be held from 2-4 April 2017 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
The 2017 edition of AIM expects to welcome more than 15 000 participants, heads of states and governments, businessmen and investors from over 140 countries across the globe.
“APO Group congratulates Johnson and is proud to offer this opportunity to an experienced Journalist with a rich background. APO offers invitations each year to major African events as part of our commitment to supporting journalism in Africa,” says Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, Founder and CEO of APO Group.
Johnson Kanamugire is a reporter with The East African and Rwanda Today newspapers, both regional weeklies published by the Kenya-based Nation Media Group.
Who’s making moves
The MarketingSite closes after major hack
The Marketing Site’s Winnifred Knight has announced that the popular marketing website has closed down.
“It is with regret and great sadness that Luisa, Wendy and I have to inform you that our marketing portal www.themarketingsite.com has had an attack from hackers during the previous week,” she said in an email.
“Due to the extensive damage to our information pages and other sections in our portal, it has been blocked and closed down.
“To ensure that our valuable content contributors are not compromised without their and our knowledge and that we don’t have any further damage to our systems, we as the owners have taken the decision that after almost 20 years as a valuable resource to the industry, the time has come to close our pages.
“We personally want to thank you all, our valuable content contributors from around the world, our tens of thousands of monthly unique users, the many casual visitors and browsers, friends and colleagues, for your generous and thoughtful support over the last 20 years.”
Johnnie Walker lengthens its stride with two Sunday Times Leaders on the Move tours
Times Media has announced that the aspirational Johnnie Walker brand has extended its relationship with the prestigious Sunday Times Top 100 Companies, and will partner the title in presenting the first two Leaders on the Move tours for 2017, on 17 February & 31 March respectively.
The first tour of the year (17 February) will see Geoff Whyte (CEO, Nando’s Southern Africa), Sindiswa Zilwa (Co-founder, Nkonki) and Alessandro Khojane (founder and co-owner of Gemelli’s) host Leaders on the Move tour delegates in person. The business leaders will share their professional experience, insights, and leadership philosophies with the group in meetings facilitated by respected media personality, Jeremy Maggs. Tour guests will also be treated to an exclusive whisky and food pairing hosted by Johnnie Walker, while lunching at Gemelli’s in Bryanston.
A series of Sunday Times Leaders on the Move tours are planned monthly throughout 2017.
EWN fights back against fake news
Fake news has been a big story in the past few weeks and as a news organization that prides itself on credibility, EWN has taken a proactive step to try to counter the spread of lies.
In what is believed to be an industry first in South Africa, EWN has instituted a pop up which displays as users visit www.ewn.co.za that warns people to be careful about which content they consume – and spread.
The pop up links to a handy article that arms users with some tools and tricks to identify fake news.
“Our role as credible journalists has always been that of curators and gate keepers – and in this age of ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative facts’ our role as fact checking watch dogs becomes more important than ever,” said Katy Katopodis, EWN editor in chief.
She urges media consumers to check their sources before sharing news as, “We all have a responsibility to disseminate news that is factual and correct.”
PwC named one of world’s most powerful brands
PwC has retained its position as the number one professional services brand, and one of the world’s top ten most powerful brands in the Brand Finance Index 2017. The Brand Finance index is an annual assessment of the brand value of over 500 of the world’s best known businesses. PwC achieved the highest score (AAA+) for the seventh year in a row assessing the brand as ‘exceptionally strong and well managed’.
James Du Preez, head of clients markets and development for PwC Africa, said, “This is a fantastic achievement by the strong PwC brand, and is reflected on the African continent, where we consistently rank as the number one brand in most of our major markets. As the professional services firm with the largest Africa footprint, our brand has played a key role in ensuring that PwC remains top-of- mind.”
