The Media Online’s weekly round up. Discover Digital acquires majority stake in EFX Productions. Primedia Broadcasting strengthens leadership team. TPW announces re-branding and new appointments. Val de Vie Magazine takes great strides appointing Les Aupiais as editor. Primedia Broadcasting brings in heavyweight Mark Jakins as CCO. Vennduke Chigumba joins Brand Union as senior strategist. Media24 improves BEE scorecard to a Level 3. Provantage awarded Level 1 B-BBEE rating. BBM Messenger and Planet Sport Publishing bring Football365. TLC and Hubble partner on dynamic new digital platform in Uber vehicles. ROOTS Storyteller provides insights on consumer behaviour. Massmart launches urban bookshelf project. Magazine Features launches brand new website. New positioning for CM. TLC and Hubble partner on dynamic new digital platform in Uber vehicles. WCED and SACE partner with IDEA Digital Education. Sheila Afari Public Relations celebrates five year milestone.
This week’s BIG move: Discover Digital acquires majority stake in EFX Productions
On-demand solutions specialist, Discover Digital, has acquired a 74% stake in technical service and TV production company EFX Productions, expanding its full-service production, broadcasting and streaming capabilities.
Stephen Watson, Managing Director of Discover Digital, says the acquisition enhances Discover Digital’s own production capacity. “Now we are able to film and produce events, live stream across multiple channels, handle all the post-production highlights, near-live clippings and short-from clips, manage advertising and graphics, and archive and monetise the content. We are very excited that we can now offer total turnkey production solutions. This also expands the potential for us to develop more of our own original productions for our digital entertainment on-demand service, DEOD, and its multiple niche sports channels and news service,” says Watson.
EFX Productions, a local company, has been in the television industry for over 10 years, working with staging companies, transmission service providers and creative directors to film and produce coverage of sporting events and concerts, as well as TV series and documentaries. Its facilities include a high-definition outside broadcast (OB) van and flight case solutions for event recordings and outside broadcasts.
Under the partnership, EFX Productions CC will become EFX Productions Pty Ltd. headed by its founder, Brendan Marsay. Discover Digital will invest in additional equipment for the EFX business, which will now also have an expanded service offering, including enhanced VOD and streaming platforms.
People moves
Primedia Broadcasting strengthens leadership team with two strategic appointments
Primedia Broadcasting has announced two key appointments with Kagiso Msimango taking on a new strategic marketing role, and Lucy Diole taking over as chief financial officer.
Msimango has extensive experience in media and marketing. She moves to Primedia Broadcasting from the Primedia Group where she headed up marketing across all of Primedia’s diverse media assets. Prior to that she was with Kagiso Broadcasting for eight years where she occupied various roles.
In addition to her radio and marketing work, Msimango has a large and loyal following due to her Goddess Academy, a personal development organisation that empowers and develops women. She has published two bestselling books, The Goddess Bootcamp and The Goddess Mojo Bootcamp, and featured on TV as host of Mokapelo on SABC1.
Lucy Diole will take over as CFO from Michelle Sampson who is moving on to a new opportunity after more than a decade with Primedia Broadcasting.
An SAICA accredited chartered accountant, Diole has more than 10 years post articles experience. She has served as CFO in her previous company, and has experience across the spectrum of financial management, audit and regulatory reporting .
“As we strive to grow profits in a difficult economic climate and with complex social responsibilities as business leaders, the role of CFO is more critical than ever,” said CEO Omar Essack.
“Lucy has proved to have all of the necessary skills and experience to handle the multiple challenges and responsibilities that will be placed on her.”
Lucy will work with Michelle until Michelle’s departure in August to ensure a smooth handover of this weighty portfolio.
TPW announces re-branding and new appointments
The Publicity Workshop has rebranded its logo and profile, and is now known as TPW. The company has also appointed Benjy Mudie and Tamaryn Nicholson to the team with immediate effect.
Mudie has been appointed to the post of creative consultant and business affairs. Nicholson joins the team as brand manager with special emphasis on social media development.
Mudie has over 40 years of hands-on experience in the world of entertainment marketing He was previously marketing and A&R director for the legendary Tusk Music and in this role was responsible for the signing and development of many South African music success stories including Mango Groove, MarcAlex, Vicky Sampson and Lesley Rae Dowling among others.
Tamaryn Nicholson is the newest member of the team having completed her degree in Brand Building Management at Vega College. She has a keen interest in South African music and online media and has experience working for the likes of Universal Music, The Melissa Conradie Agency, The Rage Festival and Vida e Caffe. She will shortly further her studies in social and digital marketing through UCT.
“I’m proud of both appointments which I believe will further enhance the company`s reputation for key media deliverability and bring additional leverage to our clients profile,” said MD, Dionne Domyan-Mudie.
Val de Vie Magazine takes great strides appointing Les Aupiais as editor
Val de Vie Magazines has announced that for its summer edition 2017/18, Les Aupiais takes the reins as editor. Marketing director and shareholder for Val de Vie, Ryk Neethling, remains as editor in chief, setting the tone and direction for this prestigious publication.
Aupais has over 30 years of experience in top end glossy magazines, in addition to a high-profile career in television, radio and in the field of media relations. Having launched award-winning Private Edition magazine nine years ago, she is perfectly placed to bring her singular vision of luxury, lifestyle and take on market trends.
Val de Vie Magazine, launched in 2007, has grown in reputation and presence with Neethling at its helm, and under the custodianship of an experienced editor, is set to become an even stronger voice in the market. “I am delighted to be working with Ryk and his team on the magazine,” she says. “Ryk is one of the most admired and recognised South Africans here and globally. Not only has he developed this spectacular polo estate into one of the most prestigious in our country, his global reach and connections are legendary. As an editor, it is a dream resource! Readers can expect fresh new design and substantial content to build on the excellent track record of the existing magazine.”
Primedia Broadcasting brings in heavyweight Mark Jakins as CCO
Primedia Broadcasting will be bringing in the extensive expertise and skills of Mark Jakins to take on a new strategic business leadership role of chief commercial officer from 1 September 2017.
“Mark will be driving the commercial strategy for our business as a whole, which is a much broader portfolio than we have had in the past and he will bring his considerable talents and skills to bear to grow revenue and strengthen our market positioning,” said Primedia Broadcasting CEO, Omar Essack.
Jakins has proved to be exceptionally strong at managing multiple portfolios to drive revenue and improve profitability, as well as lead new initiatives and projects to bring in new revenue streams, motivate teams and build equity for the brands that he has worked on.
His experience spans the hospitality, entertainment, service and FMCG industries, and includes significant exposure to the media environment.
Vennduke Chigumba joins Brand Union as senior strategist
Brand Union Africa has welcomed Vennduke Chigumba to his recent appointment as senior strategist in the Johannesburg agency.
Describing himself as “a hard working, young African with a fresh mind and a curious nature for marketing and brand strategy”, Chigumba has an ambition to grow. He earned his BA (honours) for brand management at Vega School and a BA Marketing and Media Communications certificate from Monash University.
Vennduke has worked with diverse companies such as Cheil Worldwide, Abnormal Marketing, Metropolitan Republic, Lowe Bull, and even with fashion designer, David Tlale Couture.
Agency MD, Mathew Weiss added, “With strong communication skills, as well as digital content planning, plus a passion for brand building and brand strategy, Vennduke has a lot to offer in helping us build unified brands.”
Business moves
Media24 improves BEE scorecard to a Level 3
Media24 today announced that it has improved its Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BEEE) scorecard from a Level 4 to a Level 3. The 2017 BEE scorecard was announced after an external audit was completed.
“We are thrilled with this achievement, which bears testimony to our commitment to black economic empowerment,” says Media24 chief executive, Esmaré Weideman. “Achieving a Level 3 status demanded that we intensify our focus on procurement processes and continued dedication to inclusive recruitment practices. It was only possible through the dedicated efforts of all our people.”
Highlights of the company’s new scorecard includea total procurement recognition level of 110%; effective black ownership of 35.40% and black female ownership of 15.92%. Skills development scored 15.63 out of a total of 20 points and full points (5 out of 5) were scored for Socio-Economic Development. Group BEE Manager Sikelelwa Ndwayi says, “Media24 remains committed to building a workplace which better represents South Africa’s demographics and engages in practices that bring about genuine black economic empowerment.”
Provantage awarded level 1 B-BBEE rating
Leading out-of-home company Provantage Media Group has announced that they have just been awarded a Level 1 B-BBEE rating by Grant Thornton – the highest BEE rating achievable. This makes Provantage one of the largest OOH media companies to have achieved a Level 1 rating and one of a small group of enterprise organisations within the marketing and communication sector to qualify as being truly empowered within the context of South African legislation.
In addition to the level 1 B-BBEE rating, Provantage recently completed an equity transaction, which has resulted in the company becoming Black-owned.
Jacques du Preez, founder and CEO of Provantage Media Group, said: “Our achieving Level I status is a result of both our transformation philosophy and the hard work we have undertaken to change people’s lives, which is something we believe in very strongly. It is a source of enormous pride and achievement for everyone involved.”
Provantage’s investment partner, Agile Capital, is delighted with the achievement. “Since our original investment in Provantage in 2011, the company has surpassed our expectations as a market leader seeking meaningful empowerment,” said Agile’s CEO, Tshego Sefolo. “Management has long been committed to this; the company richly deserves a Level 1 rating.”
BBM Messenger and Planet Sport Publishing bring Football365
Planet Sport Publishing (part of Ole! Media) and Creative Media Works, operating as BBM, have partnered to bring football fans the latest news from Football365. Operating inside Discover on BBM Messenger, Football365 will serve up the latest information covering all the leagues, teams, and goals – worldwide – keeping followers in touch with what is happening on and off the field, wherever they go.
Planet Sport Publishing has a mobile-first, social-first ethos, suited to meet the needs of consumers increasingly turning to their mobiles to check the news of the day – especially the latest sports updates. Now, soccer fans can access and share rich pre-match and in-game updates to cheer with friends (or taunt rivals) within BBM.
Football365 on BBM, will also offer audio reports and provide instant reaction from clubs and managers, and fans from over 100 countries globally; users can also browse matches by date, league or country. They are also able to review the status of live games or the final scores of finished games, as well as see what matches are coming up.
BBM Messenger, created in 2005, has evolved from a pure messaging application for communication (text and video), to a social ecosystem.
TLC and Hubble partner on dynamic new digital platform in Uber vehicles
Indoor media advertising specialists and Primedia Unlimited subsidiary, TLC, has partnered with Hubble, Uber’s in-vehicle interactive entertainment partner, to sell video content advertising on their platform.
“TLC has the exclusive rights to sell high viewability video on Hubble’s interactive touch screens in Uber vehicles,” says Greg Bruwer, TLC’s managing director. “It’s an ideal platform on which to engage on a one-on-one basis, with tech-savvy, early adopters in the high income market.”
Uber passengers spend 20 minutes on average in the vehicle, own a credit card (in many cases multiple cards) and a smart phone. With nothing to do but engage with content, it’s the ideal immediate call-to-action platform.
The fully interactive advertising platform offers high quality video and interactive content in a captive environment with measurable ROI. Content includes documentaries, comedies, neighbourhood insights, news, sport, weather and things to see and do within Johannesburg and Cape Town.
ROOTS Storyteller provides insights on consumer behaviour
BMi Research has been appointed by SPARK Media to assist in the delivery of ROOTS data, via Storyteller. The need for brands to access ROOTS data to solve demographical and geographical challenges has increased therefore, SPARK Media – the owners of the ROOTS survey – has taken action to make the data more accessible to various sectors. These include finance, FMCG, property and retail, amongst others.
BMi Research is ideally positioned to offer this service to broader marketing and research channels. “Our role will be to market ROOTS Storyteller to both existing and potential clients, running it quickly and efficiently, aiming for 24-hour turnaround time from request,” says Gareth Pearson, chief executive officer at BMi Research. He adds that ROOTS, via Storyteller, will provide insights on consumer behaviour at a local level for a number of different industries, filling a much-needed gap in the industry.
While Storyteller is new on the market, ROOTS is not. For the past 30 years it has been South Africa’s largest urban, community level quantitative survey. ROOTS provides marketers with demographic information around purchasing behaviour in a number of categories including readership, shopping, banking, digital, entertainment and travel. Moreover, because ROOTS records geographical insights into consumer behaviour, marketers can see what their customers are up to, area by area.
Information for the annual ROOTS surveys is acquired via 28 000 interviews with 6.2 million decision makers who represent 3.4 million South African households. Spark Media will continue to share Roots data with the industry as they have done for many years.
Magazine Features launches brand new website
One of SA’s top picture agencies is proud to announce the launch of their brand new website.
If it’s the latest images of Angelina Jolie on the red-carpet or a video of the world’s wackiest animals, this exciting new website will satisfy all digital and print needs. Specialising in human-interest stories, celebrity, video and lifestyle content, their huge photo and video database is updated daily with content from all corners of the globe. With over 150 million images available online, there is no need to look any further! The site is user-friendly, making it easy to download, and more importantly cost-effective in keeping with these budget-tight times. Highly shareable, it will also serve to boost online traffic for web clients, driving up those all-important traffic figures.
“We created the website because it was important for us that clients could access this amazing database in an easy and user-friendly way and be able to find what they are looking for,” says Magazine Features CEO, Esté Langeveldt.
New positioning for CM
CM has renewed its positioning, visual identity and website. The new identity is more modern, more suited to the way in which CM has developed itself as a company and what it stands for nowadays. Besides this, CM will launch the new website on a new internet address: cm.com
Since 1999, CM has grown from text messaging company to an organisation that makes it possible for companies to reach their customers and consumers via mobile applications. The text message still plays a significant role within CM’s service provision but payments, push notifications, online identification, voice messages and ticketing have also been added to the portfolio.
“If you ask people what CM stands for, they’ll answer ‘the text message'”, chief marketing officer (CMO) Joris van der Waart explains. “But CM is much more than that. It has developed into a true mobile business enabler that offers services in the entire mobile spectrum: from sending and receiving text and voice messages to digital identification and authentication and the receipt of payments. This is also the reason why the word ‘telecom’ is no longer used. We are definitely more than just a telecom company.”
Making moves
Massmart launches urban bookshelf project
Massmart has launched its first Urban Bookshelf, an exciting literacy project developed to increase access to books in under-served communities. Placed at Phefeni Recreation Centre in Orland, Soweto, the Urban Bookshelf looks like a striking artwork and functions as a free library.
Through a curated process Massmart commissioned GASS Architecture Studio to design the unique book sharing station, or lending library, and a renowned graffiti artist Rasik Green aka Mr Ekse to enrich the design.
“This is the first of many artist-designed free miniature libraries” says Massmart sustainability executive, Alexander Haw. “We have earmarked other locations around Johannesburg and will be collaborating with various other artists and architects to create different interpretations of the Massmart Urban Bookshelf. We hope that through this project we will promote reading and improve literacy.”
Made of powder coated steel, the book sharing station is 2.8m high and consists of durable steel boxes that ensure the books are protected from all the elements. The structure is tailored to both kids and adults, with children’s literature at the bottom for easy access.
The Urban Bookshelf works similarly to a traditional library except there is no need for library card and there are no fees. The community can borrow and return books at their leisure. To provide and replenish the structure with a diverse range of reading material Massmart partnered with major publishers, namely Jacana and Jonathan Ball. To ensure that the books cater to the local taste of readers in the community Massmart conducted extensive research.
Haw says “We deployed field researchers to study the habits of readers in the community. Our survey looked into several dimensions of this exploration by noting the role of libraries in people’s lives and by paying particular attention to people’s purposes for reading. Our research’s key findings highlighted how libraries add value communities and serve as cultural centres where individuals gather to learn, explore and interact. It also gave us insight into the local book taste of the community and informed us on which books and genres are required and desired for our structure.”
Cape Town creative companies collaborate to conquer the continent
Multi-disciplined design and marketing agency, North, will collaborate with film facilitation firm, Robot on certain projects to expand their offerings both locally and throughout Africa.
The decision came after the two companies teamed up to create the highly successful Labelwise campaign, which aimed to educate South Africans on the value of purchasing sustainable products. Conceptualised by North, the unconventional campaign comprised a series of short, humorous, yet impactful ads produced by Robot. These were shown on a variety of online platforms, social media and TV. In addition, posters capturing the quirkiness and key messages of the ads were produced by North and popped up on lampposts in both Cape Town and Johannesburg.
North co-founder and creative director, Mike Bond, shares: “We had a great experience working with Robot and felt their African experience and expertise in the production of brand films, commercials and music videos, coupled with North’s aesthetic principles and years of advertising industry exposure, make for a formidable combination.”
Liam Johnson, owner of and executive producer at Robot, adds: “We’re really excited about our collaboration with North. We complement each other in company ethos and skill sets, working incredibly well together, while also being able to operate autonomously.”
WCED and SACE partner with IDEA Digital Education
Western Cape Department of Education (WCED) and South African Council of Educators (SACE) partner with IDEA Digital Education to introduce a transformative digital education programme.
On the 24 July 2017, teacher professional development and student STEM education is set to undergo a radical improvement powered by IDEA’s revolutionary, locally produced digital content. IDEA will power up digital programmes for teachers and STEM content for students in both urban and rural areas in the Western Cape and Kwazulu Natal.
Over 800 teachers and more than 8 000 students will embark upon the first programme of IDEA STEM, IDEA Teach and IDEA ICT courses accessed through the IDEA Cloud portal. The pilot aims to empower students and teachers to reach teaching and learning goals using digital resources provided by IDEA and supported by Training Room Online and the Department of Basic Education’s DBE Cloud.
All of the digital courses are founded on global best practice in teaching and learning and cover ICT skills development for educators as well as the latest in interactive, digital Science, Maths and English visual and e-learning content for learners.
Sheila Afari Public Relations celebrates five year milestone
Bespoke African PR and communications agency, Sheila Afari Public Relations (SAPR), celebrates their five year milestone with over half a billion rand in Advertising Value Equivalent (A.V.E) generated over the last five years.
Having serviced over 100 clients from territories such as South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Botswana, Mozambique, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Los Angeles and New York; SAPR holds a firm reputation for being a premium service provider that is generous with their offering and consistent in getting results.
“I established SAPR five years ago when the entrepreneur in me identified an opportunity to provide a client with PR services. I entered the industry blindly but managed to quickly navigate my way around. I would like to thank all the clients that gave SAPR a chance with no or very little track record as reference, as well as all members of the media that have continued to support our agency with all the coverage, half a billion rands worth of coverage, over the years,” Afari said.