The Media Online’s weekly round up. Sunday Times launches Money, with Laura du Preez to edit. Viacom International Media Networks announces key appointments. HoneyKome announces the promotion of Sheharazaad Allie to director of operations. New interactive business unit director for Clockwork Media. Fashion One Group appoints Ali Gursoy as CEO. SPARK Media adds two more local papers to its stable. 365 Digital launches programmatic Private Marketplace (PMP). Dentsu Aegis Network announces Crimson Room Communications officially rebrands as MKTG. Kilted Media launches. Nfinity grows again. Internet Solutions launches Cybersecurity education service PhishNet. 365 Digital launches new website. It’s a wrap: Madex and Markex 2017 take marketing to the next level. 5FM living out loud at Sun City. GO GEORGE’S Z-card helps passengers plan their trip
This week’s BIG move: Sunday Times launches Money, with Laura du Preez to edit
The Sunday Times has launched Money, a new personal finance section which appears every weekend in Business Times. It will be edited by Laura du Preez, who joined the Tiso Blackstar Group in May this year. She was formerly editor of Independent Media’s Personal Finance publications.
“We’re excited to be bolstering the reputation of our business titles with personal finance content from Money. Under Laura’s editorial leadership, Money is set to become the new go-to place for anyone seeking personal financial advice on any topic, at any time,” says Andy Gill, managing director of Media for Tiso Blackstar Group.
With more than 262 000 copies of the Sunday Times sold each weekend, Money is able to reach a very wide audience with content presented in plain jargon-free language. Readers can look forward to content that unpacks consumer issues related to banking; retirement planning; saving and investing; life and disability cover; healthcare financing; asset financing; estate planning; managing debt; financial planning; short term insurance; property and tax.
Peter Roos has also joined Tiso Blackstar as the business manager for Money.
While Money is published in Business Times at the moment, Laura and the Money team will be delivering personal finance content to other titles including Sowetan, Business Day, Financial Mail, as well as BusinessLIVE in the near future.
People moves
Viacom International Media Networks announces key appointments
Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), a division of Viacom has announced key appointments for two of Viacom’s flagship brands: The Paramount Channel and BET International. Alex Okosi, executive vice president and managing director of VIMN Africa, will expand his role to include oversight of BET in all markets outside of the US.
Jill Offman has been promoted to executive vice president, and will add oversight of The Paramount Channel to her current role as head of Comedy Central International and managing director of MTV UK and Comedy Central UK. Both will report to David Lynn, president and CEO of VIMN.
Lynn said, “Alex expertly spearheaded the growth and expansion of Viacom in Africa and has overseen the creation of an incredible variety of content and experiences that spotlight the best of African-American and African culture and creativity. I look forward to seeing him bring that same passion and strategic approach to the BET brand in markets around the world.”
“Jill is a creative, strategic leader whose vision continues to drive share and distribution growth for Comedy Central internationally. In this new role, she will lead the international development of one of the most iconic entertainment brands in the world,” added Lynn.
HoneyKome announces the promotion of Sheharazaad Allie to director of operations
Digital marketing agency HoneyKome (a company in the Ole! Media Group), has announced the promotion of Sheharazaad Allie to the position of director of operations. As such she will have the primary role of managing the daily operations – overseeing the conceptual, creative and productions teams as well as the client services division. She will also provide input into the strategic direction for the fast growing agency.
“Sheharazaad has been a critical component of HoneyKome’s progress and success over the past 12 months and we are delighted to promote her to this position” says Deseré Orrill, managing director of HoneyKome and CEO of the Ole! Media Group. “I have no doubt she will continue to flourish in her new role.”
Allie joined the company as client services director a year ago. Over that time, she has consistently demonstrated her abilities to manage complex accounts, client expectations and motivate her team to get the jobs done, on time and with the quality HoneyKome is quickly becoming known for.
New interactive business unit director for Clockwork Media
Ciaran Burnand has been appointed as Clockwork Media’s new Interactive business unit director, as of July 2017.
Burnand, a former head of project management and innovations lead at Aqua, has been tasked with delivering user-first interactive products for a large global tech client recently acquired by Clockwork Media. This includes overseeing the UX, design and web development for said client, looking after their non-US markets. Clockwork Media is the lead agency for the global tech account and will be reporting directly into the London head office.
“It’s a massive project as you can well imagine, considering that we’ll be doing between 275 – 300 projects per year for just one of the client’s components,” says Burnand.
“A great customer experience is a defining factor in a forward-thinking agency,” says Tom Manners, managing director of Clockwork Media. “As customer loyalty becomes more difficult to retain, we believe that Ciaran’s appointment will make this goal more achievable, both for our agency and our clients.”
Fashion One Group appoints Ali Gursoy as CEO
Fashion One LLC has announced the appointment of Ali Gursoy as group CEO of Fashion One. Gursov brings with him blue chip career experience in the entertainment, technology and media sectors.
Previously President at Hong Kong-based Commercialize TV, Ali has more than 15 years experience in content licensing, curation and commercialisation, combined with extensive knowledge of international markets in North and South America, Europe and Asia.
Mick Gleissner, founder, and chairman of Fashion One Group, said: “Ali is going to take Fashion One to the next level. His in-depth experience prowess in our industry, both fashion and content, combined with his network and ability to develop innovative products make him an extraordinary fit for Fashion One,” said Mick. “I have every confidence that he is the right person to lead Fashion One to the next stage of growth.”
Gursov’s appointment follows another successful fiscal year for Fashion One, with expansion in Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia, consolidating its position as the undisputed Number One International fashion and lifestyle network.
Business moves
SPARK Media adds two more local papers to its stable
Local community newspapers, Die Pos and The Beat have joined the SPARK Media stable of local community newspapers, bolstering the media owner’s already 3.4 million strong weekly circulation in urban homes.
Die Pos, a sold paper, delivers 6 000 copies weekly into Bela Bela (Warmbaths), Modimolle (Nylstroom), Naboomspruit, Vaalwater, Settlers, Pienaarsrivier, Leeupoort, and Radium areas. The Beat, a freely distributed paper which has a circulation of 6 000 copies weekly, covers the township areas of Bela Bela, Modimolle, Mookgophong and Vaalwater.
“Die Pos has been in existence since 1982 and has a unique interaction with its readers and advertisers. In fact, there have been several weeks where up to five pages have been needed for its letters section – definite proof that the community is heavily engaged in the paper,” says Graham Sinclair, channel manager at SPARK Media.
The winning formula for both papers is hyper local content, creative advertising and upliftment among the less-privileged communities in the form of various charity initiatives.
Dentsu Aegis Network announces Crimson Room Communications officially rebrands as MKTG
Crimson Room Communications, a leading below-the-line marketing, promotions, strategy and public relations agency based in Johannesburg has rebranded as MKTG, a global network brand of Dentsu Aegis Network, specializing in lifestyle marketing via sport and entertainment, live experiences, retail marketing, enterprise/B2B engagement and sponsorship marketing.
The rebrand of the 12-year old Crimson Room Communications is part of the integration plan that was established in 2014, when Dentsu Aegis Network South Africa acquired a majority stake in the agency. This rebrand will allow the team in South Africa, and their well-established client base including African Sales Company, SAB, Cavi Brands and Nestle, to leverage the full capabilities of the global MKTG offering, immediately providing even stronger creative, strategic and lifestyle marketing expertise to current and future clients.
The leadership team will remain the same with joint Managing Directors, Richard Lewis and Pauline Parker.
“We are thrilled to incorporate the MKTG brand into our market as it marks further growth for our region. The rebrand opens up possibilities to act as part of a global experiential marketing agency with a deep-rooted understanding of our local market and provide the best value proposition to our current and perspective clients,” said Koo Govender, CEO of DAN in South Africa.
Kilted Media launches
Owlhurst Communications has launched its media and strategy division – Kilted Media. The division is headed by Mark Campbell – aka, the Kilted Man.
“An opportunity existed to provide smaller brands and SMMEs with access to media tools, strategy, implementation and negotiation that is normally only available to larger entities,” says Campbell, The Kilted Man at Kilted Media. “It’s a great way to offer our clients access to 360° communication that includes PR and advertising across the spectrum of media platforms.”
The division will offer the full range of media services that includes strategy, implementation, buying and negotiation across traditional, social and digital platforms.
“We’re targeting brands that want to advertise their businesses but aren’t sure how, and that don’t have the large budgets that other brands may have. We may just be getting off the starting blocks but we’re looking forward to guiding brands through the advertising experience in our own and unique kilted way,” he said.
365 Digital launches programmatic Private Marketplace (PMP)
South African publisher solutions business, 365 Digital, have launched their premium programmatic Private Marketplace.
A Private Marketplace (PMP) is where private, invitation-only digital advertising deals are bought and sold programmatically over a curated list of premium websites. A PMP is a tool specifically found in the programmatic space; a type of buying mechanic allowing specific deal types to be transacted without the hassles of signing Insertion Orders.
A PMP is the answer to running programmatic campaigns transparently, efficiently and cost effectively in brand safe environments. Deliberately built with only premium South African inventory, the 365 PMP was crafted using a very strict curation process.
As the PMP grows, more premium sites will be added but only if they meet the stringent standards for premium classification. Currently, there are several sites being vetted which, should they crack the nod, will appear on the PMP in August or early September 2017.
Nfinity grows again
Headed by entrepreneur Ken Varejes, Nfinity is an established innovation hub constantly on the lookout for hot pioneering businesses in the media space. The company’s latest partnership includes mobile advertising innovator, AdColony.
Headed in South Africa by Andrew Kramer, AdColony is the global leader in innovative in-app mobile video advertising, offering consumers access to HD ad experiences across the top listed 1000 mobile apps. Reaching TV sized audiences of 1.6 billion unique consumers month to month, AdColony has a significant number of unique users across all major African markets.
“We are focused on delivering the highest quality mobile advertising experiences for our partners, and our business has gained significant traction locally over the past 24 months. We’re thrilled to be working with Nfinity which will give us access to their local expertise and infrastructure, and allow us to further grow in the region,” said Kramer.
“It’s the addition of pioneering platforms like AdColony to the Nfinity group of companies that make us the ‘Big Thinking – Big Ideas’ company,” concludes Varejes. “With AdColony, each ad served is a great visual and fully immersive journey for the user. It’s a great fit for our business.”
Internet Solutions launches Cybersecurity education service PhishNet
Internet Solutions has launched PhishNet to support corporate cybersecurity education efforts. PhishNet allows security teams to launch authentic phishing campaigns to their colleagues, bolstering training by demonstrating what a phishing lure looks like – and how easy it is to fall for one.
“Even in a company with a vibrant, happy, positive office culture, employee behaviour is one of the biggest risks to cybersecurity,” says Sean Nourse, chief solutions officer at Internet Solutions. “Phishing attacks are increasingly sophisticated and they target individuals, so proactive employee education is an important element of a holistic cybersecurity strategy.”
Internet Solutions recently tested the efficacy of phishing by sending a PhishNet campaign to a list of IT-savvy contacts. Despite deliberate spelling errors, an outdated logo and a questionable subject line, a staggering 40% of recipients clicked the phishing link contained in the email.
The recent WannaCry attack, which affected hundreds of thousands of machines worldwide, reportedly launched when an unsuspecting computer user opened a .zip file contained in a phishing email.
Making moves
365 Digital launches new website
South African publisher solutions business, 365 Digital, launched their new website this week.
The site, designed by sister company Mark1 Labs who also created the entire 365 Digital visual identity, is a showcase of all the services that 365 Digital now offers. The website will continue to evolve and expand as more resources and publishers are added.
After being acquired by Mark1 in 2016, 365 Digital received a new website, but the team, which has grown aggressively since the acquisition, felt the site needed an overhaul to reflect the standard of the new and improved 365 Digital.
“The website was designed taking in to consideration the target market of 365 Digital, The Advertiser and The Publisher. We created a user journey from the home page, posing the question: Who are you? Advertiser /Publisher. That allowed us to effectively create two websites with separate journeys and content that spoke to two different needs, allowing 365 Digital to provide solutions without confusing the user with an overabundance of information,” said creative director, Brendan Sterley.
It’s a wrap: Madex and Markex 2017 take marketing to the next level
The inaugural Madex show, Africa’s new marketing, advertising, design, social media, eventing (and all that good stuff) expo, burst onto the local marketing scene in June this year, with a focus on helping South African marketers in the ongoing improvement of their strategies and campaigns.
Madex 2017 was co-located with the established Promotional Products show, Markex, which celebrated its 30th anniversary. Collectively, the two shows drew in more than 7,000 visitors over the two show days.
“The biggest draw card of our first Madex show was the three free-to-attend seminar theatres. We successfully debuted the Madex Cinema Theatre, which combined the best in local ad reels, including the Cannes Young Lions Competition winners, with experts discussing industry-relevant content,” says Nick Sarnadas, event director at Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery.
Markex and Madex will run once again at Sandton Convention Centre from 6 – 7 June 2018. For more information, visit www.markex.co.za and www.madex.co.za.
5FM living out loud at Sun City
5FM is heating up winter this July with Live Loud Mid-Year Break – a weekend-long music festival. The countdown begins as the station heads to Sun City Resort from 14-16 July for a weekend that includes live broadcasts, CSi initiatives in the area and of course, the events.
Party-goers can expect the epic weekend to kick off with a live broadcast of The Forbes & Fix Show at 12:00 followed by The Thabooty Show on Friday, 14 July. The live broadcasts are followed by an after party at Monkey Brew with 5FM DJ’s Nick Hamman, Msizi James, Ms Cosmo, Rob Forbes and 5FM resident Ryan the DJ.
On Saturday, 15 July, the station will engage in CSi initiatives in the North West in the morning which will coincide with Nick Hamman broadcasting 5FM Charts from 10:00 – 14:00 from the resort. Nicole da Silva will broadcast The Weekend Playdate from the resort’s Valley of the Waves as well. The weekend’s main event, Live Loud at The Superbowl Concert starts at 19:00 at the Sun City Superbowl with Desmond & the Tutus, Kyle Deutsch and Shekinah. The line-up also includes 5FM DJs DJ’s Nicole da Silva, Ms Cosmo, Ryan the DJ, Kid, Fonque. The night will end with a club after party at Encore with 5FM DJs Thando, Das Kapital, Roger Goode, Kyle Cassim.
The station will round up the weekend on Sunday, 16 July with a broadcast of 5FM Legends and a sundowner session at Sun City’s Shebeen at midday with 5FM DJ’s DJ Loyd, Kid Fonque and Nick Hamman.
GO GEORGE’S Z-card helps passengers plan their trip
GO GEORGE, a scheduled public bus service for the George community, has again selected a PocketMedia Solutions’ Z-CARD to use as a timetable pocket guide which contains crucial information for passengers to enable them to plan their trip.
GO GEORGE is a first for a municipality the size of George, and was made possible by a partnership between national government, the Western Cape Provincial Government and the George Municipality.
“It is the only public bus service in South Africa with a fully accessible bus fleet, which is designed to accommodate people with various special needs,” says Chantel Edwards-Klose, the George Municipality’s Communications Manager.
“The feedback that we have received about the Z-CARD® pocket guide has been overwhelmingly positive, because it eliminates uncertainty and confusion and empowers passengers to plan their day,” says Edwards-Klose.
