The Media Online’s weekly round up. Lee Scott to host Kliphard. Marriott International announces dynamic new sales and marketing team. Grey Group announces leadership appointments. Protect and Serve – KRS appointed as Sitefinity partner.
People moves
Lee Scott to host Kliphard
Kliphard, an Afrikaans music show that showcases the Top 20 best-selling South African music CDs in collaboration with RSG, has welcomed singer and songwriter Lee Scott as the new host.
Scott will make his debut on Monday 7 August 2017. Kliphard will retain its timeslot of 7:30 pm.
Singer, songwriter, actor and presenter, Scott’s career kicked off in 2006 when he started studying musical theatre at TUT. He later had the opportunity to be part of an Afrikaans boyband called Hi-5 who performed all over the country as well as overseas including Mallorca in Spain. Lee recorded his first album Die Enigste Manier with EMI Records which earned him both a SAMA and Huisgenoot Tempo Award Nomination in 2010 for Best Pop-Album.
In 2013 he released his second studio album called Vir Ewig. Scott’s acting career started in 2012 when he played in a short film, Drukkersbloed. Later that year he made his debut as presenter on KykNET’s Sêr and also appeared as guest presenter on KykNET’s BRAVO. He was asked to be the opening and supporting act of the Jennifer Rush South African tour in 2015.
The 29 year old is currently working on new material for his third studio album to be released in 2018 through Universal Music South Africa.
Marriott International announces dynamic new sales and marketing team
Marriott International has announced the expansion and strengthening of its sales and marketing leadership team for Middle East and Africa. This bold new initiative comes on the heels of the successful mega merger between Marriott International and Starwood Hotels and Resorts and the fast progressing integration of the two companies.
Led by seasoned Marriott International veteran, Neal Jones, chief sales and marketing officer, Middle East and Africa, Marriott International, the team will provide dedicated support to the company’s thriving regional portfolio and will be responsible for driving top line revenue for Marriott International brands, ensuring the regional sales and marketing strategy is aligned with the company’s vision and priorities.
Sarah Walker Kerr, vice president of communications Middle East and Africa will be responsible for devising and implementing the overall communications strategy. Paul Dalgleish, vice president of sales and distribution will be responsible for Property, Market and Area Sales Organisations as well as the Global Sales Organisation.
Grey Group announces leadership appointments
Marking the exact anniversary of its founding 100 years ago, Grey Group has announced the appointment of its next generation of leadership with the promotion of Michael Houston to worldwide CEO of Grey Group, effective immediately.
James R. Heekin, who has led the company, as chairman and CEO since 2007, will remain executive chairman of Grey Group. He will continue to work closely with Houston, global management and clients to ensure a smooth transition and Grey’s ongoing success in the years ahead.
“As we celebrate Grey’s centennial and a decade of record new business growth and creative performance, the time is right for the elevation of a new generation,” Jim Heekin said. “Michael Houston is one of our most dynamic and talented leaders. This well-deserved promotion will enable us to set the agenda for Grey’s future growth and competitiveness across our global network.”
“As Global President, I’ve travelled the world and been inspired by the depth and breadth of talent and creativity across the Grey network,” Michael Houston said. “I’m humbled to work among such brilliant creative minds and honored to become CEO of this great agency brand at the height of its momentum, with vast potential ahead.”
Business moves
Protect and Serve – KRS appointed as Sitefinity partner
Software development house, Khanyisa Real Systems (KRS), has been appointed as a Progress Partner+, for the SitefinityTM CMS and Marketing Automation platform. The partnership agreement will see KRS offer development and support services for this feature rich, highly secure, enterprise-geared content management system, to corporates, large-scale business operations and digital marketing agencies, across sub-Saharan Africa.
Content management is no longer solely the domain for media publishing houses, but increasingly, businesses are realising the potential of controlling their own content and the conversations that are happening online. However, while the generation of content is relatively easy to initiate, enterprises have the added requirement for stringent security to protect the platform and its content, as well as data tracking and interpretation to mine the information for better marketing and business intelligence. All this has to happen within the confines of a digital platform that is at once easy to navigate and manage, as it is to protect and serve.
Enter SitefinityTM, a highly modern ASP.NET Web CMS that delivers intuitive web content management in a robust development environment. The platform offers a rich end user experience and allows organisations to build an engaging web presence through a usable interface, flexible framework and feature rich functionality – all built-in in one coherent offering that puts security and SEO at the heart of the proposition, from the beginning. No need for a constant supply of updating plugins.
“The robustness of the SitefinityTM platform is a good fit for us” says Steve Randles, Director at KRS. “We have this deep dot.net technical knowledge in terms of customisation, integration into servers and services, a track record for running big systems and expertly managing them, as well as our mature SDLC approach.
“Couple this with recognising where the world is going in terms of its digital transactional presence, we felt SitefinityTM was the way forward for us as a company, and also where we believe South African corporates and eCommerce platforms should be going in terms of investing in their digital operations, profits and reputation.”
The Cartoon Network led initiative, Imagination Studios, is going 100% local this year
Cartoon Network, the leading children’s TV channel in South Africa, is going local this year, partnering with some of Africa’s finest talent across animation, copy writing, post production and audio creation, to produce one-minute shorts of the winning work of this year’s Cartoon Network Imagination Studios competition. The Imagination Studios initiative was created to inspire, motivate and celebrate the wild imaginations of children, allowing them to conceptualise and create their very own Cartoon Network friendly character duo. The first place competition winners, from each of the four categories, will now get to see their animated creations live on TV on Cartoon Network across Africa.
The EMEA multi-platform initiative that celebrates and champions creativity amongst the youth will be a local first for Cartoon Network’s Imagination Studios, resulting in Cartoon Network contracting powerful alliances with locally selected partners to inject some local African flavour into the first locally produced animated shorts.
Cartoon Network has contracted with the Pan-African animation company MyChild TV, who will act as the executive producer coordinating all parties involved in the completion of the Imagination Studios shorts. To write the script for the shorts, Cartoon Network has partnered with Cape Town-based Punch Money Studios who won the Turner Kids Animation Pitching competition at DISCOP in 2016 for their Cloud Life project. Also jumping on board, Cartoon Network has partnered with Mindseye Creative, a 2D animation studio based in South Africa and Audio Militia, an award winning post-production facility specialising in the original composition of music, sound design and final mix for a variety of media (TV, radio, film, games). To top it off, local comedians and voice over artists, including Nina Hastie, Trevor Gumbi, Richelieu Beaunoir and Alex Radnitz, will add an element of personification by lending their familiar local voices to the project. Together, the creative team will bring the winning drawings to life through motion, style and sound.
The winner’s animated duos will be aired on Cartoon Network across Africa in October. To catch a glimpse of the winning artwork, please be sure to visit the Cartoon Network Imagination Studios microsite.
Making moves
Playbook Hub launches playbook
Last week, in a swanky soiree, Offlimit Communications transformed Level 3 Premium Venue in Kramerville into a spectacle of sight and sound. The occasion? The launch of Playbook; a web-based platform that simplifies the creative procurement process.
Playbook gives artists and creatives of any kind, the opportunity to upload their portfolio and list their socialised offerings. It allows users to contact them or their management and agents for bookings, performances or the commissioning of pieces of work. Each aspect of the platform has been developed to allow a business, corporate, event company or private individual to source, select, communicate and secure an artist or creative.
The brains behind the platform, Rudi Pienaar, sought to solution a problem he identified in the market. Pienaar, with this platform, successfully built a bridge between artist and client when booking personalities. Playbook provides security for clients and monetary guarantees for creatives in search of their next challenge.
“It’s all about making the process easier for everyone, and Playbook seeks to do just this. It took 2 years of researching and perfecting and we are proud of the product we have today. As an easy-to-use online platform, Playbook’s goal is to facilitate open communication between artists, agents and clients, and streamline the creative procurement process. The name Playbook encapsulates everything the platform aims to achieve – getting everyone, from artists and agents to bookers, planners and managers to play by the book. As long as everyone’s sticking to the rules, no-one loses out,” said Pienaar.
