The Media Online’s weekly round up of moves in media. Kantar Consulting launches as the world’s leading specialist ‘growth’ consultancy. SA’s biggest influencer Bonang Matheba to host Grand White Dinner. New appointment positions NMPi for global growth out of Cape Town ops centre. Natasha Marot promoted to account director at Tribeca PR. Ralf Specht appointed chief executive officer of Spark44. Facebook launches a classifieds Marketplace in South Africa. M&C Saatchi Abel joins with Lexus and Automark to start 2018 in the fast lane. DStv Family, Access and EasyView customers get DStv Now. Tribeca gets tails wagging with Montego Pet Nutrition. FIVESTAR PR extends portfolio of Luxury Villa representation. The 2018 Jhp Gourmet Guide™ selected to represent SA in International Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. ZEE TV welcomes India’s No.1 YouTube Sensation to SA. Internet Solutions partners with Cell C for LTE services.
This week’s BIG move: Kantar Consulting launches as the world’s leading specialist ‘growth’ consultancy
Kantar, WPP’s data investment management division, has merged its four founding brands – Kantar Added Value, Kantar Futures, Kantar Vermeer and Kantar Retail – to form Kantar Consulting, a specialist sales and marketing consultancy designed to ‘switch on growth’ for brand owners and retailers.
Each of the four founder brands is a world leader in its respective field: Kantar Added Value in cultural understanding, brand purpose and positioning; Kantar Futures in consumer foresight and trends; Kantar Retail as retail, sales e-commerce and shopper specialists; and Kantar Vermeer as brand, organisational excellence experts and leaders in marketing ROI.
Launching with over 1 000 analysts, thought leaders, software developers and expert consultants Kantar Consulting’s market leading assets include PoweRanking, RetaiI IQ, RichMix, XTEL, VR Infinity, GrowthFinder, Global Monitor, and the ‘Marketing, Insights and Purpose 2020’ series. Its client base includes major internationals like Unilever, Pepsi, Tata, Bayer, Amazon, Walmart and major regional clients such as JBS, Pladis, Alibaba and RBS.
The South African arm of Kantar Consulting is led by managing director, Lynne Gordon, and is based in Gauteng.
People moves
SA’s biggest influencer Bonang Matheba to host Grand White Dinner
South Africa’s style icon, Bonang Matheba (left) is to present one of the country’s premier social calendar events, The Grand White Dinner, taking place in Cape Town, on 24 February, Johannesburg on 7 April, Pretoria on 14 April and Durban on 21 April .
From the creators of the Global HOLI ONE Colour Festivals, the Grand White Dinner celebrates its fifth anniversary this year with each secret location only to be revealed on the morning of the event.
Since its inception, the festival has only seen sold-out events and has grown from 8 000 guests in 2014 to 15 000 last year.
“As my brand is expanding globally, The Grand White Dinner, one of SA’s premium events, was the perfect partnership. I’m excited and looking forward to celebrating the event with all my fans”, said Bonang.
Following a highly successful 2017, which saw Bonang launch her Bonang by Cell C app, conclude her hit reality TV series, Being Bonang and publish her autobiography, From A to B, along with a global book tour in cities including London, Paris, Lagos, Cape Town and Johannesburg.
“We are very excited and honoured to partner with Bonang and looking forward to her adding her signature sparkle to The Grand White Dinner, as well as to share something that promotes unity, freedom and friendship,” said Grand White CEO, Stephan Dau.
New appointment positions NMPi for global growth out of Cape Town ops centre
Full service digital marketing agency, NMPi, has appointed Michelle Clarke as operations director. The announcement is part of the group strategy to deliver country-specific support from an integrated, global operations team based at its Cape Town office.
NMPi now has offices in Australia, the UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Singapore, Malaysia, and the US. Its parent company, IncuBeta, meanwhile has offices in 13 countries, employing more than 400 full-time staff.
“Michelle’s focus is to ensure that the operational process delivers on our ability to have a client and country-specific proposition which is serviced by a Cape Town-based ops team. We have built a team which has the knowledge base, the consulting capabilities and the training capacity to deliver excellent service to our growing global client base. With more than 13 years’ experience, Michelle is ideally positioned to head up operations and to further curate and nurture the intellectual capital within our operational hub,” explains Alan Lipshitz, CEO of IncuBeta Holdings.
Clarke joined the Incubeta Group in 2004.
Natasha Marot promoted to account director at Tribeca PR
Tribeca Public Relations has promoted Natasha Marot to account director in recognition of her consistent growth and performance in client service, strategy and team leadership since she joined the agency in 2014.
Marot (left) joined Tribeca with experience in the sporting PR sector, and has since expanded this experience where she now leads a team that represents clients across the corporate, fashion, consumer and technology sectors. Her clients include Epson, Logitech, Hollard and the South African Chef’s Association, among others.
She also leads a team that has won three Prism Awards for their work on African Fashion International, Hollard Daredevil Run and Whisky Live Festival communication campaigns.
“Natasha’s commitment to the agency and her determination to offer strategic consultancy and secure meaningful results for her clients made it a sound decision for us to promote her to account director,” says Cian Mac Eochaidh, director, Tribeca Public Relations.
Ralf Specht appointed chief executive officer of Spark44
London: Spark44 has announced the appointment of Ralf Specht as CEO, elected by the Joint Venture Board of Management.
Specht (left) replaces Steve Woolford as CEO, who is retiring from the business. After a successful career with global automotive brands and communications agencies, Woolford developed the Spark44 business model and established the joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover. As CEO, Specht will focus on extending client partnerships beyond Spark44’s founding client Jaguar Land Rover.
“Spark44 is a powerhouse – it has been demonstrating that amazing things happen when people are empowered to challenge conventions. A business model that is 100% transparent and offers shared risk and reward between client and agency is tremendously powerful in today´s environment. It is time to share that success with companies in other sectors,” said Specht.
Spark44 provides an end-to-end service across all areas of marketing communications. It operates the digital ecosystem for both of Jaguar Land Rover’s iconic brands. It has an office in Johannesburg headed by Nicky Scheuble.
Business moves
Facebook launches a classifieds Marketplace in South Africa
Facebook has launched Marketplace in South Africa, offering users a single destination on Facebook where they can easily discover and buy and sell goods with other people in their local community.
Available in 47 countries, with more than 550 million people from around the world visiting Facebook to buy and sell goods each month, Marketplace makes it easier for people to trade with others on Facebook.
Facebook helps you trade safely on Marketplace by offering safety tips, privacy controls and easy-to-use reporting tools.
Items, products or services sold on Facebook must comply with Facebook Community Standards and Commerce Policies.
Don’t share your financial account information (example: Payment login and password, bank account info) with buyers or sellers. Additionally, make sure your Facebook Privacy Settings are up-to-date. These settings help limit what other people can see (example: status updates, location, photos) on your profile page and what you share on Facebook.
M&C Saatchi Abel joins with Lexus and Automark to start 2018 in the fast lane
M&C Saatchi Abel Johannesburg is celebrating more than the dawn of a new year this January: the agency is also toasting the win of two covetable motoring accounts: Lexus and Automark.
These gains build on the momentum established by the agency during 2017, when its portfolio grew thanks to various new business wins, including Windhoek.
Jacques Burger, founding partner at M&C Saatchi, notes that automotive brands are a natural fit within the agency stable. “It’s no secret that many of our team are car fanatics. The automotive industry is one that instinctively excites us. As individuals, we have a long history of developing some of the most iconic car communication in South Africa.”
Tribeca gets tails wagging with Montego Pet Nutrition
Montego Pet Nutrition, the local premium pet food manufacturer, has appointed Tribeca Public Relations (Tribeca) as its public relations partner, tasking the agency to build brand awareness and communicate the company’s journey, product launches and successes in 2018.
Montego Pet Nutrition is a homegrown brand that started in the heart of the Karoo in 2000. Its offering currently boasts an affordable high-quality (Monty & Me), top-quality (Classic – for dogs and cats) and super-premium (Karoo) product range, as well as treats (Bags O’Wags) and sauces.
To kick-off the partnership, Tribeca helped Montego Pet Nutrition rally the support of South African’s in its annual Click2Feed campaign, a December CSI initiative aimed at feeding hungry animals nationwide. The generous support received resulted in just over four tons of dog and cat food donated to 30 various animal charities and welfare organisations.
FIVESTAR PR extends portfolio of Luxury Villa representation
Luxury travel and hospitality specialist FIVESTAR PR has extended its portfolio to include luxury villas Moondance in Fresnaye, La Rive Franschhoek and La Rive Penthouse on on the Atlantic Seaboard (Cape Town). The three top of the range properties are privately owned and managed by Alexis Gillis, to cater for the growing exclusive-use villa market, as well as exclusive weddings and corporate events.
DStv Family, Access and EasyView customers get DStv Now
MultiChoice is bringing the best of DStv entertainment on-the-go to DStv Family, Access and EasyView customers – wherever they are and whenever they want it. And for the first time, they’ll have access to Catch Up via DStv Now, linked to their package.
DStv Now is entertainment on the move. Previously, streaming Live TV and accessing Catch Up via DStv Now was only available to DStv Premium, Compact Plus and Compact customers. These features are now also available to DStv Family, Access and EasyView customers at no extra cost.
SafariNow.com partners with CM.com for booking notifications
SafariNow.com, the largest ecommerce and hotel accommodations website in Southern Africa, has partnered with CM.com for booking-related SMS and email notifications. Partnering with CM.com means SafariNow.com can rely on stable and fast sms messaging routes throughout the African continent and the rest of the world.
SafariNow.com was founded in 1999 and has become Southern Africa’s largest accommodation booking website which represents accommodation over both the informal sector (including self-catering and vacation rentals) and the formal sector (including hotels, guesthouses and bed and breakfasts.
SafariNow.com uses CM’s messaging as a platform solution to notify its bookers and sellers of booking confirmations, incoming quotes, inquiries and cancellations. Each month, hundreds of thousands of these actions are taking place within the SafariNow.com platform. Matthew Evans, CTO of SafariNow.com says: “The bookers and sellers at SafariNow.com rely on interaction. Not all of the sellers have a global distribution system that distributes the information. Partnering with CM.com gives them a stable and fast communication channel.”
Making moves
The 2018 Jhp Gourmet Guide selected to represent SA in International Gourmand World Cookbook Awards
The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards was founded in 1995 by Edouard Cointreau. Each year they honour the best food and wine books internationally. The ground-breaking JHP Gourmet Guide™ has been selected as a winner to represent South Africa in the Professionals Category in the International Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. In May 2018 the guide will be competing in it’s category for The Best in the World Award, in China.
The guide features over 90 top South African restaurants and recognises the top 21 by awarding them with one, two or three-plate status, South Africa’s equivalent to global star status.
Jenny Handley, author and curator of the JHP Gourmet Guide™ says: “I would like to extend thanks to all the chefs and restaurants who made the beautiful content possible, to our international partners – Swiss International Air Lines and Taittinger – for believing in the concept, and to our distributors, evaluators, the production team and supporters. Every one of you are part of our marketing team – it will not be long before every food-lover in SA and those visiting, know the value and significance of a restaurant being plated.”
ZEE TV welcomes India’s No.1 YouTube Sensation to SA
Zee TV on DStv Channel 452 welcomes India’s No.1 YouTube’s Sensation to South Africa this April. The Fab Four known as Sanam, an Indian pop rock band based in Mumbai, will be welcomed by its media partner, Zee, when they hit SA shores.
The foursome will perform on the 6 April in Durban at Wavepark and on the 7th at Carnival City in Johannesburg. Known for their classic rendition of Bollywood songs, the band consists of Sanam Puri (lead vocals), Samar Puri (lead guitar), Venkat Subramaniyam (bass guitar) and Keshav Dhanraj (Drums).
Internet Solutions partners with Cell C for LTE services
Internet Solutions (IS), the leading pan-African telecommunications service provider, has announced a new partnership with Cell C to expand its LTE service offering, providing consumers with alternative solutions within the fixed broadband market.
By partnering with Cell C, IS reinforces its network and technology agnostic approach to the South African market, taking the position of open access in order to offer more choice to channel partners and IS clients.
“Cell C is a leading mobile network operator in South Africa, and its super-fast fixed LTE network enables our channel partners to offer more options to their customers,” says Tony Walt, Chief Solutions and Operating Officer at Internet Solutions.
Internet service providers (ISPs) can now choose from a selection of Cell C packages ranging from 50 to 200GB per month, with the option to top up at any time with 30-day packages ranging from 1 to 20 GB, managed through IS’ integrated billing and management platform.
Media diary
Workshop on MAC Charter
The MAC Charter comes into effect as of the 1st April 2018. Several years in the making, it has challenged companies to improve their BBBEE status to ensure competitiveness in the market and compliance in terms of legislation. From a procurement perspective it has been an imperative to ensure all agency vendors are compliant with the MAC charter to ensure your own BBBEE rating can improve.
This workshop is designed to explain, strategise and activate the community of procurement ractitioners to be able to ask the right questions, demand an acceptable response and contract for advertising agency services.
Presented by Dr Ivor Blumentha, CEO of ArkKonsult who has for the past 24 months been working with the IAB SA, to ensure that its members are properly positioned in a Trade Association best-placed to represent the digital sector.
Date: 2nd February
Venue: Fourways Gardens Estate Club House – Phase 2
Presentation by: Dr Ivor Blumentha
Time: 09h00 – 11h30
*Refreshments and a light breakfast will be served
RSVP by: 30 January 2018 to angelika@ad-ops.com
Black Chronicles IV in Joburg
From 13 April to 4 May 2018, the University of Johannesburg’s VIAD Research Centre in partnership with renowned London-based photographic arts agency Autograph ABP will present Black Chronicles IV, an Autograph ABP touring exhibition and audio-visual installation that explores black experiences and presences in 19th-century Britain and the United States, through the prism of studio portraiture.
Many of the images will be shown for the first time in South Africa, including a selection of 200 images reproduced from African American intellectual and civil rights activist W. E. B. Du Bois’ iconic American Negro exhibit at the 1900 Paris Exposition. Another highlight of the exhibition is a dedicated display of large-scale portraits of The African Choir, who toured Britain between 1891-93, and whose members included early black South African activists Charlotte Maxeke, Katie Makanya and Paul Xiniwe. Accompanying these extraordinary images is an immersive 5-channel soundscape created by South African composers Philip Miller and Thuthuka Sibisi, entitled The African Choir 1891 Re-Imagined.
Curated by Renée Mussai of Autograph ABP, Black Chronicles IV runs from the 13 April – 4 May 2018 at the FADA Gallery, University of Johannesburg, Bunting Road campus.
