The Media Online’s weekly round up of moves in media. Relativ Media Large Format buys Graffiti. Industry heavyweight Adrian Miller joins Riverbed. Arashaad Saint is the new general manager of CAPRO. Wunderman SA welcomes Astrid Ascar to the family. Freelance sports (rugby) writer/journalist to cover the 2018 Rugby Africa Gold Cup. Digital veterans come together to launch new data-driven creative agency. Lauren Shantall (Pty) Ltd rebrands to Scout PR & Social Media. Hellocomputer partners with Umuzi to address programmer shortage, drive transformation. AB INBEV launches Budweiser, official sponsor of the 2018 Fifa World Cup in South Africa. NBC Universal International Networks refreshes flagship brand to Universal TV in SA. Global Refer launches to South African talent sourcing sector.
This week’s BIG move: Relativ Media Large Format buys Graffiti
In a watershed move for the business, Brett Tucker, chairperson of Relativ Media Large Format, has announced the outright purchase of Graffiti Media. MD Richard Wilkinson and his team have already joined the Relativ Media Large Format team, to berenamed Relativ Impact, at their new offices in Sandton.
“Relativ Media has experienced a fantastic growth spurt over the last few years and with the addition of the Graffiti Media solution, our advertisers are spoilt for choice with high impact sites and media platforms across South Africa. Richard Wilkinson will take over the MD position of Relativ Impact,” said Tucker.
Wilkinson added: “The purchase of Graffiti by Relativ Media Large Format was a natural progression for us. Being able to utilise a strong national sales team and Relativ’s existing infrastructure is a massive bonus. Added to that, and under the guidance of Andrew Cooper as national sales director, we have a winning combination to really ramp up our business offering.”
Wilkinson has more than 25 in the media industry, beginning in radio and running his own media consultancy before establishing Impact Media with Graffiti Designs in 2005. “The opportunity arose for Relativ Media to acquire Graffiti Media in May 2018, one which made complete business sense,” says Richard. “As a combined entity my focus will be to develop the Relative Impact brand into one of the largest and most innovative out of home media companies in South Africa.”
Relativ Impact has digital properties including airports, 180 out of home sites and eight digital sites countrywide. Coupled to this, several new and innovative platforms are planned for the near future. “This acquisition has significantly strengthened our sales force and amped up our overall leadership team, each holding their own areas of expertise in the industry. We’re confident that we have a bright future ahead,” Tucker said.
People moves
Industry heavyweight Adrian Miller joins Riverbed
Riverbed was touted as the agency to watch in 2018, for the second consecutive year and in addition, Riverbed CEO, Monalisa Sibongile Zwambila, was nominated as the industry’s agency leader runner up, a first for a black female in the category.
“This year creative excellence will be our principal purpose, and all efforts will be strategically aligned to thrust us ahead to join the ranks of the top creative agencies,” Zwambila said. With this in mind, Riverbed has brought on board Adrian Miller (left) as executive creative director who will be responsible for the overall creative strategy and direction for the agency.
Miller’s name is synonymous with remarkable credentials. He is a multiple award winner with big brand experience across three continents and is one of the most awarded creatives in South Africa, with over 100 awards, including 15 Cannes Lions for some of the world’s largest brands. Miller has judged at Cannes, Clio, D&AD, Adfest, Spikes (Asian Cannes) and served as Chairman of the South African Loerie Awards and in addition, has served on the worldwide board for both Lowe and JWT.
Commenting on joining the agency Miller shared, “Riverbed provides the possibility to do great work. This, plus the shared desire and vision to grow the agency against the back of great creative, is what excited me most about this opportunity.”
Capro appoints new general manager
Arashaad Saint is the new general manager of CAPRO, taking up the appointment on 1 March 2018.
Saint’s passion was to study pharmacy, but due to various constraints, he decided to establish his career in the corporate world of media, starting his career at City Press newspaper where he walked the streets of Johannesburg marketing the publication as a direct retail sales rep.
Saint joined Capro as a national sales executive and was later promoted to key account executive, and took on additional responsibilities to market Capro in various techniques to the advertising industry.
After four-and-a-half years Saint moved to Media24 where he spent almost 12 years expanding his knowledge and winning several awards for his achievements. After attending the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) conference in Switzerland he was inspired to work harder and smarter resulting in several promotions and accolades. He was promoted to sales manager of community titles, sales manager dailies, sales manager combined: communities;
dailies and Sunday publications. He also took on a one year assignment to gain experience as the business manager of The Daily Sun.
Having made his mark at Media24, Saint was headhunted to join The New Age looking after their newspaper platform and later in 2017 took over the television business of ANN7 as well.
“With over 25 years in the advertising and newspaper industry I am confident that
Arashaad’s knowledge of the industry and especially that of Capro, will help reinvent Capro as we go into a challenging year, “said Rishaad Mahomed, Capro’s chairman of the board.
Wunderman SA welcomes Astrid Ascar to the family
Wunderman SA has appointed digital marketing specialist, media personality and business strategist, Astrid Ascar, as the global digital agency’s chief strategic officer.
With close on 30 years experience, Ascar’s career has been entirely devoted to the media industry spanning radio, television, print, mobile and digital channels. With a key focus on strategic thinking, product and business development, content creation and communications, her hands-on experience and extensive skillset extends to all aspects of the media and digital marketing sphere, befitting of her new position.
“Joining the Wunderman SA family is an incredible opportunity. I truly believe that globally, agencies are under pressure to revisit their ways of thinking and servicing clients, and their business models” said Ascar. “Clients have matured. They have a far better idea of what they’re looking for and have been exposed to different ways of thinking over the years, so the pressure is on to help them embrace digital transformation and build customer experiences that build loyalty and drive retention.”
Wunderman SA is a full-service digital partner for clients, one that understands their business challenges and ROI pressures, and appreciates what they need to do to ensure growth and sustainability in the business landscape of the future.
Khoroni appoints Elias Moduka as general manager
Khoroni Hotel Casino and Convention Resort has appointed Elias Moduka as its General Manager, responsible for overseeing the smooth-running of overall operations, which includes the full and efficient functioning of Khoroni’s gaming, hotel and support services. Moduka began his career in the hospitality industry over 20 years ago with a prominent South African resort hotel chain, where he initially worked as a waiter and gradually grew his love and passion for the hospitality and gaming industries. In this time, he gained experience in F&B, Surveillance and VIP services.
Freelance sports (rugby) writer/journalist to cover the 2018 Rugby Africa Gold Cup
APO Group is hiring freelance a sports (rugby) writer/journalist in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Kenya, Tunisia and Uganda to cover the 2018 Rugby Africa Gold Cup, create press releases and take photos.
The applicant must have a journalistic background or experience in writing sports articles, such as news articles for publication. An interest in rugby would be an advantage.
The selected journalists will also have to take high quality pictures to enclose with the press releases, as well as quotes from a few stakeholder after the games. Being bilingual (French and English) is a plus.
Upload CV and two examples of writing to https://www.apo-opa.com/job_application.php or email Rugby@APO-opa.org
Business moves
Digital veterans come together to launch new data-driven creative agency
A group of digital agency veterans have come together to found Hoorah, a data-driven creative agency which aims to deliver real business value to its customers through people-based marketing. The four founders have each been part of some of the biggest names in the South African digital spaces.
CEO Shaune Jordaan was, together with Chris Corbert, the former co-founder of search marketing specialist agency Synergize, which was bought out by Publicis in 2013 and merged with Saatchi & Saatchi to form Saatchi & Saatchi Synergize. One of his final acts while there was to move agency’s operations into Performics, one of the world’s biggest media businesses.
Taking on the CSO role meanwhile is Jay Thomson, who co-founded Liquorice with Miles Murphy. At the time of its 2014 acquisition by Publicis’ DigitasLBi, it was one of the biggest independent digital agencies in South Africa.
Head of media, Tamsin Kingma, previously built one of the first programmatic teams in South-Africa and, while working at a major media agency, lead a team of 15 media specialists with a client portfolio ranging from Africa to Europe.
Neil Pursey, who’s heading up Hoorah’s in-bound marketing operations, is also the founder of digital training academy Webgrowth, meaning he’s no stranger to the startup space.
While the four founders believe that the wave of digital agency acquisitions by the likes of WPP and Publicis were important, they’re hoping to bring something new to the party with Hoorah.
Lauren Shantall (Pty) Ltd rebrands to Scout PR & Social Media
As of May 2018, the agency formerly known as Lauren Shantall Integrated Communications will trade as Scout PR & Social Media. The company has been in existence for close on five years and during this timeframe, it has expanded not only the size of the internal team but also its business interests and client base. The agency looks after communications for household names such as Spier, PPC’s Imaginarium Awards and Carrol Boyes, as well as a range of designer lifestyle brands.
The agency now employs 15 people, has an even larger network of allied suppliers, and an impressive list of exciting clients, many having utilised the company’s services since its inception in 2013.
Now that the company has successfully moved beyond the start-up phase, it comes “armed with a solid and consistent sense of its strengths. So we feel it is time to consolidate all of this team experience and collective IP under a new banner,” said Lauren Shantall, director of Scout PR & Social Media.
Hellocomputer partners with Umuzi to address programmer shortage, drive transformation
To address the chronic shortage of programmers and drive transformation, FCB Africa’s digital agency, Hellocomputer, has partnered with Umuzi to establish a Creative Programmer Learnership.
Based on the premise that the closer the training environment matches that of future employers, the more likely its learners are to succeed and excel, Umuzi offers free one-year learnerships that produce entry-level but high-calibre creative professionals.
Hellocomputer managing director, Joey Khuvutlu (left), and head of technology, Nick Bester, worked with Dibwe Kalangu and Niklas Peters of Umuzi to define the syllabus to prepare programmers for the creative industry. “With technology driving innovation in all sectors, and increasingly so in the advertising and marketing sector, there’s a dire shortage of programmers, despite barriers to entry being low and two out of three developers/programmers being self-taught,” said Khuvutlu. “The space has historically been white male orientated, which provides Hellocomputer with an ideal opportunity to make a difference in a way that goes beyond ticking boxes on a scorecard.”
In addition to helping Umuzi create a highly-relevant Learnership syllabus, Hellocomputer kickstarted the programme with R250 000.00 in 2017 to fund the inaugural learnerships of the new programme. The programme has quickly grown to 30 young people on learnerships, supported by several employers.
AB InBev launches Budweiser, official sponsor of the 2018 Fifa World Cup in South Africa
Budweiser, one of the world’s most iconic beers is now being brewed in South Africa at SAB’s Rosslyn Brewery, outside of Pretoria.
“We are tremendously excited that South Africans are now able to enjoy this beer; a true global icon, and one of the most value beer brands in the world, distributed in 73 countries and now including South Africa,” says Alastair Hewitt, brand director for Budweiser at SAB and AB InBev Africa.
The arrival of Budweiser in South Africa could not come at a better time, as the brand takes up its 32nd year as the official, and therefore exclusive, beer of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
“As a company, our dream is to bring people together for a better world and there is no other event on the planet that brings this many people together and united them around a shared passion,” says Hewitt.
NBC Universal International Networks refreshes flagship brand to Universal TV in SA
NBCUniversal International Networks (NBCUIN) has unveiled its refreshed brand for its flagship, general entertainment channel in South Africa. In evolving from Universal Channel to UNIVERSAL TV, the refresh delivers a bold, new, contemporary brand identity across all linear, digital and social platforms – including a new logo, typeface and fresh colour palette.
“UNIVERSAL TV’s reinvigorated identity best positions our flagship brand into the future as a relevant, compelling destination for fans of character-driven programming,” commented Lee Raftery, chief marketing and content officer and managing director UK & Emerging Markets, NBCUniversal International. “In making this latest investment in UNIVERSAL – combined with the raft of top-quality shows we have recently acquired – we’re reinforcing our commitment to delivering a must-watch destination for affiliate partners and viewers, alike.”
Global Refer launches to South African talent sourcing sector
Social recruitment has previously made waves on the international hiring front. There’s good news for South Africa as social recruitment has now become available to the SA business sectors. Global Refer, a local company, offers an easy way for a user to sign-up, create a job ad and then share it to their network on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
“The platform offers the client a branded page with all the job specs and the remuneration you are prepared to pay to whoever helps you find the perfect candidate for the position,” said Miguel da Silva, director of Global Refer. “With the help of our built-in tracking system, you can reward the person whose referral clinches a new appointment. This incentive motivates your network, whether you’re an in-house HR professional or a private recruitment agent – to find the best possible candidate. The tool ensures that the recruiter connects with the correct talent pool. Even if your immediate network is not connected to the right candidate, their extended networks might be,” he said.
This means that the talent pools become more niche and accurate. The advert will also be seen by passive candidates that are not necessary looking.
Making moves
A royal scoop for rooi rose!
Caxton Magazine’s rooi rose has secured a royal scoop second to none.
Her Serene Highness Princess Charlène of Monaco is gracing the June 2018 cover of rooi rose magazine.
The Princess’s sister-in-law, Chantell Wittstock, contacted the magazine’s deputy editor, Hannelie Diedericks, in the beginning of the year to inform the publication that the normally camera-shy Princess would shortly visit South Africa and would love to be on the cover of rooi rose magazine. The rooi rose team jumped at the opportunity and set the wheels in motion to organise a cover shoot fit for a princess.
“It was an unforgettable experience and a great honour for us,” says rooi rose editor Martie Pansegrouw. “Princess Charlène arrived with a full security team as well as her attorney present on the shoot but she was absolutely divine and down to earth. This special feature takes up eight pages in the June issue, understandably we’ve allocated more space than usual to this specific piece.
“We were thrilled that Princess Charlène’s family specifically requested to be featured in our publication – her Serene Highness felt that the Afrikaans market is incredibly strong in South Africa and more aligned to her,” said Pansegrouw.
Visit www.rooirose.za for a behind-the-scenes look and don’t miss *Bravo! (on kykNET channel 144 on DSTV) to see what went down on the day of the shoot. *This Bravo! episode airs on Sunday 13 May at 19:30 on kykNET channel 144 on DSTV with repeats on the following Monday at 10:00 and 22:30, Tuesday at 00:30, Wednesday at 12:00, Thursday at 16:00 and Friday at 15:00.
Diary
THE ANNUAL AMASA CHARITY GOLF DAY 2018
AMASA (the Advertising and Media Association of South Africa) is pleased to announce that the organisation’s annual charity golf day is once again open for bookings. With this event being an oversubscribed event annually we would like to thank you in advance for the support from the media and advertising industry.
The annual occasion will take place at the RandPark Golf Club on Friday 1 June.
The day is organised with the key aim to raise funds for the AMASA Bursary Fund to help uplift the education levels and expertise of the media industry.
This is your chance to support the growth and development of our industry’s brightest young media talent … while enjoying a fun-filled day out in the Joburg sun.
To add a hot twist of fun to the day, the event will be wrapped in a Mexican Fiesta theme and players will be encouraged to participate in the best-dressed competition.
Date: Friday 1 June 2018
Registration: 08:30 – 09:30
Shotgun start: 10:00
Format: 4 Ball Alliance (2 scores to count)
Awards dinner: 15:30 – 16:00 to 18:00
Venue: Randpark Golf Club, Firethorn Premium Course, Home of the Joburg Open, 2018 Best of Joburg 2016
Sponsorship opportunities
- ‘eStandar’ Four Ball R7 150* / team of four
- ‘Magnate’ Four Ball R8 000* / captain of industry
- Headline sponsor R35 000*
- Hole Sponsors R11 000 – R13 000* / hole
- Best dressed & photo booth R8 000*
- * Excludes VAT. Terms and conditions apply
