The Media Online’s weekly round up of moves in media.
This week’s BIG move: Gugu Ntuli appointed group executive in charge of corporate affairs and marketing at the SABC
Gugu Ntuli is the new group executive of corporate affairs and marketing at the SABC, taking up the postion on 1 December 2019.
Ntuli is not new to the SABC having spent time in the pubic broadcaster’s communications division. She left to explore opportunities in diverse business environments, including the financial services and the mining sector. Ntuli has also held senior roles with sports entities in the UK and Stellenbosch University, as well as Adidas and Reebok in the Western and Southern African Regions.
She brings to the SABC extensive and valuable experience in strategic marketing and communications, media relations, reputation and brand management, which she gained from her international and local business assignments.
The SABC said the appointment was in line with the corporation’s commitment to achieve leadership stability and performance in all its business units.
Ntuli holds an MBA from Coventry Business School (UK), BSc Applied Sciences and a Bachelor of Business from the Queensland University of Technology (Australia).
People moves
Heineken SA expands management team, adds to the global team talent pool
Heineken South Africa has announced new appointees to its management team, along with promotions to its global group.
Nantha Moodley, former sales director, has been promoted to the role of regional route-to-market director for Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe. Moodley will be based in Heineken’s headquarters in Amsterdam.
Financial director Eric Van Lokven, who has been with the South African business for four years, has also been promoted to a new global role within Heineken. Maarten Hoedemaker, who will be tasked with driving the local business’ growth plan, replaces him.
“Eric and Nantha joined Heineken SA at its inception in 2015, and they have both been instrumental in growing the business to unprecedented success,” says Gerrit van Loo, managing director Heineken South Africa.
Jason Cox has succeeded Moodley as the sales director while Kedibone Molefi has been promoted to the position of legal director.
Business moves
Avatar Agency Group opens Durban Office
Marketing and advertising agency outfit, Avatar Agency Group,will be opening a new office in Morningside, Durban. Avatar Durban is a new addition to the Group, which also includes Avatar Johannesburg, Avatar Cape Town, Avatar Public Relations and Avatar Media Agency.
“The move to Ethekwini emagagasini, as Durban is affectionately known is long overdue. We have been working on several projects in the province for some time and believe there is room in the market for a mass market thinking agency like Avatar,” said Zibusiso Mkhwanazi, Group CEO of M&N Brands.
“I am excited to see our agency network M&N Brands expand to nine agencies now and being a step closer to our vision to build an African owned agency network for Africans by Africans.”
Avatar is the largest black owned and black managed full-service agency in South Africa.
Wunderman Thompson wins Standard Bank specialist digital business
*Wunderman Thompson, formerly Wunderman SA, has won the Standard Bank specialist digital business. The scope of the work covers the full digital remit beyond campaigns, including technology, UX, CRM and social. This is a significant win for Wunderman Thompson.
MyToyota launches intelligence platform to keep Toyota drivers connected
FCB Joburg has pulled together a 360° campaign to communicate Toyota South Africa’s innovative cloud-based internet-connected intelligence platform aimed at providing in-mobility wi-fi connected services.
The new platform, Toyota Connect, is housed within the MyToyota App, which launched in 2014. The technology provides Toyota owners with access to a myriad of internet-connected services, including music and video streaming, battery health check, vehicle service bookings, fleet management alerts and driver rating capabilities.
It satisfies two key drivers of Toyota’s business today: Its desire to continually improve and offer the consumer a better and more seamless experience with the Toyota brand, and the fact that connectivity is fast becoming a consideration for selecting your model of choice when making a vehicle purchase.
As of September 2019, all new Toyota and Lexus models sold in South Africa come standard with in-car wi-fi, including 15GB free data.
ANA completes restructuring, adding new services
The African News Agency (ANA) has concluded its restructuring process and is looking forward to the next chapter in the news agency’s evolution.
ANA said it was also categorically clear that it was not closing its doors, despite rumours to the contrary. Quite the opposite, as the re-organisation of the business has led to a “revitalised, energetic and more cohesive offering, in touch with what media platforms and owners require in keeping abreast of current news and happenings on the African continent”.
“The restructuring has been the source for much negative media coverage of late, which is a pity, as the steps we have taken to ensure the agency’s growth and sustainability, should really be welcomed instead of disparaged,” said Valentine Dzvova, acting CEO of ANA.
“We have a great product and team, one that we believe in. We are already delivering results with this enhanced offering, working with new partners, strengthening existing relationships, and releasing the rich storytelling opportunities and exciting news content that Africa, as a whole can provide, to eager audiences around the world.”
Chief marketing officer, Vernon Adams, recently returned from the 4th BRICS Media Forum in Brazil. He said ANA had grown and strengthened its trategic partnerships, “especially with BRICS compatriots at Xinhua, China.org, Sputnik, IANS, and new partner, The Print India”.
In addition to its news wire services, ANA’s enhanced offering will see ANA+ and ANA Pictures, play an integral role in the business. ANA+ now provides press release storification and Brand Story Social Media Videos, adding its specialised services to the existing ANA PR and Media Production Services.
ANA Pictures will add its award winning photographers’ services to ANA Features, a bespoke premium service offered to news subscribers and commercial brands.
Swipe iX sets eyes on the cloud computing market
Swipe iX is shifting focus towards cloud-based digital solutions. With successful implementations for key clients such as Shoprite, Old Mutual and M-Net to name a few, Swipe iX’s CEO, Hendri Lategan, along with the founding partners Deon Heunis (CTO) and Leo Redelinghuys (MD), said the company was focused on utilising cloud computing combined with emerging technologies such as machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence (AI).
“Swipe iX is not so much focusing on the physical migrations to the cloud, but more on the potential one may have for implementing and leveraging the power of cloud-based applications once there.” He continued “While there is an absolute imperative for transferring key business functions and workloads to cloud-based infrastructures, where the real opportunity lies in the reinvention and innovation of these functions with the immensely powerful toolkit that will be made available to you,” said Lategan.
Grapes Digital to handle the digital duties of OMVED Therapies
Grapes Digital, the full-fledged digital marketing agency helping brands embrace creative, technological and digital media evolution, has won the entire digital duties of OMVED Therapies, a natural wellness brand.
Grapes Digital will manage the company’s digital mandate comprising of social media, digital strategy, influencer marketing along with creating innovative content strategy.The account was won in multi-agency pitch and will be handled from the Mumbai office.
Making moves
SPARK Media invites Lumen to conduct Eye Tracking research
SPARK Media, having just released its ROOTS research which shows that many people recall reading their local papers regularly for news and shopping information, will now add another crucial layer to that knowledge for marketers using latest technology. The outcome will assist marketers in evaluating local papers against an attention metric.
“Just because you can see something doesn’t mean that you will see it. Lumen’s eye tracking technology helps us understand what people look at – and what they ignore,” explained Mike Follett, managing director at Lumen.
“The Lumen team will be here in November to conduct an attention study on SPARK Media’s local papers as well as our Caxton Magazine titles, to understand the reality of what gets noticed and given attention in our print media,” said SPARK Media’s marketing services and research director, Debbie McIntyre.
The research and findings will be presented to the industry early next year.
Are you listening to your ‘inner Hippo’?
In today’s fast-moving consumer environment, industries change, customers evolve and new products and services come and go. It is important that brands and their messaging stay relevant to continue capturing the attention of their customers. This means that they must keep innovating their offering in line with customer needs and communicate this evolution through their branding.
“Brands that are constantly reinventing themselves and progress in line with new trends, are the ones who continue to be successful,” said Vera Nagtegaal, the executive head of Hippo.co.za.
To keep pace with the consumer and the market, Hippo.co.za has evolved its new identity, launched in 2018, through its latest campaign that kicked off in November this year.
“The 2018 relaunched Hippo stood between consumers and their poor decisions. The 2019 evolved Hippo actually becomes each person’s inner voice, as illustrated in the campaign,” explained Nagtegaal.
The creative strategy behind the campaign takes the next step in entrenching the Hippo in people’s hearts and, even more importantly, in their minds.
The refresh of the Hippo branding will be carried out through multiple media channels – at every consumer touch point, including humorous and fun video vignettes, said Deon Kruger, Managing Director of Human.Kind, who conceptualised the digital aspects of the campaign.
The Global Editors Network announces its closure
The Global Editors Network (GEN) will cease its activities due to lack of sustainable finances. The decision comes nine years since GEN’s founding.
GEN, the worldwide association of editors-in-chief and senior news executives, was established in 2011 as an independent NGO to help news media navigate the disruption brought on by technology, to facilitate collaboration, promote innovation and support sustainable business models. Its funding came primarily from three sources: platforms, foundations and news organisations — the latter through tickets sales for the GEN Summit, the organisation’s flagship annual event. GEN strove to retain its financial and editorial independence by guaranteeing a diversity of funding sources.
The GEN CEO Bertrand Pecquerie also said he is still optimistic about the future of our industry. “I certainly do not want to communicate a message of hopelessness. The challenges are immense, but new, creative initiatives abound and it is important to keep fighting for independent and quality news media.”
*Copy edited at 2.10pm on 18.11.2019
