The Media Online’s weekly round up of people, accounts and business moves in media.
This week’s BIG move: New radio specialist agency, Torque Media, launches in SA
A new full-service radio specialist agency focusing on 360-degree solutions, was recently launched in Johannesburg. Torque Media will provide services for companies nationwide in a variety of areas including radio strategy, radio placement/buying, creative, production, media sales, sales training and more.
The company was founded by Rachelle Jaques and includes a team of sales and marketing professionals with backgrounds across the full spectrum of radio including commercial, community and campus radio in South Africa, Africa and internationally.
The team at Torque Media has over 80 years of collective radio experience within the industry.
They are:
Rachelle Jaques, who has over 21 years’ experience and has a long-time passion for the media sector. Her background includes radio, print and television.
Rachelle was employed at The Media Connection, a community radio sales house, for the better part of 19 years and was greatly involved in the growth and profitability of the sector.
Jenni Critchfield, who has over 28 years’ radio sales and media management experience spending most of her career at Primedia Broadcasting in various capacities. She was also the divisional CEO at Cinemark for a few years and was managing director – Africa for an international company, NRS Media, from 2014 – 2016.
Pregs Naidoo has over 22 years’ radio and media experience, most of her years being spent in commercial radio at Primedia Broadcasting as the operations manager. He recently spent five years working for international company NRS Media as a senior project manager, managing the operational side of both local and global new business programmes for multiple clients across the board.
Jen McLean has been in the media industry for 15 years and has a passion for creative radio and developing campaigns for clients that are both memorable and engaging. She fell in love with campus radio CAMPUS radio while still studying at TUKS and has since worked on both the agency and media owner side.
“We’re beyond excited to utilise our collective background experience across the spectrum of radio in South Africa and to really optimise results for our clients” said founder Jaques. “As a team we truly understand every facet of radio and we are available to work closely with our clients to optimise results for their brands. We truly understand the South African and African consumer and how best to reach your market.”
For more information on Torque Media please contact: Rachelle Jaques at rachelle@torquemedia.co.za/082 4983 157.
People moves
Deputy comms minister Pinky Kekana given oversight of SABC
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board and management have met with the deputy minister of communications and digital technologies, Pinky Kekana, who has been delegated oversight of the SABC.
The purpose of the meeting was to obtain a progress update on various matters, with a key focus on the pre-conditions of funding, status of the implementation of the turnaround plan, and the expenditure of the bailout that was granted in October 2019. The board provided a detailed breakdown and report of the expenditure to date.
This meeting was critical to provide the deputy minister with feedback on the bailout’s expenditure in line with the priorities outlined by National Treasury, the department of communications and digital technologies, Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC), and the SABC Board. These priorities include settling of outstanding debts, investment in technology, maintenance of buildings, and investment in local content.
The SABC said Kekana was satisfied with the progress made and reporting thus far, with some of the highlights being that there has been significant progress made on the turnaround plan, and delivering in accordance with the commitments made.
DDB South Africa enters new era with appointment of Mel Daniels
Melissa (Mel) Daniels has been appointed CEO of DDB South Africa. Previously the chief of staff at TBWA\ South Africa, she will step into the role officially from the end of this month, following a three month hand-over period with Emmet O’Hanlon.
“I am humbled to have the opportunity to lead this iconic advertising agency and incredibly proud to join the amazing team at DDB SA,” said Daniels.
Daniels said she was looking forward to building on the agency’s legacy of effectiveness and creativity. “As someone with a solid background in digital, I believe now more than ever advertising agencies need to create work that is meaningful and effective – aligned to our clients’ business objectives and core challenges – enabled by our tools; technology; data practice and innovation,” she says. “The company has a firm foundation in performance marketing, a great team and innovative tools andpartnerships and I look forward to seeing us take this to the next level.”
Current CEO of DDB South Africa and managing director, Sub Saharan Africa, Emmet O’ Hanlon, who made the decision to leave the agency, has been working closely with Daniels for the past three months to ensure a seamless transition and is confident in her ability to take the agency forward.
More moves at Independent Media
On the back of several new editorial appointments, Independent Media has announced that Jade Otto is the new editor of Weekend Argus [Saturday] while its sister company, Content Nation Media, revealed the appointment of Nontando Mposo as the new editor in chief of Glamour magazine, following the departure of Ayanda Sizani last month.
Otto joined Independent Media as an intern at the Cape Argus more than a decade ago. She progressively moved through the newsroom, holding several positions at the Cape Argus including that of news editor, followed by assistant editor of the publication in 2016. In July 2018, she stepped in as acting editor of Weekend Argus Saturday with the aim of growing the brand, which she has succeeded in doing.
Independent Media fashion and beauty editor, Nontando Mposo, has joined Content Nation Media as Glamour magazine’s editor in chief. As the brand custodian, she will be tasked with bringing the brand’s editorial vision to life and growing its footprint further – whether in heels or flats.
Independent Media also announced the appointment of its editor in chief, Aneez Salie, as the first editorial representative on its board of directors. Salie this year also celebrated his 40th anniversary with the company. “Aneez will be a real asset to the board given his wealth of experience as a journalist and his solid understanding of the media business. We are very excited to welcome him on board,” said Dr Iqbal Survé.
Business moves
Classic 1027 FM exits business rescue
After incurring significant debt as a result of financial challenges spanning many years, Classic 1027 FM was placed in business rescue on 30 September 2019. Extreme cost-cutting measures were a necessity of the business rescue process, as overheads were crippling the struggling business. Unfortunately, this resulted in a portion of the station’s staff being retrenched.
The station’s rescue came after the business rescue practitioner accepted a bid from The Professional Consortium. This bid allows Classic 1027 FM to deal with its creditors and maintain its going concern status.
The Professional Consortium is a group of highly skilled media, legal, and business management specialists who have a wealth of experience in commercial radio. Their initial focus is on implementing a strategy to stabilise operations. The consortium is presently reviewing strategies that will attract a larger- more diverse- audience with a view to maximising the station’s reach on FM and digital platforms and gaining advertiser confidence.
African Media Entertainment Limited (AME) will retain a small, non-controlling share in Classic 1027 FM, alongside its shareholding in Algoa FM and OFM.
The transaction is conditional on regulatory approval from ICASA.
WWE and SuperSport expand partnership in Africa
WWE and SuperSport, Africa’s premier sports broadcaster, have announced a multi-year extension to continue delivering WWE’s weekly flagship programming live in more than 50 countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa, while expanding the partnership to include a dedicated WWE channel on DStv.
The new WWE channel will air Raw, SmackDown and NXT live each week and will feature premium WWE programming including 205 Live, Ride Along, WWE Chronicle and Table for 3.
“The fans of the WWE universe asked for it, and we are delighted to deliver,” said Gideon Khobane, chief executive of SuperSport. “WWE programming has proven to be compelling content with riveting storylines and insane action, which our viewers absolutely love. This is a big step and a great start to the new year.”
The 24/7 channel launches on DStv channel 128 beginning Wednesday, 1 January 2020 and builds on the success of the WWE pop-up channel that launched this year. SuperSport channels will continue to air Raw, SmackDown and NXT live each week and be home to all of WWE’s monthly pay-per-view events.
Making moves
Read ‘We Have A Game Changer’ – for FREE
When Daily Maverick decided to write a book celebrating its 10-year milestone, it wanted to create something, well, Maverick.
In South Africa, books are expensive. In fact, they’re prohibitively expensive to the majority of citizens. Daily Maverick’s content is free for all. “We’ve never erected a paywall because we truly believe that access to information should not be the privilege of the wealthy. In the same vein when we set up our book publishing division, Maverick 451, we decided that we wanted our first book, We Have A Game Changer: A Decade of Daily Maverick to be read as widely as possible. The book publishing game needs to be changed. How books are consumed needs to be changed,” it said.
“We believe that if you’re someone who enjoys the feel of holding a book in your hands, you’ll buy the book anyway (and you can do so as We Have A Game Changer is now available in bookstores country wide). But if you’re someone who would love to read our book but finances are currently not stretching that far; then you can read it all here for free.”
Covering 10 years of Zuma, the rise of the EFF, Marikana, Madiba and everything in between, We Have A Game Changer is part business cautionary tale, part South African history and all from the perspective of the Daily Maverick journalists and founders who changed the game.
SABC tops South African reconciliation barometer
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has been declared as the most trusted public institution in South Africa, according to the 2019 South African Reconciliation Barometer (SARB) survey conducted by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR).
This year, the SABC commanded a 57.7% of the South African citizens’ confidence in the public service broadcaster. This percentage indicates an impressive 7% increase compared to the 2017 SARB survey when the SABC’s lead was 50.7%.
The results are not only testament to the SABC’s accessible, wide-ranging and diverse content but also to its commitment to providing credible, authentic programming.
“We are encouraged to learn that the South African public continues to have so much confidence in our programming,” said SABC Group CEO, Madoda Mxakwe. “This trust that has been bestowed upon the SABC is not taken lightly as we understand the crucial role we play in society to inform, educate and entertain. We believe the hard work and dedication which is put forth by our employees to deliver on the SABC’s mandate is key in how the SABC has continuously maintained the confidence of the majority of South Africans, even during the trying times the organisation has faced”.
For the Diary
‘How A Powerful Personal Brand Can Improve Your Bottom Line’ Exclusive Webinar – 19 December 11am
Meltwater, a global leader in media intelligence, has partnered with the marketing executive for The Foschini Group (TFG), Pride Maunatlala, for a free online webinar that will show you how a powerful personal brand is critical to the success of businesses today.
Whether you are the founder of an early-stage startup, a marketing professional in the tech sector, or the CEO of a multinational conglomerate, our personal brand is the one thing that we all have the opportunity to leverage to make our businesses stand out in today’s digital age. And so this webinar is all about how having a powerful personal brand can improve the bottom line of your business.
Title: How a Powerful Personal Brand can Improve Your Bottom Line
Speaker: Pride Maunatlala, Marketing Executive at The Foschini Group
Date: Thursday, 19 December 2019
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Cost: Free
