The Media Online’s weekly round up of people, account and business moves in media. As South Africa entered lockdown, businesses closed across the country. But the media will continue to do its job, and The Media Online will continue to report on the sector. #StaySafe.
This week’s BIG move: The ACA and MASA launch joint initiative to future proof the industry
The Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) and The Marketing Association of South Africa (MASA) have joined forces to launch an initiative to find effective solutions to common issues facing the creative and marketing industries. This exchange forms part of the ACA’s #ACACaresCovid programme, which offers guidance and assistance to the broader advertising profession.
The ACA and MASA are inviting all stakeholders to attend a joint meeting of passionate minds from across the broader marketing and advertising environment.
The meeting will be led by three representatives each on behalf of the Advertising and Marketing Professions and moderated by Mathe Okaba (CEO ACA) and Brian Yuyi (CEO MASA). The online meeting will be held on the 19 May 2020 from 10h00-12h00 and will address issues surrounding the sustainability of the industry during and post lockdown.
“There can be no doubt that we are facing one of the most difficult and uncertain periods in the history of our profession,” Okaba said. “We’ve already seen the fallout from the effects of COVID-19 as it impacts negatively on individuals, businesses and the broader communications and media environment. Our creative and marketing industries will never be the same coming out of this, therefore it is our joint responsibility as a collective of marketers, advertisers and communications professionals to act with urgency in order to redefine our future DNA to the benefit of all involved.”
The speaker line-up is:
Representing the advertising profession:
- Boniswa Pezisa CEO: Net#work BBDO
- Gareth Leck Group CEO: Joe Public United
- Thabang Skwambane Group MD: FCB Joburg & Hellocomputer Joburg
Representing the marketing profession:
- Brenda Koornneef MASA board member
- Khensani Nobanda Group executive marketing & corporate affairs, Nedbank
- Sechaba Motsieloa MASA board member
For further details and to register please contact Melanie Platt at the ACA via melanie@acasa.co.za or call the ACA on (010) 880 3399. Once confirmed, a link with the meeting details will be forward via email.
People moves
Ogilvy’s Paul O’Donnell voted President of EACA
Paul O’Donnell, chief executive of Ogilvy EMEA, has been elected as the new President of the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) for a two-year term.
O’Donnell’s two-year tenure will be focused on increasing co-operation and collaboration across Europe as the world’s largest advertising market responds to the twin challenges of Coronavirus and Brexit. Agencies and national trade bodies need to work together as never before to maintain market access for our services, support employment for our people, and create tangible value for our clients. We will be taking the broadest possible definition of the ‘European market’, including opportunities in Eastern Europe, Turkey and the continued close engagement with the UK, irrespective of the final terms of Britain’s formal departure from the EU.
O’Donnell has been with Ogilvy for over 30 years, working in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, running geographic operations and working with major international and local clients.
Kia Johnson joins SABC2 as new anchor presenter of 50/50
Kia Johnson is the new anchor presenter for 50/50, SABC2’s popular environmental programme, which resumes broadcasting on 8 June 2020 at 7pm.
Johnson’s passion for the environment is evident in her involvement in many environmental campaigns and initiatives. Some of her achievements include being an Ambassador for World Wildlife Fund (WWF) South Africa, winning ‘Most Influential Plastic Free Mzanzi Campaigner’ for 2019 at the #PlasticFreeMzanzi initiative, as well as being listed as one of the top environmental influencers in the country by Treeshake for 2019 just to name a few.
A familiar face to TV and known for her bubbly personality, Johnson has presented and produced for the Expresso Morning Show on SABC3, as well as being a part of various radio shows on Radio 2000, MetroFM, SAfm, KFM and GoodhopeFM as a Radio and Traffic Presenter.
In its 10th season, 50/50 continues to be the only South African television show that creates an informative environmental entertainment through cutting-edge programming.
CNN Worldwide unifies global commercial strategy under Rani Raad
CNN Worldwide has appointed Rani Raad as President, CNN Commercial, in a new global position to broaden the company’s new business streams and increase the value that CNN provides to commercial partners around the world.
By centralising the management and strategy of its commercial activity in one operation, CNN is creating a more integrated, agile and global approach to the way it assesses market needs, develops solutions and works with partners.
To achieve this and ensure that CNN is best positioned to continue its commercial success into the decade, Raad will work closely with WarnerMedia Sales and International on its CNN advertising and distribution activity, lead international business through CNN International Commercial, optimise CNN Worldwide’s directly controlled revenue operations and maximize the commercial potential of development of new products.
Raad said, “I don’t think I have ever seen a time when CNN has been so influential, both in the US and internationally. An era of structural change in the media market, the increased demand for verified news and the economic impact of Covid-19 is fundamentally changing the way we need to work with our business partners. With our premium brand, sophisticated solutions and worldwide reach, it’s now more important than ever before that our business partners, wherever they are, have greater and faster access to CNN’s full suite of global capabilities.”
Meet the New MD for Canon South Africa, David Preston
Canon South Africa announced the appointment of its new Managing Director, David Preston, in January 2020. Preston, who has risen through the ranks over the years, from his first position as a direct salesman in 1988 to sales manager leading one of the first teams in the UK selling Canon’s range of colour laser copiers.
Preston has held multiple positions in sales and marketing over the years, as well as roles in channel sales and as Head of Indirect Sales for EMEA created the first consistent Partner Program. Joining Canon South Africa from a London based role, Preston’s last assignment was as Strategic Operations Director for emerging markets.
OAAA President Anna Bager to join World Out of Home Organisation board
Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) president and chief executive Anna Bager is to join the World Out of Home Organisation board. The OAAA, the leading US out of home trade body, joined WOO earlier this year.
She is the first national association representative to join the WOO board, which previously consisted of only media owner representatives and the WOO executive director.
Bager has worked in the media and technology sector her entire career and brings a global perspective to her directorship. Prior to joining the OAAA in September last year, Bager held a number of senior roles at the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB.)
Previously, she led business intelligence at Ericsson Multimedia. She is also fluent in four languages.
Bager was named one of the 30 most powerful women in mobile advertising by Business Insider six years in a row; one of the top women in media by Folio magazine four times; and one of the top women in digital advertising by Cynopsis Media three times.
Business moves
DStv Media Sales launches series of webinars to help navigate the ‘new normal’
This is the first in a series of ground-breaking webinars designed by DStv Media Sales to help media agencies and clients navigate the ‘new normal’.
Join our thought leaders as they share their insights, strategy and innovative advertising opportunities as we address the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and help you adjust and succeed in a new world of media consumption and customer behaviour.
The same webinar content will be presented in four sessions on different days and times so that you can simply select the one on the invitation best suited to you.
To register for the first webinar, Putting More Power In Viewers’ Hands, with DStv’s Kelvin Storie and Shaun Chettiar, read more here.
Flume grows operations into the UK
Flume, a full-service digital marketing and PR agency, launched in early 2013 with an operation based in Johannesburg, South Africa and later expanded with a new office in Cape Town mid-2016. As Flume was growing its client base significantly here in SA, opportunities were presented to look at opening offices overseas, with one location specifically remaining top of mind, London, United Kingdom.
“Despite the current global pandemic we are in a very good space as a business, and we strongly believe that we have the expertise, the in-house full-service offering, time zone and currency on our side to be extremely competitive in the UK market,” said Jacques Du Bruyn, Flume’s managing director.
Flume services many multinational brands across a number of sectors in South Africa, which already gives Flume the credibility and portfolio to compete in an international market. “The fact that we’re firing on all cylinders whilst working remotely makes the idea of accessing clients working remotely in other countries familiar, and now is as good a time as ever,” he adds.
Flume has employed the experience of London-based Kate McFarlane, a talented chartered accountant and business analyst with a knack for data and digital analytics to spearhead operations.
Arena’s websites enjoy record online audiences for second consecutive month
Arena Holdings’ digital titles have experienced a second consecutive month of record traffic, with April numbers breaking records set in March 2020.
Narratiive reports that TimesLIVE traffic increased by 10.9% in April, taking it to 8.2 million South African readers (unique browsers), and a total of 9.8 million UBs. TimesLIVE Motoring was also up 46.5% from March, breaking the 300,000-reader mark. BusinessLIVE cracked three million readers for the first time, ending April at 3.4 million UBs.
“Our smaller sites – Times Select, Wanted Online and Vrye Weekblad – all enjoyed record traffic in April thanks to solid editorial efforts to publish a range of great content,” said Riaan Wolmarans, managing editor: digital at Arena Holdings.
The table below summarises the records set in March, and broken in April 2020:
All data sourced from Narratiive, the analytics tool for the SA digital publishing industry.
Due to print distribution channels being disrupted during lockdown, the Sunday Times offered free access to the newspaper in PDF format, leading to as many as 35 000 readers paging through the virtual edition on the Sunday Times website. This is over and above those subscribers with access to the e-edition of the paper. Wolmarans points out that the website enjoyed a strong month, counting 1.8 million SA visitors during April.
“While much of Arena’s online content is free to read, there has been a significant increase in the number of people signing up for digital subscriptions to paywalled content, showing that South Africans are willing to pay for quality news,” said Wolmarans.
MultimediaLIVE – Arena’s flagship YouTube channel – had a bumper April, gaining 2 500 new subscribers to take it to more than 100 000 subscriptions. It was also a record month of listens for Arena’s ever-growing range of podcasts.
Lockdown Offers
Arena Holdings has launched ‘lockdown offers’ to allow more affordable access to news content held behind the paywalls of BusinessLIVE (Business Day & Financial Mail), Sunday Times, Times Select, Vrye Weekblad, and HeraldLIVE, where readers can access 60 days of content, at a cost of only R60.
World No 1 heralds return to big-time golf, live on SuperSport
There won’t be a big trophy or world rankings at stake; instead, some of the sport’s biggest names will be teeing up this weekend for a greater cause: all proceeds will support COVID-19 relief.
TaylorMade Driving Relief, to be broadcast live on SuperSport 1 and 6 (Sunday, 8pm), is headlined by Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff, who will compete in a team best-ball skins match. The lowest score by each team on the hole wins the skin.
All four golfers will donate their time for the 18-hole skins competition, with McIlroy/Johnson playing for the American Nurses Foundation and Fowler/Wolff playing for the CDC Foundation.
“I hope that we can provide some respite and entertainment for those tuning in across the globe. Dustin and I will have a lot of fun together and our games will fit well as we push to raise funds and awareness on May 17,” said world number one Rory McIlroy.
As regards safety measures, the PGA will follow all guidelines, executive orders and mandates issued by the state of Florida, Palm Beach County and the city of Juno Beach.
Clickatell announces automated FAQ Response solution on WhatsApp for businesses experiencing high call volumes
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Clickatell, a global leader in mobile communications and chat commerce platforms, has announced a swift to implement and cost-effective response solution for businesses’ contact centres to deliver enhanced customer experience.
Clickatell’s announcement of its new Automated FAQ Response solution comes as contact centre operations struggle with maintaining consistent customer experience amidst support agents working remotely, consumer anxiety, lockdowns and social distancing measures.
The Automated FAQ Response solution, integrated with Clickatell’s cloud-based workflow automation software, enables enterprises to automate responses and provide immediate answers to customers’ most frequently asked questions in WhatsApp – improving customer experience and reducing operating costs.
MediaCom wins global Duracell account
MediaCom has been appointed as Duracell’s global media agency of record, following a competitive pitch. The win covers 32 markets, including the US, UK and China. The account was previously managed by Starcom and MediaCom will take over the business on 1 July 2020.
While many global pitches have been paused due to Coronavirus, the Duracell pitch started in November and the key chemistry meetings and face-to-face presentations were completed before the lockdown began in many markets.
“The future is battery powered. Duracell is an iconic brand and it gives us great pride to welcome them back into the MediaCom family. We are excited to apply our unique expertise and strategic thinking through our standout people,” said Nick Lawson, Global COO, MediaCom.
Kagiso Trust launches #KagisoRadioTeachers Campaign
Kagiso Trust has partnered with the Limpopo education department to provide radio lessons to grade 12 learners. The scheduled lessons started on Monday.
“Kagiso Trust has long believed that education is the key to overcoming poverty,” said the organisation’s CEO, Mankodi Moitse. “Over the past 16 years we have created education programmes structured to have the highest impact and greatest sustainability. Our work in the Free State is testament to that. Now we are excited to see what work we can do together with the Limpopo department of education.”
Radio lessons will be hosted on Capricorn FM, Sekhukhune FM and Tubatse FM from Monday to Sunday for an hour a day¹.
Capricorn FM will focus on MST subjects (Mathematics, Sciences and Technologies), including Mathematics, Mathematical Literacy, Physical Sciences, Life Sciences and Agricultural Sciences.
The other seven non-MST subjects will be broadcast by the community radio stations in the both Sekhukhune East and South education districts. They include English FAL, Sepedi HL, Accounting, Business Studies, Economics, History and Geography. “Unlike the MST subjects, these subjects will not be broadcast live, but as recorded lessons that will be offered following a prescribed broadcast schedule. The recorded lessons on their own are still interactive, as they involved learners when they were recorded. We believe that in their nature they will add value to learners who lagged behind as a results of the lockdown.”
Each live broadcast lesson will last for an hour per day during and after the lockdown period. The first 30 minutes is allocated to the teacher to mediate learning and the other 30 minutes will be reserved to the learners to interact with the teacher through questions or comments. Content will largely cover term 1 and 2 scope and will be supplemented by face to face contact sessions after learners shall have returned back to school.
Podcasts will be available on the station’s website and learners from other provinces can listen via livestreaming
“In a province as large as Limpopo, radio is the perfect platform to reach most learners,” says Moitse. “ This is about inclusivity. It is about access to information. It is about gathering together around a radio like we once all did. This is the new normal. We call upon everyone to support the radio lessons and #KagisoRadioTeachers – local teachers, broadcasting across Limpopo, straight into the homes of learners.”
BBC Africa launches coronavirus programming
BBC Africa has launched a weekly Covid-19 TV special called The Breakdown and the Africa Coronavirus Minuteto provide audiences across Africa and globally with a 360 degree view of the coronavirus pandemic as it moves through the continent.
The Coronavirus Minute offers audiences short bite sized audio content twice a day with the latest updates on Covid-19. This is in addition to the Covid-19 video bulletins which are available across all 12 language services for Africa.
Through the use of numbers the The Breakdown will explain what governments in Africa and around the world are doing, the true cost of the lockdown and the science and health information audiences need to know. BBC’s Africa health, business and fact-finding experts will answer audience questions and concerns, while exposing the myths surrounding the pandemic.
Nisha Kapur, Head of TV Commissioning, Africa said: “With the amount of information and disinformation around Covid-19 audiences can turn to The Breakdown for factual, accurate and engaging content on what is actually happening and what they can do. The Breakdown brings the best of BBC Africa all in one place.”
Andpeople closes its doors
Andpeople, the youth engagement specialist agency based in Cape Town has decided to take proactive action to counter further uncertainty and volatility, and will close its doors as of June 2020.
Founded in 2012 by Michael Leslie, Andpeople has specialised in placing some of the world’s leading brands at the centre of culture, by creating media agnostic creative solutions engineered to create value in the lives of young people.
Over the past eight years Andpeople has been a pioneer in the youth marketing space, using a unique blend of cultural intelligence and creativity to create groundbreaking work for the likes of Adidas, Levi’s, Red Bull Mobile, Spotify, Ray-Ban, Oakley, Vogue, Netflix, Jose Cuervo, Glenfiddich, Sunglass Hut, and Bacardi among others.
“Just two months ago,” said Leslie, “Andpeople closed our best financial year in history. With eight, strong years of growth under our belt, we felt confident and poised for the next chapter of our story.
“Unfortunately however, the impacts of Covid-19 have been as unexpected as they have been severe…With great uncertainty and volatility expected for the short-medium term future, we’ve been challenged to make a tough decision – scale down significantly and ‘survive’ the next 18-24 months, or close Andpeople in the way we’ve always prided ourselves on operating as a business, with compassion, honesty, accountability and integrity.”
WarnerMedia and CANAL+ GROUP announce the launch of TNT and Cartoon Network in Rwanda
WarnerMedia and CANAL+ GROUP have announced the strengthening of their partnership with the launch of leading WarnerMedia channels, TNT and Cartoon Network, within LES BOUQUETS CANAL+ pay TV’s offerings in Rwanda, from Tuesday, 19 May. This follows CANAL+ GROUP’s move to reinforce its English-speaking channel proposition within its pay-TV offer and footprint in the country.
CANAL+ GROUP already has a vast presence in pay-TV in Africa with its French-speaking channels and aims to reinforce its subscriber base in a country where half of the population counts as English speaking. While WarnerMedia is already distributing the English news channel, CNN International, through the platform in Rwanda, this deal will further diversify its channel offering giving LES BOUQUETS CANAL+ viewers access to the high-quality blockbuster movie channel tailored for African viewers, TNT, as well as WarnerMedia’s iconic kid’s channel, Cartoon Network.
Ideas Cartel’s digital platform delivers more than essential services
Driven by their roots as community builders and connection catalysts, Ideas Cartel has launched Cartel Connect Online (CCO) to provide an ecosystem for facilitated connections, a variety of curated live content, and a ‘delicatessen to your door’ service.
Cartel Connect Online empowers entrepreneurs, small businesses and the general public to share ideas, discuss perspectives, exchange vital skills and uplift each other during the pandemic and beyond, outside of their own four walls.
Determined to prove their commitment to providing supportive, constructive and inspiring experiences for their members, Ideas Cartel’s CCO goes beyond the delivery of groceries (although, their ingredients are fresh, farm-sourced and flavoursome) to offer everything from live entrepreneurship webinars to remote workouts.
“We understand innovation doesn’t happen in isolation; it happens at the intersections. Our business was built on community and connection—just because we’re apart (for now), doesn’t mean we can’t work together,” said Schuyler Vorster, founder.
Techfest Expo 2020 postponed
Techfest Expo 2020, scheduled to be held on 26 and 27 June 2020, has been postponed to the year 2021.
“We have been closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic, reviewing the lockdown restrictions, and listening to the advice from the National Government, and as a community-driven event, we prioritize the health and safety of our fans, staff, and partners,” organisers said in a statement.
“We believe this is the responsible decision to make in recognition of these extraordinary circumstances. New dates of Techfest Expo will be announced once they have been finalised. Everyone who has purchased tickets for the event will be fully refund.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused and greatly appreciate your patience and understanding.”
Making moves
Tomorrow Trust launches social media challenge to assist vulnerable learners during lockdown
The Tomorrow Trust, a non-profit organisation supporting children and youth in need throughout their educational journey, has launched a social media campaign to assist its beneficiaries or their caregivers stay connected to support during lockdown.
#SchoolUniformChallenge calls for South Africans to post throwback pictures of themselves in their school uniform on social media, tag two friends, encouraging them to donate R30 and keep the challenge growing.
It kicked off on Monday with posts by several macro influencers to give reach upfront and ignite the challenge. This content will be followed by posts of other macro, mid-tier and nano influencers who have agreed to drive awareness of the challenge.
The key objective is to inspire each person who sees a post to donate just R30 or more to help raise R100 000. This will provide 1200 of the Tomorrow Trust’s beneficiaries with connectivity so they can keep up their levels of learning over the school closures with access to free online educational resources.
The campaign was led by FCB Joburg who partnered with Nfinity, Webfluential and theSALT. The campaign was facilitated by the Nahana Foundation, the corporate social investment arm of the Nahana Communications Group.
Follow #SchoolUniformChallenge on Twitter @Tomorrow_Trust, Facebook @TomorrowTrust and Instagram @tomorrow_trust.
Twitter launches #thankful emoji to highlight gratitude on platform
During these unprecedented times, people are turning to Twitter more than ever. Some for information, some to be entertained by their favourite celebrities and many, to express their gratitude and thankfulness.
It took a look back at the phrases ‘grateful’ and ‘thankful for’and since March 15, as compared to the previous month, there is a 37% growth in these terms. There have been more than 265 million Tweets about being thankful and grateful around the world since March 15. The use of the pray ?and clap ?emojis are also up 50% and 10% respectively.
To give back and highlight the millions of Tweets using these positive terms, Twitter is launching a new emoji – , activated by using #thankful #gratitude and a few other variations of the words.
These are the things people are most thankful/grateful for, based on their Tweets:
- Medical workers
- Grocery workers
- Their family
- Cleaning & sanitation workers
- Their friends
Arena Events’ diary of digitised events for the rest of May
Following the success of Arena’s digitised event series launched in April, the Group has released the line-up of events scheduled for the rest of May 2020.
“The ten events hosted in April attracted a highly engaged audience of 14 953 viewers, which highlights the significant opportunities for companies and brands to get involved through partnership,” said Taryn Westoby, head of Arena Events.
“We’ve adapted to the challenge of the COVID-19 lockdown by creating various online series’ to ensure event partners and sponsors can continue building relationships with their stakeholders and target audiences. The opt-in levels we’re seeing for our branded events is a positive indicator that the market is hungry for relevant content, and wants to remain up-to-date.”
“The online series strengthens public affinity for Arena’s legacy brands like Business Day, Financial Mail, Sunday Times and Sowetan, but it also solidifies the platform for advertisers and partners to continue connecting their brands with consumers.”
Here’s what online audiences can look forward to for the rest of May:
14 May, 20.00: Sowetan Women’s Club Quiz Night – Round 2 Join Sowetan Editor, Nwabisa Makunga and her quizmasters, Emmanuel Tjiya, Londiwe Dlomo, Thembela Khamango, Nkareng Matshe, and Thabiso Mahlape as they challenge your knowledge of entertainment, soapies, food, travel, current affairs, sport, music and literature…online and from the comfort of your couch! Click here to register
19 May, 10h00 Business Day SME Matters – Extraordinary times call for extraordinary SME support In this online Business Day SME Matters discussion we will be uncovering how these initiatives intend to support small businesses and how SMEs can potentially access these funds. Importantly, experts will share much needed resilience and recovery strategies SME owners can practically apply to their businesses.
20 May, 10h00 Business Day Dialogues Online Series – Perspectives on a post-lockdown world from the top dogs at SA’s top financial services institutions Join Peter Bruce, former editor-in-Chief of Business Day and Financial Mail, as he speaks with CEO’s of some of SA’s most prominent banking and financial services institutions, about their expectations of life in a post-lockdown South Africa. Click here to register
21 May: 10h00 The Radio Awards – In conversation with… Globally, the media industry is taking a huge financial knock as advertisers rein in their spend during lockdown. Yet, there are brands who recognise that now may be as good a time as any to get products and services in front of consumers. Whether they’re newcomers or legacy brands, all are looking for added value to motivate their spend, and provide greater certainty of the traction they’ll find in the market. So, what does Radio bring to the table? Join us for our second The Radio Awards in conversation with as we look at What turns Advertisers on to Radio? Click here to register
21 May:20h00 Sunday Times Lifestyle Quiz Night – Round 4 Join our quizmasters as they challenge your knowledge about sport, fashion, travel, literature, food, motoring, music and the world, online and from the comfort of your couch!
22 May: 14h00 Wanted Investment – How to look after your investments in the new world. Covid-19 has created a whole new world for investments. We know that your time is precious, so let’s delve into where we currently stand as a country and explore how you can keep your investments safe through intellectual, ethical and thoughtful decisions. Don’t let 2020 keep you down, let WANTED Investments help you find meaningful ways to secure your future.
26 May: 09h30 Absa Business Day Supplier Development Awards Dialogue – Economic future: where are we going as an economy The COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest disruption to the global economy since the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in 2008 and has forever changed the business landscape. Experts agree that a global recession is eminent and is due to last for a while. So, what does our economic future look like in the face of COVID-19? Join us for the second online dialogue, as we explore Our Economic future – and where are we going as an economy.
27 May: 10h00 Financial Mail Private Lounge –Money & Investing The current COVID-19 epidemic has affected the state of Money and investing globally .Join Financial Mail with a panel of experts discussing the effects of Money and Investing in South Africa during and post COVID-19.
28 May: 10h00 Financial Mail AdFocus – In conversation with… The ad-industry is balanced on a razor’s edge, forcing a turning point of sorts: can agencies afford to stay as they are, maintaining the same-old-same-old status quo; or are they willing to invest in resources and expertise to form true business partnerships with their clients? How far do they need to go in terms of research, data gathering, and analysis, to set them ahead of the competition and prove their relevance in a market that is going to become tougher than ever? Importantly, do agencies have the balls for the fight? Join Phumi Mashigo on Thursday 28 May at 10h00 for what is sure to be a fired up conversation.
29 May. 10h00 Adapt and Thrive – the Future of Media Adapt and thrive. Brands that can weather the storms of disruption brought about by technology, globalisation and national pandemics are those with a future. In the media and content world, we need to be ever mindful of the ‘next big thing’ and what it could mean for our business. Will we be suitably alert to spot the trend or predicament evolving before us, and how will we create new opportunities? Join us as we delve deeper into advertising anthropology, trends and trend spotting, the changing ways of media consumption and consumer behaviour, as well as the adoption of tech in the new world.
29 May: 20h00 Sowetan SMag Fashion Challenge Lockdown is temporary, but drip is forever! This is why we are calling on you to dress up in your Sunday best and join us for the S Mag Fashion Challenge. Over the next few weeks, we want YOU to dust off those fancy clothes and remind us what you’re made of. Our challenges are not only fun but will also be educational as our panel of experts share some of their top tips and the 411 on the latest trends. Enter your “Most glamorous lockdown outfit” now and yours could be selected to be one of the ten to be viewed by our panel of experts, fabulous prizes up for grabs. Click here to register.
“We believe now, more than ever, in the importance of connecting, creating and collaborating. We live in a time where technology allows us to be adaptable, to host online events that provide rich valuable content to viewers and an online platform that allows brands to continue in sharing their stories and connecting with their audiences,” concludes Westoby.