The Media Online’s weekly round up of people, account and business moves in media.
This week’s BIG move: No rates increase for East Coast Radio and Jacaranda FM
East Coast Radio and Jacaranda FM have paused their advertising rates for the first quarter of the FY21 period to give clients some relief during the coronavirus pandemic.
COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on businesses in South Africa and disrupted the country’s economy. East Coast Radio and Jacaranda FM understand that all sectors are struggling financially.
The Kagiso Media-owned radio stations hope the decision not to increase their rates from 1 July 2020 to 30 September 2020 will help brands rebuild and remain top of mind during the lockdown.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic, we are adapting and evolving our pricing approach because we understand that businesses have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. Advertisers will benefit from buying ECR at the FY20 price,” East Coast Radio’s commercial manager, Malani van Huyssteen, said.
Radio remains a popular advertising medium during the coronavirus pandemic. Surveys conducted by Jacaranda FM and East Coast Radio show that listeners are not only consuming more radio than they did before the crisis, but they are also spending more hours tuning in – in many cases for more than six hours a day.
Jane Ruinard, commercial manager at Jacaranda FM, said: “Creating a fully inclusive rate card will give advertisers the opportunity to view all our rates on one consolidated rate card. Ease of use and access is key to assist with planning a fully integrated campaign.”
People moves
Lerato Molele joins MetropolitanRepublic as business unit director
Lerato Molele, a well-rounded advertiser with broad work experience gained over nearly 20 years in the industry, has joined MetropolitanRepublic as business unit director.
“With her passion to work on brands that make a difference in South Africa and beyond, Lerato is an ideal fit with the MetropolitanRepublic team and its client portfolio,” said the agency’s client service director, Terry Unser.
With stints at TWBA Hunt Lascaris, Ogilvy Johannesburg, Network BBDO, JWT Johannesburg, King James and TMI Media in Cape Town, Molele has worked on big and small brands across many sectors, from cellular to alcohol to fashion retail and FMCG. Past brand she has worked on include Standard Bank, KFC, Eskom, IBM, Castle, Cell C, BDFM, Total, SABC, Telkom Mobile, Nestlé chocolates and ice cream, Surf, Lux, Nokia, Powertech, Vodacom, and Burger King.
Molele’s most recent job, at TMI Media, saw her immersed in the world of media and digital strategy as well as new business development and client service on Woolworths, Rain, Sygnia and Sportpesa.
Business moves
YFM creates new opportunities for entrepreneurs
YFM has launches The Put On for the second year in a row, giving budding entrepreneurs a chance to win their share of R1.5 million in radio advertising and a cash prize of R100 000.00 which to develop and grow their businesses.
More than just creating this platform to support youth-driven business and entrepreneurship through advertising, YFM is also looking for more youth-owned businesses, which can be added to its supplier database.
This 12-week intensive initiative includes calls for entries, digital and listener engagement, top 20 finalist announcements, and a Dragon’s Den style pitch process.
This pitch process will allow entrepreneurs to meet the judging panel which consists of YFM’s MD, Haseena Cassim, founder of Legends Barber, Sheldon Tatchell, founder of The Throne Agency, Caron Williams, founder of Thirst Busters and Put On 2019 winner, Linaker Phahle and founder and CEO of The Bar Group, Legend Manqele who will act as mentors, challenging these business owners to new heights.
SABC issues a notice of possible retrenchments
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has issued a notice of possible redundancies following consultations with the public broadcaster’s key stakeholders.
The notice follows the launch of the SABC’s new Target Operating Model, a strategic renewal initiative aimed at transforming the Corporation into a financially sustainable, self-sufficient and fit-for-purpose public broadcaster.
“The SABC has a duty to ensure the continued viability of the Corporation so that it may fulfill its public mandate and effectively serve the millions of South Africans who rely on it for education, information and entertainment,” it said in a statement.
The notice of redundancy will impact approximately 600 employees. Organised labour as well as representatives of the non-unionised employees will be consulted within a meaningful joint consensus seeking process as mandated by Section 189 of the LRA.
A freshened up Food24 brings smart inspiration to SA’s kitchens
New Media, the owner of Food24 and Eat Out, has launched a brand-new, fully responsive Food24 website. Built by New Media’s in-house dev agency, Swipe iX, the new site mixes Food24’s 18-year legacy of 15 000 recipes and 7 000 food articles with a new look and smart tech under the hood.
An improved user experience, underpinned by powerful search functionality, makes recipe selection from the vast Food24 catalogue easier and more efficient.
Said Natalie Wilson, the newly appointed head of food at New Media. “Accessibility and the presentation of inspiring content were key drivers of this rebuild. We want to be the one-stop shop for all South Africa’s home cooks. To that end, there was also a special focus on, for example, the mobile experience that serves cooks on the go as well as curated collections for ease of reference.”
This is reflected in Food24’s new tagline: “Inspiring South Africa’s kitchens”.
“Food media is our bread and butter at New Media. We’ve been producing quality food content – for our own brands as well as our clients – for over 20 years,” said New Media CEO Aileen Lamb.
CWDi launches Digital Wingman solutions
Due to the COVID-19 breakout, many businesses that previously relied on face-to-face interactions have pivoted into operating online. The reality is that now, most companies are having to find ways to function online – and fast. It is now essential to connect and communicate digitally with clients and employees.
CWDi, a brand agency specialising in experiences that connect people, has launched an offering of a ‘Digital Wingman’.
A CWDiDigital Wingman is a tech-savvy, service oriented professional whose mission is to take care of the technology techniques and platforms that an organisation needs to connect and communicate effectively in a digital landscape.
“Companies are now having to move their events – from small meetings to bigger conferences into the virtual space. However, this is uncharted territory for many, which is why we at CWDi have developed a solution that will help keep individuals and businesses connected with the help of a friendly wingman at their side,” said Samantha Gabriel, group experiences director atCWDi.
Reuters launches audio offering
Reuters Audio is a market-leading service designed specifically for the audio and voice sector.
Two new products – Reuters Audio and Reuters Ready Audio – provide access to a global collection of rights-cleared real-time and archive audio clips, as well as ready-to-publish audio stories.
With nearly half a million archive clips dating back to the early 1900s, Reuters Audio offers more than a century’s worth of news coverage, adding depth and dimension to audio production. Meanwhile, Reuters Ready Audio provides curated and ready-to-publish daily packages of global news stories, voiced by Reuters journalists from around the world.
In a recent study, research has found that since 2019 there has been a 32% increase in the number of news podcasts, with 20% of the most popular podcasts categorized as news. With consumers listening more than ever, it’s time to embrace the audio renaissance.
Popular streaming service adds four new SABC hit shows
Viu, a pan-regional OTT video streaming service from PCCW Media Group with more than 41 million* monthly active users (MAU), has announced the addition of four top South African local shows. Three of South Africa’s top soapies, Generations: The Legacy, Muvhango, and Sewende Laan, and the 2019 smash-hit comedy Makoti, are now all available daily on Viu immediately after their transmission on linear television.
These shows join the already popular SABC shows on Viu, including Uzalo, Skeem Saam, Yizo Yizo, Gaz’Lam , My Perfect Family, Emoyeni and others.
Ryan Solovei, country manager, said: “We’re excited to offer even more of Mzansi’s leading soapies and comedies to our growing audience of Viu’ers. On the back of the success of SABC content on the platform, we are very pleased to expand the relationship, offering their compelling storytelling for local audiences that is very much in alignment with our vision.”
Meta Media and The MediaShop offices reopen
Chris Botha, group managing director of Park Advertising, has announced that both media agencies within the Park Advertising Group, namely Meta Media and The MediaShop, reopened their Johannesburg offices as from 17 June 2020.
“To protect our most important assets, our staff, we started working from home well before President Ramaphosa announced the country’s move to a hard lockdown and we were well prepared,” said Botha. “Now with some semblance of normality returning, we have decided to reopen our Johannesburg offices for those that wish to work in the office environment. In doing so we have developed the necessary processes and protocols to safely reopen.
“We have made a large investment in hand sanitisers, social distance markers and various signs indicating the protocols to be followed at various locations around both offices. A thermometer service has also been implemented where everyone will get ‘temp checked’ together with all the other necessary health protocols.”
In accordance to the new protocols and law, all staff are required to ‘self-diagnose’ daily. In order to manage the process more efficiently, Park Advertising has developed a mobile application that their staff can access to complete all necessary and relevant information online, without filling out paperwork.
Other precautions, safety measures and protocols include staff utilising face masks or shields, offices open only at set times, regular temperature checking and only small teams being allowed on the premises.
Limited edition 25th anniversary Rugby World Cup masks to be sold at Pick n Pay
Pick n Pay has partnered with the Springbok Class of 1995 to launch limited edition Springbok Supporters face masks. This is in celebration of the 25th anniversary since the 1995 Springboks lifted the William Webb Ellis Trophy at Ellis Park for the very first time.
Only 140 000 masks will be available at Pick n Pay stores nationwide from 20 June and all profits will be donated to the Chris Burger Petro Jackson Players’ Fund – the official charity of the Springbok which supports rugby players in SA whose lives were changed through serious injury on the field. Masks will be available for children (R45.99) and adults (R49.99).
1995 Springbok captain, Francois Pienaar, said, “Celebrating 25 years of being a world champion with the class of 2007 and 2019 is special; collaborating in support of the Chris Burger Petro Jackson Players’ Fund is extra special.”
Podcasts enjoy more success with a familiar name behind them
Podcasts are not new as a medium. But some of these audio on demand files are making huge waves in the industry. Jacaranda’s JacPod series is seeing huge download numbers, with Brent Lindeque’s Good Things Guy podcast consistently being the number one most listened to file for the past several months.
Kevin Fine, managing director at Expedite (and former Jacaranda FM managing director) said: “Bringing Good Things Guy on to the platform was a strategic move to interrogate our hypothesis that firstly consumers are looking for familiarity in their content choices, and secondly they don’t know where to find it. By adding Brent’s content to the platform we were able to offer a wider audience some really quality content in an environment they could easily access and the results have been phenomenal.
Clearly, the more familiar the content, the name attached to it and the ease of finding it, the more downloads the podcasts will receive. In the past two years that Brent has been with the station his brand has truly blossomed. He’s a true leader in content adoption and he’s been a great prototype for consistent podcast consumption.”
SABC announces partnership with the Novak Djokovic Foundation
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), through its sports channel, SABC Sport, has entered into a partnership with the Novak Djokovic Foundation to broadcast the Adria Tour Tennis Series live on SABC TV.
The Adria Tour Tennis Series is the brainchild of the ATP number 1 ranked tennis player, Novak Djokovic through his Novak Djokovic Foundation. The tennis series will take place over four weekends, with the matches played on clay court in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. The tournament will feature top ranked ATP Tour tennis stars including Novak Djokovic, Austrian Dominic Thiem, Bulgarian star Grigor Dimitrov and Croatian pair Borna Coric and Marin Cilic.
The SABC Sport GM, Gary Rathbone commented, “The partnership with the Novak Djokovic Foundation allows SABC Sport to bring a world class tennis tournament to all our sports loving audiences. SABC Sport, as a Free to Air sportscaster is a key link between all South Africans and some of the best sports content locally and from around the world. The next four weekends will be nothing short of exciting, exhilarating with end-to-end high impact tennis action and we are putting our fans in the best seat in the house to consume this world-class tennis content. #ItsTimeForTennis.”
SA’S co.za domain passes 1.25m milestone
There are now over 1.25 million individual domain names registered within South Africa’s flagship CO.ZA Internet domain, according to the ZA Central Registry NPC (ZACR).
“It speaks volumes that CO.ZA has powered over the 1.25m mark during the current lockdown as anecdotal evidence suggests South Africans are increasingly snapping up domains to help them launch businesses, pursue creative and study endeavours, secure their digital identities and generally become much more active online,” said Lucky Masilela, ZACR CEO.
New domain name registration by SMMEs (Small, Medium & Micro Enterprises), in particular, has picked up significantly since late March with many new CO.ZA registrations since lockdown by small business owners who find this domain delivers the perfect blend of affordability and recognition.
The CO.ZA second-level domain now accounts for just over 95% of all domain name registrations within the .ZA country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD).
Making moves
PRovoke names Tribeca in top five best independent agencies to work for in EMEA
PRovoke Media has named Tribeca Public Relations (Tribeca) as one of the top five independent Best Agencies to Work for in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) after a comprehensive employee-driven review process across the region. Tribeca is the only independent agency on the African continent to be included among the 2020 achievers.
“We’ve been working remotely for nearly three months now. The pandemic and changed way of working has shown us just how resilient, flexible and adaptable we can be,” said Nicky James, co-founder of Tribeca Public Relations. “We were a strong team at the beginning of the COVID-19 journey, and we’ve remained in daily contact throughout, achieving remarkable business results for our clients – and even winning some new business.”
Even though the agency has given its teams all the tools that they need to work from home seamlessly, managers have focused on outputs and results, rather than on the hours that people spend at their workstation. This gives everyone the flexibility to work around the rhythms of their personal circumstances, which has helped reduce the overall stress of the current environment.
This accolade follows hot on the heels of the agency’s recent award-winning streak where it was awarded three Gold Sabre Awards Africa in April and six PRISA Prism Awards in May.
METRO FM and SABC 1 to pay tribute to Eddie Zondi
METRO FM and TV channel SABC 1, will be paying tribute to the legendary Eddie Zondi who passed away on 16 June 2014.
This broadcast partnership will showcase the power of two SABC brands in bringing about a fitting tribute to the homes of radio listeners and television viewers, simultaneously. The tribute will feature METRO FM’s Love Movement team, anchored by his close friend Wilson B Nkosi alongside Msizi Shembe, Sentle Lehoko, who took over the Romantic Repertoire following Eddie’s passing, and Mpho Madise (Mo G). They will each play an hour long love tunes set in remembrance of Eddie Zondi. METRO FM hosts, Thomas Msengana and Lerato Kganyago will be hosting the show.
The tribute will also include performances by a few artists from a long list of South African musicians that Eddie Zondi held dear to his heart. Jaziel Brothers, Donald and Moneoa will pay homage to the legend by performing songs which enjoyed healthy spins on the Romantic Repertoire when it was hosted by Eddie Zondi and are still playlisted on METROFM and SABC1 to date.
The tribute will take place on Saturday, 20 June 2020, between 22:00 – 02:00 live on SABC 1 and METRO FM. It can also be streamed around the world through METROFM’s YouTube channel.
Jacaranda FM & Tracker’s Off The Beat ‘n Track 2020 cancelled
Jacaranda FM and Tracker have moved to cancel their Off the Beat ‘n Track mountain biking and music event for 2020. The decision follows the South African Government’s move to declare a national state of lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak and uncertainty around whether any large-scale events could be hosted for the remainder of the year.
Refund enquiries can be made by contacting the race office at info@advendurance.com or (012) 012 5205.
Digital concert featuring top acts to benefit Angels, help artists
On 27 June, the GMA benefit concert, brought to you by Tracker and Jacaranda FM, will be streaming to a screen near you. It’s geared to be one of the biggest music highlights of 2020, a spectacular showcase of some of SA’s top live acts such as Demi Lee Moore, Prime Circle, DJ Jazzy D, Martin Bester and Refentse uniting in music to help those in desperate need.
The two and a half hour concert will feature 30 minute acoustic sets of these artists’ crowd favourite songs, a full concert stage – complete with proper sound, lighting and effects – that you can view from the warmth and comfort of your own home.
Tickets are priced at just R70 each, with 50% of proceeds going to supporting the artists through what is an extremely trying time for the performing arts industry, and the other 50% going to Jacaranda FM’s Good Morning Angels – a Breakfast with Martin Bester initiative that steps up to help with anything from life-saving heart operations, COVID-19 relief efforts, welfare projects and developing promising young talent, to saving Africa’s wildlife.
Jacaranda FM’s marketing manager, Leith Smith, said: “Top tunes are what we do best at Jacaranda FM, so we decided to team up with Tracker in using the power of music to not only warm up a chilly South African winter with first-class entertainment, but also to reach out to those who could really do with a helping hand. Join us on 27 June and be sure to tell absolutely everyone you know. Every cent raised will go to a phenomenal cause.”
Tickets are available at www.jacarandafm.com
Wunderman Thompson inspires growth within the youth
Wunderman Thompson South Africa takes its role in inspiring growth within the youth very seriously. Through learnerships, internships and even employee personal development plans, the agency is committed to finding, nurturing and advancing talent, some of who have never had the opportunity to grow and develop their potential.
Wunderman Thompson’s learning and development manager, Khumo du Toit is passionate about investing in people and cultivates a solid foundation for young talent to grow with the agency or take what they’ve learnt to flourish in the industry.
She explained, “We run an annual learnership programme that brings young black talent into the agency, so that we may teach future industry professionals and specialists. We work with partners, including Umuzi and Transcend, to identify and source young talent for the twelve-month learnership. Currently, we have six candidates for the 2020 programme; we usually have an intake of between four and six learners annually. In just the last three years, the group has invested more than R2.5 million on learnerships. We are excited to build on this investment as we expand our learnership and internship opportunities.”
For the Diary
Community radio is the soul of a community
Community radio stations are close to their audiences: confidantes to their deepest worries and fears, and a soothing balm to their hardships. But they also represent voices of joy, camaraderie, jubilation and celebration. Their listeners don’t just like them, they love them.
In celebrating the power of radio, The Radio Awards is shining a light on the tight bonds that community radio stations have with their listeners. We’ll unpack the essence of what stokes such close affinities of warmth and trust, and why advertisers and sponsors should be paying more attention.
Join Tim Zunckel in conversation with Zukiswa Potye (CEO of MDDA), Roelien Potgieter (Station Manager at Groot FM) Trinity Mohlamme (Director at The Media Connection) and Gordon Muller (Media specialist) as they uncover more about Community radio…
- What makes it so special
- How its appeal should attract greater ad-spend and sponsorships
- Initiatives to retain high levels of listenership and engagement post-lockdown
- How they’ve continued to inform and motivate their listeners in the face of Covid-19
- The unique opportunities for advertisers to benefit from community-commercial radio partnership
25 June at from 10am – 11am: REGISTER TO WATCH
The next level of marketing is here
Over the past decade there have been significant advances in the field of Marketing and Advertising theory and practice. The next level of marketing, includes the disciplines of Observed Consumer Behaviour, Behavioural Economics and Cognitive Neuroscience.
Kirsten Dugmore will be hosting an online Modern Marketing Bootcamp that will bring together a body of Evidence-based thinking in one useful and inspiring workshop. It will equip delegates with the latest, proven principles for effective communication and brand health.
The course will be held online via Zoom conferencing from 7 to 30 July 2020. Normal cost of R6850 now R2350 (online).
Kirsten can be contacted on 083 258 8862 or on email – kirsty@sugaspice.co.za.