The Media Online’s weekly round up of people, account and business moves in media.
This week’s BIG move: HelloFCB+ awarded Western Cape Government business
After a stringent three-phase tender process, HelloFCB+ has been awarded the Western Cape Government (WCG) marketing communication account. This is the second time the agency has pitched for and won the business.
“This is a very emotional win for the agency,” said HelloFCB+’s executive business director, Nadja Srdic. “It’s a very meaningful account for us. The work being done to build the Province matters a great deal, and we take our role very seriously. We’re delighted to retain the business and are looking forward to continue to drive positive change for the benefit of all WCG citizens.”
Chief creative officer, Mike Barnwell said the company “certainly proved our responsiveness and agility during all stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, having to respond to real-time data and analytics, adjusting our communication strategy and creative as the pandemic and its’ impact progressed.”
Srdic continued: “More than any other client I have worked on before, WCG has a particular modus operandi and incredibly complex structure. Our flexible modelling approach, however, allows us to tailor-make a way of working that best suits WCG. And, we do this for every client, no matter the size or the task. I believe the client-agency ‘fit’ is close to an ideal one.”
Business moves
NAG hands over reins to Len Nery
New Age Gaming magazine (NAG), the online tech news site for all things geek and gaming, celebrated its 22nd birthday in April 2020 and has been steered by Michael James at the helm for most of that time. Now NAG announced that its business development manager, Len Nery, who has been a part of the NAG DNA since inception, has purchased NAG from Instance Media and has been appointed managing director and publisher.
“NAG has shaped every facet of my life since I joined the team and I’m truly honoured to be in a position to officially call it my baby. We have some epic changes in the works while nurturing our current reader base and I’m super excited to announce that our managing edditor, Tarryn van der Byl, and sales manager, Cheryl Harris, will help shape the next 22 years with me,” said Nery.
Content covers games and esports, sci-tech, entertainment, pop culture, bad jokes, and one or two things in between – including daily news, reviews and previews, videos, and many provocative opinions. Visitors to the website can enter competitions and join one of NAG’s engaging social media communities and interact via Twitch. NAG also syndicates content to Times Live under GamersLIVE banner and offers free press releases to their clients.
Social Lab triples in size with global client wins
During one of the toughest financial years of recent history, Social Lab South Africa has reported a period of extraordinary growth. Amid a variety of account wins, the team has grown its billings by 300% and tripled its team size.
At the heart of its successful offering in South Africa is a content hub, which services both local and global clients. The team has built fully dedicated units for clients based in North America, UK, Europe, Asia and Africa to deliver on their four main areas of expertise: media buying, creative content, SEO and intelligence assignments.
The South African office opened in 2018 and is part of the fastest growing business within the wider Ogilvy network. Social Lab provides digital services for agencies and brands who require reliable, cost-effective and scalable solutions across a range of performance based, digital marketing specialisations.
To sustain the rapid growth of the agency, Social Lab is launching a Graduate Training initiative starting in 2021, that will enroll graduates in Cape Town and Johannesburg to teach specialist campaign management skills. Top performing candidates will be offered roles in one of the growing number of Social.Lab media hubs.
For more information about Social Lab, the application process for the Graduate Training Programme, or about the variety of vacancies which Social Lab is currently hiring for, please contact: sljob@ogilvy.com
Google launches People Cards to help Africans who want to be found on Google Search
Google has introduced a new mobile-only feature that makes people more discoverable on Google Search. People Cards allow people to create their presence on Search in the form of a card (similar to a Google Search Knowledge Panel) that includes all the details they want other people to have about them.
“For many people,” said Olumide Balogun, head of consumer apps, Sub Saharan Africa at Google, “whether they’re content creators, business professionals, or just wanting to stand out from the crowd — having an online presence is important.
“For those without a formal website, or for people who share a name with many others, this is an easy way to create or distinguish their presence on Search,” he adds. “Google’s mission has always been to organise information and make it useful and accessible, and we’re now providing a new way – for people who want to be found – to organise information about themselves, right on Search, on their mobile phones.”
Anyone with a Google Account can create a People Card by simply searching for their name and tapping the “add me to Search” prompt. This will lead them through a simple process to add a photo, description, links to social profiles and other information that they’d like others to know about them.
ABC reports on a year of crises
Many industries had to rethink and adapt their business models. The ABC was no exception, said the circulation body’s president, Chris Botha. “As Winston Churchill famously said, never waste a good crisis. We geared our operations to drive efficiencies to sustain the association, as well as continue to offer our members the best service at this crucial time.”
Botha said the ABC was ready to rebuild the association as well as South Africa in 2021.
Botha thanked media partners for their support, despite the number of changes that have taken place
“We gave up our office space in Rosebank, and moved to a permanent work from home set up for all our staff. Despite this move, we managed to keep telephone numbers and postal address the same. This move we believe will help future proof the ABC for years to come,” Botha said.
Rickey Gounder took over as general manager of the ABC. The board were very happy with the efforts of Rickey and his team in 2020, Botha said.
The ABC has had to adapt its rules to make provision for the disruption that the national lock down protocol had on its 700 plus members since the 26th of March. These included:
- Voluntary exclusion of circulation for the period 18th to 31st March 2020,
- Extension of the ABC deadline for the period January to March – 2 weeks’ extension
- Voluntary submission of data for the period April to June 2020, with no implications
The ABC continued to work hard at diversifying its offering to the ad industry, by monitoring events, online numbers, and not just print titles. These services will over time contribute to ensuring the financial stability of the organisation.
“We also managed to collect the majority of fees due – thanks to the great support of partners like yourself,” he said.
Botha said the organisation was saddened by the closure of great titles (both magazines and newspapers) that had been members for many prior years,and by the loss of long-time ABC Board member – Paul Peters.
Telkom launches digital wallet for mobile transactions
Telkom, has today launched a digital wallet officially dubbed Telkom Pay Digital Wallet – Telkom Pay for short. The platform allows users to pay others and get paid themselves using their mobile phone through the WhatsApp messaging app, to anyone on their contacts list. It also serves as a cashless Point of Sale (POS) payment option for businesses.
“We are launching financial services solutions that cater to everyone and that are easy to access through one’s phone 24/7 at an affordable price for consumers and businesses. Our device insurance has been in the market for a number of years. This year we have successfully launched funeral cover and our foray into payments further deepens our strategic intent to play a significant role in providing solutions that meet the needs of our customers and contribute to economic inclusion in South Africa,” said Sibusiso Ngwenya – Managing Executive: Telkom Financial Services.
Users with WhatsApp can add Telkom Pay on the app, register and from then on, they can send and/or receive money by sharing a “Please pay me” with a contact or using a cell phone number to send them money, respectively. Telkom Pay also allows customers to buy airtime, data and electricity. For those reluctant to carry cash on them all the time, the wallet allows for easy payments by simply scanning and paying for goods
Team Messe Muenchen SA stays on top of trends with CEM qualifications
Three key team members of Messe Muenchen South Africa are among the elite Class of 2020 to have graduated from the first Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM) programme in Africa.
AAXO, in conjunction with the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), hosted the internationally recognised CEM programme in Africa for the first time this year. The CEM qualification is a globally recognised designation that demonstrates the highest professional standard throughout the exhibitions and events management arena.
Messe Muenchen South Africa nominated three team members to participate this year. All three, Betty Sichivula – Project Director, Dain Richardson – Senior Exhibition Manager, and Wessel vd Linde – Director of Finance and Operations, graduated.
Messe Muenchen South Africa presents a series of industry exhibitions taking place in South Africa in 2021, including bauma CONEXPO AFRICA, food & drink technology Africa, analytica Lab Africa, IFAT Africa and air cargo Africa.
South African heritage brand refreshes corporate identity, charts a new creative direction
Eskort, the 103-year-old South African brand with an enviable reputation for quality, has partnered with MetropolitanRepublic to refresh its corporate identity and launch a new creative platform with an exciting campaign that walks and talks like a truly iconic South African brand.
The new creative platform ‘It’s Eskort’ becomes how the current payoff line ‘Life’s Delicious’ comes to life in a way the consumer can touch and feel, helping Eskort cement its household name status among certain consumer segments and grow awareness for its best taste and safety reputation.
Taking this new corporate identity and positioning to market is a 360° campaign that’s dominated by television and digital because they both offer high reach nationally, build reach fast versus other media platforms, and offer the ability to use and leverage similar content.
The personality of the television campaign, which sees two executions launching in November and one in January, is inclusive, optimistic, innovative and resourceful. Their tone is local, loud, proud and humorous.
You can watch the commercials here:
Making moves
Invitation to apply to SANEF’s Relief Fund
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) has invited journalists struggling as a result of the Covid-19 crisis to apply for the third round of the Media Relief Fund. It is open to freelancers, contract journalists, reporters, photographers and production staff in multimedia, print and broadcast who have lost their jobs and income to submit their applications with all relevant and supporting documentation.
This third round is open to those who also received funding in the first and second round but still find themselves jobless.
Working in conjunction with the Social Justice Initiative (SJI), SANEF reported that in its first and second rounds it received 700 applications and approved 249 journalists for payments. Journalists received a small donation of R5000 each to purchase necessities like food, clothing and airtime. So far SANEF has paid a total of R1 245 000.
Please note the deadline is 8 January 2021.
DA launches The Inside Track
The DA has launchd a brand new live broadcast, The Inside Track. The Inside Track will be hosted by the DA’s newly-appointed national spokesperson, Siviwe Gwarube and will be broadcast live at 11am on Fridays.
It is part of the party’s promise to communicate more directly with South Africans than ever before. “In this age of fake news and information overload, the DA is committed to helping South Africans get to the heart of news and politics in South Africa today,” it said.
The broadcast will also spotlight the week in headlines, the news that has been and should have been, cutting through the noise, giving you “the inside track” into what is really happening.
Why was an article about the alleged meeting between Judge Desai and the ANC removed from the IOL-website?
The DA’s Glynis Breytenbach wants answers on why a news report, based on one of its statements, was removed by the IOL website. The story was about whether Judge Siraj Desai allegedly attended an ANC planning meeting.
“In the statement yesterday, I asked serious questions about how a Judge, who is currently a member of the Western Cape High Court Bench, would seemingly openly attend a party-political meeting.
The fact that this article has been removed from the website since yesterday afternoon is highly suspicious. The DA has since written to the IOL editor, Riana Howa, to ascertain why this article was removed from the website,” Breytenbach said.
The MP said it was no secret that the Independent Media group has strong ANC affiliations and “is generally extremely biased towards the DA. It is also significant that this media group resigned from the Press Council and opted to appoint their ‘own ombudsman”, she said.
“It would appear that pressure has been applied to the website to remove the report. It’s unheard of for a news article to simply be removed in this way.”
