The Media Online’s weekly round up of people, account and business moves in media.
This week’s BIG move: Net#work BBDO wins Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona
Net#work BBDO has slowly been chipping away at new account wins as the agency forges forward, most recently adding the Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona brands to their portfolio as creative lead partner.
“These are iconic brands,” said Leo Manne, MD of Net#work BBDO. “And we look forward to adding our touch and flavour to them, and their business results.” Manne and his team speak passionately about making the work great, and then even greater. “Whether we are working on a fully integrated campaign that flights on every channel or a single-minded digital campaign we apply a rigorous strategic approach to ensure that our campaign messages are effective, relevant and connect with the target audiences in order to move them positively.
“Business is often scrutinized analytically and rationally. The board room is full of double speak, plans are packed with acronyms like EBIT, NSV, and CAGR. But at its simplest, business is about people. It is individuals who choose brands with their emotions and wallets. It is individuals who decide if businesses are successful. Individuals move business.”
The 51% South African and black owned business recently added Oppo, SA Taxi and Ford After Sales to their client roster.
People moves
Award-winning talent joins Think Creative Africa
Award-winning through-the-line agency Think Creative Africa has welcomed Zetu Damane and Thibedi Meso as chief strategy officer and executive creative director, respectively. The agency has been on a winning trajectory in the past year which has seen them partnering with VMLYR to win the Vodacom account, and more recently winning the Inspired Education Group account (Reddam House and Reddford House schools). Some of the brands under their belt include Multichoice, AMKA, Gautrain and Jack Ma Foundation.
Damane over 15 years of strategic communication experience. She is a multiple award-winning strategist and was voted one of SA’s Young Guns by the Financial Mail in 2006. Damane has worked at some of South Africa’s top agencies and has collected a number of APEX awards for effectiveness. Her insight driven work typically lands on Kantar’s best liked ads list.
Meso has an impressive background in graphic design and having worked over a decade as a copywriter he has built an impressive portfolio. Brands such as Standard Bank, Nissan, Mazda, Discovery Life, M-Net, Metropolitan, OLX and Sowetan have benefitted from his advertising acumen.
Superunion welcomes Liana Liebenberg as creative director
Award-winning designer Liana Liebenberg will be joining Superunion Africa this month as creative director Johannesburg. This follows the recent appointment of Jan-Hendrik Labuschagne, who will now oversee Africa.
Liebenberg has built up a reputation as a talented conceptual designer who prides herself on collaborating and leading diverse teams. She is passionate about growing and developing young talent, helping them find and add their unique voice to the market. One of her proudest moments affirms this; 80% of her previous design team rank in the Top 20 designers in the country in one year.
Liebenberg has gained 14 years’ experience working at some of the most reputable agencies in the country on several local and international clients, including Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, South African Tourism, McDonald’s, Toyota, FNB, Absa, and Converse.
IAB SA 2021 Front Row winners
The IAB SA has announced the winners of the 2021 Front Row programme. Designed to give young, black media and marketing students much needed access to an array of industry resources and insiders, the Front Row programme plays a crucial role in the IAB SA’s commitment to galvanising transformation in the industry.
This year’s winners were selected by the IAB SA 2021 Front Row Committee, who were impressed by the talent, acumen and tenacity of this year’s entrants.
- Moipone Hlungwani
- Tshepo Seanego
- Sibabalwe Sineke
- Boikanyo Thamae
- Akona Kom
- Pfano Ranwedzi
- Ntlahla Bonani
- Nonkululeko Malunga
- Zinzile Sibanyoni
- Thabo Maleka
This year’s winners will each receive an array of invaluable prizes to facilitate their growth, further equipping them with sought-after skills and industry connections, one of which is a personalised digital marketing learning experience driven by data in the form of the Digital Marketing Acumen Test. Each winner will be allowed to write the globally-recognised DMAT test, receive their proprietary digital marketing skills report, and gain personalised digital learning resources based on their assessment data. Other prizes include one four-month paid internship with the IAB SA as well as significant contributions from awards partners, The Red & Yellow Creative School of Business, Vodamedia and DMAT.
Algoa FM financial director steps down after 35 years in media
Algoa FM’s financial director Kevin Reed is retiring after 35 years in the media industry – and a job interview during which he was dressed “in lumo green shorts, a white T-shirt and white flip-flops”. There is an explanation – having started a financial consulting business in 2000, he thought he had been invited for a studio interview.
Fortunately for all, Algoa FM is the place where “fun is a serious business” and following the February 2000 interview he was hired as financial manager. Within three years he had been appointed financial director and deputy managing director.
It sometimes comes as a surprise to people who know the outgoing and extroverted side of Reed to find out that, once behind his computer, he has a totally different approach to life. “Accounting is the most exact science. Debits always equal credits and don’t try to reinvent the abacus,” he said.
Ares Holdings appoints new CEO
Ares Holdings (Pty) Ltd, appointed distributor for leading brands Under Armour, Birkenstock, Crocs and 2xU in Southern Africa, announced a change in executive management with the appointment of Gareth Kemp as their new chief executive officer.
Kemp was instrumental in establishing the Ares Holdings Group in 2016 and since has been in the role of managing director of Under Armour since its’ launch into South Africa. He has been a key player in the business, supporting Neil Scheibe, exiting C.E.O in growing the brands and their distribution as well as establishing the systems infrastructure and teams required to position the business as a best-in-class distributor of global brands.
Dentsu International leader Ashish Bhasin to headline first World Out of Home Organization Asia Forum
Dentsu International CEO APAC and Chairman India, Ashish Bhasin will open proceedings of the first World Out of Home Organization Asia Forum with an in-depth interview with WOO President Tom Goddard. This virtual event will be held on 28 October.
Bhasin, who is also a member of the Dentsu International global executive team, has been a pivotal figure in the advertising and marketing industry for his whole career, now spanning 33 years. He built the Dentsu Aegis Network in India from a 50-member team to 3 000, now the second largest advertising and marketing communications group in India.
Business moves
HaveYouHeard creates new TV show for Scottish Leader
Whiskey brand Scottish Leader is launching a TV show exploring how people see the world differently to entertain both its existing fan base and potential consumers tuning in, and enhance the relationship with both.
Called Madness Method, the show will be hosted by musician and reality TV star Moonchild Sanelly. With the help of a unique deck of cards and a masked mixologist, Moonchild will interview a mystery guest every Friday night at 21h30 on BET Africa (channel 129 on DStv).
View the trailer here: Live twitter Link with trailer here:
According to HaveYouHeard’s Jon Savage, Madness Method is not only one of the coolest projects he’s ever been involved with (and there are many, he’s a doyen of the industry), it’s one of the coolest shows to launch on South Africa’s small screens this year.
“Madness Method perfectly showcases the powerful thinking between HaveYouHeard and a great brand that sees the world differently,” he said. “It’s an irreverent talk show that breaks all conventions, is full of surprises and platforms the most raw and real discussions you’ll ever hear from local celebrities.”
ADNA launches in Cape Town to connect businesses to 34m people across 33 countries in Africa
Creative intelligence group, ADNA (Audience DNA) is expanding into Africa with their new regional headquarters in Cape Town. The agency officially launched here in January this year with a full-service team including data, creative and strategic consultancy, consumer and market insights.
With access to 320 million people globally, ADNA offers businesses access to over 34 million audiences across 33 countries in Africa, from Nigeria to Tanzania, Ethiopia to Zimbabwe. This unprecedented scale of access to African audiences is created to democratise first party quantitative research, so businesses can continuously tap into their African audience’s opinions and feedback to help them make braver decisions.
ADNA Africa is headed up by Michelle Beh, ex-MD of The Jupiter Drawing Room (Cape Town) and Mark Taylor, former co-founder of Asia-based agency Arcade. Their combination of strategic and creative experience, backed by a team of world-class data analysts and insights strategists based in Singapore, means clients receive more than just traditional research offering.
Oliver’s in-house digital agency model pays off
Oliver South Africa’s in-house digital agency model has paid off big time both locally and regionally with the agency showing double revenue growth, a substantial increase in gross profit and operating profit, and a doubling of its head count in the last year despite the Covid-19 lockdown.
Oliver SA was established in 2017. In just four years Oliver Africa’s creative agency and MORE its creative and production support business has grown into a R250-million business with 200 regional staff.
Oliver’s executive director Africa, Nonhlanhla Koza, said the impressive growth was achieved by the agency optimising client brands with Oliver’s innovative in-house digital agency model.
She said Oliver focused on providing purposeful and beautiful work for some of the world’s best-loved brands. “From fully-integrated campaigns, eCommerce and video content to CRM, social and digital advertising, Oliver enables clients to have an agile, highly effective and totally consistent experience across their brand ecosystems,” she added.
New mouthpiece for SA Poultry with new issue of Poultry Bulletin
The new August/September 2021 issue of Poultry Bulletin, the official magazine of the South African Poultry Association (SAPA), has just hit shelves as the poultry industry calculates the impact of the violent unrest on producers who are already challenged by outbreaks of avian influenza.
The 115-year-old mouthpiece of the poultry industry reinvented itself earlier this year into a modern, accessible consumer-style magazine that has just published its third bimonthly issue, around the theme of sustainability.
According to Izaak Breitenbach, GM of SAPA’s Broiler Organisation, the decision was taken to transform the publication to appeal to a wider audience of farmers, producers, policy-makers and decision-takers, and stakeholders across the long poultry value chain.”
Said editor Melinda Shaw, “Ensuring the industry’s sustainability has never been more important, so in this issue we look at future-focused initiatives and investments made by poultry businesses; as well as actions that producers take to protect the environment.”
Havas South Africa wins Didi, the world’s largest e-hailing service
Havas has recently been appointed as the South African creative agency handling the world’s largest e-hailing service, DiDi. The brand had a successful pilot programme in Gqeberha in March 2021, and has since launched in Cape Town, planning a full national roll out.
Speaking of the win, Havas CEO, Lynn Madeley said, “We could not be more excited about partnering with DiDi. Their commitment to making a meaningful difference in the business and transport landscape is exactly the kind of vision we are passionate about. We look forward to this being a long, fruitful, and fun partnership.”
DiDi marketing director for MEA region, Nwabisa Salela, said of the partnership, “When the first project a new agency works on for you exceeds your target by 57%, you know you are with the right partner. Havas is that partner.”
DiDi services over 550 million customers worldwide in countries that include Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Russia, Japan and China. Backed by Alibaba and Ten Cent, the brand is committed to ensuring fair compensation for drivers, better value for consumers, and prioritised passenger safety.
Telkom adds Telegram to its FreeMe value
Telkom has added instant messaging (IM) platform, Telegram, to its FreeMe offer, both on Postpaid plans and Prepaid bundles. This after observing a keen interest by a significant portion of its customers in this platform and a sizeable uptake to it, at the start of 2021 as many sought out IM application alternatives mainly due to privacy reasons.
The telecommunications company will not get rid of WhatsApp, it has simply added Telegram to the FreeMe value.
ESPN Africa reveals refreshed on-air imaging
The home of American sports across the continent, ESPN Africa, has revealed a refreshed on-air look for its two linear channels, ESPN and ESPN2. Bringing to life the brand’s purpose to ignite the fan in all of us, the new imaging intends to create a more family-oriented entertainment environment for sports viewers of all ages across the continent.
Placing the spotlight equally on sporting talent, passion and stories, the new on-air elements will bring fans closer to their sporting idols and heroes as well as highlight moments of celebration through on air graphics and visual elements. As ESPN features more than just what happens on the field, the new look and feel aims to honour the sense of community and the rituals that unite sports fans across the globe. To further authentically engage viewer passion for the world’s leading sporting clubs, leagues and franchises, the new branding will showcase club colours, logos and badges on screen as well as through dynamic refreshed bumpers with team nicknames included.
The new on-air presentation has been designed to build anticipation, tell sports stories in dynamic ways that feel vibrant and expressive whilst capturing both the quiet and loud moments, to connect to fans in an immersive and memorable way.
Making moves
Channel Africa announces newest additions
Channel Africa has launched a brand new IKB Programme The African Passport. The online radio show will be produced and hosted by author Godfrey Madanhire popularly known as Mr. G, and will premier this Thursday. The programme addresses how Africa is often portrayed as a dark continent both in the media and everyday conversations. It seeks to change the narrative by providing a platform to showcase homegrown high rollers and pacesetters, who dream and strongly believe in a United Africa.
Another exciting addition to the Channel Africa family is Luyanda Maome, who has made his comeback to the station as the producer and presenter of Africa of the Future which broadcasts Tuesdays between 08h00 -09h00 Central African Time.
Acting business manager of Channel Africa, Maurice Mate, said: “Nowhere across the continent will you find a combination of radio programmes that tackle the issues of Africa like at Channel Africa. Indeed, this platform offers a plethora of insights that would empower our citizens in creating a better life for themselves”
Diary
All the dates: A sneak peek into FAME Week Africa 2021
FAME Week Africa (FWA) has announced 3-5 October as the new event dates for 2021 and Suits and Sneakers front man Mark Sham, Message Architect Thami Nkadimeng and Television presenter and actor Jason Greer being added to the line-up.
As South Africa continues to comply with national lockdown regulations, difficult but necessary decisions were made to ensure a safe event for as many people as possible to attend and enjoy FAME Week Africa within Covid19 protocols.
“While we have moved back down to adjusted level 3 lockdown, we felt that it was important to give South Africa more time to be comfortable with live events again,” said Judy Goddard, FAME Week Africa event director. “We are ready and look forward to hosting a safe event, but the industry’s participation in this is critical. We have all been through a lot this year so sensitivity to timing is important in our 2021 rollout.”
The new dates allow for the FAME Reel Talent Showcase submissions to be extended to 14 August 2021 to provide the opportunity for more creatives to submit their works.
The FWA team has been hard at work curating a programme in an event set to become the continent’s unrivalled cornerstone of business development for the film, arts, media and entertainment industries.
Paula, I’ve moved this bit from the intro – if you’re happy with this, the website copy will need to be updated accordingly.
