The Media Online’s weekly column delivering news of award wins, entries, competitions, dates to note and winners in the media industry.
Entries open for MAA’s flagship Leadership Award, Marketing Organisation of the Year
Organisations that have delivered exceptional customer experiences and enabled consistent brand and company growth over the last three years are invited to enter the Marketing Achievement Awards’ (MAA) Marketing Organisation of the Year Award.
In line with the 2021 MAA theme, ‘marketing that means business’, this MAA Leadership Award is presented to those organisations that stand out from the rest through their consistent demonstration of the role that marketing plays in the sustained growth trajectory of a business. Those organisations that clearly align and execute their business, brand and marketing strategies to drive sustained returns, and that constantly anticipate, innovate and adapt to change.
Haydn Townsend, MAA council member and Accenture Interactive Lead for Africa, as well as sponsor of the MAA Marketing Organisation of the Year Award, says this accolade recognises organisations that embrace and develop a marketing mindset and marketing culture as key business drivers, while meeting the needs of their customers.
“The judges are looking for organisations that consistently, and fully, incorporate marketing as a strategic business discipline. The successful implementation of marketing initiatives must relate to sustained performance towards the triple bottom line over a period of three years. Entrants must be able to demonstrate the link between the business strategy, and the brand and marketing contribution, to its organisational success; a successful track record of execution excellence across multiple campaigns and/or brands; and evidence of synergistic portfolio management,” Townsend explains.
He adds that Accenture Interactive has partnered with the MAA on this prestigious award as it embodies exactly what the company aims to achieve by contributing to and influencing the development of the South African marketing landscape, as it builds enduring brands and businesses.
Award entries must further demonstrate marketing successes across the spectrum of brand planning, consumer insight, communication strategy, innovation and campaign activation, in addition to the outstanding use of all elements of the marketing mix across brands and campaigns.
Full entry criteria and details can be found at //marketingawards.co.za/marketing-organisation-of-the-year/.
Entries must be received by 31 January 2022.
The Eat Out Awards are coming back … along with Abigail Donnelly as chief judge
The Eat Out Restaurant Awards will return in November 2022 after a two-year hiatus, with Abigail Donnelly returning as chief judge.
“When South Africa went into hard lockdown on 26 March 2020, few of us could have imagined just how tough the road ahead would be for our restaurant industry,” says Eat Out brand custodian Aileen Lamb. “While there is no doubt that there are still many challenges and unknowns ahead, one thing we know for sure is that the resilient people of our industry deserve to be celebrated. We are, therefore, incredibly excited to look towards the future and announce an all-new Eat Out Restaurant Awards with award-winning food writer, critic and recipe author Abigail Donnelly returning to the helm as chief judge.”
E! celebrated the best in movies, television, music and pop culture chosen solely by the fans during the 2021 People’s Choice Awards telecast, hosted by actor and comedian Kenan Thompson, broadcast live from Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, CA on E!.
People’s Choice Awards complete winners list
This year E! honored Academy Award-winning actress, director, and producer Halle Berry with The People’s Icon award, entertainment powerhouse and philanthropist Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson with The People’s Champion award, entrepreneur, fashion and beauty mogul Kim Kardashian with The Fashion Icon award, and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera with the first-ever Music Icon award.
Performances of the night included Aguilera’s never-before-seen medley of her biggest songs, culminating in music from her highly anticipated new Spanish-language album, Blake Shelton’s performance of his latest song “Come Back As A Country Boy”, and H.E.R.’s musical tribute to the life and legacy of Motown legend, Marvin Gaye.
The following are 2021 People’s Choice Awards winners:
THE AFRICAN SOCIAL STAR OF 2021
Tyra Chikocho aka Madam Boss
THE MOVIE OF 2021
Black Widow
THE COMEDY MOVIE OF 2021
Free Guy
THE ACTION MOVIE OF 2021
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
THE DRAMA MOVIE OF 2021
Cruella
THE FAMILY MOVIE OF 2021
Luca
THE MALE MOVIE STAR OF 2021
Dwayne Johnson
THE FEMALE MOVIE STAR OF 2021
Scarlett Johansson
THE DRAMA MOVIE STAR OF 2021
Kevin Hart
THE COMEDY MOVIE STAR OF 2021
Dwayne Johnson
THE ACTION MOVIE STAR OF 2021
Simu Liu
THE SHOW OF 2021
Loki
THE DRAMA SHOW OF 2021
Grey’s Anatomy
THE COMEDY SHOW OF 2021
Never Have I Ever
THE REALITY SHOW OF 2021
Keeping Up With the Kardashians
THE COMPETITION SHOW OF 2021
The Voice
THE MALE TV STAR OF 2021
Tom Hiddleston
THE FEMALE TV STAR OF 2021
Ellen Pompeo
THE DRAMA TV STAR OF 2021
Chase Stokes
THE COMEDY TV STAR OF 2021
Selena Gomez
THE DAYTIME TALK SHOW OF 2021
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
THE NIGHTTIME TALK SHOW OF 2021
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
THE COMPETITION CONTESTANT OF 2021
JoJo Siwa
THE REALITY TV STAR OF 2021
Khloé Kardashian
THE BINGEWORTHY SHOW OF 2021
Squid Game
THE SCI-FI/FANTASY SHOW OF 2021
Lucifer
THE MALE ARTIST OF 2021
Lil Nas X
THE FEMALE ARTIST OF 2021
Adele
THE GROUP OF 2021
BTS
THE SONG OF 2021
Butter
THE ALBUM OF 2021
Sour
THE COUNTRY ARTIST OF 2021
Blake Shelton
THE LATIN ARTIST OF 2021
Bad Bunny
THE NEW ARTIST OF 2021
Olivia Rodrigo
THE MUSIC VIDEO OF 2021
Butter
THE COLLABORATION SONG OF 2021
STAY
THE SOCIAL STAR OF 2021
Britney Spears
THE POP SPECIAL OF 2021
Friends: The Reunion
THE COMEDY ACT OF 2021
Chelsea Handler: Vaccinated and Horny Tour
THE GAME CHANGER OF 2021
Simone Biles
THE POP PODCAST OF 2021
Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain
TBWA named Adweek’s 2021 Global Agency of the Year
TBWA was recognised for an exceptionally strong business year across a large range of global markets, including South Africa, and its ability to drive disruptive, transformative growth for its clients. The publication also highlighted its body of creative work for clients including Apple, Nissan and PepsiCo, among others, its focus on innovation and the progressive evolution of the company’s Disruption® methodology. The Adweek profile can be viewed here.
“In one of the most competitive years Adweek’s selection committee has ever seen, TBWA\Worldwide was unanimously selected as 2021’s Global Agency of the Year,” said David Griner, International Editor, Adweek. “Our editors were impressed not only with the network’s business growth and consistently high bar for creative, but also by its clear focus on developing strong talent and elevating a new generation of innovative leadership for the industry.”
“Being named Global Agency of the Year – again – is a tremendous honour and a testament to the 10,000+ creative minds in our collective whose talent, perseverance and ingenuity made this recognition a reality,” says Troy Ruhanen, CEO, TBWA\Worldwide. “It validates our ‘Always in Beta’ mindset and our commitment to continuous innovation. From evolving DisruptionX and using creativity to impact the entire brand experience, to how our innovation platform NEXT is helping our agencies become innovation incubators, to the outstanding business performance and creative product from our agencies around the world, 2021 was an exceptional year – but our best days are ahead.”
Earlier this year, the TBWA\ collective earned the #3 spot on Fast Company’s list of Most Innovative Companies in the Advertising category, appearing on the list for the third year in a row. Adweek last selected TBWA as its Global Agency of the Year in 2018.
“This global recognition is an incredible testament to the power of the collective,” says Luca Gallarelli, CEO of TBWA\ South Africa. “We use the term ‘collective’ over network as we have deliberately chosen to pursue a future that is open-source, connected, not encumbered by geography, driven by a restlessness to innovate – and to always do and be better.”
Gallarelli added that this accolade is testament to the commitment of everyone across South Africa, Africa and the global collective, to this pursuit – including clients. “We are incredibly grateful to our clients for entrusting us with their brands. Without their continued partnership and their belief in Disruption, none of the work we do would be possible.”
FCB Joburg and HelloFCB+ place in the top 10 on Kantars best loved ads for Q1 and Q2 of 2021
FCB Joburg and HelloFCB+ scooped major gongs at the recently announced Kantar’s best loved television adverts for Q1 and Q2 of 2021. The group featured on the top 10 list with three ads in Q1, with FCB Joburg and Coca Cola’s Uplift Internet Cafe campaign placing top of the list for the most loved ads in Q2. FCB Group’s performance during Q1 and Q2 bodes well for Q3 and Q4, and the annual 20 most liked ads for 2021 coming up in the early part of next year!
FCB Joburg maintains its position as the most awarded agency in the history of Kantar. These accolades further reflect on the consistency of the quality of work over time. This has been successful in bringing the consumer closer to the brand by building work that connects with the consumer personally and reminding them of the significant role the brands play in their lives whilst invoking a personal connection. It is this formula that is responsible for FCB’s success in this award, which is a result of scientific measurement by Kantar.
“To us as a business, developing historic moments that create deep connections between consumers and clients is innate. Our philosophy of building SA’s most loved brands is taken very seriously. This is echoed by the sentiment carried through the campaign work on Toyota’s Corolla robots – Hatch and Debonairs Pizza on the triple. All of which have connected with the South African consumer through times of disconnectedness. Something that enables us to deliver business results for our clients,” said Thabang Skwambane, group MD of FCB Joburg.
It’s been 2 years since FCB Cape Town and Hellocomputer Cape Town merged to form HelloFCB+, ‘The Human Connections Agency’. A new kind of agency, capable of running, designing and building entire consumer journeys, with a strong focus on putting creativity at the heart of every touchpoint.
South Africa’s Rotondwa Musitha soars in Access Bank’s Womenpreneur Pitch-A-Ton Africa
In its commitment to continuously provide financial and business skills to female entrepreneurs across the African continent, Access Bank Plc’s Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton programme announced the winners for 2021 in Lagos, Nigeria on 7 December 2021.
Much to the delight of Access Bank South Africa, one of the newcomers to the growing African banking leader Access Bank Plc, our own Rotondwa Musitha, owner and founder of Trash Converters, took fifth prize in the campaign.
In a virtual ceremony Rotondwa was handed her prize – R19 000 and a brand new website. Access Bank SA’s Acting CEO, Chrisanthi Michaelides, who noted her pride in being part of an organisation dedicated to ensuring female entrepreneurs are given the opportunity to not only participate in economic inclusivity on the continent, but act as role models for the thousands of girls and young women who are inspired by the women who go before them.
Chrisanthi , in congratulating all the finalists and winners, says: “Access Bank is a strong believer in the empowerment of women, hence the Womenpreneur Pitch-A-Ton Programme, to enable women to step into the right leadership roles and, more specifically, assist in accelerating their goals on the African Continent”.
Launched in 2019, the Womenpreneur Pitch-A-Ton Africa was the first women-in-business support initiative of its kind offered by the Access Bank W-Initiative. In its maiden edition, the program provided financial grants worth N9-million (approximately R300 000) to the top five applicants, plus a free mini MBA certification for 50 women entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
Access Bank SA was included in Womenpreneur Pitch-A-Ton Africa for the first time in 2021, with South African businesswomen pitching with peers from Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Zambia, Sierra-Leone, Gambia, Kenya, Mozambique and Congo.
“We hope to continue to participate in the annual event,” said Chrisanthi , “and to focus on creating contenders of the same high calibre we saw in the Womenpreneur Pitch-A-Ton Africa this year.”
INMA Global Media Awards: Present Your Best Work
Now is your chance to share your 2021 success story by submitting your best work to the INMA Global Media Awards, a competition that annually reflects on what’s happening in the news industry and how media companies have crafted their transformation journey to engage readers.
Choose from 20 categories on key topics such as news brands, media platforms, subscriptions, advertising, data, product, and newsrooms to showcase your top initiatives of 2021.
The deadline is January 28 to submit your work and compete with news media companies around the globe, for the most coveted prize in the news media industry. A Jury panel of 40 media experts will review your submissions for originality, creativity, and results.
Click here to submit your work.
Esprit leads in consumer product innovation for 2021
The South African consumer landscape is demanding and forever changing. Esprit, the brand behind the delicious range of fruity ready-to-drink flavoured alcoholic beverages, is one of NielsenIQ BASES Top Breakthrough Innovation 2021 award winners.
BASES monitors all new product launches across more than 30 markets globally. Each innovation is reviewed to understand its in-market impact, spanning its benefits offered, sales, longevity, and growth, and those with the greatest impact are recognised as BASES Top Breakthrough Innovations for the year.
“Esprit has a sweet and fruity range with interesting flavour combinations for those who embrace their individuality and are not unafraid to show it. As a brand, we are constantly looking at ways to reinforce our commitment to consumers by delivering on our brand promise to provide a product that allows you to ‘effortlessly stay true to yourself and embrace your spirit’, and this accolade is a testament to that says,” Alicia Reddy, Esprit Brand Manager.
Esprit launched in 2019 with three variants – Mango with a twist of Chilli, Watermelon and Strawberry with a twist of Lime, and Blueberry and Basil with a twist of Hibiscus, with a total sales volume of 3.2mL (year to June 2019); 14.8mL (year to June 2020) and 17.9mL (year to June 2021).
Esprit Apple Cherry subsequently launched in March 2020, just days before the national lockdown was announced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With that said, the new variant still managed to contribute an incremental 2,6mL to the brand by June 2021.
“This win is a result of every function and employee collaborating to ensure the consumer’s needs and expectations are met and for that, we are grateful for this recognition which we will strive to stay true to,” concludes Reddy.
