The Media Online’s weekly round up of people, account and business moves in media.
This week’s BIG move: Saatchi & Saatchi appoints industry heavy hitter Firdous Osman as MD
Saatchi & Saatchi has named Firdous Osman as their new managing director. Osman joined Saatchi & Saatchi as managing partner in May 2020, after an impressive 18 years in the industry. Having run her own advertising agency for almost five years and thereafter spending 14 years at Ogilvy South Africa (nine of those years spent leading teams in upper management roles), Osman has been described as the perfect candidate to lead the ‘Nothing is Impossible’ agency into 2023 and beyond.
“We couldn’t have found a better fit if we tried. This plan has been in the making for two years now so I am very happy to finally bring it to life,” explained previous Saatchi & Saatchi managing director Quinton Luck, who has already handed over the reins to Osman.
“Firdous has been working closely with me over the past two years to understand the Saatchi & Saatchi business, as well as the wider Publicis Groupe. I’m excited to see her visions come to life and with her strong people focus, I feel confident that I’m leaving the business in very capable hands. I wish her the very best and know confidently that she’ll bring massive success to the role.”
In addition to a wealth of experience, Osman also brings with her a long line of accolades, including over 50 effective and creative awards – from Grand Prix at Loeries to Gold at Cannes. Most recently she received the SA Women Leader 2021 award and was appointed to the board of the Cape Town Film Festival.
People moves
Experienced journalist Tara Penny joins HOT 102.7FM as head of news
In a major scoop, Johannesburg’s newest commercial radio station HOT 102.7FM has bolstered its news team with the appointment of experienced journalist Tara Penny as the station’s new head of news.
Penny has been in the radio industry for 15 years, having started her broadcasting journey at TuksFM in Pretoria, before going on to write and present drive-time news on Radio 702 for 11 years, whilst at the same time reporting for Eyewitness News.
During that time, Penny established herself as one of South Africa’s top newsreaders, winning three SA Radio awards for ‘Best Commercial Station Newsreader’ in 2017, 2018 and 2019, to go with her ‘Gauteng Journalist of the Year’ award last year, in the opinion category.
“Tara actually started with us on the third of May, but in the space of a couple of weeks has already made a huge impact on our news output,” says Lloyd Madurai, managing director of HOT 102.7FM. “She not only brings great experience to the role, but also an amazing energy and unique approach to telling radio news stories, which I think you’ll hear in our news bulletins.”
Penny likes to call herself a ‘current affairs junkie’, but says she always finds time in the day for the oddball stories that make us laugh – something she’d like to make a feature of the HOT 102.7FM approach to radio news.
NorthVCA appoints Juliet Mey as managing director
North, the strategic brand design consultancy, has appointed Juliet May as managing director. With its studio in Cape Town, the agency is best known for the authentic brand building, strategic thinking and craftsmanship they have consistently delivered for their clients both locally and globally.
“As our business has grown over the last eight years, the need for some science to balance the art has come into a sharper focus,” said Mike Bond, founding partner of North. “It is with great pleasure that we are able to announce the appointment of Juliet Mey as managing director of North.”
Mey has vast experience both locally and abroad in both B2B and B2C sectors. Her analytical yet creative thinking has seen her develop and implement business and marketing strategies; assess and realign organisational operating models while optimising end-to-end business processes.
Her strategic knowledge across multiple iterations within the creative field will also add immense value to the North offering. What this means for potential clients is a deep understanding of their needs from a marketing perspective, alongside the unique creative executions North has become known for.
Oliver opens door to BrandTech Group for SA with new appointment
In-housing agency Oliver is opening the door to the BrandTech group’s world class digital first solutions with the appointment of Peter Babol as its head of digital for EMEA in South Africa.
BrandTech (previously You & Mr Jones) is the world’s number one enterprise-level marketing technology group and the largest digital partner for some of the world’s biggest brands. Oliver SA (part of the BrandTech group) is a rapidly expanding creative services agency that provides clients with dedicated on-site agencies with its pioneering in-house agency model.
Babol who has worked across the digital landscape in multiple agencies for the last 20 years has spent the last 4 years as Oliver’s digital production lead before taking on his new strategic leadership role in the company.
“As part of the BrandTech Group this appointment demonstrates Oliver’s commitment and investment in developing and delivering world class digital first solutions for our clients in Africa and the Middle East,” said Paul van den Berg, CE for Middle East & Africa. “Peter’s new role also creates an important leadership layer for our many and various digital and tech staff, allowing us to truly drive global best practice and improve our overall agency skills and offering.”
Business moves
Visionet launches at Cape Town International Airport
Airport Ads has launched two new Visionet screens in Cape Town Airport. These expand the existing Visionet network to deliver a combined 1.18 million monthly impacts, reaching a primed, targeted audience – just as air travel is on the rise.
Visionet is South Africa’s only iconic, large format digital Airport network, and comprises seven screens located across four of South Africa’s major airports: Oliver Tambo, Lanseria, King Shaka, and now, Cape Town International.
“The addition of two new large format screens substantially increases the reach of our Visionet network,” said Mzi Deliwe, head of Airport Ads and deputy CEO of Provantage Media Group (PMG).
“The Cape Town International Airport LEDs will be seen by passengers from both international and domestic arrivals and departures – as well as the people coming to meet them, as the screens are on the public side of the airport.”
Anzu partners with Microsoft to use the power of Microsoft Azure
Anzu.io, one of the most advanced in-game advertising platforms, has announced the expansion of its global business, technology, and services collaboration with Microsoft, through a multi-year Microsoft Azure engagement and the availability of its SaaS in-game advertising solution in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, an online store providing applications and services for use on Azure. This follows the addition of Anzu to Microsoft’s highway to a 100 Unicorns, an entrepreneurship focused on working with tech startups with a high potential of becoming truly global enterprises in the future.
The move means games developers and advertisers using Anzu’s solution can now take advantage of the productive and trusted Azure cloud platform with streamlined deployment and management.
Global advertisers including PepsiCo, Samsung, Vodafone, and American Eagle also use Anzu’s tech to communicate with a hard-to-reach, highly engaged audience via blended in-game banner and video ads that appear on 3D objects like roadside billboards, stadium banners, and the sides of buildings, mirroring ads you find in the real world.
Jim Farley’s new podcast is now live
It’s hardly a surprise that Ford CEO Jim Farley is a car guy. As a kid he was nicknamed Jimmy Car Car, a moniker that follows him to this day—and there’s hardly a moment now when Farley isn’t talking about cars. But he has a new claim to fame: He’s hosting a Spotify podcast called DRIVE. Premiering on Wednesday, Farley has stepped behind the mic to interview friends, comedians, and fellow auto enthusiasts about the ways cars unite us all.
As a lifelong learner and car guy, Farley took the opportunity to share a few of the conversations he’s been having with fellow business leaders, gearheads, athletes, and friends about what they drive, and also what values and experiences drive them to find success and pursue their passions.
DRIVE with Jim Farley, the Spotify exclusive podcast series will be available on the following dates: June 1: Jimmy Kimmel June 8: Jochen Zeitz June 15: Emelia Hartford June 22: The Duke of Richmond June 29: Patrice Banks July 6: Tom Brady
Jameson’s Month of Comedy refined and re-imagined by RAPT Creative
RAPT Creative has rolled out a refined and re-imagined Month of Comedy for Irish whiskey brand, Jameson.
The brand had launched its Month of Comedy platform in 2021 with an April Fools’ prank on social media channels announcing that it had developed a skin-care range.
According to brand nanager, Vuyisile Dlepu, comedy was the ideal marketing platform to demonstrate the brand’s personality, saying that Jameson is the serious whiskey that does not take itself too seriously.
“2021 saw us create a really exciting campaign which left many wondering what else we would be coming up with. The 2022 campaign we tasked RAPT Creative to come up with needed to be equally as impactful to keep Jameson top-of-mind long after it ended,” he explained.
To implement the strategy, RAPT Creative is turning to social media channels to launch ‘Isikhokho se Skits’ or ‘The Dogs of Skits’. It has partnered with creators Sipho Muchindu, Khanyisa Unfiltered and Primo9teen who specialise in comedic content on Twitter and Instagram Reels and will pit them head-to-head in a bid to find one winner for Skits-land.
Making moves
New Design Summit announced for Cape Town and Joburg, with ASUS as partner
Shaking up the industry – in the very best way – is all part of the essential mix for Decorex Africa Reimagined. To add to its trailblazing efforts to reignite architecture and interior design conversations and actions in the post-pandemic world, Decorex Africa has launched an all-new Summit in Cape Town and Joburg, with ASUS as partner.
Taking place over one-day-only at each show, these stimulating talks and presentations include dial-shifting insights from local leading lights and a not-to-be-missed keynote presentation by an international guest speaker. Attendees will earn accredited Continuous Professional Development (CPD) points. But the events are not just for trade professionals – the intellectually curious from all walks of life are invited to benefit from what’s on offer.
On Friday, 17 June 2022, Cape Town will play host to the Summit when it runs alongside the events and exhibits that comprise the freshly conceived Decorex Cape Town (16-19 June 2022). A ticket to the Summit also unlocks entry to the exhibition.
The Summit then migrates to Sandton, Johannesburg, where it takes place at the Sandton Convention Centre on Thursday, 28 July 2022. Again, it is co-located with the show (28-31 July 2022) and a Summit ticket opens up access to Africa’s leading architecture, interior design and decor event.
The speaker line-up for both Summits is curated by Decorex Africa’s Bielle Bellingham, who is “motivated by the potency of art and design as catalysts for change… With a background in art history, publishing, interiors, and experience design, I use patterns to reimagine the future,” she states. Bellingham is a former editor of Elle Decoration SA, and is currently the contributing design editor of House and Leisure magazine in addition to her role as curator of Decorex Africa.
The first business seminar for creatives in Johannesburg: The Next Chapter | Sat, 4 June
The pandemic left everyone with questions that still need to be answered. It goes without saying that the most FAQs amongst creatives is, what does the future look like and most importantly what’s next?
This is what inspired the name behind the first business seminar for Creatives, titled: The Next Chapter,which hopes to provide some of those answers. This event first took place in Cape Town, with the second edition being hosted in Johannesburg in the first week of June.
Napsta Collective (a creative consultancy) are the brainchild and organisers of this first of its kind experiential lifestyle seminar, that will bring top creatives and great business minds together.
“This is a seminar for creatives by creatives. As a creative entrepreneur myself, who has walked the journey and experienced the challenges faced by most creatives – like money mismanagement, lack of business acumen, lack of access to funding, depression, and toxic work environments – I know how important an event like this is, and how it’s going to make a difference in the lives of so many young creatives. Initiatives like these are much needed, especially after what a lot of creatives have endured during the pandemic,” said Napoleon ‘Napsta’ Masinga, (creative director, Comedian & founder of Napsta Collective) who will also be the MC & facilitator for the seminar event.
1st For Women partners with Woodrock Animal Rescue to find forever homes for animals in need
1st for Women Insurance, who recently launched a pet insurance product, has partnered with leading, non-profit, pro-life, rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing shelter, Woodrock Animal Rescue, to help find forever homes for dogs and cats in need.
The shelter, which has over 350 animals in its care at any given time, says that when it comes to rehoming rescue animals, awareness is key.
“It’s all about reach,” said Stella Meldau, co-founder of Woodrock Animal Rescue. “We rely heavily on our network of supporters to share pictures of our animals in need of homes and increase public support.”
Understanding that shares save, 1st for Women is assisting Woodrock spread the word with the objective of increasing animal adoptions and increasing adoptions of harder-to-place animals, like golden-oldies.
“Every month, 1st for Women will share images of dogs and cats that are available for adoption to its newsletter database and social media network, alongside a short description on the fur-baby in need of a home. In addition to assisting with awareness, 1st for Women is making a monthly donation to the shelter,” said Seugnette van Wyngaard, head of 1st for Women.
To date, three-year-olds Dusty and Annabella, five-year-olds Bean, Apollo and Gibbs, eight-years-young Angel and Marco and Dexter who is seven, have been profiled. Fingers and toes are crossed that a 1st for Women customer will “swipe right” for a match made in heaven.
