The Media Online’s weekly round up of people, account and business moves in media.
This week’s BIG move: Razor Revolutionises PR with global first in measurement
Razor PR, the strategic communications company of the M&C Saatchi Group, has announced the launch of its proprietary Talkability Index, a world-first measurement tool that rebases measurement in earned media by tying its effectiveness to real businesses metrics.
“For some time now, PR has grappled with the measurement of its work. It’s become common language to talk to abandoning vanity metrics like AVE but little has been done to replace this with benchmarks that are linked to defined data points and that can be measured repeatedly over time,” said Razor partner and managing director, Dustin Chick.
The Talkability Index is a precision conversation measurement tool that provides marketers and communicators with C-suite level benchmarking of conversational performance in relation to business impact in real time.
Built in-house by the Razor data and analytics team, the revolutionary index was developed in response to the consistent need by companies for more relevant strategic measurement of the efficacy of their PR and communications programmes. Pulling data from a variety data points into a benchmarked algorithm that defines success against four pillars: conversation, opinion and endorsement and an overall talkability score.
“This allows us to plan across the communications horizons: in advance of our work, in real-time to allow nimbleness in our work and looking back to create benchmarks. The Talkability Index changes PR agency dynamics like never before, it puts executive decision informing power firmly in the hands of brand and communications leaders in the boardroom, arming them with clearcut indications of the business impact of their marketing, brand and communications investment,” said Vikash Gajjar, the strategy director at Razor PR.
“At Razor we have always made the promise that our work must be measurable and effective. When we talk of measurability it must impact a business result and this solution is about our promise to bring that to light.” The agency authentically wanted to empower itself and its clients to demonstrate the impact of the work that is done with huge commitment from both partners.
“For far too long, the communications function has focused on vanity metrics such as AVEs. Globally the industry has attempted to shift away from this with varied levels of success, committing to the Barcelona Principles as far back as 2010. While this has evolved into a third iteration today – PR still needs to deliver on that one magic element organisations need … measurable business results,” he said.
“Its exactly that. When we talk of AVEs, we are in effect saying that advertising is a better measurement of communications performance. We wanted to challenge this measurement construct and focus our impact assessments where they really belong,” said Chick.
Adding to the conversation, Robert Grace, founding partner: head of strategy at M&C Saatchi Group South Africa shared that the launch of the Talkability Index is a significant part of the group as a whole becoming more data fluent across its operating disciplines.
People moves
RAPT Creative appoints partner: creative and strategy
RAPT Creative, the agency that opened its doors just eight months before the global Covid-19 lockdown but has bucked the trend to grow dramatically and now employs 46 people and list 17 brands as clients, has appointed Marco Santarelli as partner – creative and strategy.
Santarelli joins from GRID Worldwide, where he worked for seven years. Born and raised in Johannesburg, he completed a Bachelor of Business Administration, BCom Marketing and BA Communications before joining Joe Public. From there he moved to Mortimer Harvey, then onto Ireland Davenport, and followed Vodacom to Ogilvy before joining GRID.
During that time, he worked on numerous brands including Absa Bank, Telkom Group, Sasol, Sanlam, Santam, Betking, Pernod Ricard, Nissan, DSTV, SuperSport, Alexander Forbes, Singapore Airlines, Stanlib, Liberty, Net1, Atlasmara, Freshpack, University of Johannesburg, Michelin, Marble, Saint, Vodacom, British Airways, Avios, Jägermeister, Clover, eBucks, Cobra, Foodcorp (Bobtail, Yum Yum, Piemans, Supreme and Nola), Incolabs, Nike and FIFA.
Making the announcement, RAPT Creative CEO, Garreth van Vuuren, said: “RAPT is a hungry, independent agency with ‘Top 5 in SA’ ambitions. At RAPT, a place where we have rewritten the playbook from Day 1 to achieve phenomenal growth, we recognise Marco’s ambition, it’s like looking in a mirror. We know he shares the same values as we do. We appreciate his drive to break creative and business barriers, and his desire to do so while acknowledging the people around him and helping each one of the RAPT team reach their full potential.”
Wilton Ackeer joins Rogerwilco
Rogerwilco has appointed accomplished creative director Wilton Ackeer to the position of creative director.
Charlie Stewart, Rogerwilco CEO, said Ackeer would strengthen the agency’s creative capability. “Our high level of success at performance marketing is firmly established, and now it’s time to add a new dimension to the strategic creative value we offer. Wilton brings star quality, not only to existing clients but to future clients too. We expect that he will also enable us to attract some of South Africa’s best creatives.”
Ackeer said he was excited about joining Rogerwilco because it gave him so much scope to create work that actually works. “This is one of the most awarded digital agencies in South Africa. While digital is now the focus for brands and marketers, we’re yet to see it leading on the creative front. As Creative Director of Rogerwilco I have an open brief to change that. This is an opportunity that doesn’t come along every day. I’m most excited about applying a creative lens to the digitally-led, results-oriented data and dev outputs of the agency.”
Assupol announces Connie Ferguson as brand champion
Assupol Life has announced Connie Ferguson as the latest personality to work with the insurer. Ferguson is a highly respected businesswoman and relatable powerhouse who complements the character of trust that so well aligns with Assupol’s brand promise of serving those who serve.
“The partnership between Assupol and Connie Ferguson is one of the many interventions planned to ensure that Assupol remains the insurer of choice for South Africans. We view this partnership as a symbol of sustainable success and we look forward to the positive experiences that working together will afford both parties,” said Velmah Nzembela, Head of Group Corporate Affairs at Assupol.
The television advertisements featuring Connie Ferguson are currently on air on e.tv, SABC, DStv and social media.
Student funding organisation continues to grow with the appointment of new CEO
Since its launch in 2017, the Feenix platform has helped to raise approximately R144m – impacting the lives of more than 3000 students in the country. With a vision to democratise tertiary education, the organisation has announced that Cara-Jean Petersen will take over the reins of CEO from Leana de Beer.
Born in the wake of the #FeesMustFall protests, under de Beer’s leadership, Feenix has helped connect students with limited or no funding options with the financial resources they need to achieve their academic dreams.
De Beer joined the organisation in 2017 and moved from the COO role in January 2020 to the CEO position. With Petersen stepping into the role as CEO of Feenix, de Beer will become the Group CEO and will also oversee the growth of its newly established social enterprise organisation, WaFunda.
“The time is right to bring new energy onto the executive team. Feenix is serious about learning, mentorship and community, and as such we couldn’t be more excited to promote Cara-Jean Petersen to the position of CEO”.
Having been part of the Feenix team as its Student Advancement Manager since March 2018, de Beer believes that Petersen is the perfect candidate to take over the position. During her time with the organisation, Petersen has been at the coal face – working to create a meaningful impact in the connections between the universities, funders and students.
Business moves
blunt magazine growth and engagement surges
In the six months since its relaunch in March 2022, South African youth media brand, blunt magazine, has established a rapidly growing organic following across all its digital platforms – with an Instagram growth rate of 90%, email subscribers up by 49%, Facebook page growth at 192% and Facebook group growth at 47%.
Most significant have been the brand’s engagement rates. blunt’s average Instagram engagement rate is 10%, far outperforming the platform’s average of 1.9%; while its email newsletter open and click-through rates are 38% and 17% respectively.
Owner and original founding editor, Miles Masterson, attributes the growth to a combination of factors, saying, “blunt has a really unique legacy, so when we relaunched, there was this immediate credibility and brand recognition. People remembered us – they remembered the posters they tore from the magazine and stuck up on their bedroom walls, or the big blunt event that they bunked school to go to. And because blunt was so much a part of their youth, they’ve come back to us in 2022.
“Subsequently though, we’ve also managed to appeal to a much younger generation, with more than half of our website visitors under the age of 35, 28% of which are Gen Z.”
Masterson attributes the brand’s cross-generational appeal to blunt’s commitment to serve an under-served market, the blunt legacy of credibility and its authenticity.
“blunt is all about individuality, inclusivity and community. These are values that will always resonate, especially with the kids who gravitate towards the alternative subcultures that we participate in and represent.”
Please download the 2022-2023 blunt media kit here to find out more.
Hook, Line & Sinker plugs an additional CBI-electric brand
CBI-electric: low voltage has renewed its 12-month media and marketing retainer with integrated PR and marketing agency, Hook, Line & Sinker (HLS). Success of the agency’s robust phase 1 marketing strategy has also helped secure an additional sub-brand for the HLS portfolio, called Tank Industries.
Over the past 12-months, HLS strategically implemented a series of webinars, expert podcast discussions, celebrity influencer campaigns, social media, advertising placements, website upgrades, and Pan-African media relations for CBI-electric: low voltage to officially launch the Astute Range of IoT products.
HLS Head Honcho, Adam Hunter says, “To have our work recognised and rewarded by our client in this way is such an honour. The team is revved-up and ready to deliver and exceed the results CBI-electric Group has come to expect from our team of digital, media & marketing gurus.”
Ster Kinekor launches cinema awareness campaign
When the couple is about to seal their romance with a beautiful kiss as the sun sets, when the superhero is about to save the world, when the cops finally catch up with the bad guy… and then loadshedding strikes and the wi-fi drops, the kids are hungry, mom-in-law calls for a chat, or the neighbour’s leaf-blower starts blasting! These are minor interferences, but they will leave you in suspension and disbelief! What happened next?
There is only one answer to deal with all the irritating interruptions when trying to watch a movie at home – go and see it on the big screen..
“Cinema is back! Watching a movie in any one of our Ster-Kinekor cinemas promises our audiences an interference-free experience, where you get to enjoy the movie, the whole movie… and nothing but the movie!” sayid Lynne Wylie, head of marketing at Ster-Kinekor Theatres
“It’s all the special moments that add up to a great movie-watching experience in the cinema. The smell of freshly popped and salted popcorn, the yummy slushies, the large relaxing leather seats, the immersive IMAX experience, and of course, the excitement as the lights fade and the movie starts playing – from beginning to end – on the big screen with surround sound.”
If watching the movie on the biggest movie screen is what gets your adrenalin flowing, IMAX is your go-to cinema for blockbuster titles such as The Woman King, Black Adam and the much-anticipated Avatar: The Way of Water releasing later this year.
And, if you want to not only watch but also feel the whole movie, head to a D-BOX cinema, where the seats vibrate and move as they mimic the live action unfolding on the screen,.
Motion Icon escalates Black Friday communication
South African mall advertising disruptor, Motion Icon, part of the Iconic Group of companies, is gearing up for Black Friday 2022, which is set to be one of the biggest shopping events on the calendar for its retail and brand clients.
As one of the fastest growing out-of-home (OOH) media companies globally, with its patented innovative branding solution in airports and 6 000 plus mall escalators across the continent, Motion Icon offers its clients around 80 sqm of advertising space, which is arguably the largest moving billboard in a mall environment, visible 24/7.
“We’ve been thrilled to deliver an ROI turbine to our clients who are looking for branding and advertising that delivers results – and that’s what our point of purchase branding has achieved in over 20-countries around the world,” said Marco Valente, founder and CEO of Motion Icon South Africa.
With retailers and brands gearing up their communication for Black Friday 2022, promotions generally get lost in the clutter of online, printed brochures and traditional OOH, which for the most, isn’t located near the final decision making point – the mall or store. Situated in South Africa’s most premium malls, the escalator ‘billboards’ are also rarely affected by load shedding.
Durban fast becoming a global hub for business outsourcing as Webhelp grows almost seven-fold in a year
Starting with just one client and a workforce of 100 people across two floors of Webhelp’s Umhlanga Ridgeside office in October last year, this global consultancy and customer experience organisation has quickly shown the demand for Durban as a business hub. In just a year, the Durban location has brought in further clients and will employ 674 young individuals across the entire office of four floors – with big plans for further growth.
“BPO [business process outsourcing] is one of the fastest-growing sectors in South Africa with significant year-on-year growth,” commented Tammy Chetty, managing director of Webhelp South Africa. “We’ve had significant government and stakeholder support leaning into the incredible job opportunities this sector creates for young, unemployed individuals with little or no work experience.”
Chetty said the quality of skills found in South Africa and the high level of English-speaking employees have seen it become a ‘hotspot for BPO’, with organisations across the world looking to South Africa to offshore non-core work packages and capitalize on the value proposition South Africa has to offer.
DMRE and CEF team up with Rams Comics to encourage fuel-efficiency
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and Central Energy Fund (CEF) have partnered with renowned South African animation series The Adventures of Noko Mashaba to educate South Africans on how they can be fuel-savvy citizens.
The collaboration is part of the DMRE and CEF’s #BeFuelSavvy educational campaign to create awareness about the importance of using fuel wisely. The Adventures of Noko Mashaba is a socio-political satire series created by Jonas Lekganyane whose animation videos have garnered more than 100 million views.
As part of the collaboration, The Adventures of Noko Mashaba features the #BeFuelSavvy campaign mascot and fuel buddy ReseGo who shares tips and tricks on how South Africans can save fuel on the road.
The rise in the price of fuel has had a significant impact on South African households and businesses. The #BeFuelSavvy campaign seeks to encourage South Africans to apply fuel-efficient methods to help them navigate the uncertainty brought about by the fuel hikes this year.
The three-episode series will be published on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Watch Episode One here.
Striata SA expands offering, rebrands to Tilte
Striata South Africa has announced that it is rebranding to Tilte, in line with its expanded offering.
Founded in a suburban Johannesburg garage in 1999, Striata rapidly grew to become a leader in the digital customer communications space. As technology has accelerated, however, so have the expectations of its clients and customers. Over the past few years, Striata has evolved to meet these demands and began expanding its service offering to cover a lot more than digital communication alone.
“Our evolution as a company has been transformative and with our strategy solidified, we felt that a rebrand was warranted,” says Tilte managing director, Brent Haumann. “By simplifying, individualising, and maximising engagement across the board, we’re making it easy for companies and their customers to engage meaningfully”
Haumann stresses that the existing Striata technology will remain a key pillar in Tilte’s offering. It will, however, be joined by technologies from several other leading players under the Tilte brand.
The new positioning will also enable Tilte to expand its offerings across Africa.
Kwikspace sponsorship enables Electric Ink’s triathlon operations to run smoother
Kwikspace, Africa’s largest supplier of prefabricated buildings will be sponsoring units to Electric Ink – the supplier of banners, railings, and control points for the triathlon series. This will enable its personnel to successfully carry out triathlon operations.
Kwikspace will supply an office unit (6 m x 3 m) and a storage container (6 m x 24 m) which will be installed at the starting and finishing points of the Stanford and Langebaan triathlons, scheduled for October and November 2022, respectively.
Electric ink will be using the office to officiate and time the events and the storage unit will store supplies needed by Electric Ink for the event. The sponsorship will also include Kwikspace supplying Electric Ink with storage space for all their event equipment, at the Kwiksspace premises in Blackheath, free of charge.
The two companies have built a great relationship over the years and this initiative sees an expansion of that relationship.
Making moves
OLIVER to invest over R2 million in upskilling talent in three years
Inside digital agency OLIVER is set to invest over R2 million in upskilling local talent within the next three years. This follows a successful sponsored learnership partnership with Red and Yellow School of Creative Business that stems back from 2019 and other in-house upskilling initiatives.
“Our business is people – without people we have no business,” says Paul van den Berg, chief executive for Middle East & Africa. “These resources are people with goals, dreams and aspirations so it is critical for us to ensure we are able to attract, retain and develop the best people in our markets.”
He continues: “We are a learning organisation and in a Web3 post-info age, if you’re not learning you are expiring. It’s with this in mind that we are committed to both aggressive and transformative change as well as investing in our staff with accredited training and development – fully company sponsored. We have already spent over R1.5 million on upskilling our talent over the past three years with Red and Yellow and other learner-based initiatives.”
Sarisha Govender, head of human resources at OLIVER said, “We can proudly say that we have a number of people from Red & Yellow that have completed their two-year digital marketing learnership courses this year and have been absorbed into permanent positions.”
A’Rise by Heineken® set to celebrate rising creative talent in South Africa
Heineken South Africa has introduced A’Rise by Heineken®, a multi-layered platform that gives iconic tastemakers the opportunity to connect with rising local talent within music, fashion, and art across the African continent.
Through nine immersive events across three cities in South Africa, A’Rise will welcome four international music icons and over 30 of South Africa’s most prominent artists.
Yay Abe,the series’ creative director, will collaborate with local streetwear designers, Broke & Float Apparel. This collaboration will see the creation of a limited-edition capsule, which will be released at the series launch event that will be held at La Parada Waterfall on November 22, 2022.
“For young and aspiring creatives, South Africa’s creative space can seem like an exclusive club reserved for our country’s most successful cultural tastemakers. We as a brand are all about celebrating diversity and through A’Rise we’re breaking down the doors and fostering supportive communities to drive inclusivity within the creative space,” says Marcel Swain, Head of Marketing: Premium at Heineken® South Africa.
A’Rise is set to give the future icons of the creative community a direct line to Africa’s most iconic creatives as they will have a platform to deep dive into their creative processes, share their secrets to success, and uncover a space to connect and amplify.
Spotify celebrates release of ‘The School for Good and Evil’ with magical immersive audio
Spotify is celebrating the release of The School for Good and Evil with new listening experiences that immerse fans in the story of how great fairytales begin.
Launching exclusively on Spotify, The School for Good and Evil Official Playlist features a magical mix of the top hits from the movie, alongside composer Teddy Shapiro’s spellbinding score. To make listeners feel even closer to the classroom, exclusive content from the cast will be available on the official playlist which can be found on the Netflix Hub.
‘The School for Good and Evil’ fans can also share their allegiances with their friends and family with the new Evers and Nevers lens on Instagram. Featuring the film’s original song Who Do You Think You Are by Kiana Ledé & Cautious Clay, the Instagram lens will place fans in the world of ‘The School for Good & Evil’, visually bringing to life the blurred lines between light and dark. Check out Spotify’s Instagram channel to try the filter out for yourself and make it clear what side of magic you stand.
‘The School for Good and Evil’ premiered globally on October 19, 2022 on Netflix
Lifebuoy & the Dept. of Basic Education induct child CEOs at Global Handwashing Day Event in KZN
The Department of Basic Education once again joined Lifebuoy to celebrate Global Handwashing Day in Umbumbulu, KZN where they appointed H for Handwashing Chief Education Officers or ‘CEOs’ to become child advocates for handwashing in their schools.
This is part of a shift that sees Lifebuoy harnessing the power of peer-to-peer learning within the context of early childhood learning. Indeed, studies have shown that when kids teach other kids, they are more likely to remember the information. Numerous studies have shown that children are more likely to change their behaviour when influenced by others, with one study finding 59% of students changing their behaviour after being influenced by their peers. Therefore, Lifebuoy is calling on young changemakers to take on the mantle of H for Handwashing chief education officers (CEO) to inspire and cultivate a new generation of hand hygiene ambassadors.
Justin Apsey, Unilever Southern Africa General Manager said, “Lifebuoy’s purpose has always been about preventing illness by promoting good hand hygiene through handwashing with soap. Today I’m proud to announce that Unilever are extending their partnership with the Dept. of Basic Education to continue our mission together. This Global Handwashing Day, we’re incredibly excited to recognise the fundamental part kids can play in spreading the message that H must stand for Handwashing. Through the power of peer-to-peer learning, we hope to inspire more kids to rise and change the world’s handwashing behaviours.”
