The Media Online’s weekly round up of people, account and business moves in media.
This week’s BIG move: SABC 1 hits one billion impressions with #SABC1siON campaign
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC)’s biggest commercial tv station, SABC 1, is pleased to announce that they’ve garnered over one billion social media impressions with their #SABC1siON campaign.
Derived from the popular youth terminology of ‘putting someone on’, the #SABC1siON strap-line was a vibrant and youth-centric approach to engage with SABC 1 viewers. The purpose of which was to reinvigorate the brand and reposition SABC 1 as the channel that is forever ‘switched on’ to the culture, the latest talent, Mzansi content, social media trends etc. and will continue to ‘put people on’ offering the best local video entertainment.
The campaign was launched through a TVC on the channel as well as other promotional material, including digital content posted on all the channel’s social media platforms. This campaign has been a tremendous success, with numbers skyrocketing on digital platforms.
For the first time ever, SABC 1 accumulated over one billion impressions across all social media platforms. This means people saw the #SABC1siON posts over a billion times between September 2022 and February 2023.
To support the TV efforts in communicating this message as well as promoting SABC 1’s summer content, a digital strategy was conceived and the hashtag #SABC1siON was created to accompany all this content. This included a nationwide hip-hop meets AmaPiano competition termed the #SABC1siON Challenge. This competition was just one part of the puzzle leading up to the major success SABC 1’s digital platforms have enjoyed.
Blueprint Group conceptualised the social media campaign through their social media agency Bluecloud AI.
People moves
8909 appoints Nigel Matthews as executive creative director
Digital agency 8909 has appointed Nigel Matthews as executive creative director. Matthews’ role will entail delivering impactful creative work based on data and insights, creating an environment where creativity can thrive, and mentoring the next generation of creatives at 8909.
Matthews is a graduate from the Red & Yellow School of Creative Business and has extensive experience (and awards) under his belt, having worked with a multitude of agencies and brands over a career spanning 17 years. He has followed the journey of 8909 for quite some time and has previously worked with Ciaran Mckivergan, founder and MD of 8909, and is looking forward to the journey ahead with the agency.
“For as long as I’ve known 8909, I’ve been impressed by their growth, their approach and utilisation of data, as well as the great work they have produced over the last few years. I’m really excited to contribute toward solving clients’ business problems through ground-breaking creative work with an incredible team, and know that this is only the beginning of more great things to come,” said Matthews.
Mckivergan is equally thrilled to have someone of Matthews’ calibre leading the creative team at 8909.
InSites Consulting expands executive management team
Since Mentha Capital stepped in as a private equity partner at the end of 2018, the global consumer insight and collaboration consultancy, InSites Consulting, has grown in strength by welcoming nine different agencies to its group. Leading up to a significant presence in the USA, EMEA and APAC, the agency is now positioned as a truly global agency.
At the end of 2022, the agency announced Els De Paepe as its new chief people officer. Now managing partner Tom De Ruyck is stepping into the new role of chief growth officer. Regional managing directors – Camille Nicita (USA), Magali Geens (EMEA), and Maz Amirahmadi (APAC) – together with sub-branded Space Doctor’s managing director Fiona McNae, are now part the group’s executive committee.
Kristof De Wulf, CEO of InSites Consulting, said: “This feels like the right time to make sound choices for the future, with all pieces now in place to embrace one integrated vision and strategy, backed up by a global structure. Being a truly global business now, the relative importance of our key regions has grown and that is why we redefined our executive structure to give our regions more support and influence across the business. We also have worked hard to consolidate our portfolio, bringing the best of all acquired agencies together for more client impact.”
Makosi appoints Lindsay Gaal as Chief People Officer
Makosi, a leading variable workforce provider, has appointed Lindsay Gaal as its inaugural chief people officer (CPO), effective from Monday, 13 February 2023.
The new position was created in response to the high priority Makosi invests in developing and maintaining both its people and culture.
An experienced C-suite level executive, Gaal previously worked for New York-based Friedman LLP, an accounting, tax, and business consulting firm, heading up Human Resources from 2016.
Gaal brings extensive experience in organizational scale-ups to Makosi, having supported Friedman to scale from an $80 million to $200 million a year organization, employing more than 900 people including 100 partners.
Business moves
Digify Africa unveils OpenAI powered learning via WhatsApp
Digify Africa and Techsys Digital have made history by becoming the first learning platform in the world to provide access to OpenAI’s ChatGPT via WhatsApp. This innovative integration of two cutting-edge technologies has opened up exciting new possibilities for people who would otherwise have limited access to AI technology.
This latest development from Digify Africa and Techsys continues their partnership goal of providing first-world education and tools to people all over the world, regardless of their location or circumstances. “The Digify Africa partnership was the ideal place to trial this groundbreaking technology, with Digify’s DigiBot platform already training hundreds of thousands of learners across Africa in basic digital literacy and skills,” said Rachel McFarlane, MD of Techsys.
The DigiBot platform is a comprehensive digital learning solution delivered via WhatsApp that provides learners with access to a wide range of digital skills and training opportunities.
The integration of ChatGPT and WhatsApp will allow Digify’s learners to access AI technology from the palm of their hands in any location with Internet access, providing them with a convenient and flexible learning experience.
Making moves
Up close and personal. Nedbank IMC 2023 gets real
This year the Nedbank IMC will be hosting an in-person limited seating event for the first time in four years. While the virtual format did not dim the impact of Nedbank IMC – which saw 2 000 delegates from 15 countries gather online last year – 2023’s hybrid format of in person and online is perfectly in tune with the conference theme of Marketing. Up close and personal.
Each year the Nedbank IMC develops a theme reflective of marketing’s current concerns and conversations. This year’s theme Up close and personal has a dual meaning. Following the Nedbank IMC’s in-person hiatus, it’s time to get together once again, reconnect and forge new connections.
It is also a time for marketing to get to know and understand customers better. Dale Hefer, CEO of Nedbank IMC, says that as today’s customers continue to grow in sophistication and complexity, not knowing our customers can have a material impact on brands.”
This year Nedbank IMC delegates can expect the same winning one day, one stage, no less than18 speakers formula. For those familiar with Nedbank IMC, they will – quite rightly – anticipate the high energy and pacy line-up of local and international thought leaders which exemplifies the conference.
The event will be held at Urban Brew Studios in Johannesburg on 15 September 2023. Register today.
New gender identity and pronoun data options ensure Salesforce products are more inclusive
Salesforce recently announced new fields for gender identity and pronoun data in its products. This opt-in enhancement will give organisations more inclusive ways to collect, manage, and utilise data, enabling them to build trust and form deeper connections with their customers.
The enhancements will launch two new fields across standard objects representing people on Salesforce — the Lead, Contact, and Person Account objects — enabling customers and their users to select, identify, and capture pronouns and gender identity. By standardising these fields, admins will no longer have to create custom fields for their organisations, enabling them to capture more accurate customer data and deliver quicker time to value.
Using the right identifiers is an important way to build trust and drive customer success. But too frequently, data systems and customer relationship tools’ standard options do not capture peoples’ full identity. The new fields will provide businesses with easy, built-in pronoun and gender identity options, while also empowering each customer to tailor fields to best fit their unique needs.
