Awards Wrap: 2023 Santam Women of the Future award winners revealed, Boomtown Johannesburg wins first Gold Loerie, 5FM nominated for Station of the Year in the 2023 Radio Awards

The Media Online’s weekly column delivering news of award wins, entries, competitions, dates to note and winners in the media.

Winners announced for the 2023 Santam Women of the Future Awards

The winners of the ninth annual Santam Women of the Future wards in association with FAIRLADY and TRUELOVE were announced on Fridaya t an exclusive event held at Shepstone Gardens and emceed by Jo-Ann Strauss.

Guests in attendance at the luncheon included businesswomen and media personalities such as Miss South Africa 2023 Natasha Joubert, Wendy Luhabe, Johanna Makgalemele, Uyanda Mbuli, Miss South Africa 2022 Ndavi Nokeri, Jena Dover, Catherine Constantinides, Sonia Booth, Miss Earth South Africa 2023 first runner up Belindé Schreuder and Constance Sibiya.

The three winners were selected from a shortlist of nine finalists by a distinguished panel of judges: Professor Thuli Madonsela, Law Trust Chair in Social Justice at Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Law; Nonkululeko Gobodo, CEO of Awakened Global; Dawn Nathan-Jones, entrepreneur and CEO of Over the Rainbow; Norah Sehunoe, Executive Head of Human Resources at Santam; Suzy Brokensha, FAIRLADY editor-in-chief; and TRUELOVE editor-in-chief Mbali Soga.

Santam’s many years of supporting women in business in South Africa have given the company valuable insight into the potential pitfalls of the entrepreneurial journey. Santam understands that the first 1 000 days of running a business are the hardest – if you’re still in business by day 1 001, they believe you’re in it for the long haul! These incredibly dynamic women have either surpassed that critical point or are well on their way to doing so.

Gugu Mtetwa, the Santam Group COO, said an impressive calibre of highly talented and impressive women entrepreneurs had entered the 2023 Women of the Future Awards.  “These awards showcase the incredible role played by women entrepreneurs in helping solve societal problems whilst also driving sustainable economic growth in South Africa. We believe it’s our responsibility to help promote local enterprises to survive and thrive,” she said.

Keri Rudolph of The IV Bar was named the 2023 Santam Woman of the Future: With 23 branches and counting in South Africa, The IV Bar offers a range of customised intravenous vitamin drips in a tranquil lounge setting, helping clients look, feel and perform their best.

Thembiso Magajana of Social Coding SA was named the 2023 Santam Social Entrepreneur: Social Coding SA, a non-profit digital skills training organisation, recruits, trains and employs young people from rural areas to teach digital literacy and coding at high schools.

Amanda Sibiya of Branding Africa was named the 2023 Santam Rising Star: Branding Africa is an agency that envisions a prosperous Africa driven by African brands. Its mission is to empower local businesses and entrepreneurs to build robust brands through comprehensive brand development programmes, workshops and strategy consulting services.

The Santam Readers’ Choice Award, voted for by the public, went to Marcia Monareng of Millennial Mindset Media: This agency aims to uplift young people through an avant-garde approach to digital marketing. It is a 100% black-owned and female-led business that focuses on personalised solutions and close client collaboration. Marcia wins a Golden Circle Mentorship programme from Over the Rainbow worth over R9 500.

HOT 102.7FM Up for ‘Station of the Year’ at SA Radio Awards

 HOT 102.7FM has once again been nominated in the coveted ‘Commercial Station of the Year’ category in the 2023 SA Radio Awards, a little over two years after going live as Johannesburg’s newest commercial radio station.

Further to that, HOT 102.7FM has once again made the shortlist in the ‘My Station – Most Loyal Listeners’ category, following last week’s news that the station had received 12 other nominations for this year’s awards, including for ‘Joburg’s Hottest Breakfast Show’, ‘The Mark Pilgrim Show’ and ‘Breakfast with Rob Vega’, along with four nominations for the HOT 102.7FM news team.

The ‘My Station’ categories put the voting in the hands of South Africa’s listeners and gives them the opportunity to vote for their favourite radio station. Last year, SA Radio Awards organisers received approximately 1.1 million votes in the ‘My Station – Most Votes’ category, with HOT 102.7FM walking away with that award after receiving the most votes, garnering 138 905 – or 12.6% of the overall number of votes.

“The ‘My Station’ nomination means the most to us, because it comes from our listeners and we’ve always placed our audience front and centre of everything we do as a radio station, whether it’s playing the music they grew up with, presented by DJs that they’ve come to know and love, or supporting the causes close to their hearts, and throwing the kinds of ‘Old Skool’ parties they love,” said Lloyd Madurai, Managing Director of HOT 102.7FM. “It also proves that we have among the most loyal listeners in the country and that’s the sort of relationship with our audience we’ve always prided ourselves on.”

South African Breweries triumphs at the Loeries 

South African Breweries is celebrating a series of outstanding victories at the 2023 Loeries Awards, underlining its unwavering commitment to creativity and innovation in the advertising and brand communication industry.

South African Breweries were lauded for its work across multiple disciplines, securing a gold award for its Bread of the Nation campaign in the Social Impact category, along with two silver awards in Design for Digital and Web Browser-based experiences.

Additionally, the company earned four bronze awards in Design – mixed media, Social Impact, SA Non-English Radio Station Commercial, further solidifying its position as a prominent industry leader.

Ahead of the award announcement, SAB received 29 shortlists for the work carried out for brands; Carling Black Label, Castle lager, Castle Milk Stout, Hansa Pilsner, Trophy Stout, Castle Lite and SAB Corporate among others.

Vaughan Croeser, Vice President Marketing at the South African Breweries, said,  “I am proud of our brand teams, agencies and the level of work they were able to produce this year.  We always strive to produce work that engages our consumers in a creative, relevant and impactful manner.

“Campaigns like Bread of the Nation eloquently give expression to our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) programme, which governs how we are working to fulfil our vision of creating a future with more cheers by integrating sustainability, responsibility and purpose into our business strategy and actions.”

PPS’s Finding the Forgotten Graduate campaign wins Loerie Gold

The Professional Provident Society’s (PPS) purpose-led brand campaign Finding The Forgotten Graduate won Gold at the 2023 Loerie Awards in the Digital Crafts Category for writing. The campaign was a finalist in eight categories spanning Film Crafts in sub-categories for production design, performance and direction and the Digital Crafts sub-categories of writing, music and sound design and digital design.

This follows PPS bagging the 2023 Bookmark Awards, for the overall Black Pixel for Pixel for Purpose campaign, the Digital Campaign of the Year and 13 other awards.

The groundbreaking Finding The Forgotten Graduate campaign was conceptualised to recognise graduate professionals who charted a course through South Africa’s history as far back as 1858 by shining a spotlight on some of the first graduate professionals to attain degrees in their chosen field of study.

Ayanda Seboni, PPS Group Executive: Mutuality, says, “Graduate professionals are at the heart of our business, and we understand the significant and positive impact every one of them makes in developing our economy.We believed that this story had to be told for graduate professionals who play a significant role in our economy and future graduates to reflect on the rich history of the academics who played an important role in society. It also embraces PPS’s ethos of mutuality, where success is better shared.”

Metropolitan takes top spot in the Long-term Insurance: life industry category at the Ask Afrika Orange Index 2023/2024

Metropolitan Life was announced as the winner of the Ask Afrika Orange Index 2023/2024 in the Long-term Insurance Life Industry category; an accolade awarded to financial services companies and long-term insurers that consistently deliver an exceptional customer experience.

The Ask Afrika Orange Index is the most widely referenced customer experience benchmark in the country. The index conducted over 48 000 interviews with South Africans across 32 industries, interrogating their experiences and expectations with leading brands.

This year sees the financial services heritage brand leapfrog to first place, surpassing its performance in 2022 where it ranked sixth in the category. Metropolitan also saw a remarkable increase in overall service satisfaction and emotional connection with clients.

Said Peter Tshiguvho, CEO at Metropolitan, “We are honoured to receive this award as it serves as a symbol of our unwavering commitment to the people of South Africa and their collectives; a commitment that has been steadfast for the past 125 years.”

Boomtown Johannesburg wins first Gold Loerie

The momentum of business wins and growth keeps building with Boomtown Johannesburg winning its first Gold Loerie – a Campaign Craft Gold for South African Non-English Writing for ‘Tiny Truths’, radio work for A Million Girls Foundation.

The campaign was conceptualised and written by Creative Director Thule Ngcese and crafted by himself and creative team Sinethemba Masiku, Dini Konzi and Sukesh Moodaley. The A Million Girls Foundation is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to keep 1 million girls across Africa in school in different ways, mostly by assisting them with products to ensure uninterrupted schooling during their menstrual cycles.

“Winning this gold is a proud moment and another milestone achievement on our mission of building a better Boom and building better brands,” said Boomtown CEO, Glen Meier. “Not only because this campaign demonstrated the team’s mastery of our craft, it helped reach so many people with a vitally important message for Africa’s future.”

You can listen to the link here.

TBWA scoops four gold Loeries Awards for Stronger mental health campaign

TBWA\Hunt Lascaris has won four gold awards for its groundbreaking ‘Stronger’ mental health campaign at the Loeries Awards held last week in Cape Town. The campaign sought to raise awareness of mental health issues by recreating hip-hop singer Riky Rick’s voice to release a song posthumously using artificial intelligence.

TBWA\Hunt Lascaris won four gold Loeries Awards in total for Stronger: in the digital category for the use of artificial intelligence (AI), in the digital crafts category for the use of technology, for branded content in radio and audio and for the use of technology in radio and audio. ‘Stronger’, the first AI song to be released in Africa, is a collaboration between TBWA\Hunt Lascaris, Sony Music Africa and the Riky Rick Foundation. The foundation aims to push activism through art, while creating awareness around mental health.

The campaign also won a silver Loerie (film, music video), a bronze (integrated campaign) and a craft certificate (film, sound design). TBWA/Hunt Lascaris chief creative officer Carl Willoughby said he is deeply grateful to the family of the late musician Riky Rick, who tragically took his life in February 2022, for allowing them to release this song on his behalf. “The recognition at the Loeries Awards are an indication that the song resonates with a wide audience,” he said.

“Our aim as an agency was always to raise awareness about mental health and suicide, especially among South African men.” He said the perception that men shouldn’t express their emotional or psychological struggles openly was outdated and that he hoped the campaign would encourage those who suffer from depression to seek help, especially given that October is mental health awareness month.

Nominate South Africa’s Top 5 Most Exciting Startups 2023

It’s that time of the year again. Every year, the Startup Sector nominates 1000s of entries into Heavy Chef’s signature annual community event.

We started this thing in 2017, even before Heavy Chef began trading as a registered entity. The awards began as a discussion amongst entrepreneurs at Workshop17 Watershed.

If we want to create a sustainable entrepreneur community, we have to learn to celebrate better.

These awards are our way of casting a lens on the crazy awesome (and unholy) amount of work conducted by our tribe of superheroes.

In 2017 a young set of starry-eyed businesses won the first round of nominations. These startups included Yoco and Sweepsouth and JUMO. Those companies have all gone on to become world-renowned brands. These awards, part fun and irreverent, part insight into the entrepreneur landscape, have grown into the premier startup awards in SA.

Who will become the next Mama Money?

The next Aerobotics?

The next Data Prophet?

The next DigsConnect?

In order to add your voice to the chorus of support, cast your nomination now. Let us know who you believe is changing the world for the better.

Then, book your seats for the glittering awards ceremony – and hang with all the other amazing South African startups.

Ogilvy wins Agency of the Year & Most Effective Agency, at Loeries 2023

Ogilvy was recognised as both the South African Agency of the Year and the Regional Agency of the Year across the Middle East and Africa at this year’s Loeries Awards.

Among Ogilvy’s incredible set of results at the Loeries, they were awarded the overall prize for Marketing Effectiveness, along with two Grand Prix awards, nine Golds, three Silvers, two Craft Certificates, seven Bronzes, and 76 finalists.

The wins at this year’s Loeries follow other recent successes for Ogilvy in 2023, including recognition as the most Effective Agency in South Africa at the prestigious Effies Awards, as well as being named the most awarded agency at the Cannes Lions Festival in France, which is the largest advertising awards show in the world.

“We couldn’t be more proud of these Loeries wins for our teams and our clients. Thank you to our clients for their ongoing belief in us as an agency – and also in the power of creativity to help shift their businesses forward. Thank you also to the judges who recognised our work as category-winning, among some amazing work entered this year from all over the region,” says Pete Case, Ogilvy Creative Chair and CEO. “At Ogilvy our mission continues to be the creation of work that generates meaningful impact, and we are exceptionally pleased to see so many of our clients recognised at this year’s event.”

Winning Ogilvy clients included; KFC, Volkswagen, Castle Lager, Carling Black Label, DStv, PEP and Mondelez.

Chicken Licken wins Brand of the Year at the Loerie Awards for the 7^th consecutive year

This year, the Loeries celebrated a remarkable milestone – 45 years of championing creativity in the industry.

Growth agency, Joe Public, celebrated its Loeries performance this year, securing a total of 26 wins across various categories for multiple clients, including Amnesty International, Apartheid Museum, Chicken Licken, Engen, Nedbank, POWA, SAB (AB InBev), and Uber Eats. These wins are clear evidence of the agency’s commitment to delivering exceptional creative solutions inspired by its growth purpose. The growth of its people, its clients, and its country, through the power of creativity.

The biggest standout achievement for the agency was Chicken Licken’s seventh consecutive win as the Loeries 2023 Brand of the Year. This accomplishment was a major cause for celebration for Joe Public as it is unprecedented in recent Loeries history. It’s a testament to the exceptional partnership that exists between the agency and Chicken Licken, as they continue to push creative boundaries together.

Additionally, the agency celebrated the growth of one of their own, Bernice Puleng Mosala, a talented copywriter at Joe Public. She was named the Loeries Young Creative of 2023, an accolade that speaks to her rapidly developing skills and dedication. Bernice exemplifies the agency’s philosophy of fostering growth through creativity.

For the official 2023 rankings, please visit the Loeries website.

Momentum leads the reputational sentiment in the insurance sector in 2023.

In its third South African Insurance Sentiment Index, PwC, in collaboration with DataEQ reported that Momentum leads the reputational sentiment by 24.9 percentage points over its competitors with a Net Sentiment score of 40.5% while the industry aggregate stood at 15.6%.

Reputational Net Sentiment plays a huge part in driving positive consumer conversations through well executed strategic campaigns that seek to make a societal impact in an actionable and transparent manner to shift consumer perception and bridge the value gap of insurers.

According to report, Momentum’s campaigns were the most potent in bolstering its reputational Net Sentiment. “The #SheOwnsHerSuccess campaign achieved the highest level of engagement for the brand and significantly elevated the brand’s reputation. Excelling in audience engagement, this campaign tapped into the potent theme of female empowerment and accomplishments, resonating with their target audience in a way that amplified Momentum’s reputational capital,” the report said.

Momentum’s annual #SheOwnsHerSuccess campaign, which started in 2019, aims to empower women with tools and advice that will advance them on their journey to financial success.