The Media Online’s weekly column delivering news of award wins, entries, competitions, dates to note and winners in the media.
IAB presents 2024 Bookmarks Masterclass on 7 February
Following the success of the 2023 Bookmarks Masterclass, the IAB South Africa Bookmark Awards will be hosting its 2024 Bookmarks Masterclass on Wednesday, 7 February 2024. As the digital media and marketing industry evolves at a rapid pace, creating new audiences and ways to engage with them, the Bookmark Awards is the compass that provides the direction towards excellence in digital.
This year’s Bookmarks Masterclass will be held virtually and hosted by Alex Goldberg, Creative Partner at Ogilvy South Africa and 2022’s number two-ranked creative director in Africa and the Middle East. Alex has entered and won countless awards — including Bookmarks! — during his 20-year tenure in the communications industry. His love for creativity and mission to make purposeful work that surprises audiences and resonates with South Africans places him as the ideal host for a workshop seeking to enable the next generation of talented digital storytellers.
“I am incredibly honoured to be the host for this year’s Bookmarks Masterclass,” he says. “As much as it opens opportunities for engagement with entrants, it also provides a valuable platform for shared feedback and insights on the awards entry process.”
The Bookmarks Masterclass is aimed at equipping new and returning entrants with advice to finesse their Bookmarks’ entries. Alex will speak through his and his agency’s approach to crafting an entry and the vital components he always ensures are included. Masterclass attendees are encouraged to ask questions and will receive access to an exclusive Masterclass Email Series that will provide further invaluable tips to assist them in creating award-winning entries.
Mikhale Jones named as winner of MTN Pulse Virals
After a grueling, instructive, and entertaining six episode run on Channel O and Mzansi Magic, Mikhale Jones has emerged as the winner of MTN Pulse Virals, walking away with a prize package valued at R200 000.
Not merely another talent show, against seven other contestants Jones made it through a gauntlet of challenges aimed at equipping the contestants with essential business knowledge needed to succeed in the music industry led by mentors with experience in that space.
The music video for her new single, Be Like Me” which is part of her prize package, has been released and will feature on Channel O’s rotation.
Commenting on her win, Jones said she had been overwhelmed with the support from the public on social media and experienced in public during the run of the show.
“I was excited to be selected as one of the contestants from the hundreds of entrants that came in, but I wasn’t prepared for the support I got from people watching the show. Now, having won, I’m taking everything I’ve learnt and gained from this competition, especially that prize package, and using it to build a team who sees my vision and helps me execute it to take my career to the next level.”
MTN Pulse Virals was conceptualised and hosted by Siya Metane, popularly known as Slikour.
Duma Collective’s Sibu Mabena joins Dubai Lynx’s entertainment jury
Dubai Lynx, MENA’s leading platform for creative excellence and effectiveness has announced its jury line-up for 2024. A notable addition to the Entertainment Jury is Sibu Mabena, CEO and chief creative officer of Duma Collective. Mabena will join 61 other industry experts from 33 global markets representing leading international talent from a diverse range of disciplines.
“We are delighted to announce such an exceptional line-up of talent and experts who bring much commitment and expertise to the important task at hand. Our Jurors play a crucial role in setting the creative benchmark for the MENA region and upholding the integrity of the Awards. We wish them luck and look forward to seeing the body of work that will emerge following their discussions,” commented Philip Thomas, the Chairman of Dubai Lynx in a media statement.
Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity hosts over a thousand attendees across the MENA region. Guests are treated to insightful sessions from more than 35 global industry leaders and young, innovative talent.
Penquin celebrates sweeping victory with five Scopen 2023/24 Agency Scope Awards
Local brand and communication agency Penquin is proud to announce its remarkable success at the Scopen’s 2023/24 Agency Scope Awards, securing a total of five prestigious accolades. The awards were presented in recognition of Penquin’s outstanding achievements and contributions in various categories within the marketing, communications, and advertising landscape.
Scopen’s Agency Scope Awards are a testament to the agency’s excellence, determined through an extensive and comprehensive study conducted every two years. This study involves in-depth meetings with the highest-level decision-makers in marketing, communications, and advertising, spanning from the largest to the smallest spending marketers in South Africa.
For the 2023/24 edition, Scopen conducted a total of 528 interviews, including 312 marketing professionals from 220 companies, 155 creative-agency professionals, 45 media-agency professionals, and 16 media owners.
Penquin emerged triumphant in five distinct categories, showcasing the agency’s prowess across various facets of the industry: In its 2023/24 edition, Penquin took home awards in the following categories: Agency Advanced In Digital, Good Service In Performance, Integrated Services Offering, Good At Digital Media Planning & Buying and Proactive Team.
Re.Bag.Re.Use bags Silver at the International Stevie Awards in New York
The Stevie Awards for Women in Business is an international competition and widely regarded as the world’s premier business award. The 2023 competition attracted more than 1 600 nominations submitted by organisations and individuals across 26 nations.
“We are ecstatic to be recognised for the team’s hard work. It is a nod that we are heading in the right direction,” said Regine le Roux, founder of the Re.Bag.Re.Use initiative.
There are currently 15 ladies involved in Re.Bag.Re.Use; five ladies cut empty plastic bread bags into strips and ten ladies crochet these strips into beautiful multi-functional items.
This is Re.Bag.Re.Use’s second international accolade since the initiative was started mid-2021. The other award was the ECCO International Communication Network in 2022 for Campaign of the year.
To view the beautiful products that the ladies make, please visit: www.rebagreusehub.co.za
Radio Workshop wins Best Audio Documentary Award for 2023
Radio Workshop’s This Coal Life has won the International Documentary Association’s award for Best Standalone Audio Documentary. The IDA Documentary Awards is the world’s most distinguished event dedicated exclusively to the documentary genre, celebrating and honouring the year’s best nonfiction films and programmes.
This adds to a string of awards won earlier in the year, including the Podcast & Radio Award at the One World Media Awards in London. Radio Workshop were finalists for both Best Documentary at the Ambies and Best Serialized Story at the Third CoastInternational Audio Festival. This Coal Life also aired on NPR’s daily news podcast Up First in September of this year.
This Coal Lifefollows the Skhosana family, who built their lives on coal. But South Africa is moving away from it in favour of greener, cleaner energy in what the government has called the Just Transition. The world is watching to see how South Africa and families like the Skhosanas are going to pull it off.
This Coal Life podcast team:
- Youth reporter: Siya Mokoena
- Senior producer: Dhashen Moodley
- Managing producer: Jo Jackson
- Editors: Lesedi Mogoatlhe and Rob Rosenthal
- Audio engineers: Jo Jackson and Mike Rahfaldt
- Original music: Qhamani Sambu
Winners of the Briefly Entertainment Awards 2023 announced
The moment of truth arrived as the curtains fell on the grand stage of the inaugural Briefly Entertainment Awards. The readers of Briefly News cast their votes, tirelessly championing their beloved stars for an entire month.
Speaking on behalf of the Briefly News publication, Entertainment editor Sibusisiwe Lwandle said: “It’s been such an incredible journey with a fulfilling finish. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you for sharing your talent with the world. A huge thank you to Briefly News readers who threw their weight behind their favourites and voted. The numbers were overwhelming and beyond anything we could have possibly imagined. We are so grateful.”
Influencer of the Year: Naledi Aphiwe won this award in a landslide victory after her fans flooded the voting station.
Most Fashionable Celebrity of the Year: The Khosi Nation will never fail Khosi Twala. Her emphatic fanbase nearly crashed the voting website.
DJ of the Year After: iPlan was crowned Song of the Year by various radio stations, it was only fitting for Briefly News readers to show Dlala Thukzin the same love.
Hip-hop Artist of the Year: Nasty C dropped an album that ended all debates about who the GOAT is.
Amapiano Artist of the Year: The competition was heavy in this category but Aymos cleared the finish line.
Actress of the Year: Oh Sannah Mchunu we love you. T
Actor of the Year: This hunk swept our readers off their feet from day one. Not only is Wiseman Mncube talented, humble and kind, but he is also easy on the eyes and a clear winner of the coveted Actor of the Year title.
Best Newcomer: Tyla, my sister. What can we say? 2023 was yours.
The Gerety Awards are open for 2024 entries
Gerety Awards open for entries, along with announcing 15 locations for the executive jury sessions, they include: New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Madrid, Warsaw, São Paulo, AUNZ, LATAM, East Asia, and the Middle East.
As well as defining the shortlist the executive jury sessions each select the agency and production company of the year from their country. This is chosen from the entrants of the Portfolio Cut. The jury will also be paying special attention to entries submitted into the Works for Good Cut. The highest scoring campaign for environmental and sustainability will be awarded with a special award called the Gerety Earth Prize.
Call for entries for 2024 Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards
Entries for the 2024 edition of the Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards, brought to you by the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF), are now open and will close on Friday, 29 March 2024.
The Awards will cover stories published or broadcast between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023. There will be no extension and winners will be announced at an event on Saturday, 29 June, at a venue yet to be confirmed in Gauteng.
This is the third year SANEF is organising the awards. They were previously organised by PDMSA, now the Publishers’ Support Services.
The awards are open to all media platforms – print, online/digital, and broadcast (radio and TV) journalists. They are regarded as a highlight on the journalistic calendar rewarding the exceptional work done by the country’s journalists, in categories ranging from investigative journalism to feature writing, and lifestyle as well as photojournalism.
The Awards reflect the importance of groundbreaking, accurate, fact-based, truthful, fair, and verified reporting in a world where misinformation and disinformation continue to be a major concern in the media sector. They are also proof of the important role that the Fourth Estate plays in the country’s democracy.
The awards are open to all print, online/digital, and broadcast (radio and TV) journalists.
The categories are:
- Hard news
- Indigenous language reporting in community media
- Community service reporting
- Investigative journalism
- Business journalism
- Features
- Lifestyle
- Columns/editorial
- Visual Journalism (editorial cartoons/graphic layout)
- News photographs
- Features photographs
- Sports photographs
- Manager/Publisher of the Year Award: This is the second year this Award will be awarded. The award is aimed at rewarding newsroom managers/publishers for their work. The entry for this is a motivation letter or proof of activities by colleagues in the said media organisation.
- Juby Mayet Rising Star of the Year (Selected from the entries in the categories by the jury.)
- Journalist of the Year (Selected from the entries in the categories by the jury.)
- The Allan Kirkland Soga / Standard Bank Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award (previously the Allan Kirkland Soga: Achievement Award): Recognises a sustained and extraordinary contribution to newspaper journalism on the part of an individual and the winner will have demonstrated impeccable ethics and craft excellence.
To enter the awards, go to https://sikuvileawards.co.za.
