Media Moves… TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up. FGI appoints Stone Soup as its communications partner. Senior account director appointed at marcusbrewster. Carl Jordan joins MaxAxion as new business development director. HoneyKome appoints Michael Walker as head of Performance data and analytics. SAFTAs10 launches new look and dream-inspired theme, ‘Imagine’. BBDO tops The Gunn Report as most creative network in the world.
This week’s BIG move: FGI appoints Stone Soup as its communications partner
Freshly Ground Insights (FGI) has appointed Stone Soup as its public relations agency. FGI selected Stone Soup because of a great cultural fit between the companies, as well as Stone Soup’s skills and experience in business-to-business communication and knowledge of the research landscape. Both companies are entrepreneurial businesses with every team member committed to getting the job done, no matter what it takes.
“We identified the need to build FGI’s profile and increase awareness of what we have to offer, both in South Africa and Africa. Stone Soup was my first port of call as a communications partner having evidence of their professionalism, insightful strategic intervention and effective tactical delivery. I have worked with Stone Soup’s MD (and the Iconic Group CEO), Sandra Gordon, for many years, with FGI conducting the research for the MOST Awards and I am delighted to collaborate in a new way,” says Brad Aigner, managing director of FGI.
FGI is focused on three pillars that uphold the quality of its research: the right target market, the right medium and the right questions. As an innovative data collection and reporting company, FGI aims to answer clients’ questions and objectives rather than selling off the shelf solutions. FGI has grown from strength to strength, expanding into Africa with great success and winning many blue chip accounts along the way.
Stone Soup is a full-service public relations consultancy established in 2002 with a solid positioning in the media and marketing sector. It forms a part of the Iconic Group and specialises in innovative communication interventions and is expert in effective, bespoke communications strategies, specialist writing skills and project management.
Who’s moved where
Senior account director appointed at marcusbrewster
PR firm, marcusbrewster has appointed Adam Hunter as senior account director based in the Cape Town head office. Hunter’s primary focus will be to oversee delivery and implementation across all of the agency’s Johannesburg and Cape Town clients while supporting the managing director with new business and the day-to-day company operations. He will also pilot strategy formulation, content development and media relations.
Hunter has more than a decade’s local and international PR and content marketing experience, including both corporate in-house roles and full 360-degree agency practice. He will drive the integration of the firm’s range of communication and publicity services across all owned, earned, shared and paid platforms to leading brands in the technology, business, hospitality, sports, events and government sectors.
Commenting on the appointment, consultancy founder and chairman Marcus Brewster says: “In our 25th anniversary year, it’s extremely gratifying to have Adam, a former marcusbrewster alumni, return to the firm which gave him his professional grounding in PR. In the intervening years, Adam has furthered his career by advancing into the content creation and corporate PR arenas and brings a red-corpuscled infusion of these skills to the mb bloodline. We are thrilled to have such an accomplished senior executive back on board with the marcusbrewster family.”
Carl Jordan joins MaxAxion as new business development director
As MaxAxion moves into its third year as a mobile media sales house, the company has welcomed Carl Jordan as it’s new business development director. Jordan is an accomplished advertising technology specialist who has worked for Yahoo UK, Google UK and Thomson Reuters UK. He moved to Johannesburg in 2013 and partnered with Outbrain South Africa to set up their distribution network.
Jordan comes with 17 years of experience selling advertising technology solutions to media and digital agencies, brands and publishers.
“Carl brings a wealth of supply and demand-side knowledge to the table and we’re excited to tap into this, and have someone with his experience come on board during this energetic growth stage“ says MaxAxion CEO, Daniel Courtenay.
HoneyKome appoints Michael Walker as head of performance data and analytics
Full service digital media agency, HoneyKome, kicks off 2016 with the appointment of its new head of performance data and analytics – Michael Walker. Michael, formerly head of audience acquisition and insights at Kagiso Media, and director of search and analytics at Acceleration Media for five years prior to that, will now lead HoneyKome’s digital strategy team.
HoneyKome, part of the Ole! Media Group, has a mobile first outlook. The company is driven by digital and focuses on creating campaigns that integrate into the overall marketing mix to work on many levels – engaging, informing, converting and ultimately performing. Walker’s role will be to ensure that every aspect of the digital strategy from SEO to social media – is fully integrated into the mix, and that performance marketing and advertising objectives are met.
“Michael’s experience is the perfect combination to grow HoneyKome’s basket of services in terms of digital media planning, media buying and performance,” commented Deseré Orrill, managing director of HoneyKome and CMO of Ole! Media Group.
Walker is the first in a line of new senior executives who will be joining the HoneyKome team over the next six weeks.
Who’s making moves
SAFTAs10 launches new look and dream-inspired theme, ‘Imagine’
For the past 10 years, the South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) have become the paramount celebration of professionals in the industry. The SAFTAs, which are awarded by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Arts and Culture, acknowledge and reward exceptional creativity, quality and excellence.
This not only marks the 10th year of the existence of the SAFTAs but also introduces an entirely new look for the SAFTAs, with a refreshed dynamic visual identity that pays homage to the one thing that all film and television professionals are after – the Golden Horn, symbolising collective effort, community, and the recognition of the individual as part of a team – an experience inherent to the film and television industry where collaboration is the cornerstone of successful productions.
“With gold we’re celebrating the glamour and the solid hard work that thrives in this industry every day,” said Zama Mkosi, CEO at the NFV.
BBDO tops The Gunn Report as most creative network in the world
BBDO has topped The Gunn Report again as the most creative network in the world. The Gunn Report is a global index of creative excellence, based on the results of 45 global, regional and national creative award competitions.
Regional director for BBDO Africa, Gau Narayanan, says that this accolade marks the tenth year in a row that BBDO has been voted the ‘top Gunn’. Added to that, it’s the thirteenth time that BBDO has won the award in the 17-years that the report has existed.
“What excites us most about such an enormous title is that it’s been proven that work that fares well at award shows is equally as effective in the marketplace. Further evidence that creative excellence is directly linked to delivering for our clients’ businesses,” says Narayanan.
“The great thing about the advertising industry is how quickly it evolves,” said Donald Gunn, founder and author of The Gunn Report. “We’ve analysed the results of the most important awards to bring valuable insights, data and clarity of the best creative ideas.” He continued, “In 2015, BBDO pulled off a notable double, winning the agencies table and rubbing it in with their tenth win in 10 straight years in the agency network table – a truly remarkable display of consistency and excellence.”
African Utility Week welcomes Shell back as platinum sponsor
As the country goes through tough economic times and companies are facing growing price tags for their equipment maintenance, all eyes are on reducing costs and increasing machine run time. Shell Lubricants were designed with cost saving in mind to maximise equipment efficiency, prolong engine life and reduce downtime, resulting in companies spending less on the maintenance of engines and operating longer, earning more profit.
Tendani Ndwamise, Direct Sector B2B Marketer at Shell South Africa says at this year’s event that Shell will focus on the promotion of its Commercial Lubricant products. “We will have a number of products on exhibit at our stand, which have all been fully approved by a number of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)” says Ndwamise.
“Shell is delighted to be a platinum sponsor for African Utility Week for the second year running. We have seen the benefits of this partnership first hand.”
