The Media Online’s weekly column delivering news of award wins, entries, competitions, dates to note and winners in the media industry.
SA’s top food and health writers and digital food influencer announced
South Africa’s most outstanding food and health writers for 2020 were revealed at the 31st annual Galliova Awards virtual event attended by entrants, judges and representatives from the South African Poultry Association (SAPA). The winner of the inaugural Digital Food Influencer category was also announced.
Arina du Plessis of Landbouweekblad took top honours as the Galliova Food Writer of the Year, while freelance writer, Glynis Horning, was honoured for the second consecutive year as the Galliova Health Writer of the Year.
The runners-up in the Food Writer of the Year category were Amy Hopkins of Women’s Health (2nd) and Louisa Holst & Hannes Koegelenberg of Ideas Magazine (3rd), and in the Health Writer of the Year category, Caitlin Geng of Your Family (2nd) and freelancer Jandri Barnard (3rd).
Esther Malan of Huisgenoot and YOU was awarded the title Galliova Egg Champion, followed by Herman Lensing of Sarie Kos (2nd) and Jessica Spiro of TASTE, Eat Out and Food24 (3rd).
The pilot Digital Food Influencer category – which was open to invited food influencers who host a popular digital food platform via a blog, Facebook or Instagram page, was won by Georgia East of food and travel blog, East After Noon. In second and third places were Alida Ryder and Sam Linsell of Simply Delicious and Drizzle & Dip respectively.
DStv Media Sales supports Loeries Creative Week 2020
DStv Media Sales will be supporting the Loeries Creative Week 2020 in its mission to back the creative ecosystem.
In keeping with the Loeries commitment to ‘Reward, Recognise, Inspire and Foster Creative Excellence’, DStv Media Sales will add to the phenomenal speaker line-up by bringing creative strategist Rani Bisal to share her insights with the creative community.
Bisal has more than 15 years experience in building strategies and technology platform and solutions across various domains such as media, IT, telecom, publishing, broadcasting and advertising. She is currently the Executive Head of Business Optimisation at DStv Media Sales in Sub Saharan Africa and collaborates with the CEO on designing future business models.
“We are proud to be associated with the Loeries once again. The great work that we have witnessed over the years inspires us to play our part in supporting the creative sector and making a difference,” said Fahmeedah Cassim-Surtee, the CEO of DStv Media Sales. “We are committed to driving good creative and innovation within the advertising industry; and adding value to this year’s event.”
Be part of an inspirational, informative and celebrated event by securing your ticket at Loeries.com
The Loeries and the US Embassy partner to uplift and up-skill SA youth
In recognition of important political, societal, and cultural issues that currently impact South Africans, the Loeries and the US Embassy in Pretoria have partnered to uplift and up-skill youth in the brand communications space.
“The initiative aims to inspire & foster creative excellence and innovation in the broader advertising and communications industry,” explained Loeries CEO, Preetesh Sewraj.
The US Embassy has sponsored the participation of Los Angeles-based Ms. Jess Weiner, a cultural expert who focuses on the intersection of business, social change, and inclusivity. Weiner will unpack gender and race issues during a presentation at Loeries Creative Week, at a time when the #BlackLivesMatter and #NotInMyName movements dominate the public discourse in the United States and around the world.
American Corner Pretoria (ACP) will also host an ongoing series of talks by industry professionals during 2021. ACP is one of over 650 spaces established in 150 countries worldwide, nine of which are in South Africa.
“The American Corner Pretoria is a space designed to spark new ideas through collaboration. We have held a number of successful events at ACP and the partnership with the Loeries will further open up the space to the wider creative industry,” said Embassy minister counsellor for public affairs, Frank Whitaker.
Grey Africa wins Creative Circle Award for #SavannaVirtualComedyBar campaign
Grey Africa has been recognised by the Creative Circle for its work on the #SavannaVirtualComedyBar campaign, winning first place in the Digital Interactive Award category. The #SavannaVirtualComedyBar was developed and launched during the Covid-19 lockdown to support comedians and help cheer up the nation.
“We’re thrilled that the campaign was recognised by the Creative Circle Awards,” said Steph van Niekerk, creative director at Grey and Liquid, WPP’s bespoke agency solution for Distell.
“We’re proud to have developed a campaign that helped entertain South Africans and connect them through laughter during a difficult time when they felt alienated and alone.”
The campaign consisted of two elements – the weekly Bar Nights and bi-weekly Comedy Specials – which ran from April until July. The weekly Bar Night events, which were hosted on Zoom, featured two talented comics and an equally talented comedic host. The first Weekly Bar Night featured well known comedians David Kau and Nik Rabinowitz, with Coconut Kelz as the host.
The Comedy Specials were run every two weeks for 12 weeks and had nine different comics and their host comedic barman. The line-up of comics included Chris Forrest, Angel Campey and Lindy Johnson. The specials were hosted on Savanna’s social media channels, including Instagram Live, Facebook Live and YouTube Live, and provided a full 90 minutes of entertainment.
The campaign proved very popular with South Africans, reaching over 25 million views online. It offered aspiring comics a platform to showcase their talent, and ensured more established comedians didn’t get rusty during lockdown. Importantly, the #SavannaVirtualComedyBar also gave financial support to these comedians to keep them going during a time when they couldn’t otherwise earn a living.
Old Mutual in Africa’s top five leading brands
Old Mutual has been ranked Africa’s most valuable insurer and the only insurance company to become one of the Top-Five brands, according to the inaugural Brand Finance Africa 150 report.
The twin accolades place Old Mutual a full 15 places ahead of its nearest rival in the Brand Finance Africa 150 study which measures and ranks the continent’s top 150 brands by allocating a value to their brands. Brand value is based on the net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve if the brand were licensed in the open market.
“In the case of Old Mutual, our brand worth was placed at US $ 1.4 billion, making it the continent’s leading brand within the insurance sector. This also made us the fifth most valuable brand in Africa, and the most highly-rated of all insurers assessed in the report,” said Old Mutual’s acting chief marketing officer, Andisa Ntsubane.
2020 truTalent search goes virtual
The South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) radio station, trufm has announced the launch of the fifth annual edition of truTalent Search.
The station has opened for digital submissions in two categories, namely: Radio Presenting and DJ categories. Radio presenting contestants are encouraged to submit a 3-5 minutes demo while DJ contestants, a 10-20 minutes mix, both to be emailed to 2020trutalent@trufm.co.za. Contestants must be between the ages of 15-34 and the due date for the digital submission is 31 October 2020.
trufm debuted its first presenter search in 2012. The initiative aimed at engaging and connecting with the youth of the Eastern Cape, has given young people a platform that is conducive to showcasing and nurturing of their talent. It has also provided employment opportunities for contestants who were successful in the competition.
Call for entries into next Mobile Journalism Awards
The Call for Entries is open for the next Mobile Journalism Awards competition.
If you are an instructor, then this is a great opportunity to engage with your students around a mobile journalism project. There are student and early-bird tiers in this edition.
Many journalism educators have asked if there is a replay of the Mobile Journalism Awards show that aired recently in Berlin.
Yes. The answer is yes.
The Smart Film School is a sponsor and has volunteered to curate the awards each year and maintain the collection of top films to be used for educational purposes.
CreativityInsideOut LIONS Live | 19 – 23 October
Ster-Kinekor is the official representative in South Africa for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity
#CreativityInsideOut LIONS Live brings you five days of practical insights. The teams behind Grand Prix and Gold Lion-winning work share honest accounts of how their ideas came to light (or, perhaps, almost didn’t…). Watch creative heroes reveal the secrets of creating world-famous work. 19 – 23 October.
Register and login here.
The Cannes Lions Awards are now open
Cannes Lions is open for entries, reopening earlier than usual this year to give entrants more time to prepare work and craft submissions ahead of next year’s deadline.
“We hope this helps you plan ahead, given the current world context. The Lions Awards and benchmark honour diverse and progressive creative work from all over the world, recognising the work that drives progress through creativity and pushes the industry forward,” the body said in a statement.
Next June, juries will award Lions for both 2020 and 2021. You can find the full rules on eligibility here.
All Assegai Awards finalists revealed
The Direct Marketing Association of SA (DMASA) has published a complete list of over 130 finalists in the running for dozens of Assegai Direct and Integrated Marketing Awards.
The list of finalists for the TymeBank-sponsored awards is available here. Winners will be announced at the Assegai Awards evening set for 26 November 2020 at The Venue in Melrose Arch.
“We’re looking forward to celebrating and rewarding the best local direct and integrated marketing talent in November,” said David Dickens, CEO of the DMASA.
Last year the Assegai Awards saw Ogilvy being named Agency of the Year while Rogerwilco received the Leader award in the same category. There are Leader, Bronze, Silver and Gold awards to be won across dozens of categories spanning search, email, experiential and mobile marketing, amongst many others. Judges looked specifically for the most effective use of content, database analytics, interface and navigation design, banners, microsites, and every other direct and integrated marketing tool.
The DMASA is the continent’s leading non-profit dedicated to the sustainable development of the direct and integrated marketing industry. It is recognised by the National Consumer Commission which enables it to manage consumer complaints within the direct marketing space on behalf of over 300 members.
Retail Engage announced as finalist in the 2020 DMA Assegai Awards
Retail Engage has been announced as a finalist in the 2020 DMA Assegai Awards in two categories, Integrated Direct Marketing Campaigns and CRM Programmes.
In 2013 Retail Engage launched its consumer brand, bonsella® which has grown into the largest shopper rewards and loyalty programme in the independent main market in South Africa. It consists of predominantly formal and informal retailers in peri-urban and rural areas, comprising of LSMs 3 to 6.
Andrew Weinberg, CEO of Retail Engage and co-founder of bonsella® explains that “the rewards and loyalty programme targets 20 million shoppers and consumers in the independent main market sector in South Africa, with over 1.5 million of those already bonsella® registered members and growing at an additional 75 000 new members monthly.”
D&AD announce briefs for 2021 New Blood Awards
D&AD has unveiled the briefs for the 2021 New Blood Awards and announced New Blood Shots, a series of quick-fire New Blood briefs set over six weeks in direct response to the disruptions to creative education and employment as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
As this year’s emerging creative cohort faces significant barriers upon entering the industry, D&AD are committed to continuing to offer aspiring creatives the opportunity to hone their skills in line with the ever changing industry landscape.
From a campaign celebrating the 100 years of the imagination of Disney, to diversifying the secondary school curriculum with Penguin, this year’s briefs invite emerging talent to harness their creativity to tackle both commercial challenges and social issues. Additional briefs include changing the way that skin cancer is diagnosed in people of colour with 21Grams, repositioning menopause as an issue affecting people of all ages with The Case for Her and Refinery29, and encouraging more sustainable habits in sports fans in collaboration with Connect4Climate.
The briefs can be downloaded now from the D&AD website, with entries opening in January 2021 and closing in March 2021.
Both the New Blood Awards and New Blood Shots are open to any new and emerging creatives aged 18 or over without significant experience in a paid creative role.
