The Media Online’s weekly column delivering news of award wins, entries, competitions, dates to note and winners in the media industry.
The 2021 Effie Awards South Africa season opens
The Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA), is pleased to announce that the very first Effie Awards South Africa will be held in 2021 following the postponement of the inaugural programme due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Effie Awards South Africa, officially launched at the end of 2019, provides brands and their agency partners the opportunity to receive global recognition for their most effective marketing and communications campaigns. Media agencies, marketers and advertisers worldwide view the awarding of an Effie as a respected global symbol of achievement.
“The pandemic has unfortunately resulted in not only changing the entire marketing and communication landscape and how agencies have had to adapt and re-focus, but it has left a void to some extent in the recognition of effectiveness in marketing campaigns. Effie’s mission is to lead, inspire and champion the practice and practitioners of marketing effectiveness and we are relieved that we’ll be hosting the first globally recognised marketing effectiveness awards programme in South Africa in 2021,” said Mathe Okaba, CEO of the ACA.
Launched in 1968, Effie celebrates effectiveness worldwide with over 50 global, regional and national programmes across Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe, Middle East, Latin America and North America. Effie South Africa joined the Effie network as the 49th national programme celebrating and Awarding Ideas That Work.
“There is no strict definition of effectiveness within the Effie programme. Effie recognises all forms of effectiveness—awareness, sales, behaviour, etc. The determining criteria for measuring effectiveness will be considering how challenging the objectives were, and the significance of the results achieved against those objectives, and we encourage all agencies, representing the length and breadth of the industry to enter,” added Okaba.
Follow @EffieSouthAfrica on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and @EffieAwardsSA on Twitter to keep up to date on the latest developments.
Big-picture thinking lands MediaCom Global Media Agency of the Year award
It was MediaCom’s pioneering creative work on behalf of clients such as Uber, PlayStation, and Dell Technologies, along with the ability to make brands see the bigger picture, that cinched the coveted Adweek Global Media Agency of the Year award.
What also added to MediaCom bagging this accomplishment is its exciting and expanding client portfolio, with prominent brands such as Uber’s entire global media business, Duracell, Circle K, and Hasbro signing on for its services.
What made the 2021/2021 award cycle a very challenging and unique year is that apart from facing fierce competition and judges’ strict criteria, agencies were being challenged by a new adversary: Covid-19. Creating pioneering creative work in the midst of a global pandemic, uncertain economic circumstances, and budget cuts is no small feat. Securing new business that places you at the top of the R3 Worldwide’s new business rankings for the year seems impossible.
But that’s exactly what MediaCom did.
The secret is in the company’s philosophy: People first, better results. For MediaCom, translating this mantra into practice was certainly put to the test in 2020 as the global crisis unfolded. “Our ambition was to make sure we came out of it together, our culture intact. We spent the best part of 20 years building MediaCom’s culture,” MediaCom global CEO Nick Lawson said. “Protecting that culture was really our No. 1 priority.”
According to Ashish Williams, CEO of MediaCom SA, this achievement would not have been possible without a people-first strategy. “At the end of 2020, our company repositioned globally around the sentiment of ‘Seeing the bigger picture’. Many brands were faced with situations they had never been before, such as unexpected budget cuts, countrywide lockdowns, and the rapid digitisation of the working environment. It would have been easy to get side-tracked by the everyday challenges and lose sight of the long-term goals.”
Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages once again recognised as a Top Employer
Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages (CCPB) has been recognised as a top employer for 2021 – having been awarded this prestigious accolade for 11 consecutive years.
This year, CCPB joined 221 companies across 32 African countries who have all been certified as Top Employers for outstanding HR strategies and people practices. The Top Employers Institute programme awards the certificate based on people strategy, work environment, talent acquisition, learning, well-being, diversity and inclusion.
“As an organisation, this award embodies the importance of culture and the role leadership plays in ensuring we have a great and enduring culture,” said Bryn Morse, culture and people development director at CCPB.
“Continuous improvement remains one of CCPB’s core values and has been in place for some time. The development of our team members throughout the organisation remains a top priority,” said Morse.
CCPB established a Leadership University in 2018 to further enhance the skills and development of team members. Attendance is open to all team members based on the belief that “everyone is a leader”.
Nedbank Private Wealth Innovation Awards give NPOs the chance to win a share of R1 million
Nedbank Private Wealth is offering two South African non-profit organisations (NPOs) the opportunity to win a share of R1 million rand for showing how they innovated and used technology to ensure the resilience of their operations in the face of Covid-19.
The Nedbank Private Wealth Innovation Awards will recognise two winners in the categories of resilience and technology, and each winning NPO will receive prize money of R600 000 and R400 000 respectively, to support them in the continuation and expansion of their work in 2021.
According to Noxolo Hlongwane, head of philanthropy at Nedbank Private Wealth, the Innovation Awards were introduced as a way of recognising and rewarding NPOs that were able to achieve great results despite the pandemic and leverage on innovation. They are looking at organisations that can show financial stability, strong leadership and effective risk management, and can effectively harness the power of technology.
“Covid-19 and the national lockdown response have been a massive test of the resilience of social-sector organisations globally,’ said Hlongwane. “Not just in terms of the ability of these institutions to maintain themselves financially, but also to meet the growing needs of communities despite the constraining environment and limited resources at their disposal.”
Hlongwane said he hoped that the Innovation Awards would not only inspire NPOs to higher levels of such resilience, innovation and digital enablement, but will also catalyse meaningful discourse between social-sector organisations, their donors and partners. ‘
Entries for the Nedbank Private Wealth Innovation Awards are now open and will run until 26 February 2021. Visit the Nedbank Private Wealth website for full details of the entry requirements and to submit entries.
2021 Anzisha Prize Applications open as need for job creation soars during pandemic
The Anzisha Prize launched the 2021 call for Africa’s biggest award for young entrepreneurs between 15 and 22. Applications have now opened for the latest cohort, with successful entrepreneurs standing a chance to win a shared prize of $100 000 and join the prestigious Anzisha Prize fellowship program. As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts the world, young entrepreneurs are building opportunities for their communities and peers.
Last year the Anzisha Prize, a partnership between African Leadership Academy and Mastercard Foundation, celebrated 10 years of supporting Africa’s youngest entrepreneurs. To date, the 142 business owners in the programme have created more than 2500 jobs.
“The world of work has drastically changed as we experience a global pandemic. Young entrepreneurs have remained steadfast and have supported their communities through difficulties. We’re thrilled to celebrate the next 20 young business owners who are, no doubt, paramount to job creation on the continent,” said Melissa Mbazo-Ekpenyong, Deputy Director of the Anzisha Prize.
As the future of work is altered by a global pandemic, job creation by young entrepreneurs remains an important solution for youth unemployment. Supporting and investing in young entrepreneurs is smart business for an economically strong future.
Entrepreneurs are advised to download the application guide or apply for the prize at anzishaprize.org/apply.
➢ Website: www.anzishaprize.org/apply
➢ Website: www.anzishaprize.org/nominate
➢ Facebook: www.facebook.com/anzishaprize
Mobile Film Festival Africa presents official selection ahead of awards ceremony in March
After 16 years of existence, the Mobile Film Festival is presenting its first official pan-African selection at the Mobile Film Festival Africa.
The Mobile Film Festival was launched with the aim of discovering talented African filmmakers. The unique format, 1 Mobile – 1 Minute – 1 Film, allows it to be open to all participations without any economic constraint, thanks to mobiles; and at the same time to be very selective, thanks to the one minute format.
The call for films took place between March and July 2020, and entries were received from all over the continent. In the end, the festivalreceived a total of 497 films from 38 countries.
Now 51 films from 23 countries are being presented. This selection of one-minute films is full of pieces that are creative, imaginative, committed, militant, humorous, sensitive… They talk about the status of women, ecology, human rights, history, COVID…
Winners are chosen through a programme of grants for creation. For this first edition of the Mobile Film Festival Africa, the awards will be €18 500.
The winners of these awards will be chosen by an eminent jury composed mainly of directors. This jury represents the diversity of African cinema. By partnering with us, it allows us to reach out to the new generation.
- Blick Bassy, Cameroonian musician,
- Hilda Dokubo, Nigerian actress,
- Obi Emelonye, Nigerian director,
- Joël Karekezi, Rwandan director,
- Ismahane Lahmar, Tunisian director and screenwriter.
One of the specificities of the Mobile Film Festival is its 100% digital dimension. Thus, from today the 51 films are widely accessible on
