The Media Online’s weekly column delivering news of award wins, entries, competitions, dates to note and winners in the media industry.
TBWA\South Africa proves having a purpose brings its own rewards
Hot on the heels of last week’s success at the Cannes Lions, TBWA\South Africa has won Agency of the Year at the Purpose Awards. The agency also bagged the Brand-led Best Advocacy Campaign category for its Wear it for Me’ campaign for MTN.
TBWA\South Africa has committed its resources, time and expertise to cause marketing for years but in 2020, the agency doubled down on pro-bono work.
The Purpose Awards recognise campaigns that use creative ideas to further positive causes and acknowledge the organisations behind them. They are open to agencies, brands, public sector bodies, charities and NGOs throughout EMEA.
Luca Gallarelli, Group CEO of TBWA\South Africa, said: “As a Group we’re delighted to receive this latest accolade just a week after winning a Glass Lion for change at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity.
“We believe in the power of creativity to act as a force for good and, more importantly, a force for change. Producing purposeful work for our clients that impacts our continent positively, is what drives us.”
For the winning campaign, Wear if for Me TBWA\South Africa turned mothers into influencers to persuade the youth of Africa to wear masks to stem the spread of Covid-19. With many people refusing to wear masks or not wearing them correctly, the campaign was part of MTN’s drive to raise awareness about mask-wearing in its 21 African and Middle Eastern markets.
The agency also addressed the second pandemic, of gender-based violence in South Africa, which earned it five Cannes Lions for the Blame No More victim-blaming campaign. It pivoted its clients’ marketing and leveraged their resources, time and expertise to put 550 000 pairs of school shoes on children’s feet and provide 750 000 meals to people who were economically hit by the pandemic.
And TBWA\South Africa became the primary communication partner of the Solidarity Fund, set up to address the most urgent needs of the pandemic.
These campaigns did not “look” like charity: They were tangible expressions of purpose that the client, their staff and their customers could be a part of.
Meet the lsu Elihle 2021 top six finalists
The 2021 the lsu Elihle Awards finalists were announced during an awards ceremony held online by Media Monitoring Africa and UNICEF on Wednesday. South Africa’s Robyn Wolfson Vorster, Uganda’s Caroline Ayugi, Kenya’s Thomas Mwiraria Murithi and Dorcas Wangira, Zimbabwe’s Farai Shawn Matiashe and Nigeria’s Stephanie Ohumu where announced as top contenders.
Wolfson Vorster is a South African freelance journalist with a special focus on children. With a background in social sciences, and experience in consulting and project management, she left the corporate sector nine years ago to focus on writing about and advocating for changes to legislation and policy regarding children, and giving vulnerable children a voice.
Ayugi is a freelance journalist based in Gulu, Northern Uganda. Her first major story contributions, which were on the recovery of Northern Uganda from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) war, was published by Institute for War and Peace Reporting based in London. Her experience in working as an online content producer for Oysters & Pearls-Uganda, a charity that Cultivates Education and Technology and among the visually impaired for the past three years, has helped her to identify and write more underreported stories about the challenges persons with disabilities in Uganda face.
Ohumu is a journalist focused on social impact stories at the intersection of youth, gender equity, mental wellness, and climate action. She has worked as an investigative journalist and producer for the Emmy nominated documentary, ‘Sex for Grades’ by the BBC Africa Eye, which exposed sexual harassment in West African universities. The film led to the passing of the anti-sexual harassment bill at the Nigerian senate, and the dismissal of predatory professors.
Matiashe is an award-winning journalist based in Mutare, Zimbabwe who writes for various international media outlets including Al Jazeera, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Vice World News, The Africa Report and Quartz Africa. Matiashe, who has reported from more than five countries including those in Europe, is passionate about rural reporting where he covers marginalised groups including women and children.
R1-million goes to NPOs in MTN Awards for Social Change
Trialogue and the MTN Foundation encourage good monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices through the annual MTN Awards for Social Change.
The MTN Foundation awarded a total of R1-million in prize money to three deserving non-profit organisations (NPOs) at the Trialogue Business in Society Virtual Conference (22-24 June). These coveted awards are made to NPOs that demonstrate excellent monitoring and evaluation in their social projects.
The winners were announced on 24 June and each winner in the large, medium-sized and small NPO category received R300 000.
- In the large NPO category – Save the Children South Africa for the District-Based Teacher Recruitment Strategy Project
- In the medium-sized NPO category – Isiqalo Foundation Trust t/a Waves for Change for Surf Therapy
- In the small NPO category – School of Hard Knocks for SOHK for Schools
An additional bonus prize of R100 000 was awarded to the Isiqalo Foundation Trust for Surf Therapy as it demonstrated the best evidence of advanced M&E practice.
Entries are open for the 4th Absa Business Day Supplier Development Awards
Entries have now opened for the fourth annual Absa Business Day Supplier Development Awards that recognise and celebrate supplier development best practice and encourage collaboration among large African companies that are committed to building inclusive and transformed supply chains.
The inaugural awards, launched in 2018, attracted more than 400 entries across diverse industries and have grown in scope and impact.
Vusi Fele, Absa Group’s chief procurement officer, said the awards align well with Absa’s values of Africanacity in promoting growth, innovation and prosperity on the African continent.
“We are proud to be partnering with the Supplier Development Awards for the fourth year in a row, as we continue to promote the development of robust and sustainable supply chains in South Africa and across the rest of the continent. Absa’s continued involvement with and support of these awards is motivated by our confidence and belief that having robust and inclusive supply chains is crucial if we are to drive the growth and development of a viable SME sector that can contribute to sustainable economic growth,” said Fele.
This year, the awards programme includes an engaging series of online Africa-wide Supplier Development Dialogues, with a focus on the growth of SMMEs. During Youth Month, the Supplier Development Dialogue focused on empowering the youth through entrepreneurship.
