The Media Online’s weekly round up of people, account and business moves in media.
This week’s BIG move: MultiChoice scriptwriting graduation a first for Africa
Eleven interns have successfully graduated from the first-ever MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) Scriptwriting Incubator in a ceremony held at The Capital On The Park.
MTF is a year long filmmaking training programme offered in 14 countries across Africa and includes producing films for broadcast on M-Net local channels and Showmax. The MTF in South Africa launched a Scriptwriting Incubator – a first for Africa. This is run in partnership with the University of the Witwatersrand’s Film and Television Department and Tshedza Pictures, producers of Legacy, The River and Giyani: Land of Blood.
“At MultiChoice, sustainability forms the basis of our CSI initiatives. As Africa’s Most Loved Storyteller, we set out to create learnership programmes that are not only informative, but also provide candidates with insightful practical experience for ease of entry into the workplace,” said Collen Dlamini, Group Executive Corporate Affairs at MultiChoice. “We honour our African roots through the stories we tell. It’s important that MultiChoice continues to build on this narrative in everything we do.”
The programme offers practical workplace experience and mentorship from experienced South African producers and scriptwriters.
Held virtually, the programme started in February 2021 and was open to all South Africans with a passion and talent for writing, including those with no formal education. Several applications were received and the top 40 were selected to undergo a writing test. Based on this, 20 people were interviewed and 12 final interns selected.
The end goal was for interns to pitch a palette for a drama series that was good enough for channel to commission. Five movies have already been commissioned by channel.
“We are incredibly proud of our graduates. One of them has written an episode of The River (S4, episode 147), five have been offered employment by Tshedza Pictures, while other graduates already have jobs lined up,” Dlamini added.
Based on learnings from the MTF Scriptwriting Incubator, MultiChoice will look to expand the programme to other hubs in Africa.
People moves
South African actress Thuso Mbedu signs first-look deal with VIS Social Impact
VIS Social Impact, the new cause-driven production division of Paramount’s international studio, VIS, has announced its inaugural first-look-deal with leading South African actress, Thuso Mbedu.
Under the terms of the agreement, Mbedu will create, develop, and produce exclusive scripted and documentary programming focused on VIS Social Impact’s key pillars, equity, climate and health for Paramount+ outside the US.
“We are so proud to welcome Thuso Mbedu to VIS Social Impact, as we develop our roster of global talent to create premium programming for Paramount+,” said Georgia Arnold, head of VIS Social Impact and senior vice president of international social responsibility at Paramount. “Having been privileged to work with Thuso on MTV Shuga: Down South, I’ve seen her powerful creative talent first-hand; I’m in no doubt that her skill and expertise will help our studio develop ground-breaking social impact-driven content with worldwide appeal.”
Mbedu said she was excited about this FLD because of what it means for African creators and artists. “As Africans we have so many unique and diverse cultures, histories and experiences that the world needs to see and hear about and, as an African woman, to get an opportunity to tell stories that will uplift, empower and shape new ways of thinking and seeing the world, is absolutely amazing.”
Hotel group announces new area vice president SSA
Marriott International has appointed Richard Collins as its area vice president for Sub-Saharan Africa. In this new role, Collins oversees the company’s managed operations in the region and will be based out of the company’s Cape Town office. He takes on his new position following the announcement of Volker Heiden’s retirement, effective from the end of March 2022.
“Richard is an experienced leader with a proven track record, and we are delighted to have him lead our operations across Sub-Saharan Africa,” said Phil Andreopoulos, Chief Operating Officer, Sub-Saharan Africa, Marriott International. “With his leadership and extensive knowledge, Richard will play a pivotal role in building on our successes in the region.”
Business moves
Rogerwilco launches digital PR services
Rogerwilco has launched a digital PR service within the agency. The move aligns with the latest Agency Scope Survey (November 2021). More than 80.2% of marketing professionals in South Africa rated digital capabilities as very important or important in their agency selection criteria, making it one of the leading criteria for which agencies are selected.
So significant is a digital capability within the perception and performance of creative agencies now that the marketing professionals surveyed deemed it an even more critical selection criterion than having no conflict within the same sector (80.2 vs 48.3%).
Announcing the launch of its digital PR services, Rogerwilco CEO Charlie Stewart said, “Last year we won the Financial Mail AdFocus South African Digital Agency of the Year Award. At the time, we mentioned that we had growth initiatives in the pipeline for 2022 and beyond. Formalising our digital PR capability is one of these, while also adding to the scope of digital and other services we can now offer both existing and new clients.”
Offering digital PR alongside other services is set to enhance clients’ search marketing and brand awareness. The Rogerwilco digital PR team includes content marketers, SEO specialists, strategists, business analysts and data scientists, all using in-house skills and systems to capitalise on the wealth of information already available in every digital footprint today and enhance that for clients.
SA’s newest CX agency now adds the backing of the Publicis Groupe to their nimble start-up model.
Wonder was founded a year ago by industry heavyweights Gareth McPherson (ex-MD and chief dreative officer at Publicis Machine) and Helen Ludwig (former MD at Saatchi & Saatchi). In one year, Wonder has earned a reputation for pinpointing the exact areas in a customer journey that need transformation, and building connected customer experiences that make a meaningful difference.
And now Wonder has the heft and weight of Publicis behind them.
“We believe cross-functional is a high functional approach,” said McPherson. “We wanted to plug in with a global leader in communications media and digital technology.”
With the affiliate agreement in place, Wonder can remain lean and flexible. Their senior talent boasts deep expertise and is backed by a council of entrepreneurial advisers from across multiple industries. They can now also access the Publicis Groupe’s global capabilities on a project-by-project basis, purpose-building teams, strategies and implementations to meet clients’ growth expectations and to very quickly execute large projects at immense scale.
“Publicis Groupe believes strongly that to lead in a platform world we need to be at the forefront of innovation and to work with like-minded partners to scale our tools and platforms and help bring change to clients together” said Jonty Fisher, Senior Vice President (SVP) of Publicis Groupe Cape Town.
Life Healthcare Group appoints Ogilvy
One of South Africa’s leading private hospital groups and a global healthcare company, Life Healthcare, has appointed Ogilvy South Africa as its communications agency.
“We conducted a highly competitive selection process to find the right agency to support us,” said Life Healthcare’s Group chief executive, Pete Wharton-Hood. “After a rigorous pitch process, we felt that through Ogilvy’s understanding of our business and the broader healthcare sector, they are the right partner to help support our business to deliver on its communications objectives.”
Ogilvy was recently announced as the No1 Best Agency & Ideal Agency, in a survey of South Africa’s senior marketers and agency professionals, by marketing research organisation Scopen.
Ogilvy PR managing director Samantha Presbury says communication has never been more important to showcase the impact of healthcare in society.
New E-commerce Marketing Guidebook by Heavy Chef and xneelo offers practical insights for entrepreneurs
It’s been a trying time but the small business and startup sectors are buzzing with activity. Now, more than ever, it’s evident that entrepreneurs are the one sure way to inject life back into the economy and they need all the support they can get.
The Heavy Chef and xneelo partnership is founded on the shared belief that entrepreneurs can change the world. Both organisations believe in ground-up change and that provided the right environment and support, entrepreneurs are capable of empowering our economy and ensuring a more sustainable future for all. To this end, they’ve partnered to produce accessible, easy to use resources filled with useful insights for budding entrepreneurs.
Keeping in mind that entrepreneurs are a busy bunch who prefer to learn in short sessions, the Heavy Chef E-Commerce Marketing Guide is succinct and filled with nuggets of insider knowledge on the basics of e-commerce marketing. It digs into the bare-bones basics that entrepreneurs need to know about running a successful business online, from picking the ultimate domain name to establishing a brand presence and growing sales. From SEO and online advertising to customer acquisition tactics and content marketing, it’s jam-packed with e-commerce insights and comments from some of the biggest digital experts in South Africa, including Khaya Dlanga, Jason Bagely, Aisha Pandor, Mongezi Matati, Andrew Smith and more.
“E-commerce is about creating convenient and engaging online experiences for consumers. At xneelo, we’re passionate about enabling South African entrepreneurs with the tools and the knowledge they need to create and grow their businesses,” said Athena Turner, xneelo’s brand manager.
In keeping with the Heavy Chef Foundation and xneelo’s mission to empower all entrepreneurs with the tools needed to create and build their businesses, the guide will form part of the learning resources for the Foundation’s learning programmes, which are aimed at small cohorts in various communities around the country and will be aligned around specific learning requirements, for example, ‘setting up an online store’ or ‘building an app’. The first of these learning programmes has already kicked off in Khayelitsha, where an exciting group of artisanal business owners get together regularly to empower and inspire each other’s visions.
New technologies to enhance customer engagement
Elbé Smith, CEO of tech communications firm TQ Group, who manages the content, scheduling, and technical infrastructure for over 3 700 in-store screens across the African continent, believes that utilising anonymous viewer analytics (AVA) and facial recognition tools can further maximise the effectiveness of digital screen networks and are essential tools for organisations to better understand their customers.
Smith said the traditional use of AVA provided basic information on the number of people that passed a digital screen but little more, adding that this technology is now being used in much smarter ways. These include camera sensors that interpret the data and apply sophisticated algorithm analytics to trigger content suited to the viewer.
“Information on how viewers engage with the content on screen, the length of time of engagement, the number of viewers and other information provides valuable information that can be used to ascertain the effectiveness of the content delivered,” said Smith.
Beyond these surface-level benefits, AVA also saves costs – up to 56%, one case-study claims – replacing cumbersome traditional market research and building useful datasets from which valuable market insights can be extrapolated.
“Interactive screens with scannable QR codes are a now commonplace application of AR, but exciting possibilities are being explored, like apps that use a phone camera and on-screen cues to help users find what they’re looking for at a library, sports stadium or supermarket,” she said.
“New communications technologies have made it possible for organisations to drive engagement between customer and product through content that is highly relevant and served up in real-time and across diverse devices, platforms, languages and locations.”
DHL Global Forwarding announced as the official logistics and freight sponsor of the 2022 Sasol Solar Challenge
The Sasol Solar Challenge has announced that DHL Global Forwarding (DGF) has joined the event as the official logistics and freight sponsor and also as a sponsor of the DHL Global Forwarding/Sasol Solar Challenge prize competition.
The organisation’s global presence and industry-leading logistics expertise will add significant value to the 2022 Sasol Solar Challenge, which will see more than a dozen professional and amateur solar car teams from around the world compete to travel the furthest distance in an entirely solar-powered vehicles of their own design and construction.
Making moves
The Sunday Times GenNext survey turns 18!
This year marks the 18th year of the annual Sunday Times GenNext survey that polls more than seven thousand South African youths on their brand preferences. The survey, conducted by leading business and marketing strategy consultancy, Yellowwood – housed within the award-winning collective of TBWA – is geared to maximise insights covering the full spectrum of the South African youth market. Gautrain is once again a headline partner for the Sunday TimesGenNext campaign.
“GenNext is a highlight in the calendar of marketing, brand and advertising professionals – offering insights into the complex and often fickle preferences of young South African consumers,” said Eben Gewers, head of sales at Arena Holdings, which owns Sunday Times GenNext. “We’ve followed the sentiments and preferences of a whole generation over the past 18 years, where we’re able to chart how decision-making and brand loyalty have been impacted by socio-economic circumstances and other world events like Covid-19. The insights are a unique dive into what makes SA’s youths tick.”
This year’s campaign saw the Sunday Times GenNext Youth Marketing online webinar series kick-off in March as a four-part digital conference that will run until August, along with numerous opportunities for brands to host digital activations targeting SA’s youth.
An interactive showcase on 15 September will see 300 youths gather to interact and engage with brands through displays, activations and competitions at the Empire Conference and Events Venue in Parktown, Johannesburg.
The highly anticipated Sunday Times GenNext Awards will be held on 16 September in a live-streamed hybrid format where SA’s Coolest brands will be awarded. This year sees the inclusion of three new categories: Coolest Brand That Cares; Coolest Accommodation Booking App; and Coolest Savings & Investment platform.
The Sunday Times GenNext supplement will be published on 18 September 2022.
SANEF is appalled at public figure Dudu Myeni’s assault on the Times’ photographer.
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) has strongly condemned former SAA board chairperson Dudu Myeni for her alleged assault on TimesLIVE and Sunday Times photographer, Sandile Ndlovu, at the Pietermaritzburg high court on 11 April, where the corruption trial of former president Jacob Zuma was scheduled to begin.
Ndlovu was approached aggressively by Myeni, who allegedly tried to knock down his camera while he was legitimately taking photographs of her and other public figures inside the court.
SANEF is surprised that Myeni seems unaware of the media’s role in society and the principle of an open justice system enshrined in our Constitution. The media is duty-bound to report on events in court buildings, photograph individuals and their supporters outside court, and cover proceedings inside the courtroom with the permission of the court’s presiding officer.
SANEF has learnt that Ndlovu spotted Myeni, a close confidante of Zuma, in conversation with former president’s supporters, Carl Niehaus, and photographed them together. Despite being in a public place, inside the high court building near the entrance, Myeni took exception.
According to Ndlovu, when Myeni, Niehaus, and Zuma’s daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, emerged from the waiting room inside the court building, he moved towards them to obtain a photograph.
“They were steps away from me when I took the photographs, but before I could even think, Myeni grabbed my camera and pulled my bag. She said: “Why are you doing this? Why are you doing this?’ She tried to hit me, but she missed,” Ndlovu said.
SANEF reminds Myeni that it is illegal to intimidate journalists and that she should expect the presence of the media in every court case — including her own — where she is an accused in a criminal matter at the high court in Johannesburg.
Dentsu, Ströer and Ocean – top industry leaders join Toronto 2022 speaker line-up
What do clients and agencies really think of Out of Home? In ‘Global OOH, a view from the inside’ Ben Milne, head of out of home at global ad network dentsu International, reveals what buyers really think about the medium, the changes they would like to see and how they view OOH’s evolving role in the global media landscape.
In an ever more digital world convergence is a key theme, the ability of a medium like out of home to dovetail with other, primarily digital media to offer advertisers seamless communications solutions. Christian Schmalzl, co-CEO of Ströer Group, and corporate strategy and innovation lead Christian von den Brincken, will present ‘Convergence: OOH in a world of digital media.’
Ocean Outdoor CEO Tim Bleakley, will highlight the medium’s resilience as it bounced back from the pandemic.
WOO President Tom Goddard says: “Congress is an incredible opportunity for everyone in out of home to learn from leaders in the front line, the people charged with moving the industry forward on a global scale as we bounce back from the pandemic.
“Out of home has proved its worth in an incredibly difficult time but there are many new challenges to face now and in the future. There are no better navigators than these distinguished industry leaders.”
The WOO Global Congress in Toronto runs from 25-27 May.
