The Media Online’s weekly round up of people, account and business moves in media.
This week’s BIG move: InMobi expands partnership with Microsoft Advertising into South Africa
InMobi has announced an expansion of its partnership with Microsoft Advertising to support enterprise and strategic advertisersin South Africa, Southeast Asia, Turkey and Middle East. InMobi will offer marketers an integrated solution to power their campaigns built on the search and native display capabilities of Microsoft Advertising and mobile ad tech capability of InMobi’s advertising platforms.
InMobi and Microsoft have been in a strategic partnership since July 2018 to help enterprises accelerate their digital transformation by providing them with insights, audience, and engagement platforms for a connected world. The partnership was expanded in 2019 as InMobi added the Microsoft Advertising products and solutions to its offerings in India.
Microsoft Advertising’s EMEA and LATAM Vice President Mark Richardson said, “Microsoft Advertising are thrilled that InMobi will further expand their representation of our full suite of advertising offerings to strategic and enterprise clients in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa as part of our continuation to expand our sales and marketing efforts into this region.”
As part of the expansion, Rohit Dosi, general manager, Microsoft Advertising business at InMobi, will take up additional responsibilities for growing the Microsoft Advertising business across Southeast Asia, Middle East, and African markets and leading the global relationship with Microsoft.
InMobi will be responsible for the sales, account management, marketing, finance, collection, and billing for Microsoft Advertising customers, managed by InMobi, in India, South East Asia, Turkey and Middle East and Africa from now onwards.
People moves
Pierre Branco appointed general manager France, Benelux and Africa for Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery has announced that Pierre Branco has been appointed general manager, France, Benelux and Africa, Warner Bros. Discovery. He will continue to report to Priya Dogra, president and MD, EMEA (ex Poland).
In this role Branco will be responsible for Warner Bros. Discovery’s combined businesses working in close co-ordination with the company’s global functions across streaming, sport, US programming, and the studio and for each line of business, developing territory-specific strategies to drive growth and efficiencies. These include pay and FTA networks, leading significant efforts in marketing and monetising US content across lines of business including theatrical, licensing, consumer products, games and home entertainment and shared responsibility for the streaming services.
Dogra said: “Pierre is an accomplished leader with a deep understanding and experience of these markets where he has already played a pivotal role in driving strategic business decisions. I am confident that his strong leadership and strategic acumen will continue to drive our businesses forward and connect our beloved brands and consumers in these important and competitive marketplaces.”
Imagination boosts Saudi Arabia’s leadership team and opens a new office location
Award-winning experience design company, Imagination, has appointed a new creative director and logistics director in its Saudi Arabia office, further developing its senior leadership team to support expansion and growth. The news follows the opening of a new office in Riyadh, supercharging Imagination’s presence, and ability to create world-class experiences in the Kingdom.
New creative director, Paulo Novoa, joins Imagination from TOLD, where he held the position of associate creative director. Novoa led the creative team to deliver solutions and brand strategy for clients overseeing projects from idea to implementation. He brings nine years of experience in senior creative roles to Imagination.
Also joining is Clare Baarda, who has been appointed as logistics director. She brings over 15 years of experience in events management.
Novoa and Baarda will both be based in Imagination’s new office in the heart of Riyadh.
Khuvutlu & Rangaka: a timeless and timely partnership
Time is in the eye of the beholder, in that it can be on one’s side or one’s enemy, depending on where and when ‘one’ is standing.
For Joey Khuvutlu and Tseliso Rangaka, respectively managing director and chief creative officer of the FCB and Hellocomputer Group, it’s the former and also the lens through which they view their partnership: timeless and timely.
Team Khuvutlu and Rangaka was formed in March this year when the former managing director of the FCB and Hellocomputer Group, Thabang Skwambane handed the reins to Khuvutlu when he (Skwambane) stepped up as chief executive officer of the Nahana Communications Group and Brett Morris took on the role of its executive creative chair.
Since then have been refining their take on the path FCB Joburg and Hellocomputer Joburg should walk, and what kind of roles they will play in its journey.
After considerable thought, they’ve distilled their partnership goals into two – to deliver timeless and timely work, and to put creativity at the centre of the business as the foundation that will deliver employee satisfaction and business growth.
“As an agency,” clarifies Khuvutlu, “our goal is activating our clients’ business in the short-term and build brand long-term. Timeless work means timeless ideas that build brand equity in the long-term
While timely work equates to timely tactics that activate business short-term.”
“Timeless work is the kind that makes people fall madly in love with brands,” adds Rangaka. The best examples are built on rock solid strategic and creative platforms that often outlive the people behind the work. Storytelling, purpose and resonance are the building blocks for work that can literally move people to action and product off shelves.
Business moves
Hook, Line & Sinker scoops retail development client, FPG Property Fund
South Africa’s retail sector is growing and to support FPG Property Fund, Hook, Line & Sinker (HLS) has been appointed to launch three newly revamped malls across the Western Cape – Ottery Centre, Bothasig Mall and Laguna Mall.
FPG Property Fund is a privately held property investment and development company that spans all facets of the real estate industry and specialises in the retail convenience sector across South Africa and offshore. To assist FPG in relaunching its newly refurbished centres, HLS will support with PR and communications – including video scripting, trade and business media relations, content creation and website and brochure material.
Emma Rijkers, HLS Chief Whip adds, “Dynamic convenience and mixed used properties are FPG’s hallmark. The group has created transformative destinations that infuse new life into communities and offer a sense of convenience within vibrant atmospheres. We look forward to announcing FPG’s new-look malls to local media while assisting the group with our PR and communications expertise that continues to build on their success journey.”
FPG Property Fund will form part of the HLS Business Division which manages global power brands such as SAP, DKMS, CBI-electric and Global Wealth Group.
Absa steps up for gamers and techies and rewards
Recently, Absa Rewards launched the Absa Gaming Festival, in partnership with rAge Expo and ACGL (African Cyber Gaming League). This online tournament offers local gamers a chance to compete for major cash prizes and Absa Rewards giveaways valued at over R100 000. Absa Rewards has a long-standing history of partnership with South African brands, delivering cash-based benefits to its customers. The brand’s venture into supporting the gaming sector is an extension of Absa’s reward ethos.
Christine Wu, managing executive for customer value management at Absa Retail and Business Bank said, “Absa Rewards is one of South Africa’s foremost rewards programmes, and we continue to add new partners to the programme on a regular basis to ensure that we cater to the broad and varied interests and needs of our customers while simultaneously putting money back in their pockets. Ensuring that we add real value to the people we serve that positively impacts their lives is one of our enduring priorities. We are delighted to be part of this initiative and thankful to the gaming community for their positive response to the Absa Gaming Festival.”
Salesforce expands social commerce offerings, connecting merchants with TikTok
Salesforce is partnering with TikTok to make it easier for Commerce Cloud merchants to engage with the TikTok community, including advertising to users and making their products more discoverable. This partnership is the latest Commerce Cloud platform investment to help businesses reach social-media-savvy shoppers.
Nearly one in 10 purchases are now made on social media, and that number is only increasing. With social commerce becoming a more important channel, this partnership presents an opportunity for businesses to understand today’s social shoppers and curate highly-personalised content for TikTok’s 1 billion monthly users, giving consumers multiple opportunities to engage with their favourite brands at any time.
“Forward-looking brands need to have a presence anywhere their customers might want to meet them, so the boundaries of commerce must extend beyond any single channel and, on the back end, data has to flow across those channels so companies can deliver connected experiences efficiently,” said Scot Gillespie, GM of Commerce Cloud. “We’ve already made great strides in helping brands leverage the power of Customer 360 to seamlessly connect with their customers on social media through integrations with platforms like Facebook and Instagram, and now we’re providing access to the massive TikTok community.”
SAMRO Injects R2.5 million to boost music creation and members’ earning potential
Hot on the heels of the recently announced bursary to sponsor SAMRO members to learn the business of music at Boston City Campus, the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) has announced a R2.5 million capital injection to spur local music creation.
Each successful applicant, who must be a member of SAMRO, will receive a grant of up to R25 000.00 to cover the costs of creating new music such as the use of a professional recording studio.
The SAMRO Music Creation Support Fund was initiated in 2021 as a vehicle to enable SAMRO members to create new musical works.
SAMRO is a voluntary member-based organisation with a primary mandate to collect royalties from music users including broadcasters, retailers and digital platforms such as Tik Tok, Netflix and Facebook amongst others. The amount distributed periodically to each member as royalties is dependent on how frequently the member’s music has been featured on these platforms.
Making moves
TBWA\SA overcomes talent crunch with launch of real-world data & insights internship
Staying ahead of the digital curve means ensuring talent keeps up, yet most graduates are simply not ready for the rigours of the modern workplace, especially demand for data and digital analytical ability. As the brand experience company, TBWA\South Africa decided to do something about it, with the launch of a cutting-edge and innovative data & insights internship programme.
TBWA\SA Group CEO, Luca Gallarelli said the result has been tremendous, opening up a healthy and fast-growing pipeline of fit-for-purpose digital and data talent, while also helping accelerate transformation of the agency collective and industry at large.
“Being the disruption company demands that we live in a constant state of restlessness with our orientation always being to reach higher. We realised that getting the right candidates on board with such specialist and rare skills is difficult and expensive, with poaching and competition on the rise. The current problem is that there is a shortage of quality digital and data talent,” Gallarelli explained.
“Although schools are offering great curricula and delivering knowledgeable candidates, real project work, accessing the best every day and the reality of being thrown in to sit in on demanding client meetings is lacking. We have therefore turned the internship model on its head and focussed very deliberately on this area.”
With Forbes recently labelling the lack of digital tech talent an existential threat to business growth and development, regional data director at TBWA\ for Africa and Middle East, David Uribe, said COVID-19 led to a “crazy acceleration” in demand for e-commerce and data, which in turn led to a “shortage of talent, hurting the industry”.
The TBWA\SA approach relies on bringing talent into a fully immersive experience where they attend important meetings, briefs, pitches, strategy development and shadow only the best. Interns are not given the standard mundane jobs, and they get face time with leaders, rather than middle managers. Critical thinking and soft skills are also developed – key but often forgotten parts of traditional training programmes.
Twyg presents a Sustainable & Digital Fashion online course – registration free
Developed in conjunction with Electric South and Crossover Labs and supported by the British Council as part of the Design Futures Lab 2022, the Sustainable & Digital Fashiononlinecourse is available for free.
“We really want people to engage with fashion’s future by taking this course and help shape an inclusive, sustainable and kinder fashion system,” said Jackie May, founder and editor of Twyg. “The course will take approximately 13 hours to complete, and you will receive a certificate upon completion.”
Access the course here: https://twygschool.thinkific.com/courses/Sustainable-Digital-Fashion
There are 6 modules:
Introduction
- Sustainability starter pack
- Waste not
- Materials and materiality
- Practicing decoloniality in fashion
- A radical refashion of the future
- The Future of Digital Fashion
Diary
The Better Investor Conference, by Moneyweb
Learn to invest like a pro with Moneyweb at the Better Investor Conference on 22-23 June.
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Speakers include several of the country’s top advisors, chief investment officers, and experts from the financial industry, who will share their perceptions of what’s driving market performances of late, and what they expect for 2023.
Livestream for free on Moneyweb.co.za, the Moneyweb App, and the Moneyweb LinkedIn and YouTube pages.
Register for the full conference here.
