Lang’s leaving and Vodafone rebrands globally - 9 Oct 2017

It's been a bumper week for industry news. First up, I got the scoop on Graham Lang leaving the SA creative industry in good hands when he leaves SA for Canada come end-November. Currently the country's sixth-best CCO as per the recently revealed Loeries Rankings. He lets us in on Y&R SA and Africa's success under his leadership, provides a temperature check on the SA creative industry overall, and shares his views on what the future holds.

Our #LoeriesRankings2017 interview series featuring top-ranked agencies and creatives kicks off later this week. We also have the full list of winners from the New Generation Social & Digital Media Awards 2017. They honour South African creative teams and individuals for their innovative use of social and digital media and technology, which helps promote organisations and brands in groundbreaking ways.

If you'd like your agency's name in the spotlight, best you take note of the fact that the IAB Bookmarks 2018 entries are now open until 3 November, with this year's focus on embracing diversity across the board of the digital media industry. Get your entries in ASAP!

Jessica Tennant also got inside information on Vodafone's global brand relaunch. This marks the biggest repositioning in the brand's 33-year history. Nyimpini Mabunda, chief officer of the Consumer Business Unit at Vodacom Group Limited, shares the impact of this change.

Tennant continues her Q&A series with the speakers set for this year's two-day Business of Design conference. Next up is Yehuda Raff, founder and director of iPartners Africa, on what he loves most about being in the ‘business of design' and what he'll be sharing during his Cape Town session taking place later this week, with Johannesburg attendees experiencing a different lineup next week. If you've not yet booked your tickets, act fast as our readers qualify for a R450 discount. Just email az.oc.ngisedfossenisub@ycarT with ‘Bizcommunity' as the subject.

Last week saw the launch of the Establishment Survey (ES), run by the Broadcast Research Council (BRC) in conjunction with the Publishers Research Council. Danette Breitenbach spoke to Peter Langschmidt, the PRC's lead research consultant, about how new segmentation of Social Economic Measures (SEM) used by the ES provide a much more accurate reflection of the profile of South Africans and reflects the massive income inequality that exists in the country.

We continue our EntrepreneurMonth coverage and encourage you to check in regularly for tips and tricks from the best of the best.

Lots to learn from and look forward to. Here's to another productive week!

Leigh Andrews
Editor-in-Chief: Marketing and Media