Welcome to [BizTrends 2016!] - 18 Jan 2016[Leigh Andrews] This week sees the launch of BizTrends 2016. Curated by our team, some of the continent's foremost thought leaders have submitted their top business trends to watch out for in the industry over the coming months. read more The business of backlinks, hashtags and rehashing success - 11 Jan 2016[Leigh Andrews] One way to get the business year off to a good start is by looking at last year's success. With their 'media agency of the year' win at the recent Annual AdFocus Awards, Vizeum is one such successful industry leader. read more From freedom of information to mobile money - 4 Jan 2016[Leigh Andrews] 2016 has begun, and with it comes the hope of freedom of information. Britain's The Telegraph, reports that "control of access to information is a powerful weapon", especially in the hands of politicians. read more Focus on all things festive - 14 Dec 2015[Leigh Andrews] The festive season is truly upon us! As a result, Nkem Nkem V shares three ways businesses can adapt the Christmas spirit on social media. With chatter and conversations constantly taking place there, it makes perfect sense to use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other similar platforms to spread the holiday cheer. Looking ahead to the year to come, Dee Stephens offers five tips in winning the 2016 content marketing challenge. read more Voicing the true African vision - 7 Dec 2015[Leigh Andrews] This week, Danette Breitenbach takes us on the journey of a reimagined Africa, with insight into how VIMN Africa has transformed the way the world sees Africa over the past decade from images of hunger, poverty and war to a continent of vibrant colours, music, culture and talent. Shifting our focus to the digital space, the Nigerian government has plans to allegedly muzzle the expression of opinion on social media for the country's approximately 15 million social media users through the bill to "Prohibit Frivolous Petitions and Other Matters Connected Therewith". read more OOH, micro-moments and social media for business - 30 Nov 2015[Leigh Andrews] Today sees the start of our Special Focus on OOH (Out of Home) advertising. It features exclusive interviews with the trendsetters in this field and pinpoints global out-of-home advertising trends. On the topic of trendsetters, Bryan Nelson, industry head at Google, writes about micro-moments as the new battleground for brands. read more SME sustainability and simplified video-viewing - 23 Nov 2015[Leigh Andrews] Last week's [AfricaCom] conference was abuzz with innovation and development on the continent. Key among these was the announcement that YouTube is taking Africa offline, in meeting the goal of making video more viewable on the continent. read more Addressing digital illiteracy - 16 Nov 2015[Leigh Andrews] A primary concern across the continent is that of digital illiteracy. We attended the opening day of MRMW Africa 2015 recently and learned all about the continent's truly mobile consumer and the need to create more mobile content and services that are relevant, accessible and available to users in their own language. We also look at the issue of social solidarity in times of tragedy, with Louise Marsland focusing her [TrendTalk] column on how the tragic events of the past few days in Paris and Beirut, have fuelled a debate about whose lives matter most on social media. read more MTN's leadership shift and the importance of marginal gains in marketing - 9 Nov 2015[Leigh Andrews] Current MTN CEO, Sifiso Dabengwa, has resigned with immediate effect. This comes after last week's news that MTN's operating licence in Nigeria has been renewed for another five years. read more Getting your African mobile, distribution and social models right - 2 Nov 2015[Leigh Andrews] As we ease into November, Nkem Ndem V looks into the top four mobile app development companies in Nigeria based on quality and excellence, as decided by Jovago.com. She credits the persistent rise in smartphone and tablet use within the country as leading to a mobile 'revolution'. read more Get to know the continent’s top brands - 26 Oct 2015[Leigh Andrews] Africa's best brands were revealed at the 4th Annual Brand Africa 100 last week. MTN came out tops with a Grand Prix for Africa's Best Brand, as well as the Most Admired Brand in Africa award. Ngugi Mungai adds that consumers want enhanced digital branding. read more Embracing emojis, enhancing creativity and embracing big data - 19 Oct 2015[Leigh Andrews] In her latest [TrendTalk] column, Louise Marsland talks us through the emojis of language. This is becoming increasingly important to consider as we become a more visual society focused on expressing ourselves as easily - if not creatively - as possible. read more Africa’s winning ways - 12 Oct 2015[Leigh Andrews] Good news for the state of journalism on the continent: All four South African journalists nominated for the landmark 20th CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2015 won their respective categories. The top prize went to Burkinabé journalist Hyacinthe Boowurosigue Sanou, writes Thinus Ferreira. read more The gift of the business gab - 5 Oct 2015[Leigh Andrews] We start off with an exclusive from Louise Marsland...The Mail & Guardian has appointed seasoned journalist, editor and digital strategist Verashni Pillay as its new Editor-in-Chief. It's hoped that Pilllay will reinvigorate the brand and steer the publication "back to its roots", following a raft of retrenchments, recent cutbacks and falling circulation. On the topic of professionalism, Marion Scher shares tips that'll make the difference between a brilliant or boring speech, especially with today's ever-distracted audience, such as keeping the speech short, keeping it personal and using humour - but not starting with a joke. Daniel Munslow adds his views on the evolution of business communication, with feedback from the recent International Association of Public Relations' Congress, where he was one of a handful of speakers at the largest PR conference of its kind hosted in Africa. read more The social customer service trend and other tech-enabled inventions - 28 Sep 2015[Leigh Andrews] This week, Louise Marsland writes about some of her favourite new inventions in today's digital-enabled time in her latest [TrendTalk] column. One of these is the Wize Mirror, which can diagnose what's wrong with your body through facial analysis. read more |
