M&C Saatchi Group approaches mid-year mark with best in show from leadership across SA

“Our leadership are trusted voices within the advertising, marketing, media, and PR industries, and continue to showcase this by sharing their knowledge and experience across a range of industry platforms as we round out a strong first half of the year,” says Mike Abel, chief executive officer and founding partner of M&C Saatchi Group South Africa.

Group founding partner and chief strategy officer, Robert Grace, was appointed to the board of the Grahamstown National Arts Festival as it heads towards its 50th year of being at the cutting edge of creativity and culture. Robert has also just returned from presenting in Seoul as part of the agenda for the XV World Forestry Congress (WFC) which is supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Representing our Group, he was there to present a global campaign concept to raise awareness and tackle misperceptions on the critical role sustainable wood and its adoption can have on tackling the global #climatecrisis.

M&C Saatchi Abel managing director for Johannesburg, Faheem Chaudhry, was appointed to lead the Financial Mail AdFocus jury chairperson for 2022, using his more than a decade-long track record with the Group and within the industry both locally and abroad to guide the judging of the industry-leading awards for the year.

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity recently announced its 2022 jury line-up of global experts who have been selected to define the global benchmark for creativity when the festival takes place in June. Group chief creative officer, Neo Mashigo has been appointed to the Industry Craft Lions Jury and will be utilising his broad experience and expertise in the sector to celebrate and reward the creative artistry, talent and skill required to deliver a beautifully executed solution and bring a creative idea to life.

Back home, Group head of brand, Maciek de Waal-Dubla, has been appointed to the judging panel of the 2022 IAMS Powerhouse Rising Star Awards where he will tap into his vast experience in marketing, advertising, and brand alongside his fellow panelists to acknowledge and reward those individuals shaping the future of South Africa today with tremendous dedication and energy. The Rising Star Awards seek to recognise, celebrate and connect young talented people who have a capacity for achievement and success and who contribute in an inspirational manner to the future of our nation.

Executive creative director and partner, Jake Bester, has been selected as a judge for the upcoming AICP: The Art and Technique of the Commercial awards. More than just an award show recognising the best work of the year, the AICP Show is judged by over 400 leading advertising and production minds and industry leaders to identify and reward the best across the full spectrum of the marketing and advertising mix also creating a curated experience that can be viewed.

Razor PR, voted the best new agency in the world in the 2021 Provoke Sabre awards, took part in the judging of the 2022 awards with partner and head of client service – Kalay Maistry – appointed as a judge for the 2022 Sabre Africa awards which were held in Tanzania. The agency walked away with seven Sabre Africa awards including Best in Show and the Diamond Award for Reputation Management. The EMEA Sabre Awards, held in London, saw the agency walk away with three wins, including Africa Consultancy of the Year.

Now in its 10th year, passion point marketing agency, Levergy (part of the global M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment network) lends the voices of its team to marketing and PR bodies across South Africa with Ray Langa (managing director) as a judge for the 14th annual IAB Bookmark Awards, Rob Garden (strategy and communications director) judging the 2022 Prisa Prism Awards, and Struan Campbell (co-founder and director) who has joined the Creative Circle Executive Committee.

“When we set out to establish a successful partner-led Group model comprising a mix of agencies all contributing their smarts at the top of their industries, we did so with the view that ‘the people with the best people win’, which continues to prove itself in the role our leadership plays both on a global and local scale to mold and shift the industry in which we operate, and those of our clients,” concludes Abel.