Loeries to soar to greater heights in 2005 as industry unites

The Loeries will be reinvented and driven by both the creative and communications industries in the future. This unanimous decision was taken at a special meeting between the Marketing Federation of South Africa (MFSA), the Association for Communication in Advertising (ACA) and the Creative Circle (CC), on Wednesday, 8 December.

A section 21 company will be formed and the members will comprise of the MFSA, ACA, CC, Café, Think and the Commercial Producers' Association (CPA).

"This is a positive and inclusive way forward to the benefit of the entire communications industry to ensure that we remain relevant, effective and competitive," says outgoing chairperson of the ACA, Nunu Ntshingila.

All stakeholders will be briefed early in January 2005.

This hopefully puts an end to the rancour between the advertising and marketing community over the Loerie shambles this year, which saw the ACA announcing that it would form a Section 21 committee and relaunch its own awards without the MFSA, if the Loerie brand was not returned to the industry and all stakeholders involved in a "new" rejuvenated Loerie Awards to showcase and benefit the advertising industry.