#Newsmaker: Wayne Bischoff returns to Mediamark as CEO

His 30-years’ industry experience spans sub-Saharan Africa and Europe and covers the full media landscape from print, TV and radio to out of home and digital.

“I am delighted and honoured to return to Mediamark after years spent sharpening my skills in leadership, digital and multi-platform marketing. I will draw on my experience to work with the exceptional people and brands at Mediamark to take this company to new heights."

Here, he goes on to tell us more about his experience in the industry and that top of his to-do list is to get the industry behind the media revolution, inspiring a startup mentality at Mediamark and a flexible, agile environment…

How do you feel about returning to Mediamark, this time as CEO?
I am very excited about the opportunity to return to Mediamark as the CEO. When you look at how media has evolved, and where it is headed, it is a landscape of opportunity and growth. With the experience, insight and knowledge I have gained in various marketing environments, it will enable me to drive the business forward and stay ahead of the curve and relevant in the industry.

It’s like the stars have aligned bringing it all together for me and I believe it will hold me in good stead in taking Mediamark, a fully integrated and multi-channel company, to the next level.

#NewBiz: Kagiso Media acquires Jacaranda FM, Mediamark

13 Feb 2019

What do you love most about your career and marketing in particular?
I love how the only constant is change in marketing. There is never time to get bored, complacent or set in your ways in the media space. We have seen a rapid transition and evolution in the industry with the adoption of technology and how it integrates with creativity and data bringing to life the true opportunity to provide tangible marketing ROI. As an Amasa board member, the mentorship programme is great and a real value-add to the industry.

Tell us a bit about your experience, since leaving Mediamark and in the industry in general?
After leaving Mediamark in 2010, I was approached by Adrian Hewlett, the founder of Habari Media, to take on the managing director role. The key directive that we achieved was to demystify digital for traditional marketers through our Tuongee’s (a Swahili word for get together), a digital bush safari incorporating traditional marketers, for the first time, and digital gurus to facilitate and educate them on how to work together to achieve maximum return on digital marketing investment.

The success of my time at Habari was evident in all the awards we received over the following year and a half for digital sales house achievements in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa representing top international brands such as LinkedIn, Facebook and the BBC.

From there I went to Trudon (Yellow Pages Group) heading up commercial sales for every product from print yellow pages and white pages, to selling full digital services for the SME and enterprise sector. This was a plus billion-rand business with a third of the money coming from digital. The key learning here was understanding the needs of the SME to deliver successful campaigns and engage with their target audiences, especially in digital performance marketing such as SEO, Google AdWords and lead generation.

Being chair of Amasa for three years enabled me to keep close to the industry. In my first year, we took the Roger Garlick Awards which was a small awards event and turned it into the Amasa Awards – a standalone award event that has been completely sold out every year since its inception and garners international attention.

AMASA Joburg announces new committee for 2017/18

Amasa  5 May 2017

Any career highlights you’re particularly proud of?
Winning the Most Awards for Radmark when it first launched in 2009 and winning best digital sales house within a year when at Habari Media. Another career highlight for me was definitely being elected as chair of Amasa.

What are you most looking forward to?
To properly deliver on the promise of truly integrated marketing solutions in the industry utilising radio, digital, OOH, events and TV. A key focus is to grow new revenue streams, especially in digital and TV as well as reigniting radio as a medium. There is a great culture within Mediamark and I intend to continue to develop this and take the youngsters of Mediamark on an amazing journey of brand love, client centricity, highlighting and showcasing that we are more than a sales house, we add value to brands and are privileged to represent our clients and deliver data-driven brand insights.

What are you currently reading/watching/listening to for work?
Every day I read: Harvard Business Review is a regular; The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck; online trade sites; and I enjoy watching Ted Talks around building a culture of emotional IQ.

Tell us something about yourself not generally known?


I love hardcore old-school gangster rap.