Magazines encourage novelty, style, adds staff, digital platform

Suzanne Kotze

rooi rose welcomes back Suzanne Kotze as the new beauty editor, following the retirement of Elaine Nixon-Campbell, who was with the brand for 21 years. Kotze was Nixon-Campbell's assistant before she moved to Huisgenoot as beauty editor.

Anelle Mostert

Anelle Mostert has been appointed as the new production manager, as Neville Bateman, the previous production manager, was promoted to head up Caxton's new centralized repro department.

Invent something

Popular Mechanics is challenging people from all walks of life to submit concepts with the potential to change the world, or at least a small part of it and improve their own lives at the same time. The magazine has teamed up with Telkom, the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) and legal firm Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs (ENS) under the banner of Invent 2011, a ground-breaking initiative that encompasses the third annual PM Inventors Conference being held on 24 November 2011.

The competition offers each category winner R20 000 and the overall winner an additional R30 000 plus the title Inventor of the Year. The categories are: Stepping Up (high schools), Breaking Ground (university students), Emerging Genius (previously disadvantaged and minimally resourced entrants), Going Green (for inventions in the field of sustainable energy and environmental conservation), and Cutting Edge (open to the general public).

For more, go to www.popularmechanics.co.za

Tourism magazine goes digital

From 1 December 2011, Southern African Tourism Update will re-engineer itself as a monthly digital magazine with a cutting-edge interactive online platform, reportedly delivering much higher levels of engagement than any other digital platform available to the market. It will now also expand its area of expertise to include the meetings, conferencing and motivational events industries.

Travel & Trade Publishing has contracted with Ceros, a UK-based content marketing platform provider, which powers such online e-zines as the Sky Magazine, WaitroseLIVE, DiscoverPeugeot and locally produced foodie mag Crush, to produce the new interactive digital magazine aimed at tour operators who sell Southern Africa as a tourism destination, as well as interested members of the tourism trade both local and overseas.

"Business tourism has become the lifeblood of the future prosperity of the tourism sector," says managing editor, Natalia Thomson. "Now in a collaborative effort, the four leading specialist B2B travel and tourist titles will merge databases targeting tour operators, travel agents, corporate travel procurement managers, incentive houses and professional conference organisers, to offer one database that promises to put business tourism suppliers in front of 25 000 engaged readers in their respective niches."

From December, the digital edition will also be displayed on www.tourismupdate.co.za.

Kevin Penwarden (SA Home Loans), Naomi Larkin, Rachael, Monica and Henk Smith. Photo by Inge du Toit.

France and South Africa meet in the country

The Crystal Conservatory, owned by Henk and Monica Smith took the first place in this year's House and Leisure House of the Year competition, in association with SA Home Loans. Described as an opulent French country villa where classic French charm meets country living, South African style, the house is in Magoebaskloof, Limpopo. To view go to www.houseandleisure.co.za.