Showcasing a new kind of excellence
A quarter of a century after he revolutionised corporate strategy with the publication of his groundbreaking book In Search of Excellence (with Robert H Waterman Jr), Tom Peters is heading back to South Africa with his new vision of excellence.


The Kama Sutra of marketing
[Desiree Gullan] For most of you, the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the Kama Sutra are two bodies entwined in a variety of passionate and exotic embraces. For those who dare to see the word a little differently, the classic “Treatise of Love” reveals just as much about marketing as it does about love.

Budget bodes well for small, entrepreneurial businesses
The new simplified, turnover-based tax system for small businesses, announced by Trevor Manuel in his budget speech yesterday, Wednesday, 20 February 2008, is to be welcomed, even though some caution is in order. This is the view of Dr Robin Beale, a practising consultant and tax specialist at PKF, formerly Fisher Hoffmann.


The Firehouse - The Firehouse
The business model that companies now use in strategising their marketing, communications, advertising and promotional campaigns has changed dramatically over the past several years.


Talent makes the rules now - CRF South Africa
[Samantha Crous] Pervading local macro-economic issues, such as higher interest rates, fuel price hikes, inflation, political uncertainty and crime, will affect organisational staff attraction and retention in 2008 and beyond.

Press invited to Bloemfontein FIFA/OC inspection
Following the FIFA and 2010 Local Organising Committee's current inspection tour to six of the FIFA World Cup venues, a media conference will be held on Friday, 22 February 2008, at the conclusion of the tour in Bloemfontein. Accreditation is not required.

Post office calls for 2010 commemorative stamp theme ideas
The South African Post Office, which prints more than 380 million postage stamps a year, is calling for suggestions about themes which could be used as part of the 2010 commemorative postage stamp calendar.

Khoza dismisses infighting reports
At a press conference after the FIFA/2010 Organising Committee (OC) Ellis Park inspection tour yesterday, Monday 18 February 2008, OC chairman Dr Irvin Khoza dismissed recent media reports that there was tension between himself and OC CEO Danny Jordaan which were threatening to derail the World Cup project.

2008/9 Creative Circle exco announced
Creative Circle chairman Rob McLennan has announced the members of his executive committee for the 2008/9 term. This committee comprises creative directors representing the Creative Circle's member agencies, as well as representatives from The Loerie Awards committee, Think and Café.

Creative Circle donates entry fees to charity
When a really clever execution by Grey South Africa for The Society for Animals in Distress achieved Ad of the Year outdoor finalist status in the December 2007 Ad of the Month competition, South Africa's Creative Circle decided to donate all the entry fees received that month to the charity, a decision welcomed by executive creative director Mike Barnwell.


Industry presentation of SAARF AMPS 2007 B
The South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) is inviting interested parties from the advertising, marketing and media industries, as well as the media, attend the industry presentations on its All Media And Products (AMPS) 2007 B. These will be held in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town in March 2008.

Valentine's Day launch for Art with Heart
This year's Art with Heart, organised by Platypus Productions, launched last week on Valentine's Day. Now in its second year, the initiative calls all ‘frustrated' artists working in the advertising, marketing, production and media industries to join it in rediscovering their creative talents while assisting to raise funds for worthy charities.


Max attitude and personality
Following the launch of Pepsi Max in November 2007, two new adverts see the brand enter its next phase. The ads now put a face and attitude to the brand Pepsi Max and the use of local talent is intended to instill local relevance and help consumers identify with the character in the ads.


Nurock appointed president, CEO Grey Canada
The newly appointed president and CEO of Grey Canada is Ann Nurock, Grey announced yesterday, Tuesday, 19 February 2008. The agency will name a successor to Nurock, who has served as CEO of Grey Africa since 2004, in the near future.

Baobab Award for successful client-agency relationships
As part of Tony Koenderman's AdReview 2008, the Baobab Award has been established by IAS, the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company, to celebrate and reward effective and successful client-agency relationships. The award will be presented to an agency which can show the greatest ability in this respect, as measured by the range of indicators given below.

eBucks brings power to the people - Joe Public
Drawing inspiration from Eskom's recent spate of load shedding, Joe Public Advertising created a billboard campaign to highlight just how versatile eBucks are. The rewards programme is now offering customers the choice of using points for 2008's most essential household purchase: a generator.

Does branding need an extreme makeover? – Vega launches The Idea Exchange to address branding issues - Vega School
The nature of branding is about to change fundamentally. This is the theme to be discussed at the inaugural ‘The Idea Exchange', which will be hosted by Vega Orbit – the continuing professional development unit of Vega The Brand Communications School.

Talk2Us strengthens its design team - Talk2Us
Talk2Us has recently appointed Jean du Plessis to head up the design department.


Brands of the year - Idea Engineers
[Janice Spark] Idea Engineers' Janice Spark peers across the 2007 brand scape, examines the winners, the losers and those negotiating troubled waters...


HKLM appoints new brand thinkers - HKLM
Design and branding agency, HKLM Johannesburg, has appointed three new brand thinkers.

Added Value and Glendinning join forces to unpack SA's shoppers - Added Value
Marketing insight company Added Value and Glendinning Management Consultants have announced that they will form a strategic alliance between their South African businesses effective from the beginning of 2008.

And the winner is? You! 34 helps Ster-Kinekor to shine in Oscars' limelight - 34
With Oscar fever sweeping the world, Ster-Kinekor Classic and Cinema Nouveau are bringing the Oscars home to every South African, through their interactive 2008 Oscar Movie Millionaire competition.


Launch of forum for exchanging ideas
Vega The Brand Communications School is launching a series of monthly forums aimed at encouraging industry debate. The first takes place next Thursday, 28 February 2008, 6pm – 8.30pm, at the Vega Brand New Headquarters. The topic is “In a fundamentally changing universe, is brand thinking past its sell-by date?”. Chaired by Gordon Cooke, the presenter is Dr Thomas Oosthuizen, CEO of the Brand Wealth Organisation and the panel consists of Modise Makhene, CEO of JWT; David Blyth, MD of Enterprise IG; and Eben Keun, brand architect, Breinstorm Brand Architects. Cost is R120pp including food and drinks. RSVP to thembi@brandschool.com.

3D cinema adding new dimension
3D cinema has rewritten the cinema box office history books of in its first five months since its launch in South Africa, according to Ster-Kinekor. The country's first new generation 3D cinemas are operated by Ster-Kinekor Classic – one in the Zone @ Rosebank, Johannesburg and one in Gateway, Durban.

Iranian film festival returns
Following its successful run last year, the Iranian Film Festival is back at Cinema Nouveau screened by Jameson, starting this weekend in Brooklyn, Pretoria, before moving on to Johannesburg and then Cape Town. The films chosen for this festival have garnered international accolades and have been presented in world festivals such as the Berlin Film Festival. Director Masoud Abparvar will be present during the screening of his movie Sa'at-e 25. Tickets are free. For details of screening times, go to www.sterkinekor.com.

The CRM used by highly effective people - Maximizer
By using Maximizer CRM from Camsoft Solutions, FranklinCovey SA not only raised the bar for high-performance sales, marketing and customer service, but also gained the ability to track transactions and relationships from within a single application with remote access and business process enhancement.

Winning design inspired by hot summer afternoons
Rory Allan from Ripe Design has won the 2008 Art Vespa competition with his ice cream design and will soon be zipping through the city on his deliciously personalised Vespa LX.


SABC renews Design Indaba sponsorship
The SABC has not only renewed its media partnership with Design Indaba, but also announced its sole sponsorship of the Fashion Shows yesterday, Wednesday, 20 February 2008. As a founder sponsor of the Creative Alliance Project, the SABC also commits to growing local creative excellence.

Do you want to win some air?
You can win a state-of-the-art MacBook Air by doing what you do best: designing. Cool Apple Buddies (CAB) is inviting designers and art directors to design six in-store posters. And, if your designs are the best, you could soon be working on your very own MacBook Air.


Creative Licence gives Caribbean Smoothie's toucan a facelift - Creative Licence
Bored with the usual packaging on the juice you buy? Does the brand you buy not jump out and inspire fun-filled afternoons in the sun with your favourite thirst quencher? Well, all that is changing, thanks to Creative Licence Design and Ceres Fruit Juices' Caribbean Smoothie.


Last two days of Design Indaba Expo
Don't miss out! It's the last two days of the Design Indaba Expo 2008. Running until Tuesday, 26 February 2008,the expo features more than 250 exhibitors displaying the most original South African jewellery, graphic design, architecture, product design, décor, industrial design, craft and film. For more information, go to www.designindaba.com.

Additional presentation by trends forecaster
Due to the overwhelming response to Li Edelkoort's upcoming two-part presentation entitled 'unplugged-summer 2009', Visi magazine last week announced a second presentation session for the Cape Town leg of her visit on Monday, 3 March 2008. For more information, go to www.visi.co.za.

Sold out, but book for the simulcast
With more than a week to go still, the Design Indaba Conference running 27 – 29 February 2008, has sold out for the fourth year in a row. To meet the ongoing demand for tickets, the Young Designer's Simulcast has now been opened to over-25s. Offering a live broadcast from the main plenary session to a second auditorium, tickets for delegates cost R1500. Delegates can also buy a simulcast ticket and a year's subscription to the award-winning Design Indaba magazine for R1645.

OPA seeks legal action against new body
[Simone Puterman] DIGITALWATCH: A new organisation for ranking South African websites, the Website Association of South Africa (WASA), launched late last week amid controversy: the Online Publishers Association (OPA) of South Africa is now seeking legal action against WASA for publishing its members' Nielsen//Netratings rankings allegedly without permission. The OPA will be releasing a statement later today, Monday, 25 February 2008.

New media continues to grow in influence to purchase
A US survey shows that new media is further fragmenting the influence of traditional media, even more among minorities in the US.

US newspaper heavies form online ad flotilla
One of the problems with online ads is that they can be geotargeted, which means they targeted to a specific geographical area such as, say, the Bay Area; but advertisers cannot control which sites the ads appear on. "Much of the advertising is blind and therefore not appealing to brands," Sterling Market Intelligence Founding Principal Greg Sterling said.

2008 the big year for online marketing - Cambrient
[Jarred Cinman] Change can be slow and gradual, like a glacier. Or it can be like a tsunami, devastating all in its path. Sometimes, it takes the middle road, steering a course that changes so subtly and imperceptibly, you don't notice the change happening all around you. That's the way it's been with online marketing.

Five lethal mistakes to avoid in your web strategy - World Wide Creative
World Wide Creative lists its top five web strategy mistakes that need to be avoided.

FLUX designs, implements new Internet site for ACSA - FLUX
FLUX, a leading South African software and service solutions provider and Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, has designed and implemented a new interactive and informative Internet site for Airports Company South Africa (ACSA).

Nedbank joins DMASA as founder member
Nedbank has joined eight leading South African companies as the ninth founder member of the Direct Marketing Association of South Africa. The industry body regulates direct marketing practice to make sure that both the rights of the industry and consumers are protected as legislative pressures mount around the Consumer Protection and Protection of Personal Information Bills.

How to make someone fall for you
[Debi Loftie-Eaton] By now, you will have been in a relationship with someone you were madly in love with. You will have pursued that relationship from an initial pensive date where you get to find out a little more about that other person and from that, you will both have found that you are interested enough to arrange to see each other again.

Michelle Mclean's fresh approach to success - CCI Coaching Academy
Universal accreditation in entrepreneurship, communication, liaison and networking are only few of the skills that make Michelle Mclean the powerful woman she is. When she did Master I: The Awareness Process with CCI, she inquisitively wanted to explore the realm of the entire Master Curriculum and was very soon on her way to becoming a Consciousness Coach.

Your Best Year Ever with Eric Edmeades – March 2008 - SA Business Hub
‘Your Best Year Ever' is a one day mastery event, designed specifically for those with a burning desire to find their edge and reach their goals.


SA Business Hub and Entrepreneur.co.za form strategic alliance - SA Business Hub
Brian Walsh from Entrepreneur.co.za and Luther Diedericks from SA Business Hub have agreed to work strategically towards the greater development of entrepreneurs. The main strategic project will involve the combining of Entrepreneur.co.za and SA Business Hub's content into the largest and most comprehensive small business support hub in Africa.


Put to the test on international standards - Janine Lazarus Media Consultancy
Media trainer Janine Lazarus, owner of media training company Janine Lazarus Media Consultancy, recently facilitated a media-driven programme for 10 executive directors at Standard Chartered Bank in Banjul, The Gambia. She reports an outstanding response from all the participants and a 99.2% score valuation accredited by the bank against the international benchmark rating system of ASTD (American Society for Training and Development).


Drama at O.R. Tambo... - The Learning Theatre
With all the restructuring going on at O.R. Tambo International Airport as ACSA races to meet growing air travel demand, including preparing for the thousands of soccer fans who are expected to visit our shores in 2010, there are bound to be serious changes. One institution to feel these changes in its core business has been Ekaya Restaurant.

Boosting business tourism to SA
Three days of networking this month by local and international experts will spearhead an initiative to entrench South Africa as a preferred destination for inter-state and global meetings and exhibitions. The anchor will be Meetings Africa, billed as the biggest business tourism exhibition in Africa.

Third time's a charm at J&B Met for LiquidChefs - LiquidChefs
The J&B Met is a testament to South African sophistication and glamour, and in true Met fashion for the third year running, LiquidChefs' trademark cocktails and service tempted 2500 palettes with an opportunity to embark upon a journey of taste sensations.


Gearhouse voted Favourite International Production Company at TPI Awards in London - Gearhouse SA
Gearhouse South Africa received the award for Favourite International Production Company of the year, at the 2008 TPi Awards in London on 17 February 2008. Now in its seventh year, the TPI annual Awards pays tribute to the creme-de-la-crème of the international technical production services industry.

Call for nominations for the Oscars of business - Top Companies Publishing
Topco Media has just issued the call for nominations for this year's prestigious National Business Awards event to be held at the Sandton Convention Centre on 28 May 2008. Now in its fifth year, the awards are presented in association with the annual publications SA's Top Performing Companies and SA's Top 500 Companies to recognise and honour the top performers of the year in both business and industry, for individuals and companies.

One more time to see Celine Dion

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Demand by fans has resulted in Celine Dion ending the South African leg of her ‘Taking Chances' World Tour with a final concert at Montecasino, Johannesburg, on Saturday, 1 March 2008. The additional concernt will be staged outdoors adjacent to the new Piazza at Montecasino.

Be part of the BizOpps buzz - Kagiso Exhibitions & Events
The second BizOpps 2008, an entrepreneurial and franchise expo, will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, 13 – 15 March 2008.


NAAMSA, Kagiso Exhibitions & Events unite for Johannesburg International Motor Show - Kagiso Exhibitions & Events
Following extensive negotiations between NAAMSA and Kagiso Exhibitions & Events (KEE) the two parties recently reached an agreement to establish a joint venture BEE initiative to stage the Johannesburg International Motor Show, which will replace Auto Africa.


Discover something new - Homemakers Fair
Whether you're building a new house, thinking of renovating or there's a décor itch that needs scratching, dare to discover something new at the 2008 Johannesburg Homemakers Expo, on at the Coca Cola Dome in Northgate, 21 – 24 February 2008.

Tight times for SA magazines
[Issa Sikiti da Silva] South African magazines have begun to feel the heat as circulations dip and advertising and growth stagnate, forcing some to start digging their own graves.

New publisher for new Media24 business unit
Egbert de Waal is the publisher of the newly formed Travel and Motoring Division business unit at Media24 Magazines, it was announced this morning, Thursday, 21 February 2008. The division publishes popular titles such as Weg!/go!, TopCar, Drive Out/WegRy, TopBike and WegSleep.


More value as The Big Issue gets bigger
The Big Issue magazine is going up in size from 44 to 52 pages as of its March 2008 edition, on sale from 25 February. The page count increase will coincide with a cover-price increase of R2 and former Springbok prop Robbie Kempson joining as sports columnist.

Ridwaan Bawa takes on Men's Health
Ridwaan Bawa is the new editor of Men's Health magazine, Touchline Media announced yesterday afternoon, Wednesday, 20 February 2008. Bawa replaces Andy Ellis, who recently resigned from his post to form independent creative agency TypeFace Media together with Piers Buckle, who also quit as editor of Men's Health Living.


Magazine market shedding weight
[Chris Moerdyk] While the closure of a sixth Media24 magazine title since the end of last year, True Love Babe, might well be a consequence of the company's run-in with the ABC, simply by becoming unsalable because of circulation discrepancies, it more importantly highlights a very gloomy picture for the magazine industry.

MPASA 2008 Tabbie International B2B Awards partner - Magazine Publishers Association of SA (MPASA)
This year, the Tabbies, the editorial and design awards program run by Trade, Association and Business Publications International (TABPI), is also partnering with the Magazine Publishers Association of South Africa (MPASA). MPASA joins other regional organisations across the globe, including the US' American Society of Business Publication Editors, New Zealand's Magazine Publishers Association, Southern Africa's SAFREA and Australia's Society of Editors NSW.

New Media Publishing gets a healthy dose of new business - New Media Publishing
New Media Publishing has won the pitch to publish a new customer magazine for the Netcare group. The magazine will be positioned as a family medical magazine which aims to inform, advise and educate readers who have entered the Netcare network.

HRC to investigate controversial journo forum
[Tshepiso Seopa & Simone Puterman] NEWSWATCH: The revival of an exclusive forum catering only for black journalists at the Sandton Sun Hotel on Friday, 22 February 2008, and the off-the-record meeting that members of the organisation had with the president of the ANC, Jacob Zuma, has caused controversy within the media industry. The South African Human Rights Commission will be investigating the situation as Talk Radio 702 has complained formally after one of its journalists was forced to leave, according to IOL.

Zuma to confide in black scribes
[Simone Puterman & Tshepiso Seopa] NEWSWATCH: The president of the African National Congress, Jacob Zuma, is having an exclusive off-the-record meeting with the latest incarnation of the Black Journalist Forum in Sandton, Johannesburg, today, Friday, 22 February 2008, reports the Mail & Guardian Online. The forum is raising controversy with its black-only policy.

Sign up for global newsroom survey
The World Editors Forum, Reuters and Zogby International began collecting data for the second annual Newsroom Barometer, a global survey of chief editors about their attitudes and strategies in the multimedia age, earlier this week. Senior editors are invited to participate in the online survey.

MTN sponsors Rhodes journ scholarships
MTN's newly announced partnership with the Rhodes University School of Journalism and Media Studies will cover more than 100 scholarships for short courses in media management and leadership, and 20 bursaries for fulltime one-year study, over the next five years.

Khoza must apologise publically – HRC
[Tshepiso Seopa & Simone Puterman] NEWSWATCH: The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) yesterday, Tuesday, 19 February 2008, called on Irvin Khoza, chairperson of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Local Organising Committee (LOC), to apologise publically for his derogatory comment concerning a journalist, which Khoza says he has already apologised for, reports SABCnews.com.

VC injection for media, mobile, ICT innovators
A new R350-million venture capital fund, called Hasso Plattner Ventures Africa, launched last week to give innovators in South Africa a leg up into the global technology arena. Areas of investment include media, telecommunications, mobile applications, and software.

Uncertain future for SABC board?
[Issa Sikiti da Silva] Controversially appointed by President Thabo Mbeki and facing a vote of non-confidence from critics, the Democratic Alliance, various independent organisations, COSATU and the ANC Youth League, the SABC board is facing the barrel of the gun and an uncertain future as the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) this week renewed calls to approach the court to ‘restore justice before it is too late'.

Independent press censorship in Chad
Privately-owned press have reportedly been harassed and censored by the governments of Chad and Sudan after rebels, who have been accused of being in the pay of Khartoum, launched an offensive against the Chadian capital, N'Djamena.

Vodacom on repositioning expansion drive
The Vodacom Group will reposition itself from being a mobile-centric network operator to a provider of converged information and communication solutions through a capital investment of R2.5 billion over the next five years, the company announced on Saturday, 23 February 2008.

Starfish launches new mobile services with Vodacom Tanzania - Starfish Mobile
Vodacom Tanzania has appointed Starfish Mobile East Africa, a division of Starfish Mobile International, as its partner content aggregator to provide and manage digital content services to Vodacom customers. The deal, which will endure for two years, was concluded after a thorough and lengthy tender process.

Call to enter cross-media advertising competition
DARMSTADT, GERMANY: This year will see the IFRA XMA Cross Media Awards for newspaper publishing houses presented for the third time – with the project topic “Cross-media Advertising”. The final date for interested publishing houses to register is 30 June 2008.

365 Digital, MyVideo sign ad serving agreement - 365 Digital
365 Digital, the southern African representatives of Adtech Helios IQ digital ad serving solutions, has signed an ad serving agreement with MyVideo, a South African-based video sharing platform, which will use the Helios IQ ad serving technology to serve its online advertising campaigns.


Habari Media MSN Symposium - Habari Media
The Habari Media MSN Digital Symposium was held at Monkey Valley in Noordhoek, Western Cape, last week.


Habari and MSN Digital Symposium pulls record crowd! - Habari Media
In what is now the fourth instalment of the annual Digital Symposium hosted by Habari Media on behalf of MSN, over a hundred delegates congregated at the picturesque Monkey Valley Resort in Noerdhoek, Cape Town, for a day and a night of presentations, intense discussion and debate on the state of digital media in South Africa, followed by a fair amount of fun in the evening.

Vodacom builds brand with Realmdigital's Super 14 Fantasy Rugby - Realmdigital
Online marketers have realised that the marketing potential in the Fantasy Sports arena is growing at a rapid rate each year. The popularity of these sports has spread from America to all areas of the globe and is taking sporting fanatics by storm. These online sporting leagues not only make money for the hosts but also offer a perfect platform for marketing your brand.


Live budget broadcast on SABCnews.com today
NEWSWATCH: SABCnews.com will be broadcasting the 2008 budget live today, Wednesday, 20 February 2008, at 2pm. Readers will be able to register and post their views on www.sabcnews.com.

Nedbank ordered to withdraw billboard
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of South Africa recently ordered Nedbank to withdraw its billboard advertisements that state: "We've reduced our fees. Again today's a good day to open an account".

Reenactment on the rugby field

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Tops at Spar kept spirits high at the first Super 14 game at Absa Stadium last Friday, 15 February 2008, by re-enacting its “crouch, touch, pause, engage” ad live on the field. The crowd loved every minute of it and several prizes were given out to enthusiastic supporters. The Tops crew will be at Absa Stadium at every Super 14 and Currie Cup match.

Becoming a 21st century print service provider
[Warren Rother] Printing organisations that want to prosper in today's competitive environment need to address more than their traditional customers, and do so with more than traditional products.


Kemtek adds Datalogic to its stable - Kemtek
As official agent for the Datalogic range of products, Kemtek Imaging Systems has added Datalogic scanners to its range of bar code scanning equipment.

AFDA short nominated for 2008 Student Oscars
Kammakastig Land, an honours short film from the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance (AFDA), will represent South Africa in the 35th annual Student Academy Awards, it was announced earlier this week. AFDA and the crew of the short will go up against the best of the world' student films in the category of Honorary Foreign Film Student Award.


A new Giant - Giant Films
Bruno Bossi and Blackginger teamed up once more to create a music video for The Parlotones' latest single, "I'll be there". Once again Bossi's love of post and visual effects enabled the team to seamlessly integrate live action footage with 3D.


Scary things happen in the dark... - Velocity Films
The take on power cuts by Anton Visser of Velocity Films involves an old lady, a poodle and a power cut.


Crafted design animation heralds in Design Indaba 11 - Masters & Savant
With the requirement to communicate the message of how design directly impacts on the South African economy, Design Indaba 11 once again turned to The Jupiter Drawing Room CT and Masters & Savant Worldwide CT to produce its event promo – the third consecutive year the companies have partnered to do so.


Picture Tree doing the weather? - Picture Tree
Watching Picture Tree's latest commercial for Food and Trees for Africa, one might be fooled into thinking that Simon Gear has got his timing horribly wrong. A 30-second weather update in the middle of your comedy hour? Surely this is a scheduling error? On closer inspection, you see Bloemfontein now has a harbour, Cape Town is an isolated island in the middle of the Atlantic and the Kruger Park is now a desert.


Durban will still get film studio – Anant Singh
NEWSWATCH: IOL reports that, according to filmmaker Anant Singh, plans to build a world-class film studio in Durban will still go ahead once legal issues and the relocation of the defence force at the target site have been sorted out.

Fleishman-Hillard boosts African footprint
Fleishman-Hillard International Communications has extended its reach in Africa with an affiliation with Tell-Em Public Relations in Kenya. In addition to the company's offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg, this adds to its' affiliate relationships with Quadrant Company in Lagos and TRACCS in North Africa.

In-depth self-analysis can help your company weather the storm - Crisis Communications Consultancy
Crisis management is sorely neglected in the South African corporate world, with few organisations investing the time needed to take a hard look at their own vulnerabilities.

Celebrity to direct PRISM Awards programme
Celebrity TV continuity announcer, DJ, voiceover artist and model Liezel van der Westhuizen will be programme director at the 11th PRISA (Public Relations Institute of SA) PRISM Awards, which takes place on 26 March 2008 at the Vodacom Vodadome in Midrand, Johannesburg.

Eyewitness news hotline for Primedia Broadcasting
Primedia Broadcasting last week launched a 24-hour Eyewitness News Hotline, aimed at enhancing and further entrenching its eyewitness news concept amongst listeners.

Dan Moyane quits Primedia Broadcasting
After 14 years with Primedia Broadcasting, Dan Moyane is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. Moyane has been chairman of the Primedia division, which includes 94.7 Highveld Stereo, Talk Radio 702, 567 CapeTalk and 94.5 Kfm, since July 2002.

Ray White off to greener pastures
Ray White has joined the exodus of senior SABC journalists who are leaving the broadcaster for greener pastures at new pay TV channels. His last show on Radio 2000 will be on Thursday, 21 February 2008.

Radio 2000 people have spoken
It seems as though there is a tug of war between Radio 2000 and Telkom Media over Ray White's services. Yesterday morning, Thursday, 21 February 2008, on what was meant to be the last Breakfast Show on Radio 2000, programme manager Cuthberth Mashigo and station manager Karlito Sheik asked to have a discussion with White and his co-host Nicole da Silva on air. In their discussion, they said, “Okay Ray, the people have spoken and we have listened to what the public has to say. You were right; we were wrong.” However, according to a reliable source, even though the two parties have agreed to meet on Friday 22 February to discuss the matter further, White has made it clear that his future is with Telkom Media.

DJ cookbook wins awards
The best-selling anecdotal cook book Zhoozsh! written by 94.7 Highveld personality Jeremy Mansfield and his wife Jacqui, has won multiple awards in the South Africa category of the international Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2007. Zhoozsh! not only scooped the award for ‘Best of the Year', but also won in the ‘Innovative' and ‘Media' categories. It goes on to compete internationally in London in April.

New team to take SAARF into next decade
The gap caused by the retirement of veteran researcher Piet Smit at the South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) is being filled by two new technical support executives, Lucas Raganya and Claire Milne, working under technical manager Dr Michelle Boehme since the start of 2008.

Clean living in emerging markets - Synovate
Thirty nine percent of South Africans pay someone else to clean their homes, according to a global study conducted by market research company Synovate. This is compared to a 27% average in emerging markets and a 12% average in developed markets.

South Africans have their say about the government's performance regarding the economy - Ipsos Markinor
Fewer South Africans than a year ago believe that government is performing well in terms of controlling inflation, encouraging international investment and managing the economy. This is according to the latest results from the Government Performance Barometer that Ipsos Markinor conducts bi-annually.

Are South Africans living in the red? - Ipsos Markinor
Six out of ten South Africans (64%) believe that many people are living beyond their means and spending more money than they are earning.

Over 875 million consumers have shopped online – number of Internet shoppers up 40% in two years - Nielsen
More than 85% of the world's online population has used the Internet to make a purchase, increasing the market for online shopping by 40% in the past two years, according to the latest Nielsen Global Online Survey on Internet shopping habits.

Half the world's consumers would give up 'convenience packaging' to help the environment - Nielsen
According to a Nielsen Global Food Packaging Survey, nearly one in two global consumers would give up all forms of packaging provided for convenience purposes if it would benefit the environment, including: packaging designed for easy stacking/storing at home (49%); packaging that can be used for cooking, or doubling as a re-sealable container (48%); and packaging designed for easy transport (47%).

Large grocery retailers and their customers - Eighty20
Eighty20 Consulting has produced an new study that offers insight into shopping patterns and behaviour, as well as some interesting data which aligns consumers' store preference with their media preference.

2008 set to be challenging for the logistics industry
The global logistics industry is set for a challenging year in 2008 as the effects of the credit crunch filters through to consumer spending. Margins in the industry are already thin, but shippers can make moves now to improve their chance of future success.

Mobile PCs fly off SA shelves
Mobility drives positive uptake over holiday spending season, says IDC.

Pre-planning promotes perfect performance
[ActivRetail] Meticulous planning, good communication and brilliant teamwork and support are at the heart of an 11-week project that saw Nampak Liquid move its entire PET production facility from Isando on the East Rand to Industria, west of Johannesburg's CBD.


Local is ‘lekker' - Clover
Whether you are cooking the perfect boiled egg or if you simply must have the perfect béchamel sauce to enjoy with your cannelloni au gratin, Clover's latest cook book, Locally Served could just be the book you've been looking for.


Bring on the Country Road
Woolworths is expanding its product range and will soon feature a select range of clothing from sister company, a leading Australian retailer, Country Road. Womenswear clothing and accessories will be trialled initially at four stores: V&A Waterfront and Cavendish in the Cape, and Sandton and Hyde Park in Gauteng, from early April 2008. Woolworths has a majority shareholding in Country Road, which offers a select range of clothing and homeware through stores in Australia and New Zealand.

Banking on pots of money
For the first time in the history of South African soccer, Absa, the new sponsors of the Premier Soccer League, will award a total of R29 450 000 in prize money to the 16 teams participating in the Absa Premiership. This amount is three times more than the previous prize money pot.

Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and Manchester United set for showdown in the 2008 Vodacom Challenge - SAIL
Vodacom Challenge inaugural winners Orlando Pirates and four-time title winners Kaizer Chiefs will be looking to ensure that the Vodacom Challenge trophy returns to South African soil when English champions Manchester United provide the opposition in the 10th edition of the popular tournament, to be held 19 – 26 July 2008.

Bank sponsors Inside Africa
CNN International has announced Zenith Bank as the exclusive sponsor of its popular weekly feature programme, Inside Africa.

Sigh of relief as writers' strike ends
Desperate Housewives, Prison Break, Brothers and Sisters, Grey's Anatomy, Pushing Daisies and the Academy Awards Ceremony were some of the programmes that threatened to disappear from M-Net screens because of the four-month writer strike in the US, which was recently resolved.

Oscar-nominee to keynote at MIPDOC 2008
PARIS: American scriptwriter, director and producer Alex Gibney will be guest of honor and will deliver a keynote speech, “The Power of Documentary”, at MIPDOC 2008, the international showcase for documentary screenings, 5 – 6 April 2008. Gibney will also MC the 2008 Trailblazers Awards, where he will award the five global innovative and creative directors selected this year, which includes South African director Karin Slater.


Even more winners with Red Cherry - Red Cherry Television
After all the money we spent over the festive season, we usually find ourselves a little short of cash and not smiling too much. Thanks to Red Cherry, we were able to put smiles on two people's faces during the month of January 2008.

3Talk tribute to Ashley Callie
Isidingo star Ashley Callie passed away tragically last week. Today, Thursday, 21 February 2008, the day of her memorial, 3Talk is changing its schedule to pay tribute to this accomplished actress.

NFVF saddened by Callie's death
The National Film and Video Foundation is saddened by the untimely passing of famed Isidingo actress, Ashley Callie, and sends condolences to the Callie family, friends and colleagues. “South Africa has truly lost a talented individual,” it said on Monday, 18 February 2008, in a press statement.