What makes this Loeries committee member tick?
With the festival weekend fast approaching for the 30th Annual Loerie Awards, we've been asking Loeries committee members a few questions - some of them professional, some of them personal - to help you understand what makes them tick. Which committee member's mother was pleased to have him out of the house? Read on to find out.


Innovation and experiential advertising
So what makes a truly brilliant experiential campaign? Peter Bidenko, creative director of Tequila in Australia and Loeries Experiential Judging Panel chair, and Nici Stathacopoulos, managing partner of proximity#ttp and assisting Experiential chair, took some time of their frantic Loeries judging schedule last week to discuss this.


Loeries finalists are out!
The finalists for the 2008 The Loerie Awards were released online late yesterday afternoon, Monday, 7 July 2008. Bizcommunity.com congratulates all concerned.

Profiling the Loeries committee: Nici Stathacopoulos
The Loeries might be turning 30 with a bumper festival weekend down in Margate this month, but Nici Stathacopoulos, Loeries committee member and managing partner of proximity#ttp, isn't telling how she celebrated the big “three-oh” in this, the second of our Loeries Committee Q&A series.

Geography, the most powerful segmentation tool
[Gill Randall] The traditional practice of marketers and media planners to segment their brand users by demographics and psychographics is no longer totally relevant in today's marketplace. It amazes me that a large portion of marketers' time is spent analysing how their customer profile differs from competing brands and by implication, how they will be the chosen brand by a specific segment within a category of users. Where we have found differences in the profile of users is by location.

Interim feedback from feel-good SA campaign
While South Africans are still positive and passionate about the country, they would like to be free of poverty and crime. This is according to findings of a survey conducted by the International Marketing Council (IMC) during a recent nationwide campaign titled: 'What kind of South Africa do you want to live in?'

The ‘hole' story of the Gautrain road collapse
Morrisjones&co were quick off the mark for its client Polyfilla when a major arterial road in Johannesburg collapsed earlier this week, apparently due to excavations below it for the Gautrain project. The campaign will run in the weekend papers.


New publications for marketers launched
[Tshepiso Seopa] Over the years marketers have had to work at shifting perceptions about marketing only being about sales and profit generation but a part of business that is important to the growth of business and brands. In response, Wag the Dog has launched Strategic Marketing, which is now the official publication of the IMM Graduate School of Marketing.

Competition calls for entrepreneur business plans
Open to anyone with a business idea, or an existing business that wants to expand, the FNB Enablis Business LaunchPad is accepting entries up to 30 September 2008 in 10 sectors: media and marketing/communication, tourism, construction, manufacturing, personal services, IT, “green” business, personal services, business/professional services and transport.

Are you a multi-marketer? - Timesquare
[Kim Millar] Think about it. As a marketer, you have several separate - and often completely different - audiences. If you're marketing cars, of course there's the end consumer. But what about the dealers? And you know how important the motoring press is when it comes to influencing purchase patterns...

World Cup goes online
In an effort to get communities involved and participating in spreading the good news about South Africa ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, national supporter of the tournament FNB last week launched online social network Shine2010 which aims to rally communities together, provide news and feature articles and serve as an interactive platform.


Africa communicators to talk 2010
Communicators from across Africa will be in Johannesburg at the end of July 2008 to discuss how best to take advantage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and project Africa positively to the world at the third annual 2010 National Communication Partnership Conference.

The impact of counterfeiting
[Irshaad Moidheen] South African intellectual property laws have been refined over the years to afford protection to the holders of certain forms of intellectual property, including trademark and copyright holders, allowing them to take action against the counterfeiting of their products. With the advent of the 2010 FIFA World Cup not too far off, the issue of protection of intellectual property is becoming an even more pressing issue.


Stadium dropped from Confederations Cup schedule
The 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee (OC) South Africa earlier this week announced it has removed Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth from the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 schedule, after receiving a report from the OC technical team. “We acknowledge the progress that has been made on the Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth stadium in recent months. With the complex nature of the construction and erection of the roof of the stadium, however, it was decided that it would be too high a risk to keep the stadium in the FIFA Confederations Cup schedule. But the stadium has been one of the star performers of the FIFA World Cup construction process and again, we reiterate that the stadium will be a wonderful venue in 2010,” said OC chairman Dr Irvin Khoza.

Global study of consumer rituals
A global study by BBDO Worldwide offers marketers insight into the everyday routine of people across the globe - the commonplace rituals that consumers embrace on a daily basis in their lives. The study, entitled ‘The Ritual Masters', is the most extensive research project ever undertaken by BBDO.

New One Show Entertainment calls for entries
Deadline for entries for the inaugural One Show Entertainment is 15 August 2008. This new awards competition seeks to recognises the marriage between brands and entertainment—in film, television, music, gaming, anywhere—and award innovation and creativity in this rapidly expanding area.

More Gold for Jupiter in New York
In the recent 2008 New York Festivals, The Jupiter Drawing Room (Johannesburg) scooped four Gold medals, a Silver and two Bronzes. New York Festivals, now in its 51st year, is an International Awards Group (IAG) company, recognising the world's best work in advertising and programming.


IOC appoints Getty Images as Official Photographic Agency for the Beijing Olympics - Gallo Images
Getty Images sports specialist photographers will again be providing live updates of every sports and medal event at the Beijing Olympics in August via direct feeds to the world's media and a live stream on the Getty Images website.


Guest speakers announced for AMASA's 2008 Consumer Connections Boot Camp - AMASA
The Advertising Media Association of South Africa (AMASA) invites media, marketing and advertising players to attend this year's annual workshop, entitled 'Consumer Connections Boot Camp' to be held at Little Switzerland, Drakensberg, 21 - 24 August 2008.

Red Cherry takes the Ultimate Grand Prix Drive - Red Cherry Media
Red Cherry, in association with the Gauteng Provincial Government and the Renault F1 team, is producing the Ultimate Grand Prix Drive, a new reality show flighting on SABC3 every Sunday at 6.30pm.


Chillibush Inroads supports Blood Donor Month - ChilliBush Inroads Communications
In support of the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) Blood Donor Mon, ChilliBush Inroads held a blood donation drive for all staff at its offices in Forest Town.

'SPEEDKILLS GP' - Joe Public makes the message 'hit' home - Joe Public
Many South African drivers have taken to removing their number plates to avoid receiving dreaded speeding fines. The resultant reckless driving has been the cause of many pedestrians and motorists losing their lives. To raise awareness of this issue, full service agency Joe Public approached Arrive Alive with an innovative idea.


Animation, awards and cool commercials - Wicked Pixels
The popularity of animation is growing worldwide; and it's bringing in more awards for ad agencies too. Read on and see what it could do for your award cabinet.


Freelancer directory cracks 3000 members
Freelancentral, a centralised database of freelancers in South Africa's advertising and communications industries, has reached 3000 members. According to founder Jo Duxbury, the site is helping to create a sense of community for freelancers, who can often feel unsupported and alone. “3000 members is a lot of talent in one place - and a highly useful resource for any company who wants to bring in creative staff on a short-term basis,” she says.

SA agency to rebrand Demartini
HKLM Johannesburg will be undertaking the global rebranding of leading international speaker and author, Dr John Demartini, it was announced last week. “We are very excited at the prospect, especially as Dr Demartini is internationally renowned and travels all over the world,” said Sean McCoy, MD of HKLM.

Brand Union: Expanding our global network, but never losing sight of our home grown talent - The Brand Union
Brand consultancy The Brand Union is bringing its internal global network to life through sharing of talent.

Buying movie tickets just got easier
Ster-Kinekor Theatres have introduced another way of dispensing movie tickets to ensure customer convenience for all members of the public.

BB Auto continues lasting relationship with CineMARK - CineMARK
BB Auto has a long history of advertising with CineMARK, and for the eighth consecutive year has signed an Inline deal, which means BB Auto will be displaying a car at a selected Ster-Kinekor foyer for the period of one year.

Encounters Africa Shorts focus on love
Encounters South African International Documentary Festival 2008, the Jan Vrijman Fund of IDFA and the SABC this year produced five short documentary films on the theme of love with filmmakers from Malawi (Virginia Ndasowa), DRC (Makela Pululu), South Africa (Joanne Levitan), Zambia (Mali Kambandu) and Zimbabwe (Dorothy Meck-Chimbuya). The festival provides the platform to release and market the filmmakers and their shorts continentally and internationally. Leonard Retel Helmrich and Brian Tilley supported and mentored the five filmmakers. All the shorts will be screen at Cape Town Nu Metro V&A Waterfront on Wednesday, 9 July 2008 at 8.30pm and on Sunday 13 July with a Q&A session at 6.15pm. For more information, go to www.encounters.co.za.

What is the cost of shoddy customer service?
[Patrick Deale] Do you know how much poor customer service is costing your company in terms of direct sales as well as bad publicity? In this day and age, with consumers even more careful about where they spend their hard-earned rands, improved customer service can give you the edge over your competitors.


Consumers only want to call once
Organisations must emphasise maintaining customer satisfaction in order to ensure that they retain good customer service. This means improving the way contact centre agents handle calls and reducing the need more than one call to resolve an issue. This was the key message from Craig Gibson, MD of Merchants, the contact centre division of Dimension Data, as he spoke at the recent launch of the annual Global Contact Centre Benchmarking Report for 2008.

Cracking online marketing with Koenderman
Still puzzling over what to do about online marketing? Want to know how to crack the digital code? “Tony Koenderman's Cracking the Digital Code” forthcoming workshop series, in partnership with specialist online marketing agency Longtail, seeks to answer these questions.

Online reality show twists fact and fiction
Tipped to blur the lines between fiction and reality, South African online reality show “Can you twist?” makes use of a combination of new, traditional and ambient media elements to create an interactive narrative experience.


Seven habits of highly effective email marketers
[David Baker] What a great metaphor to discuss email. Stephen Covey has long reigned as one of the core pioneers of self-development and time management principles. As such, I'm a firm believer that the email space can benefit from the core principles of the "Seven Habits" series.

Conference, expo on digital publishing and revenue generation
PARIS: The World Digital Publishing Conference & Expo, to be held in 15 - 16 October 2008 in Amsterdam, is dedicated to revenue-making strategies, winning editorial solutions and resource management, now that newspaper companies have been successful in generating audience and attention with their digital platforms.

bluesouth shakes up the digital market: creates digital and mobile centre of excellence in Cape Town - Shake Interactive
Full service digital marketing agency, bluesouth, is poised to become a global force in online and mobile marketing with a rebrand and the recent growth of its Cape Town office. The company has also rebranded as Shake Interactive South Africa.

FLUX celebrates a decade of successful digital solutions - FLUX
FLUX, an award-winning digital solutions provider, celebrated the company's 10th birthday by opening its first international office as well as unveiling an new website and newsletter showcasing the FLUX fusion of creativity and functionality.

Web strategy conference announced - first in SA - CubicICE
Digital marketing company CubicICE will be holding a Successful Online Strategies (SOS) Conference in 5 September 2008 in Johannesburg. Developed in collaboration with world-renowned expert in web analysis and Internet marketing, Jim Sterne (Target Marketing USA), the conference is billed as the first of its kind to take place locally and aims to bring South African marketers in line with international trends.


One application, many talk buddies
Internet service provider MWeb last week launched Nimbuzz in South Africa and Africa, a single tool to connect friends who use different instant messaging (IM) programs such as Skype, GTalk, MSN, and Yahoo - all on one platform. The messaging service is for use on both PC and cellphone (models with GPRS or 3G access) and is free and available to both MWeb and non-MWeb subscribers. Nimbuzz currently supports more than 22 cellphone brands and over 500 models and is reportedly used by 6.5 million people around the world.

Joint venture with Indian direct marketing agency
5th Dimension recently entered into a joint venture with Cartesian Consulting, a subsidiary of Direxions, one of India's largest direct marketing agencies, providing 5th Dimension with access to some of the finest marketing analysts in the world.

USB-ED presents programme in supply chain management - USB-ED
USB Executive Development (USB-ED) will present a programme in supply chain management, 17 - 19 September 2008, in Bellville, Cape Town. USB-ED is a public company at the University of Stellenbosch Business School and all its programmes are internationally accredited.

LiquidChefs celebrates the fifth birthday of the Cape Town Convention Centre in style - LiquidChefs
Last month the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) celebrated five years of outstanding service to the industry with a huge event that almost 8000 people from all walks of life attended. LiquidChefs provided bar services in three of the areas.


Globacom goes global with True Colour Events - True Colour Events
Globacom, with the assistance of True Colour Events, recently ruled Benin for one night, illuminating the Benin Marina Hotel with spectacular ease. This exclusive and elaborate event was broadcasted live on the country's TV station, Benin Broadcasting Television for all to share and be a part of this historical event.

Kenya Trade Fair and Conference to usher in new era of business opportunities
The first annual Kenya Trade Fair and Conference will take place 19 - 21 September 2008 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. The initiative aims to create an ongoing platform and environment to build business linkages between South Africa and Kenya through expanded trade and business development opportunities for both countries.


Oasys provides a model kitchen for international cooking stars - Oasys Innovations
The second Sunday Times Food Show was held recently at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. This year's design brief to Oasys Innovations was focused on creating an experiential event of an international standard, while designing food theatres and an environment conducive to culinary creation.


Thebe Exhibitions adds Projects to its name - Thebe Exhibitions and Projects
Thebe Exhibitions and Events will in future be known as Thebe Exhibitions and Projects. Managing Director Carol Weaving says the decision to change the name of the group was a strategic one, aimed at positioning the company in terms of the actual business it conducts and avoiding confusion with other companies that specialise in events only.

Magazine distribution partnership
Earlier this year, small magazine distributor Ezweni formed a partnership with RNA, a subsidiary of Caxton and CTP, to take over a number of smaller existing outlets from RNA, as well as smaller titles that require individual attention.

Samantha Page new O editor
Samantha Page, who joined O, The Oprah Magazine in July 2002 as a copy editor, has been appointed its new editor, Associated Magazines announced late last week. She replaces editor Thami Ngubeni, who resigned in April this year.


The Big Issue increases distribution points
The Big Issue recently opened up a satellite office and vendor pitches in Bellville, Cape Town, in order to reach the northern suburbs of Cape Town. The Big Issue opened its doors in Woodstock in 1996 and a second depot in Wynberg in 1998. Since then, the title has provided employment and social support for over 10 000 people and vendors have earned over R13 million.

Camping, towing mag goes bi-monthly
Media24's Afrikaans tow- and camping magazine is now being published every two months. WegSleep, which started out as a supplement to Weg, became an independent quarterly magazine for the first time in January 2007.


Customer magazines with more pages get more response
A new study and analysis by Royal Mail, with the Association of Publishing Agencies (APA) and Millward Brown, reveals a range of benefits by making some format adjustments to customer magazines.

National Geographic Traveler comes to SA
8 Ink Media announced earlier this week that it is launching the award-winning international travel magazine, National Geographic Traveler, in October 2008. 8 Ink Media currently publishers National Geographic Kids and the National Geographic Society's custom title EarthPulse.

Jet Club magazine leads the pack as readers soar to 3.3 million - The Publishing Partnership
AMPS (All Media & Products Survey) figures show that Jet Club, the magazine distributed by South Africa's number one retail brand, Jet Stores, has enjoyed phenomenal readership growth over the past four years.


Are you ready to take your measure of greatness? - Magazine Publishers Association of SA (MPASA)
Celebrating individual creativity, honouring collective endeavour, the PICA Awards are South Africa's premier acknowledgements of excellence in the realm of magazine publishing - and every entry received before 21 July 2008 saves you R250.

Foodie consumer-generated supplement now out

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The first Eat Out People's Choice in association with Prudential Portfolio Managers is available now. Eat Out's online brand extension appealed to the South African public to vote for their favourite restaurants across 15 different categories. The result is a 66-page consumer-generated supplement published by New Media Publishing. Edited by Abigail Donnelly, the supplement is bagged with the August 2008 edition of Woolworths Taste magazine and can be viewed online at www.eatout.co.za. Says Donnelly, "Sometimes the personal reviews from the restaurant-going public are forgotten as we professionally judge and review the best restaurants around the country.”

Nominations open for MISA 2008 Press Freedom Award
Calling all Southern African journalists and media organisations. The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) with the Southern Africa Trust is inviting nominations for its 2008 Press Freedom Award. The deadline for entries is 12 August 2008.


ANC going ahead with daily newspaper?
NEWSWATCH: The Times reports that the ANC is intent on setting up its own newpaper to be on the streets before elections next year, or buying The Sowetan. According to documents in the possession of The Times, the intention is to set up an “alternative voice”.

SA's global media profile on the edge
South Africa's approval rating in international media has fallen to its worst levels since January 2007, according to new research by Media Tenor. Especially worrying is the emergence of critical news on the country's economic situation and its ability to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup. However, the potential exists for intervention, should national government, business and civil society mount a synchronised communication campaign which systematically tackles negativity in other countries.

Green journo awards call for registration
The SAB Environmental Journalists of the Year Awards, now in its 20th year, is calling for registrations. Each of the three awards carries a cash prize of R15 000 and a trophy.

2008 Tabbie winners unveiled
CLEVELAND, US: The 2008 Tabbie Awards resulted were announced earlier this week, featuring more than 700 entries, with nominations coming from the US, Canada, UK, Australia, France, Ireland, Lebanon, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland and the UAE.

Public comment invited on Broadcasting Act amendments
[Luyanda Makapela] The public has been invited to comment on the Draft Committee Bill which seeks to amend the Broadcasting Act. The Portfolio Committee on Communications has urged all interested parties to submit written submissions on the draft document by 25 July 2008.

The search is on for the leaders in gender empowerment - Top Companies Publishing
Nominations for the Top Women Awards are now being called for by Top Women in Business and Government (TWBG) as the buildup gains momentum for the 2008 awards ceremony, which will be held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on 4 September 2008.

We scored - Profit Partnership Corporation
Profit Partnership has announced its official BBBEE scorecard rating recently completed by Mpowered Business Solutions. It is classified as a Qualifying Small Enterprise as the company's annual turnover is less than R35 million, and has achieved an official rating in this category as a Level 4 contributor.


Are you the Vodacom Journalist of the Year?
Don't forget that the closing date for the seventh annual Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards is Thursday, 24 July 2008. There are 14 categories in total for entrants to choose from: TV general news; TV feature; Print general news; Print feature; Radio news; Radio feature; Financial/economic; Columnist; Cartoonist; Photographer; Sport; Community Media; Online Journalism (new this year) and Editors' Choice. The winner will win R125 000 in cash and a donation of R125 000 to an official charity of his or her choosing. Each national winner will receive R15 000 and a BlackBerry smartphone, while every regional category winner will receive R7500. Enter at www.vodacom.co.za.

Revised cross-carrier mobile marketing best practices
DENVER, COLORADO: The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), last week released version 3.3 of its US Consumer Best Practices (CBP) Guidelines for Cross-Carrier Mobile Content Services. Updated twice annually, the guidelines are a set of rules for cross-carrier mobile content services that include, but aren't limited to, text messaging, multimedia messaging, shortcode programs, interactive voice response (IVR) and mobile web.

Pieter Uys appointed Vodacom CEO
Pieter Uys has been appointed to the position of Vodacom Group CEO, succeeding Alan Knott-Craig, Vodacom Group chairman Oyama Mabandla announced this afternoon, Friday, 11 July 2008. Uys, a 15-year veteran of the group and current COO, will take over from Knott-Craig with effect from 1 October 2008.

Nokia on old mobile recycling campaign
Responding to survey findings that only 3% of people recycle their mobile phones despite most having unwanted old devices lying around at home, Nokia is developing a series of campaigns and activities to give people more information on why, how and where to recycle their old and unwanted devices, chargers and mobile accessories. The company is also expanding its global take-back programme by adding many more collection bins and promoting these in store to raise greater awareness.

Indian company launches ad ringback tones
MUMBA, INDIAI: Indian telecom company OnMobile recently launched Ad RingBack Tones (AdRBT), or audio ads, which target individual subscribers with custom-made ads. A special feature of AdRBT is the fact that ads have the ‘undivided attention' of the consumer, while waiting for the other party to answer the call.

WAN tells Mugabe: "Drop punitive tax"
The World Association of Newspapers had told Mugabe to drop a "luxury" tax clearly aimed at stifling news.


World Young Readers deadline nears
Newspapers have until 31 July 2008 to send in an entry for this year's World Young Reader prize. Now in its 11th year, the competition rewards great new initiatives for attracting young readers to newspapers.

Die Burger soon to sport a new look - Die Burger
From Monday, 14 July 2008, Die Burger newspaper will sport a new look - both in design and content.

GigaCMS releases its express edition - iLogic
Content management system company GigaCMS recently announced the release of GigaCMS express edition, which allow companies with smaller budgets to make use of the CMS platform and benefit from the features offered by GigaCMS.

Freakonomics local style! Part two - Habari Media
[Adrian Hewlett] Adrian Hewlett, MD of Habari Media, was recently inspired by Freakonomics, the cult book which uses creative economic theories to explain everyday questions not traditionally covered by economic theorists. In the second part of his article, entitled Freakonomic Local Style, Adrian poses some interesting questions on the local online advertising industry.

Cars, action, TV - all online

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Recently launched Cars in Action TV is a joint venture between Cars in Action Online and Internet television news experts Corpcinema, and is aimed at providing the Cars in Action reader with an additional high-value motoring news source. “Carsinaction.tv represents the next step of many for our brand as we expand it to a highly interactive bouquet of motoring media services,” Cars in Action publisher Michele Lupini explains. “Our first .tv offering... should be seen as our first, formative steps as we prepare, learn and develop this new technique.” Cars in Action's online services will also soon be expanded to include dedicated websites for Classic Car Africa and Bakkie & Truck Action magazines.


New website for wedding title

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Wedding Album publishers Highbury Safika Media recently launched www.weddingalbummagazine.co.za. Featuring an array of helpful tips from the industry's top experts, brides-to-be can make use of interactive functions, from an A-Z guide to the informal chat room. The site has also moved away from traditional banners and skyscraper ads to using advertorials relevant to each web-page category, along with a direct feedback form linking the user and advertiser.

Consistent Persistence - Zmanga Media
If you take a close look at people who are truly successful in life, you will find one character trait in abundance. I call it Consistent Persistence. At first glance, the words consistent and persistence may seem similar. That's true, they are. I've double-barreled them to emphasise the importance of this habit.

What's new? Ferrying your billboard wherever you want! - What's New Media
What's New Media is a socially conscious corporation that prides itself on providing a range of outdoor mediums and customer service in the industry.

TABPI SA congratulates SA Tabbie winners - TABPI
South African B2B magazines, Design Indaba and 25° in Africa, received top honours in this year's Tabbie Awards announced in Cleveland, Ohio.

Workshop for aspirant screenwriters
Screen Africa will be hosting a weekend workshop for aspirant screenwriters at Sasani Studio in Highlands North, Johannesburg, in early August 2008. Ideal for anyone who would like to write a screenplay for film or television, the workshop is presented by Cape Town-based The Writing Studio, an independent training initiative.

Velocity proud to announce Loerie finalists - Velocity Films
Velocity and Bouffant has achieved a whopping 50 finalists for this year's Loerie awards. Velocity has 43 finalists and Bouffant has seven.

Calling all BUDS - The Refinery
The Refinery's Budding, Underexposed Directors Showcase initiative is upon us for 2008. It is a platform where long and short film directors get the chance to show off their talent.

Sub urban's Mukunda, Ogilvy Cape Town and the WWF superheroes - Sub urban
An ordinary kitchen. An ordinary guy... a TV dinner, a paunch and premature bald patch. Okay, so maybe less than ordinary. But despite the ordinariness of James Woodburn, he is a superhero.


Audio Militia get canny with sound - Re:public
In an industry where the word “passion” is bandied about almost as much as the hand-contorting Vulcan salute at a Star Trek convention, it's refreshing to find a company that really means it.


Transfer any raw data format to any other format or to anywhere in the world fast… - Condor Cape Town
Full raw data management services are now available at the Waterfront Studios Datalab at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.

Refinery Group embrace launch of HD channels - The Refinery
With the imminent launch of DStv's HD channel offering (scheduled for August 2008), Refinery Group is positioning itself as the preferred solution for HD conversions.

Beer aficionados required
The search is on to find a new board member for Hansa's league of extraordinary beer aficionados, wherein one lucky winner will be set to win an annual board member's salary of R600 000, as well as receive the exclusive honorary title of a Hansa Board of Approval member.

Grapevine Postcards - Grapevine Creative Media
Grapevine Creative Media's design division, Grapevine Postcards, recently conceptualised and executed a new kind of postcard campaign aimed at creating hype over the launch of a new game called “Alone in the Dark”, a third-person horror game that plays off in New York's Central Park.


The mobile revolution - Grapevine Creative Media
When considering the recent revolutionary development of the mobile phone in terms of added phone features, the doors have been swung open for advertisers, surging to compete for advertising platform.


Competition to promote recycling
Metal recycler Collect-a-Can has partnered with Ster-Kinekor Distribution to promote the new Disney/Pixar new animation feature, WALL.E, which opens today, Friday, 11 July 2008. The message behind this movie goes hand-in-hand with Collect-a-Can's values on environmental consciousness. In conjunction with Dell Computers, the two organisations are planning to sponsor an entire computer room to a school, complete with printer, networking, server etc. The main idea is to encourage the schools, parents and communities to collect as many cans as possible for their school 15 July - 15 August 2008. For more information on the competition, go to www.collectacan.co.za.

Is FIFA's ‘Plan B' an indication of a crisis of confidence in South Africa? - Crisis Communications Consultancy
The recent announcement by FIFA that it had a ‘Plan B' location for hosting the 2010 FIFAWorld Cup in case a natural disaster struck South Africa, has created unwelcome problems for the 2010 local organising committee (LOC) and for the country at large.

The difference between PR success and PR disaster is skill and experience - Janine Lazarus Media Consultancy
PR success is not just about understanding your client's business and industry, having extensive media lists or client databases. It's about your audience. It's about knowing how to engage them, with factual and reliable messages through timeous and targeted interventions.

Atmosphere scoops PRISM Awards in all categories entered - King James
Corporate and brand reputation consultancy Atmosphere Communications took home five PRISM awards at the 2008 Public Relations Institute of South Africa's annual award ceremony in Johannesburg earlier this year. Atmosphere is a six-year-old PR agency that is part of the King James Group of Companies.

Foodcorp appoints Grapevine Communications - Grapevine Communications
Grapevine Communications has become further entrenched in the FMCG market by adding food giant, Foodcorp, to its portfolio. Foodcorp is reportedly Africa's largest black-owned food manufacturer and the world's fourth-largest wheat milling complex.

Recruitment process outsourcing market growing
LONDON: Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is growing rapidly and has the potential to be a multi-billion dollar market, taking advantage of the trend towards single process deals in human resources outsourcing. This is according to the latest report by independent market analysis firm Datamonitor.

What changes are brewing in SA?
There are many changes brewing in South Africa, some big and some small. The fourth FutureFact conference, to be held on Thursday, 24 July 2008, in Johannesburg, focuses on the potential tipping points for these changes - relevant to future scenarios for business and the country.


Nielsen Media Research awarded AMPS/RAMS
Nielsen Media Research has been awarded the contract for the All Media and Products Survey (AMPS) and the Radio Audience Measurement Survey (RAMS), the board of the South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) announced late yesterday afternoon, Thursday, 10 July 2008. This concludes the tender process that started about 12 months ago.

SA research holds it own
[Tracy Stafford] I recently returned from the annual European Media Research organisation conference that was held in Biarritz, France. The conference offered a platform for joint industry committees (the likes of SAARF) to showcase changes to their measurement surveys and to share learnings on what has or hasn't been successful. It also showed that sometimes the grass isn't greener on the other side.


Consolidating gains: 2008 Research Industry Survey results
[Jane Delorie] Each year the Marketing and Social Research Association (MSRA) takes a close look at the health of the East African research industry. The survey records actual revenue of member agencies for the previous calendar year and asks agency heads to forecast future growth.


Sabinet Gateway to establish African online journal archive
Sabinet Gateway has been awarded a US$1.8 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to create an African online journal archive. The archive will contain purely African content, making academic inputs from all over Africa available for research purposes to local and international organisations and academic institutions.

Standard Bank shines in latest Trust Barometer results - Ask Afrika
Standard Bank South Africa has been ranked first in this year's Ask Afrika Trust Barometer, narrowly beating last year's winner, SAB. Jacko Maree, Standard Bank CEO, was also elected best CEO overall.

Leadership and South Africa? - Bateleur Khanya
The history of our country shows many fine examples of both great and pathetic political leaders. Through thick and thin our nation has evolved exhibiting only one constant, and that is change.

Blazing the peri-peri trail to US shores
Nando's, South Africa's iconic chicken brand, is celebrating its 21st birthday in style with the opening of its first restaurant on 819 7th Street Washington DC, USA.


Bovril launches brand extension
Bovril is bringing the flavour of its beef spread to the dinner table with the launch of its new brand extensions: Bovril Gravy Powder and Bovril Instant Gravy.


Love Hertz - for much less! - Hertz Rent a Car
Hertz Rent a Car is celebrating its 90th year of operation in 2008. As if you needed any more reason to ‘love Hertz', it has decided to slash their rental rates for a period of three months, beginning in July.

Types of salespeople: the display salesperson
[Peter Gilbert] In the fourth of my series on profiling types of salepeople, I take a look at the Quadrant IV or display salesperson, who is required if products are standardised, commodity products or services.

Traffic Angels wins OUTsurance CSI Champion of the Year title in Proudly SA Awards - OUTsurance
Short term insurance company OUTsurance walked off with the CSI Champion of the Year award in the corporate category in the PetroSA Proudly South African Homegrown Awards held last month in Johannesburg.

Closing the deal - SALESGURU Publishing
To many salespeople, ‘closing' is like hunting unicorns. It requires trickery, dexterity and perhaps even mystical powers that enable them to do things like read minds and predict patterns of behaviour. To top performers however, it is something that just tends to happen - often with the customer initiating the process - because they and their customer know that doing business represents a great win-win scenario.

Soweto TV's future not certain
[Tshepiso Seopa] After two short runs of one month each in 2005 and 2006, Soweto Community TV finally went on air for a year in July 2007 to viewers in the South Western townships. But despite the success, the station's future is uncertain, as Soweto TV's broadcasting licence expired on 30 June 2008.

DJ to hosts M-Net's new game show
Popular radio and television presenter Mark Pilgrim has been chosen as the host of M-Net's new game show, Power of 10. The show, originally created by Sony Pictures, is locally produced by Rapid. Power of 10 will be screened every Sunday at 6pm, with the first show airing on Sunday, 3 August 2008. Savvy contestants can win up to whopping R10 million. This is Pilgrim's 10th stint as a TV show presenter.

Special Assignment broadcasts controversial doccie
Special Assignment finally broadcast the controversial “Rights of Passage” documentary dealing with initiation practices last night, Tuesday, 8 July 2008, on SABC3 at 9.30pm. Produced by award-winning journalist Hazel Friedman, the program was pulled off the air in April 2008 following objections by Eastern Cape Traditional leaders citing a standing agreement with SABC to consult with them before broadcasting sensitive cultural issues. After viewing the programme, the traditional leaders are now satisfied with the contents of the insert have given the SABC permission to transmit the insert as cultural sensitivity has been exercised in the final product.