Media Moves: Black creatives unite to create MOED, Ana Rocha new executive creative director at VMLY&R SA, Jacaranda FM launches True Crime South Africa podcast in Afrikaans

The Media Online’s weekly round up of people, account and business moves in media.

This week’s BIG move: Black creatives come together to create MOED – a marketing group launching on 1 September

September is Innovation Month, and four black creatives from different backgrounds have joined forces to establish a digital & brand agency that will serve as a partner for companies in the FMCG, mining, funeral services, and shopping centre sectors.

The newly formed marketing group with a strong digital focus will be led by two seasoned, well-respected businessmen eager to leave a lasting impression in the industry, Lebogang Mokubela, and Edwin Mthimkulu.

MOED co-founder and CEO Mokubela said MOED would go to market with the ability to provide a fully integrated and streamlined approach in areas like digital advertising, creative, public relations, and development. “We understand the different markets, from e-commerce to the funeral businesses, from the African market to the UK market and we want to establish ourselves as the agency businesses turn to when they want to tap into or extend their businesses into the many markets in Africa or overseas”.

MOED was born in response to the needs of consumers and brands. We combined our expertise to create an integrated marketing agency with digital at its core since Edwin comes from a XX background and I come from a digital marketing background and had run my own digital marketing agency, Lemok, said Mokubela.

Mthimkulu, co-founder and CCO said: “Mo’ed is a Greek word, translated to ‘appointed time’. This talks to the business itself but also the kind of clients we want. Clients demand and want professional, knowledgeable communications advice. In our industry, there is no substitute for a good service offering, therefore our team is excited to be able to provide a platform that fulfills client communication objectives and helps them achieve their set goals.

The group’s strategy is to position itself as an ideal partner to expand beyond the African continent. They also want to bring in and empower other black creatives to start their own agencies.

MOED officially launches on Thursday, 01 September 2022.

People moves

VMLY&R South Africa celebrates Ana Rocha as executive creative director

VMLY&R has announced Ana Rocha as executive creative director, effective 1 June 2022.

Rocha has 20 years’ industry experience, five of them at VMLY&R where she was instrumental in the growth of the business and its trusted clients. She will head up the Cape Town team with her creative leadership and integrated approach to building brand experiences that are impactful and relevant. 

“I will be heading up the office from Cape Town and working closely with our clients, our team on the ground and the business as a whole to make sure the work we put out is fresh and that we create space in consumers’ lives for the brands we build,” she said.

Rocha believes creativity brings perspective to brands and gives them a role to play. “Over my almost 20 years in this crazy ad game, a lot has changed – from the people, to tech, to channels – but I’ve learnt that bringing solutions to life in a way that feels like they are not just another ad is what works, and that is what I will keep pushing for,” she said.

“As a shining star of our Cape Town creative team, Ana has driven some of the best work our agency has ever done,” commented joint CEO Diane Wilson. “With a client roster that now includes Hollard, Google, Strettons and Uber, among others, she has become a powerful female creative leader and we couldn’t be more pleased to see her grow to the natural next level.”

MMA SA grows its board of directors to shape the future of marketing in South Africa

The MMA SA has announced the appointment of its new board, comprising 20 board members and strategic partners who will drive the direction of the organization over the next two year and further its mission to architect the future of marketing.

The board members represent a diversity of sectors — from retail and FMCG to advertising and financial services. They hold senior C-Suite or executive positions, and nominees were identified for their alignment to the MMA’s mission and for their active involvement in and contribution to themarketing industry in South Africa.

As board members, they will draw on their experience and insight into the industry to drive the MMA SA’s strategic direction during their two-year tenure. They will direct the organisation’s focus towards productive targets and take on a spectrum of initiatives in the country that aim to strengthen and integrate the marketing industry.

Projects that the board will drive this year include data maturity, Brand as Performance research initiative, marketing growth frameworks, the emergence of Web 3 – a marketer’s guide and lastly, building Africa’s most reputable case study hub for digital campaigns, highlighting innovations whilst outlining campaign effectiveness though their impact on their business, as reported in the annual WARC & MMA partnership for the Business Impact Index (BII), the SMARTIES – the first and only global mobile marketing index that identifies, ranks and awards top agencies.

Sarah Utermark of MMA commented, “We are excited to work with the talented group of individuals that make up our new board. To understand the pain points and challenges marketers face today, puts the MMA SA in a strong position to guide the industry on how to adapt to new technologies, face the data minefield head on and most importantly establish consistence in how we measure and attribute marketing spend to successful business results.”

MMA SA chair, Vincent Maher, group executive head of digital for the Multichoice Group, added that the new board will work very closely with MMA SA to shape their contribution to the local marketing industry.

The 2022 MMA SA Board members are:

Business moves

Isikhova Media awarded ShopJewellex

Isikhova Media has been awarded the brand development, advertising, marketing/PR and media management for ShopJewellex.

ShopJewellex is an exciting retail-consumer jewellery initiative by the Jewellery Council of South Africa (JCSA) and will be held over Black Friday’s 2022 weekend on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 November in the Ballroom at Montecasino, a prime consumer location. 

“The event will be a golden opportunity for retailers to boost their bottom line in two days, get face-to-face with a huge retail market and sell their collections directly to the public,” said Jason Aarons, publishing director and editor in chief, Isikhova Media. “It is set to become THE consumer shopping experience of the year and exhibitor participation is open to both members and non-members of the Jewellery Council.

“Isikhova Media has more than 20 years association and collaboration with the JCSA and jewellery industry in SA,” added Aarons. “We produce the Council’s monthly trade magazine SA Jewellery News as well as independently publish JZA – Your Jewellery Magazine, South Africa’s first and only retail-consumer online jewellery magazine. JZA forms an integral part of ShopJewellex’s consumer and social media campaign,” adds Aarons.

CubicICE selected as the Sub-Saharan Africa partner for global B2B agency

CubicICE has been officially inducted as the Sub-Saharan Africa agency partner for BBN International – an agency group comprising 31 specialist B2B marketing agencies across 32 countries. The agency was selected by BBN on the basis of its proven B2B marketing capabilities and experience, as well as its consistent delivery of effective strategic SEO and digital marketing campaigns.

CubicICE will has served clients in southern Africa’s industrial sector for over 36 years, developing integrated marketing and communications strategies that have delivered measurable gains. A certified Google Partner, CubicICE delivers strategic digital campaigns (utilising a SOSTAC® approach) that have achieved maximum online exposure, built visibility and web traffic for clients, as well as generated quality leads and conversions.

“That BBN International selected CubicICE as the African agency partner, is testament to our B2B expertise, knowledge and experience. In addition, we are moving from being a local agency to a global player, as our clients’ businesses grow beyond the borders of South Africa,” explained CubicICE CEO, Megan Stark.

Making moves

Jacaranda FM launches True Crime South Africa podcast in Afrikaans

Jacaranda FM has partnered with Nicole Engelbrecht – True Crime South Africa podcaster – to bring her wildly successful podcast to the Afrikaans community.

Engelbrecht started her True Crime podcast in August 2019, steadily growing her show during lock-down, and now three years later; True Crime South Africa is Mzansi’s most listened to true crime podcasts at three million downloads to date.

Transforming these intriguing true crime stories from English to Afrikaans is Gerda de Sousa, beloved newscaster in South Africa.

“This is a breakthrough podcast project for Jacaranda FM as it’s the first series in which we capture the listener’s imagination with true crime stories that come from our country, translated specifically for our Afrikaans market,” said De Sousa, news editor and podcaster.

The first six episodes focus on the most famous true crime events that still has the country talking. The stories include the Lotter family murders, the Krion scheme that almost ruined Vanderbijlpark financially, the Griekwastad murders that shocked the country, and the story behind the Krugersdorp murders that recently made national headlines again.

True Crime South Africa launched on 16 August 2022 on Jacaranda FM’s JacPod, with a new episode released every second Tuesday.

Earlier this year Jacaranda FM Managing Director, Deirdre King penned a radio trends article referring to the upswing trend in cross-cultural audio content. “It’s with this mindset that we developed this podcast to cater specifically for our Afrikaans speaking fans, in the language they love,” said Hennie Myburgh, programming manager at Jacaranda FM.

Visit JacPod for True Crime South Africa in Afrikaan