ISSUED BY: FCB AFRICA FCB Africa is celebrating several recent B-BBEE milestones that, once again, highlight that the group is one of only a handful in the industry that doesn't pay lip-service to the word "broad" in the phrase "broad-based black economic empowerment". As one of South Africa’s largest marketing and communications agency groups, FCB Africa’s B-BBEE initiatives have, since the outset, acknowledged the need for diversity and flexibility. The most recent milestone on its ongoing transformation journey was when its broad-based shareholder (The Maharishi Institute) was able to fully pay off its loan well ahead of projections, thanks to FCB group’s strong...

Posted By: TMO Reporter A billboard with the wording, ‘100% Black Owned Advertising Agency. Some things are better at 100%”, using an image of a cup of black coffee, is not racist, the Advertising Standards Authority has ruled. The BWD Advertising billboard, on a footbridge spanning across the M1 South approximately one kilometre north of the Marlboro Drive off-ramp in Johannesburg, was the subject of a complaint lodged by a member of the public in February. After a two-month investigation, the ASA directorate said transformation processes, such as B-BBEE, were the result of government policy, and were aimed at improving the overall wealth and prosperity of...

by MarkLives (@marklives)  Avatar has been awarded the Caltex above-the-line account. The business will be shared between its Johannesburg and Cape Town agencies. This is the second major account win announced by the agency this year, following hot on the heels of the the integrated agency business win for global fashion retailer, H&M, in South Africa. “Our journey with Caltex started two years ago, when we were appointed as their digital agency, to now being appointed as the brand’s full-service agency,” says Mthunzi Plaatjie, Cape Town managing director. “It was a tough three-way pitch but our team’s experience, creative excellence and integrated approach won it for us.” “We are...

by Herman Manson (@marklives)    The Nedbank advertising account has gone out to pitch. “In adherence with principles of good governance, we can confirm that a number of Nedbank accounts\services are out to pitch, including creative, both ATL and BTL,” confirms Khensani Nobanda, Nedbank group executive, marketing and corporate affairs. “As the process is currently underway, we are not in a position to provide further detail due to confidentiality issues; however, further information will be provided in due course. We have enlisted the services of an independent service provider to rollout the process from a governance perspective. The process is due to conclude...

By:  LUYOLO MKENTANE JOHANNESBURG - A creative and dynamic duo have teamed up to tap into the multi-billion rand promotions industry in South Africa and create much-needed employment for young unemployed youths. Childhood friends Tshepiso Malefane, 27, and Tshepo Ngwenya, 29, who grew up together in dusty streets of the sprawling Soshanguve township in Pretoria, are co-founders and directors of promotions firm Creative Brands Studio.   They established the company in 2014 and stress that since its inception it has grown from strength to strength.   Malefane holds a business management qualification from the Tshwane South College, a short course in corporate development from the University of...

One of my favourite accounts I’ve ever worked on was for the SABC during the World Cup. Feel it! It is here! — Groovin Nchabeleng Groovin Nchabeleng is an award-winning South African advertising and marketing guru with over 25 years industry experience. He is the current executive chairman of the Blueprint Group, a 100% black-owned advertising agency that has been in existence for over 18 years. Groovin is former CEO and shareholder of Leo Burnett South Africa/MMS Group, a division of Publicis Worldwide, the third largest communications group in the world with 65 000 employees in more than 83 countries. With more than R1 billion in...

Written by  Mimi Gauteng based digital marketing agency Stilt Media are making waves as one of the few completely black women owned and led agencies in the current South African marketing and advertising landscape. The agency is already disrupting the typical client/agency relationship by using technology and data to add real value and return on investment to clients’ bottom lines. Founded in 2015, Stilt Media headed up by Marketing Director Mimi Mphaphuli and Managing Director Tina Manyanya. Both women come from impressive leadership and management backgrounds, with Manyanya having headed up her own department at Publicis Media and Mphaphuli having lead a department at Ogilvy. The...

I worked the 9 to 5 job for a big financial institution, but I've always wanted to own my own business. — Tebogo Motshwene, founder of Brandhead Tebogo Motshwene is the founder of Brandhead, an experiential marketing agency that focuses on the black consumer market. We're trying to be different in the brand marketing space. We tap into the research about the black consumer market space. — Tebogo Motshwene, founder of Brandhead Brandhead offers market research and insights and brand activations, explains the 37-year-old. Motshwene says Brandhead was born from his frustration with generalisations and false assumptions made by marketing companies about black (and township) consumers. Motshwene was born in Soweto...

FJT president Piet Rampedi said setting aside a 50 percent share in the government s advertising budget would enhance the viability of black-owned enterprises in line with the revised Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BB-BEE) Codes of Good Practice. Rampedi said the government could not continue to pump money into companies that did not want to transform. “These companies see no obligation to transform. Spreading the cake will achieve long-term transformation in the industry. We are not asking for hand-outs,” said Rampedi. FJT represents journalists and entrepreneurs owning small media companies. Earlier this year the FJT met the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) to...

By: CNBC Africa Advertising industry veteran and businessman Peter Vundla is the guest on Talking Books with CNBC Africa’s Jill de Villiers. He shares memories of his eventful life and explains how he became his own boss when he founded the first black-owned advertising agency Herdbouys in 1991.   ...