African Bank, Brave Group, and Media Mix 360 have entered into an audacious advertising and media business partnership. African Bank has been working with Brave's public relations unit Bold, and the Group will now be extending the relationship to include above-the-line advertising services. Media Mix 360 is a full-service media agency that has been in business since 2009. From traditional media planning and placement to the shape-shifting terrain of digital, it prides itself on providing media solutions that will deliver. The appointments follow a rigorous pitch process and robust levels of engagement, and the three-year contract begins. African Bank’s chief marketing officer Sbu...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHToEdeRfiw...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text]https://youtu.be/YvdsKTAlgbg   NBC dropped its broadcast of the Golden Globes ceremony in 2022 after Hollywood backlash over the ethics of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and its lack of diversity. #News #Reuters #NBC #GoldenGlobes #HFPA #TomCruise[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_video link="https://youtu.be/y2x9-swnEas"][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Veli Ngubane, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer at Avatar Agency on transformation, passion and secret ingredients. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]...

Hope goes a long way The Avatar Agency Group is taking a bite of KFC after the group has been awarded the Add Hope account. The account will be serviced by Avatar Public Relations. Avatar will provide internal communications and through-the-line services for Add Hope, a movement that brings together staff, big business, ordinary citizens and civil society to address childhood hunger. Suhayl Limbada, Marketing Director at KFC South Africa, described the agency’s proposal as “innovative with a bold strategic direction.” “Add Hope continues to feed more than 150 000 children per day. In 2021, as KFC celebrates its 50th year in South Africa, we want to...

by Lufuno Makungo (@LMwonder) While I cringe at the title of this article, it’s a fair question. It’s like asking if there’s a viable market for Chinese advertising agencies in China. But the question is relevant here, given our political history and the current economic structure. The most-transformed sector in the county is the public sector, simply because we have the political power. Broad and interlinked, not narrow In talking transformation, we often narrow it down to only one thing — when the issues are broad and interlinked. In advertising, lack of transformation refers to the white-dominated industry but we fail to breakdown...

I was recently asked for an opinion on why black-owned agencies are so often excluded from lucrative requests for Proposals(RFPs). My response was fairly cryptic but the conversation made me realise that there will be some value in capturing some of these issues in an article to help buyers understand the specific issues that black-owned and operated agencies are typically challenged with. I would like to convey some of my own thoughts, as well as that of Lufuno Makungo. However, I do believe that this is a topic that should be explored in more depth, so I will keep on sharing updates as...

by MarkLives (@marklives) The marketing and advertising industries are transforming. So why are so many black professionals disgruntled with the rate of progress? And is the quality of most of the work specifically directed at a black audiences still sub-par? We emailed a panel of key industry executives for their take. First up is Ivan Moroke of Co-Currency. Ivan Moroke The career of Ivan Moroke (@ivanmoroke) has shaped and has been shaped by brands, from running his family shebeen in Atteridgeville (many, many years ago) to starting a marketing consultancy, Co-Currency, 18 months ago. Consciously and unconsciously, his passion for what he does is rooted...

by MarkLives (@marklives) Is adland embracing an African narrative? Are South African advertising agencies and brands embracing an authentically African narrative and aesthetic or do they continue to imitate American and European work? What can agencies, and brands, do to shift the paradigm towards embracing a unique creative identity that speaks to our African roots? Next in our panel to tackle this question is Avatar‘s Veli Ngubane. Veli Ngubane Veli Ngubane (@TheNduna) entered the world of advertising with a passion after completing his BSocSci (law, politics, and economics) at UCT and a post-graduate marketing diploma at Red & Yellow, where he’s currently advisory board chairman....

The South African computer manufacturer Mecer recently released a new advert, celebrating three decades of producing local products.  But the ad - which features a three-letter local swearword - has not gone down well. In fact, at least one person is saying it may be the worst commercial ever released in South Africa.   The South African computer manufacturer Mecer recently released an advert celebrating thirty years of producing local products. It features a crew of singing and dancing people (presumably employees) in a factory, celebrating local manufacturing and everything South African, from the Springboks to Nelson Mandela. At one point, the lead singer raps...