Agencies need practice in order to optimise their sales pitch to potential clients and this opportunity was offered to eight black-owned agencies last month. Agencies were deliberately selected for their BEE structures (preferably 100 % black-owned), along with their variety of services. Attendees On the day, the following agencies were in attendance: BWD Advertising: full-service advertising Purple Room: PR The Plum Factory: social and digital eNitiate: social and digital Glasshouse Communication Management: PR and corporate governance [note: Glasshouse is a subsidiary of Mazole Holdings] Avatar PR: PR and publicity Harambee: activations South Africa and Africa DAVID: full-service advertising From marketers and procurement, we...

By Jeremy Maggs The way most brands engage with black consumers is wrong, says a top PR man, who argues that agencies should invest more time in getting to understand their market and audience and less time in getting to know their clients Bonnke Shipalana. Picture: Thobeka Zazi Ndabula   A prominent public relations practitioner has hit out at the brand communications industry, claiming few agencies really understand black people. In a frank discussion with the FM, Bonnke Shipalana, CEO of The Communications Firm, says: "The majority of South Africans were born in an era where their voices were restrained by the apartheid system. Unfortunately, after...

  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. Next up is Ahmed Tilly of FCB Africa. Ahmed Tilly Ahmed Tilly (@AhmedTilly) has been in the business of ideas for just over 20 years. Recently appointed joint CCO at FCB Africa, he was runner-up Most Admired Creative Leader in South Africa and joint Most Admired Creative Leader in Jozi in 2016, according to our MarkLives Agency Leaders’ Most Admired poll. Tilly, who left the...

By Herman Manson   M&C Saatchi Group and Avatar South Africa have officially “parted ways”, a joint statement by the two groups has confirmed. “Zibusiso Mkhwanazi (Founder M&N Brands, the holding company for Avatar) and Jerry Mpufane, Chairman of M&C SAATCHI Group (Johannesburg) have confirmed that the two companies will amicably part and go their separate ways,” the statement reads. “M&N Brands has embarked on a path to build a Pan-African network, thus realizing a long-held dream.  M&C SAATCHI Group already operates a very successful African network of its own, servicing clients in more than 20 markets on the continent. “Both companies emphasise that they...