The SA Human Rights Commission is currently holding an inquiry into the advertising industry.The five-day inquiry, held in Rosebank, Johannesburg, focuses on the production chain within the advertising sector to look at ways to eliminate racism, tribalism, homophobia and sexism, among other forms of discrimination. There is no doubt that reform is needed. The problem is not the racial discrimination in the adverts, because if we are being honest since the Tresseme and H&M incidents 2 years ago, we have not really had another racism incident. The biggest problem is the racial exclusion of black-owned and black run agencies from lucrative...

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TMI Media, a member of the Matrix Communications Group, has been awarded the prestigious traditional media business for Sanlam and Santam after a hotly contested five-month pitch process. TMI has been recognised as a leader by winning a number of awards, including the Financial Mail Adfocus Independent Media Agency of the Year in 2017 and 2018. In 2020, the agency retained the Woolworths traditional media account and signed Adcock Ingram's consumer segment in 2021. “We are delighted for the opportunity to work on two fantastic brands, and more importantly with good people who are passionate about their business. We are looking forward to partnering...

Enterprise and Supplier Development Programmes are supposed to empower smaller suppliers to ensure that they grow into bigger and more formidable suppliers.  It’s a combination of Preferential Procurement, Supplier Diversity, Supplier Development, and Enterprise Development programs to service business needs. ...

The B-BBEE Commission will conduct site visits at businesses that have previously been found to have violated the B-BBEE Act and where it has received tipoffs about companies who are deliberately circumventing the regulations. This follows recent concerns raised by members of the public that the country’s B-BBEE regulations seem to benefit those that are not intended under the law. The commission said this includes foreign nationals, permanent residents, those with refugee/asylum status, and white people claiming to be black. According to the B-BBEE Act, ‘black people’ is a generic term that refers to Africans, Coloureds and Indians who are citizens of the...

We spoke with Nthabiseng Mokoena, who works for Bolt as PR manager for Bolt in Africa. After a year of a failed attempt at a BCom degree, Mokoena enrolled for a diploma PR course at Varsity College in Pretoria. “I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity at RedStar Communications as an intern and moved along through various small and medium-sized agencies,” she said. Here, she tells us more about the importance of PR in brand management and some predicted trends for the future… How would you describe your organisation? Bolt is a mobility platform in Europe and Africa focused on making urban travel...

Outdoor media is a challenging and dynamic space. This has been especially true in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, as economic activity and commuter patterns have been disrupted. As one of the leading Black-owned outdoor media companies in South Africa, we embrace the challenge of adapting and innovating to continue helping leading brands reach consumers, in targeted and memorable ways.Winning companies adapt continually, and it is through that lens that we have approached these last two year since the pandemic has permanently altered our societal and business landscapes. Covid has highlighted and accelerated shifts in marketing and consumer behavior...

With the announcement earlier this month of the Prism Awards restructuring, we spoke with Tebogo Ditshego, president of Prisa, to find out more about the move to do so. Tell us a bit more about yourself and your role as Prisa president?My responsibility is to oversee the operations of Prisa from a governance perspective, ensure the strategies and directives from the board and structures of Prisa are implemented and provide strategic leadership for the public relations and communication sector. What do you love most about your work?What I love most about being the president of Prisa is contributing towards the creation and...

Following Arena Holdings' acquisition of South Africa's largest and oldest independent label Gallo Record Company (Gallo Music Investments - GMI), is now showing its interest in the future of the African music industry by partnering with Africa's biggest content aggregator, Content Connect Africa (CCA). The 45% equity transaction links Gallo's rich catalogue with CCA's technical capabilities and Pan-African reach to provide a platform for innovation for African Music.Together CCA and Gallo’s vision, built on its 95 years of experience, coupled with fellow shareholder Black Coffee’s global experience, will provide emerging artists with an opportunity to benefit from the slipstream of...

Creative industries have the power to inspire a true drive for change. Through advertising, marketing, and various other forms of media, the creatives in charge hold the ability to send a message that could make a real difference. Odette van der Haar, a giant in the advertising industry, finds that creativity doesn’t only apply to the finalised product that comes out of the agency. For Van der Haar, there is always a way to make a plan for creative messaging and client needs. “As brands, as advertisers, as content creators, we are all part of the same value chain and there’s to...