UCT Business School to inject new life into marketing
A healthy dose of reinvigoration could save the discipline of marketing from cost-cutting measures in tough economic times and it's with this in mind that the UCT Graduate School of Business is offering a course in Strategic Marketing for Thinkers this October.

Changing solutions in a recession
[Katarina Skoberne] The last few years have seen the launch and successful rise of creative online businesses offering clients faster and cheaper solutions that they would have traditionally looked to traditional outlets for. Sector after sector is benefiting from the speed, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of online services, and increasingly, crowdsourcing and collaboration enabling innovation in new categories and market sectors. Companies like our own are delivering real results for big-name clients that previously only had offline sources to turn to for solutions.


Chartered Marketer SA gathers momentum
The impetus behind the professional qualification of the Chartered Marketer (SA) was given added force recently when SAQA formally recognised this top level professional marketing designation. Sam Isaacs, executive officer of SAQA, commented: "Marketing plays a vital role in the economic well-being of our country and SAQA was pleased to have led the process of generating and registering qualifications for marketers.”

Marketing is under threat
[Prof Roger Sinclair] Marketing is under threat. First it was tobacco, now it is alcohol and food, next it will be motor vehicles, carbonated beverages and fast food restaurants. It is not the damage that these products are capable of that worries me; it is the attack on marketing as the cause that should concern the industry.

Cute little phrases won't help you in tough times - Chris Moerdyk
Surviving tough times isn't about impressing customers when they walk into your shop or reception area with cute little chunks of corporate vision nestling in neat little frames all over the wall.

2010 FIFA World Cup venue managers announced
The 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa (OC) took another important step in the organisation of the tournament when it announced the appointment of eight of the 10 Venue Managers required for the event. The Venue Managers are responsible for managing all the events and building key relationships.

Over 300 entries for Pendoring
More than 50 agencies, advertising schools, freelance copywriters and small creative companies will battle it out in the 14th annual Pendoring advertising competition and project. More than 300 entries were received for this year's competition and the judging panel will soon decide who will be awarded for Afrikaans advertising.

Gender bias fries Steers ad
[Colleen Lowe Morna] The South African Gender and Media (SAGEM) Network is toasting its victory in getting a Steers advertisement pulled off the air by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

ABSA shoe shine
In keeping with its new brand campaign that encourages South Africans to “Put their best foot forward”, Absa has teamed up with the industrious airport Shoe Shiners to give visitors' feet - or at least the shoes that they wear - a new lease on life.

Net#work BBDO wins BDFM account
In a three-way pitch with two other well-known agencies, Net#work BBDO has triumphed to win the BDFM account, comprising the titles Business Day, Financial Mail and The Weekender. Previously the account was split between two agencies.

SA makes global Agency Innovators shortlist
Nazeer Suliman, MD of Universal McCann, is the only South African to be included in the 21 Agency Innovator finalists for 2008, an annual feature run by the UK-based Internationalist magazine. Winners will be announced during the last quarter of 2008.


SABC 2's masterful animated game plan for Beijing Olympics 2008 - Masters & Savant
SABC 2 has secured the rights to broadcast the Beijing Olympics 2008 to South Africa and has turned to Masters & Savant Worldwide to produce an on-air branding toolkit to promote the world's foremost sporting event.


Stylish new campaign for Lexus from Draftfcb Johannesburg - Draftfcb (South Africa)
To enforce Lexus' positioning as the luxury car brand for discerning drivers seeking leading-edge technology and design, Draftfcb Johannesburg's team of creative directors, Erin Brooks and Leon Moodley, has developed a campaign called “10 grams, 2 decibels”.


Jupiter Cape Town lands Elizabeth Arden account - The Jupiter Drawing Room
The agency has barely had time to place its Loerie birds in the awards cabinet before announcing the acquisition of another prestigious account to its growing blue chip roster.

Creation Station awarded C.A.M account - Creation Station
Anybody who knows anything about branding will tell you that ‘branding is a journey'; however, for us at the Creation Station, winning the C.A.M (Chinese Auto Manufacturers) account, gives a new meaning to the so called ‘branding journey'.

Redline takes poll position again in Sake24 monthly awards - Draftfcb (South Africa)
Hot on the heels of securing two first places in Sake24's Financial Advertising Awards 2007/8 monthly competition, Redline has again taken poll position - twice.

Updated Creative Circle 2008 Loeries tables
The Creative Circle has issued an updated set of tables, ratified by the 2008 ExCo, concerning the official Creative Circle results and points for Loeries 2008. In order to clear up the confusing regarding Silver Craft points (100), note that the Creative Circle has not allocated any points to Silver Craft.

New life for Nike Sportswear
[Tshepiso Seopa] The Sky-rink at the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg - a place that was once popular for ice skating way back when - was revamped to host the Nike Sportswear launch on Friday, 8 August 2008. The reintroduction of the sportswear coincided with the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing.


Coke's biggest new brand launch in 20 years
Coca-Cola South Africa has launched Coca-Cola Zero in what is the Coca-Cola Company's biggest global product launch in 20 years. The global launch strategy will include TV, Outdoor, Radio, digital, PR and sampling for over half a million consumers.


Juicing up Menlyn Mall
Juicy Lucy Menlyn is the latest addition to the 28 strong Juicy Lucy family and is the flagship store when it comes to the brand's vibrant new look.


New Dentyne packs a punch - Berge Farrell
Design and iconography specialist Berge Farrell has collaborated with Cadbury South Africa to revitalise the packaging of the country's best-selling oral care chewing gum brand - Dentyne.


HKLM Exchange scoops award for Cotlands Annual Report - HKLM
HKLM Exchange has recently been recognised for its contribution to the Cotlands 2007 Annual Report with two prestigious awards.

Call for submissions for Encounters Africa Shorts 2009
Encounters, in partnership with the SABC and the Jan Vrijman Fund, is calling for submissions for the Africa Shorts 2009. Following on the success of the first Africa Shorts workshop and productions launched at Encounters this year, the three are running a four-day storytelling and production workshop this year.


Tri Continental Film Festival focus on xenophobia
Xenophobia comes under the camera lens at this year's Tri Continental Film Festival, which will kick off 15 - 24 August 2008 at Cinema Nouveau Screened by Fish Eagle in Rosebank, before moving to Cinema Nouveau at the V&A Waterfront, 22 - 31 August. Thereafter, the film festival travels to Pretoria's Brooklyn Nouveau, 29 August - 4 September, and wraps up at Gateway Cinema Nouveau in Durban, 5 -11 September. The films are sourced from Africa, Latin American and Asia and this year, the focus is on racism, homophobia, HIV/Aids, the plight of migrants and xenophobia. Filmmakers Against Racism (FAR), a group of South Africa filmmaker-activists, has produced a series of nine short documentaries aimed at stimulating dialogue and debate, which will be screened at the festival. Go to www.3continentsfestival.co.za for the full festival lineup.

The Times' latest blogger: Ryk Neethling from the Olympics
To ensure the South African public truly get the inside scoop on the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games over the next few weeks, The Times has commissioned South African swimming hero Ryk Neethling to blog from the event, supported by a team of journalists.


Quirk launches cost effective BrandsEye for bloggers
Quirk eMarketing has introduced a lower cost BrandsEye Online Reputation Management tool for bloggers and smaller businesses to keep watch on what is being said about them in the blogosphere. Social media is immediate, personal and extremely volatile. This means that information, misinformation and rumour spread faster than lice at a school picnic. Reputations can be made and destroyed within a few blog posts, Facebook groups and re-tweets.

All-in-one online entertainment service launches
GetMo, South Africa's first all-in-one online digital entertainment service, was launched today at the Wits University campus in Johannesburg with a free live music spectacular to more than 3000 students.

SA Facebook application winners
Whether you're shooting your friends and family with virtual paintballs or listing what you need to do before you die, you're part of a minor South African revolution on popular social networking site Facebook. A recent competition to find the best locally-developed Facebook application, run by software maker Microsoft and Internet applications developer Mentez, saw 250 local developers duking it out for the grand prize of R40 000.

SA translation team gets grant from Mozilla
The US-based Mozilla Corporation recently awarded Translate.org.za, a South African award-winning multilingual software developer, a grant to extend its translation tools. A subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation, Mozilla Corporation co-ordinates the development of popular Internet software projects such as the Firefox web browser and the Thunderbird email client.

NAG LAN @ rAge set to sell out in a matter of hours - rAge
rAge gaming expo will play host to the NAG LAN where a mammoth 1,800 players will converge on the Northgate Coca-Cola Dome from 3 - 5 October 2008 to get connected to the same gaming network. Tickets went on sale only four days ago and already 1,598 have been snapped up by eager gamers.

SynthaSite offers website builders easy access to more than 60,000 widgets - SynthaSite
Aiming to make the website publishing experience both accessible and simple for the everyday Internet user, SynthaSite, a do-it-yourself free website builder, has announced the integration of the Widgetbox Gallery to SynthaSite's toolbox.

d6 launches www.WhatsOn.co.za, South Africa's most comprehensive events website - d6 Media
d6 Media has launched What's On, which aims to be South Africa's newest and most comprehensive entertainment and events website. The site features possibly the largest events database in South Africa, and covers music, cultural, lifestyle, outdoor and community events.


Zoopy Joburg opening September 2008 - Zoopy
As part of Zoopy's growth and development into one of the world's leading social media communities, a new regional office in Johannesburg will be opening its doors in Sandton on 1 September 2008.

Calling in the support... - Callit-IT
Callit-IT, the delegate registrations and logistics professionals, has been hard at work the past couple of months, handling several high profile events.

The lessons of Isandlwana: 3 insights that will improve your emarketing campaigns - Ensight
A legendary battle that took place 129 years ago during the Anglo-Zulu war might seem a rather unlikely source of insight into ways of overcoming the challenges modern emarketers face online, but a close examination of the events that took place that day offers several vital lessons regarding confused customers, missed opportunities and lost business.

PRIMEDIA@HOME proliferates GCIS' Photo Story in townships - PRIMEDIA@HOME
PRIMEDIA@HOME was tasked by Government Communications and Information System (GCIS) to implement a public mobilisation campaign to generate brand awareness and distribute mass samples of the Government magazine, Photo Story, within various predetermined township areas throughout five South African provinces earlier this year.


Assegai Awards opens for entries - DMASA
The DMASA Assegai Awards are now open for entries, presented by the South African Post Office. Established as the premier awards wholly dedicated to the multi-billion rand direct marketing industry, the Assegai Awards recognises and rewards excellence in multi-channel direct response marketing.

Back in the day... - Tollreach Mindblast
Remember the good old days when you didn't have to sell your car to pay for fuel? When you did not have to pay an arm and a leg for a nice juicy steak? When your salary covered your debt, or you broke even at least...?

UCT GSB helps leaders master modern complexity - UCT Graduate School of Business
With business leaders feeling the crunch under increasing pressure, the UCT Graduate School of Business (GSB) is offering a course to help leaders reinvent themselves for the 21st century's growing challenges and complexity.


Creative Corporate Journalism - Janine Lazarus Media Consultancy
Designed to provide a solid refresher in basic journalism skills and techniques, this workshop places special emphasis on applying these skills creatively within the corporate environment.

2011 IOC congress for Durban
South Africa is set to welcome the world's top sporting federation in 2011 when the International Olympic Committee hosts its 123rd Congress in Durban. This is according to an announcement made at the 120th session of the IOC held in Beijing last week.

Launch of Events Indaba
Last week saw the launch of the Events Indaba, allegedly a first of its kind in the country, to over 200 events practitioners, the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC), and executive stakeholders at the Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg. The event, to be held in October 2008 at the newly rebranded venue, is intended to become the premier industry event for the South African events sector, which is valued at between R20 billion and R50 billion.

Six African acts signed for jazz festival
The African Diaspora is to be showcased at this year's Standard Bank Joy of Jazz in Newtown at the end of August 2008. Representing artists from Zimbabwe, Botswana, Kenya, the DRC and Swaziland, the African line-up will be joined by top performers from South Africa, the US, Japan, Norway, Spain, Israel, Germany and Holland.


New venue for Zip Zap Circus - Gearhouse SA
What started 16 years ago with a swing in a tree in the Cape township Langa has since become a world-famous circus school. And thanks to the clever design of the Gearhouse In2Structures's FT Dome, the Zip Zap Circus School in Cape Town boasts a venue of its own - for the first time since its humble beginnings.


All aboard the Orient Express... for Barclays staff - Collyer Lessick & Associates
The opulent mood and sophisticated setting of a bygone era was created by Visual Leap when approached by Collyer Lessick International (CLi) to develop a concept for their Dubai based client, Barclays PLC.


Volcano and Octagon team up for Sony's 2008 FevaPitch Five-a-Side football tournament - Volcano Advertising
Volcano Advertising and Octagon Marketing are once again assisting Sony in organising the exciting FevaPitch Five-a-Side football tournament.


Keeping the Siemens Family Day on the go... - Collyer Lessick & Associates
CollyerLessick & Associates (CLA), a long-standing supplier of Siemens, organised and coordinated an event to realise and promote a “work life balance” and provide a platform where staff members could bring their families along for a fun-filled day.

Boating is fun, fashionable and affordable! - Biz Events
The National Boat Show and Dive Expo (NBS) showcases the widest range of boats, to suit your specific requirements and your pocket. From power- and sailboats, to kayaks and inflatables to drop dead gorgeous pontoons and catamarans... it's all at the National Boat Show, - 17 August 2008, at the Coca-Cola dome in Johannesburg.

Magazine brand extension for music channel
DStv music channel MK recently appointed design and publishing consultancy The President to launch an ‘unconventional' magazine concept, targeting youth between 18 - 24. The editor of the new publication is Hunter Kennedy, guitarist and lyricist for the revolutionary Afrikaans rock band, Fokofpolisiekar.

Ingrid Corbett to helm Real Simple
Ingrid Corbett has taken over the reins as editor of Real Simple, effective 1 August 2008, publisher 8 Ink Media announced yesterday, Tuesday, 5 August 2008. Kerryn Fischer, who held the position since the launch edition in December 2005, remains with 8 Ink as editorial director and editor of National Geographic Traveler, which will launch locally in October this year.

Pica entry rule adjustments - Magazine Publishers Association of SA (MPASA)
The entry rules with respect to the New Launch/Relaunch and Online Solution categories of the 2008 Pica Awards have been adjusted.

Private Edition magazine - The Publishing Partnership
Cape Town-based publisher, The Publishing Partnership (TPP) has announced the September launch of its new publication, Private Edition. Private Edition is a quarterly publication, edited by the award-winning Les Aupiais. It offers a window into the world of the understated wealthy.

Gender and Media Summit gets under way
[Issa Sikiti da Silva] More than 200 delegates from 15 SADC countries, US, India, Sweden and Kenya, and from all sectors - media practitioners, monitors and trainers, gender activists and concerned ordinary citizens - have convened today at the Kopanong Hotel in Benoni on the East Rand, for a two-day Gender and Media (GEM) Summit, amid the outcry over the lack of women's voices in media coverage and lack of women in media houses.

Southern African media summit on gender
The third Gender and Media (GEM) Summit, of which the theme is “Whose news, whose views? Critical citizens, responsive media”, is taking place 10 - 12 August 2008 in Johannesburg, South Africa and over 200 media practitioners from around SADC, Africa, and as far away as Palestine and India, are expected to share best practices in creating a more responsive media.

Africa's new voice
[Janine Erasmus] Africa will soon get a new dedicated 24-hour independent news channel. In the spirit of CNN, Al Jazeera, the BBC, and South Africa's own recently-launched eNews channel, A24 will bring news from the African continent delivered from an African perspective. The Nairobi-based initiative is the brainchild of Kenyan Salim Amin, the son of renowned cameraman Mohamed Amin, who died in a plane crash in 1996.


Long walk to ‘media justice' for SA women
[Issa Sikiti da Silva] As South Africa celebrates another Women's Day and Women's Month, the media comes under the microscope, challenged and put to the test by analysts and gender activists who deplore what they call ‘unfair', ‘sexist' and ‘discriminatory' treatment of women by the Fourth-Estate, which is supposed to be the voice of the voiceless and vulnerable groups.

SANEF concerned by court exclusion of journos
The South African National Editors' Forum expressed serious concern yesterday, Monday, 4 August 2008, that several journalists who were accredited to cover the trial of ANC president Jacob Zuma in Pietermaritzburg on Monday were prevented from entering into the court.

Ad hoc broadcast monitoring saves costs - Intranews
Many corporates and PR companies are tied into long-term contracts for broadcast monitoring, but those who are not may find it more cost-effective to utilise the services of a media monitoring company on an ad-hoc basis.

Ma' Mbeki to receive Lifetime Achievement Award at Top Women Awards Ceremony - Top Companies Publishing
While the call for nominations for the Top Women Awards is well underway and entries are mounting, Top Women in Business & Government (TWBG), in association with Topco Media, has invited Epainette Mbeki (Ma' Mbeki) to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the event to be held at the Sandton Convention Centre on 4 September 2008.

SA Publication Forum conference
The SA Publication Forum will be presenting a one-day conference to coincide with the annual Corporate Publication Competition's award function on 28 August at the Midrand Conference Centre. The theme of the conference is ‘Just do it right'. Delegates can find out more about the latest electronic advances for corporate publications, reporting on sticky issues in your newsletter and the age-old debate on whether an agency or an in-house facility is better for producing your corporate publication. For the full programme, visit www.sapublicationforum.co.za.

Agencies, mobile specialists should work together
[Shaun Rosen] Specialist mobile advertising and marketing companies do not threaten traditional advertising agencies, but instead complement their skills and services. Over the past two years, mobile advertising has started to come to the fore as a compelling channel for advertising and marketing. Although it currently accounts for only a tiny portion of total advertising spend, market researchers expect global mobile ad spending to amount to about $15 billion by 2012.


Nando's speeds up mobile takeout
DigitalMobile recently worked with Nando's to drive customer innovation through the use of mobile marketing. In a collaborative effort, DigitalMobile created an application that allows Nando's customers to interact and gain up-to-date content on the chicken quick service restaurant via their mobile phones.

Obstacles still stand in the way of true mobility
South African network operators need to make substantial investments in local exchange infrastructure before a world of truly ubiquitous mobile connectivity becomes a reality. That's according to Mark Taylor, managing director at Nashua Mobile.

Mobile media vs traditional media - Grapevine Media
In order to extract commercial value when it comes to mobile advertising, one needs to ensure the prevalence of reach, interaction and measurement.

Clickatell provides SMS mobile alerts for CNN coverage of 2008 Beijing Games - Clickatell
Global mobile messaging solutions provider Clickatell has announced that CNN International has entrusted it to bring mobile SMS coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games to fans around the world. Clickatell has worked with CNN since 2007 to provide a broad range of news via SMS alerts, and is now powering the CNN Beijing 2008 SMS gold medal alert service.

Free tips to improve your online marketing campaigns - ClickMaven
Online marketing specialist ClickMaven has published a handy new user-guide for people interested in improving their online advertising campaigns.

Alliance Media wins Uganda airport advertising tender - Alliance Media
Alliance Media has won the exclusive tender to control the advertising at Uganda's recently refurbished Entebbe Airport.

Producing the audiovisual goods for Loeries
A recommendation by Velocity Films executive producer, Peter Carr, saw Be Phat Motel Film Company approached early in 2008 to produce a series of visuals for this year's 30th anniversary Loerie Awards ceremony, specifically the six musical performances. Be Phat Motel is an up-and-coming collaboration between a number of young South African industry professionals.


Music video wins Loeries Craft award - Giant Films
The Parlotones hit, "I'll Be There", received a Craft certificate for animation and special visual effects. This reportedly marks the first time a music video has won at the Loeries.


Riverstone Films gets real animated about the new Neotel ad - Riverstone Films
South Africa's first converged network communications operator, Neotel, has recently begun flighting its first television commercial. The commercial features live action sequences seamlessly combined with computer generated imagery (CGI).


Fresh Eye pair up mugs and ''Woody Allen'' in new Wimpy ad - Fresh Eye Film Productions
''We shot so many funny takes we could have made a short film,'' says Cindy Lee, the director from Fresh Eye Film Productions, describing the new Wimpy commercial, conceptualised by Morris Jones.


Grant De Sousa hits a six for Gill Shampoo and Draftfcb - Collective
Hot on the heels of his endearing Knorr spot, Grant De Sousa completed two spots for Gill anti-dandruff shampoo with Draftfcb Johannesburg.


Yoli Mes heads up Johannesburg operation of Collective Films - Collective
Yoli Mes, stalwart of the South African advertising and production industry, has joined the Collective Films family as executive producer and is heading up its office in Johannesburg.


Ring of Fire gets a Flash makeover - Picture Tree
Take a modest budget, a remake of a Johnny Cash single and an open-minded, up-and-coming SA punk rock band. Add a big imagination and cheeky Flash animation and the result is the latest music video offering from Submachine, directed by Picture Tree Projects' Juniper.


Terraplane's AK is back in SA - Terraplane
After three months shooting overseas, AK is back in Johannesburg with a booty of new work. First on the cards is A Mild, which was shot in Indonesia, the fourth commercial AK has directed for this brand in the last three years.

Raid joins forces with Samplex - Samplex
Insect repellent, bugs, spiders and creepy crawlies are not the most widely discussed or welcome of topics, yet when Samplex was given the job of promoting Raid insect repellent, the team were determined to generate an understanding and awareness about the brand through an interactive road show promotional campaign.


It's hot chocolate time! - Business on your Back
Want to impress your staff or clients? There is nothing nicer than being served a hot cup of hot chocolate, with a marshmallow, right at your office table, workplace or outdoor function.

Common media database mistakes that ruin good PR - Encyclomedia
A bright red car stops at a busy intersection in Cape Town and the driver loudly calls across the lanes to a newspaper seller, who immediately darts through the cars to reach the man. He asks to buy 14 copies of The Cape Times - basically everything in the newspaper seller's arms!

Stand-alone PR crisis plans are a no-no! - Crisis Communications Consultancy
While those South African companies that have enterprise-wide crisis communication plans are taking responsible steps to protect themselves against potential emergencies, many are not aware that their crisis communication plans should integrate into a variety of other company policies and strategies.

It's going to be a Fine 94.7
Popular radio presenter Kevin Fine is joining the 94.7Highveld Stereo lineup on a freelance basis, it was announced late last week.

Voice of Tembisa presenter takes Telkom award
“As a sport's presenter, I'm very pleased that The Voice of Thembisa gave me the opportunity to stay close to the sport that I used to play at school and also keep my community inspired and involved in the game of soccer.” So says Arnold Rankoko, winner of the Best Presenter Radio, Electronic Media, in the recent Telkom Charity Cup Awards.

Join Heart 104.9FM for their very first Premier's Monday - Heart 104.9
Heart 104.9FM's growing influence in Cape Town is evidenced in a new feature starting on the Bokomo Hearty Breakfast on Monday, 11 August 2008. Lynne Brown, the new Premier of the Western Cape, will join Lee Downs and the team for the first Premier's Monday.

Vodacom MPowerFM Top Jock winner announced - United Stations
Following auditions that took place at spots all over Mpumalanga with hundreds of aspiring radio presenters lined up to be the next top jock for MpowerFM, four finalists were recently chosen based on the preference of the listeners - and coming out on top was Miguel Proenca.


Anyone could win... The Good Hope FM Best of Cape Town Awards! - Good Hope FM
What would Cape Town be, without Capetonians? People make a city, and the time has come to give ordinary Capetonians the appreciation they deserve. To honour those who dedicate their talents to making Cape Town great, Good Hope FM has launched The Good Hope FM Best of Cape Town Awards.


East Coast Radio and Jacaranda achieve CSI first online - East Coast Radio
East Coast Radio along with sister station Jacaranda have achieved a radio first for South Africa by raising in excess of R150 000 online for their winter CSI projects.

East Coast Radio makes Winter Warmth its #1 priority - East Coast Radio
As South Africans we are all only too painfully aware of the tremendous disparities of those living in wealth to those in abject poverty. The plight of the poor and homeless in KZN is one that has been close to the hearts of East Coast Radio and its listeners, as thousands already bracing the cold winter were further plagued by recent floods and widespread shack fires.

Job portal launches supply, demand index
CareerJunction has launched the CareerJunction Index (CJI) for measurings the trend between supply and demand of the online labour market, where the supply represents the pool of active “CareerSeekers” and the demand represents the advertised jobs.

Revamp for job portal
As the Internet matures, the job seeker's expectation of online recruitment is changing and there is much room for improvement in this area for many online recruitment websites. A response to this is the new version of South African job portal Jobs.co.za that launched yesterday, Monday, 4 August 2008.

South Africans becoming naughtier - Sexpo survey
We're getting naughtier; that's the verdict from this year's annual Sexpo Sex Survey after interviewing 1000 South African men and women between the ages of 24 and 35 during May and June 2008. The survey, a yardstick that establishes some of the more saucy aspects of adult sexual behaviour, indicates a marked upward curve in some of the naughtier aspects of adult lifestyle, while at the same time noting a desire for escapism during tougher times.

Simba names first woman CEO
Lauren Siebrits has recently been appointed as the new CEO of Simba, making her the first woman and South African to lead the Simba snacks business, says Arnold Veraart, the outgoing Sub-Saharan Africa GM. Simba has been wholly owned by US company PepsiCo since 1999.


The who's who of US retailing
[Pedro de Gouveia] The USA's National Retail Federation's venerable retail trade publication, Stores magazine, announced the results of its 2008 Top 100 Retailers Study in July.

How to recruit top notch sales people
[John Boe] Essentially a sales manager's primary responsibility is to recruit, train and motivate his or her sales force to achieve peak performance. Of these three vitally important tasks, recruiting is the least understood and by far the most challenging.

How PowerPoint downed the space shuttle
[Sid Peimer] Space shuttle Columbia orbited the earth for two weeks with an unknown hole in the wing due to a foam strike (the latter which NASA did know about). The craft burned up on re-entry, killing the entire crew. It also killed PowerPoint at NASA. These are the six cognitive traps that PowerPoint is so good at - and all six appear in a key slide that was used in a presentation by Boeing while Columbia was damaged but still flying.


#1 sales event in South Africa - SALESGURU Publishing
SALESGURU is hosting a smashing sales event in the month of August - for all sales staff, all esteemed sales leaders and everyone who sells for a professional living. If you only attend one event this year, it has to be this one.


Do you have the right attitude for sales? - SALESGURU Publishing
Ask any sales leader what they want in a salesperson and they will always start with attitude. We know this. We have asked hundreds over the years, and it is always the same.

MTN sponsors soccer club competition
The MTN 8 knockout tournament will see the country's top eight clubs compete against each other in a revamped version of the season-opener cup competition. “Since the inception of the Top 8 in 1972, we have seen the birth of many legends and some truly memorable matches. This year, with the exciting innovations introduced by PSL and the new sponsor MTN, I feel that the competition will be fiercer than ever before and I am certain there are no favourites,” said Dr Irvin Khoza, chairman of the Premier Soccer League (PSL), yesterday, Monday, 4 August 2008.

Influencing the influencers - Exp
Carol Abade, group CEO of Exp, will be presenting a keynote speech on Influencing the Influencers at the African Experiential Marketing Summit on 3 September 2008, in Johannesburg.

Minister does about-turn on mobile TV licensing
NEWSWATCH: A “U-turn” decision by the minister of communications Ivy Matsepe-Cassaburri to have an open and non-discriminatory policy on digital video broadcasting-handheld (DVBH) - and more than once licence holder - has been welcomed by the telecommunications industry, writes Business Report.

Rugby goes reality TV route
Do you have what it takes to be the next Bryan Habana? The hunt for South Africa's most promising young players kicks off in August 2008 with SABC2's new rugby reality series Up & Under. Says the programme's executive producer, Duncan Irvine of Rapid Blue: “We recognised a need in the country to find raw, undiscovered rugby talent, and a reality TV series is a great platform to do that.”

Connie Ferguson launches first SA celebrity fragrance
Actress, model, presenter, producer and philanthropist, Connie Ferguson, is making local history by being the first South African woman to launch her own celebrity fragrance, which has been named ‘True Self'.


Remixing the Beijing Olympics live
Trail-blazers in the art of audio/video remixing, Addictive TV will be remixing direct feeds from the Beijing Olympics live for TV as part of a project for Austrian State Broadcaster ORF in Vienna.


MultiChoice adds audio to DStv
MultiChoice has added three audio channels to DStv and expanded the History channel from an 18 hour to a 24 hour broadcast service.

Carte Blanche urges businesses to make a difference
2008 marks the show's 20th birthday and to celebrate this milestone in cutting edge journalism, Carte Blanche has embarked on a charity campaign called “Making a Difference” to highlight the plight of welfare organisations which focus on the needs of children.

Telkom Media takes delivery of pay-TV licence
Industry regulator ICASA has issued Telkom Media with a pay-TV licence, it was announced yesterday, Tuesday, 5 August 2008. While the licence was granted last year, the actual delivery of the licence means that the Telkom Media may now operate a commercial subscription TV broadcasting service.

Record number of live feeds for sporting channel
This past weekend, SuperSport had a record number of 151 live sports feeds being received - 69 standard definition and 16 high definition from the Beijing Olympic Games and 66 other standard definition feeds during the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There has been extensive live coverage of the Games on SuperSport, with seven channels - SS 5, SS Gold (6), SS 7, MaXimo, MaXimo 2, SS Extra (channel 198) and SS Extra 2 (channel 199). DStv last week also launched the HD channel (170 on DStv) and there is blanket coverage of the Olympics on this new platform.

SABC denies ‘gravy train' accusations
The SABC has noted media reports around its delegation to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and deny that the trip is a jaunt for SABC officials and Board members. “The SABC would therefore like to put it on record that yes, the organisation is sending a delegation to the Beijing Olympics. This delegation will consist of the SABC officials and Board members, our clients and SABC technical staff.” According to the SABC they all have a “role” to play at the games.

SABC/SuperSport deal over MTN Top 8
The SABC has sub licensed the right from SuperSport to show some of the MTN Top 8 games. These will comprise of the two quarterfinal matches and both semi final matches and the final. As per the contract, SuperSport had first preference in choosing games to broadcast; hence SABC won't be broadcasting the other two quarterfinal games.

New youth dance competition launches
e.tv launches a new youth hip hop dance competition, The Shield No Sweat Show, featuring girls aged 12 - 18 years old, on Sunday, 10 August 2008, at 6.05pm. Hip hop was reportedly introduced to South Africa in the 1980s and has become extremely popular among urban youth. Says Zanele Mthembu, head of local productions at e.tv: “This is a unique opportunity for e.tv to partner with Shield on dance competition for girls. Street dance has been dominated mostly by males and now for the first time on SA television young girls will have the platform to showcase their dance skills in hip hop, kwaito and R&B.”

Interpreting the code of advertising to kids
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of South Africa and Consumer Goods Council (CGC) will be running a series of seminars on the new Code for Advertising to Children during August and September 2008 in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, in order to facilitate a national understanding of the new code for companies, marketers, advertising agencies, and other interested parties. For more information, go to the Bizcommunity.com Industry Events calendar.