In a highly transformative and evolving industry, the South African advertising landscape is not as representative as one would expect from such a progressive and diverse nation. Digital marketing in South Africa is still demonstrates an imbalanced gender dynamic.

In an industry where 45% of the workplace is female, a mere 3% of directorship is held by women. Today, only 2.4% of women are CEOs and Only 9.2% of women hold chairperson positions. Women in leadership positions remain a minority within an industry that does not lack female representation: 50% of graduates studying marketing degrees are women.

“Despite there being no shortage of women in the industry, there doesn’t seem to be nearly enough in leadership roles,” says Facebook Africa's regional director, Nunu Ntshingila. “We need to see women that are authentic, we need to see women that are empowered, and we need to see women that are progressive because our girls need to see not only that what is possible, they’ve got to see what they need to become.”

It seems that the advertising industry has no trouble attracting women to the field, it is retaining them that is the problem. Women in creative roles appear to leave the industry in the middle of their careers, a move which is primarily attributed to having children. While many women return to agency, taking a break often hinders the opportunity to progress in their careers. Further to this, women are challenged with work-life balance in ways that their male counterparts are not. One can argue that taking on the dual roles of motherhood and career woman shifts the focus from a dedicated climb up the career ladder.

While the representation of women in advertising agencies in general is a bone of contention, the diversity of women in this field is much to be desired. There is a pervasive lack of black women in creative leadership positions or founding their own agencies in comparison to the increasing amount of white women and black women in the same position. The focus needs to shift: diversity is not solely about the number of women in leadership roles, but rather consider that a wide array of cultures, races and ethnicities are represented within agencies. Ultimately, diversity results in creativity, innovation and progressive concepts; agencies will reap the rewards of an exceptional offering from an entirely inclusive workforce. Diversity does not lower the bar. Diversity raises it.

It is essential to have strong female leaders in advertising agencies to inspire and motivate other women. We must celebrate women of colour who hold positions of prominence in the industry. It is important to understand what the female workforce would need to help them stay in the industry - this could mean child care assistance, destigmatising flexi-time and correcting salary inequalities. At the end of the day, it is about creating an environment that empowers women and allows them the courage and self-confidence to flourish within their roles, as creatives and leaders.

About Keshia Patchiappen, Condriac CEO

Keshia Patchiappen is paving the way for women of colour with her dynamic, strategic approach to the realm of digital marketing and communications. Keshia has experienced a stellar career trajectory, rising from an intern to CEO through 11 years of experience across all advertising platforms. She has worked for global communication agencies and a vast number of clients ranging from automotive, construction, consumer and corporate brands.

Keshia is passionate about revolutionising the way in which brands are marketed in the digital space, and is extremely focused on the inclusion of data in cohesive Public Relations and Communications strategies. Her tenacity, creativity and thorough knowledge of the industry allows Condriac to continue to break new ground and provide clients with an invaluable competitive edge.

Cape Town, South Africa, 25 July 2017 – The Spaza Agency launches today, headed by a small team of dynamic individuals with over 40 years of combined experience in advertising, public relations, content creation, design and events management. The new agency is focused on developing innovative experiential marketing campaigns and leveraging on unpaid media to help small businesses and start-ups in Cape Town and South Africa achieve market presence and improve their visibility in the local and global media landscape. 

The agency management team comprises of a couple, Lawrence and Rachel Stevenson, who come with decades of agency experience marketing global and start-up brands in South Africa and Singapore, and Dylan James, a seasoned business developer in the local start-up scene and Director and Board Secretary of the South African Small & Medium Enterprise Federation or SASMEF. 

“When it comes to the marketing of small businesses and startups I have noticed that they face a common issue – they are not able to break through the clutter. This is where we can help. With a good marketing strategy that addresses the different needs of these small businesses, we can achieve positive market presence and share of voice for them locally and internationally,” said Dylan James, Creative Partner of The Spaza Agency. 

The Spaza Agency is an affiliate of Empower Marketing Asia, an integrated marketing solutions company with offices in Shanghai China, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.  

“South Africa and Asia are both growing economies that are seeing an upsurge of start-ups and small businesses. We see a lot of synergy in these markets and believe we can cross sell across many different platforms to help our clients achieve results and effectively engage their target markets and stakeholders,” said Rachel Stevenson, Creative Partner of the Spaza Agency. 

"The addition of The Spaza Agency to our existing network of affiliates is timely and of great strategic importance to Empower because South Africa is a key market for some of our existing multinational clients," said Kelvin Phang, founder of Empower Marketing Asia. "Having worked with Rachel on successful campaigns across multiple markets in Asia, we have no doubt that Spaza will be a great success and will certainly extend our reach and capabilities beyond Asia Pacific."

About The Spaza Agency

The Spaza Agency is a small integrated marketing solutions agency focused on innovative and holistic marketing campaigns for small businesses and start-ups in South Africa. The creative team is made up of three Creative Partners who bring with them over 40 years of combined agency experience in marketing. For more information please visit thespazaagency.com.  

About Empower Marketing Asia

Empower Marketing Asia is an independent micro-network agency that has been delivering integrated marketing solutions for clients across Asia since 2012. With offices in Shanghai, Singapore, Malaysia and a strong network of affiliates across Asia, we partner our regional and local clients to engage their customers and audiences through strategic marketing communications and transformative brand experiences. We work closely with our clients and their stakeholders to fully utilize Paid, Earned, Owned and Shared media, while not forgetting the importance of O2O (offline-to-online, online-to-offline) in all brand communications. For more, visit www.empowerasia.biz. Visit our Facebook page @empowerasia  

For media enquiries, please contact

Dylan James
Creative Partner,
The Spaza Agency
E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
T: +27 (084) 244 6389

South Africa, July 03, 2017 - Propelled by the successful launch of the Government Directory in 2008, African Directory Services (Pty) Ltd has now expanded its offerings for clients who want to attract consumers from various corners of the African continent efficiently.

The in-demand and well-known Government Directory offers insight into the best of business and government in the African soil. This first-hand and exclusive directory is the best of its kind and has been connecting businesses and government for many years running with the aim to enhance local and international integration to allow for better intra and inter governments’ communication. 

This state-of-the-art form of advertising attracts business deals, partnerships, brand awareness and new clients for its advertisers. The Government Directory puts businesses and government on the map and makes them accessible to millions of users, local, national and international.

The latest news, reviews, projects, tenders, vacancies and contact information can be found on the Government Directory and businesses have the opportunity to connect and network with over 5000 government institutions, instantly. With an annual print and directory in discs of 30k and over 5 million users, this is the ideal platform to showcase and advertise your business.

This Government Directory allows businesses to get instant “request for quotes” messages direct to their inbox and increase traffic to their sites and social media pages with email and web links. Advertisers are able to include images, logos, products/service offerings, keywords, maps, special offers and more. For more information or if you have any inquiries simply click here.

About Government Directory of Southern Africa

The Government Directory is officially powered by African Directory Services (Pty) Ltd – We are Africa’s largest and most reputable publisher of business and government institutions since the year 2000.

Issued by African Directory Services (Pty) Ltd

Contact us:

Tel

• 0860 3663 87
• +27 (0) 11 3336803

Fax

• 086 556 8441
• +27 (0) 11 3336826

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.               

Web:

• www.adslive.com
• www.government.co.za

Introduction

Lorge Consulting Services – has been frequently making headlines following a streak of noteworthy philanthropic endeavours and client success stories. The company has also featured at various single and multi-industry events, on national and international platforms. This time, however, the Premier Certified Sage Partner is sending shockwaves throughout the Southern African business landscape by expanding its product line. This is courtesy of a new addition to the existing suite of cutting-edge BMS solutions: Sage Evolution (SE).  

Following much preparation and planning, the company is proud to announce the official addition of Sage Evolution to the existing family of Sage products offered to the market. This is in-keeping with the company vision to be thee leading provider of innovative, business and industry-specific BMS and BI software. The company’s comprehensive range of sought-after solutions under one umbrella, together with proven industry expertise for more than 30 years, and an unstinting commitment to service excellence - all attest to Lorge’s reputation as a pioneering and forward-facing organisation.    

Sage Evolution – “Next Level” Business Management Resource    

The launch of Sage Evolution in South Africa represented a direct response to the unique and ever-evolving needs of businesses operating in dynamic markets, with intensifying competitive forces and rapidly growing consumer needs. This called for a progressive software solution with sophisticated tools and capabilities as well as the ability to enhance user-experience.       

The latter is a key factor addressed by SE as the software is intelligently designed for exceptional ease-of-use. Additionally, there are a host of important reasons why Sage Evolution is the software of choice for leading industries within South Africa, the continent as a whole and for that matter – globally.  

Consider these 5 compelling reasons why your business development, customer-service and administrative systems can widely benefit from this particular Sage product in 2017 and beyond.    

These features and benefits although considerable, only begin to scratch the surface of SE. For more comprehensive insight contact our experts here.    

1. The features of SE provide for a holistic and fully integrated software solution:  

An effective BMS cannot stand alone as an isolated system that isn’t compatible with others and refuses to factor in the influences of all operational elements. This is where SE’s advantages kick in, as an all-encompassing product that instinctively connects with other applications.  

This means that SE is not only a robust financial management system, but one than can seamlessly network and align to existing third-party programs - wherever required. There is a science to it and a deeply technical side, but this is where the expertise of trained technicians and the comfort of reliable service support come in. SE can therefore work harmoniously with an existing CRM tool, for instance – and the same would apply to any current system that has to be considered. This enables efficient installations as well as tailored products suited to individual business needs.  

2. SE offers ease-of-use - despite its advanced capabilities:  

This is a massive consideration in that, while the software handles complex integration and manages a host of important business functions, the end-user experience is highly intuitive. For instance, the main system manager features an easily navigable System Tree. This welcoming interface caters to everything from system set-up, to control, to multi-level password security, online help and so forth. Such simplicity and functionality foster greater productivity, efficiency and security.  

3. SE allows for the implementation of dynamic Industry and business-specific solutions:     

Since every business differs as do its needs - a scalable and customisable solution is required for peak performance. SE enables one to create business-specific modules that complement the software’s core functions. So whether you need to incorporate a high traffic ecommerce platform into your business management system, or whether you need to collate and analyse data from multiple offices with hundreds of users – unique modules can be created or set-up to cater for these demands.  

4. Flexible Report generation and real-time updating:  

Successful businesses are largely incumbent on the meaningful assimilation and interpretation of various sets of data. This relates to every facet of the business, and in order to be achieved, requires relevant report generation for internal use or sharing with stakeholders. Instances include the need to monitor or report on sales trends, expenditure analyses, inventory movements, wage and salary schedules, debtors or creditors figures and much more.  

Standard reports can be customised by employing the Report Writer module and scheduled reports can be automated to generate and be emailed periodically to specific persons. Furthermore, vast data volumes can be securely pulled and analysed from multiple sources in excel with figures updating in real time. Simply refresh in order to update to most current data. Controlling accessibility and Alert Management for notifications are some of the other useful features.      

5. Superior Inventory Control and Optimisation:  

Inventory monitoring or tracking and management as a whole are fundamental in developing sustainable business success. The SE Inventory Optimisation feature is included as part of the core SE modules. It allows for stock levels to be set and synchronised with preferred suppliers linked to each item. In this way ordering processes can be automated.  

Factors such as lead times and reorder quantities can also be integrated within the system criteria. Even internal stock distribution or movements between divisions can be managed via the Inventory Issue feature. Then the main Inventory module empowers any business to exercise virtually unlimited control over stock. From summarised management reports to detailed operational reports - all can be customised to the requirements of each user.    

Find out more about the benefits and features of Sage Evolution by dialling 010 594 9800 today.    

Why Lorge is a trusted supplier of SE and other Sage solutions  

SE is a powerful tool with user friendly features. However, in order to ensure the most effective solutions, tailored to your specific business - the right technical expertise and after-sales support is vital in harnessing SE’s full capabilities. This will ensure you have the most appropriate solution for your enterprise, efficiently installed and backed by knowledgeable and dedicated service professionals. This translates to optimum system performance and prompt technical assistance when required.  

Here are only a few reasons why Lorge is your service provider of choice when it comes to Sage Evolution:  

• Lorge has earned a reputation of excellence, being trusted by over 10,000 users in the broadest spectrum of industries.
• Lorge has a Dedicated Sage Accredited In-house Training Centre.
• Lorge is an award-winning enterprise and therefore recognised as a leader by the industry.
• Lorge adopts a client-centred approach with all customers. This has allowed the organisation to expand its footprint nationally as well as internationally.
• The in-house knowledge and expertise of Lorge has been firmly entrenched over a number of years. This is evidenced by the comprehensive suite of Sage and related BMS products that    the organisation specialises in.  

Account Manager at Sage South Africa, David Jones, discussed a plethora of Sage Evolution features and benefits with our media representative – a few of which are discussed above. Additionally, David discussed that strict criteria is applied to suppliers wishing to become Certified Sage Partners, of which there are several tiers. Customers enlisting Lorge will have the comfort of knowing that the company is a Premier Certified Sage Partner.           

For further information on Sage Evolution, or to discuss your current enterprise needs, contact our Sales Department on 010 594 9800.

Media Contact
This Press Release is proudly brought to you by communications specialists ~  

Organisation: Genesis Articles Global
Website: www.genesisarticles.co.za
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Contact person: Mark David Sing
Contact Number: +27 76 450 6739
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The No Nonsense Group, a direct and digital marketing agency, announced that their media division has launched a new and exciting product, Digital Street Pole™ Ads! After being in the marketing industry for 20 years, TNNG has continued to grow with the ever-changing digital marketing environment. Digital Street Pole™ Advertising is testimony to this, using the latest technology available in digital advertising networks, to deploy location based advertisements to targeted audiences.

The Founder and CEO of TNNG had this to say, “The launch of Digital Street Pole™ Advertising is a very exciting time for TNNG! We are so proud of this new product and looking forward to seeing where it will take us and our clients. I recommend this product to any company or marketer wanting to reach a larger audience and ROI.”

Digital Street Pole™ Advertising has the following benefits:

• Guaranteed ROI
• Lower cost per click (CPC)
• Larger audience reach
• Select specific audience
• Unlimited ads

TNNG Media is a division of The No Nonsense Group based in Durban, South Africa, having worked with clients such as uShaka Marine World, Gateway Theatre of Shopping, Zimbali, Keter, Island Style, Food Lovers’ Market, Windovert and many more.

Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more.

Samsung Elevates Quality Of Life with Ultimate Freshness and Functional Modern Design at Samsung Africa Forum 2015

Samsung presents premium Chef Collection refrigerator and the activ dualwash™ top-load washer with built-in sink for maximum convenience

ANTALYA, Turkey – March 25, 2015– Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a global home appliance innovator, announced a new lineup of innovative and convenient home appliances that elevate the quality of consumers’ lives. Bringing together world class Michelin-starred chefs, the new Samsung Chef Collection refrigerator delivers ultimate freshness for home chefs. The evolutionary activ dualwash™ top-load washing machine allows pre-treatment avoiding mess and saving a considerable amount of time and effort.

These are among the highlights on display at the Samsung Africa Forum from February 19 to 21, 2015.

Among the highlights for 2015 are:
A chef inspired refrigerator which preserves food at its freshest, retaining its original flavour, texture and nutrients  Activ dualwash™ Top-load washing machine that delivers an all-in-one solution for pre-treating delicates
The Ultimate Refrigerator for Professional Food Preservation In collaboration with Samsung’s Club des Chefs (www.samsungclubdeschefs.com), a first-of-its-kind global culinary initiative that brings together Michelin-starred chefs to drive innovation for next-generation appliances. Samsung has harnessed the collective expertise of top chefs from around the world to create the Chef Collection, a premium range of kitchen appliances.

The Chef Collection refrigerator (RF9900) brings the functionality and design of a professional kitchen into homes, helping consumers discover their inner chef. Great dishes start with the freshest ingredients so storage is key to maximising taste. The Samsung Chef Collection 4-Door Refrigerator represents a huge leap forward in food preservation, storage, organisation and meal preparation.

The Samsung Chef Collection’s Precise Chef Cooling enables an exact and constant temperature. While the set temperature in conventional refrigerators can vary between 1.5 degrees, these temperature fluctuations on the Chef Collection refrigerator are dramatically reduced to 0.5 degree Celsius. In addition to this advanced technology, the Metal Cooling Plate, positioned on the back of the refrigerator compartment, helps to maintain the set temperature throughout the refrigerator, which is important in keeping food fresh and tasty. In addition, Samsung’s Triple Cooling System creates three separate airflows in the refrigerator and freezer, enabling optimal humidity control and improved cooling performance for each compartment.

The Triple Cooling System also enables the Chef Collection Refrigerator to feature a lower right compartment – called the Fridge-in-Freezer – which can be converted from a refrigerator to a freezer and back again, and serves a multitude of needs. It can be a fresh food prep zone for restaurant-quality meals, a storage space for frozen home-cooked meals, or a centralised area for beverage storage.

The Chef Collection refrigerator also delivers on meal preparation needs. One of the key chef insights to emerge from Samsung Club des Chefs was that professionals prefer meat and fish to maintain optimal temperatures before cooking. Samsung’s solution? The Chef Pantry, a temperature-controlled compartment within the main refrigerator that allows items like fish to be optimally chilled at -1 degree Celsius to extend quality and taste. Also, Samsung created the Chef Pan, a multi-use stainless steel container located in the refrigerator that can not only be used for marinating and storing food in the refrigerator, but can also be placed in the oven and loaded in the dishwasher.

A Groundbreaking Laundry Innovation

Research shows that when it comes to laundry, the most tedious task is pre-treatment and pre-wash. Most homes don’t have a sink in their laundry rooms, requiring consumers to pre-treat/pre-wash elsewhere and bring the items to the machine. The latest top load washer from Samsung solves this with a simple yet revolutionary feature - activ dualwash™.

The top of the activ dualwash™ washing machine includes a built-in sink with a water jet and gentle scrubbing surface. This convenient sink provides a separate space to pre-treat tough stains, like heavily soiled sports uniforms, or hand wash items like delicate sweaters and shirt collars. Once finished, the laundry and water can easily be poured into the machine. This all-in-one solution allows consumers to handle the entire wash process in the laundry unit instead of having to spread it out over multiple locations, avoiding mess and saving a considerable amount of effort.

The active dualwash™ also delivers physical comfort according to internal research. Compared to the typical hand-wash posture like crouching or standing near to a low positioned basin, the active dualwash™’s built-in sink enables on average a 43 percent decrease of muscle tension, making the overall pre-treating process much more stress-free.

The activ dualwash™ adds additional convenience and piece-of-mind with its Magic Dispenser. A propeller inside the dispenser creates a powerful water vortex to dissolve and spread detergent evenly. It also cleans leftover detergent in the dispenser itself.

The Samsung Chef Collection refrigerator and activ dualwashTM top-load washing machine are available from January 2015 and from February 2015, respectively. * Features and functions will vary by market.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies, redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, cameras, digital appliances, printers, medical equipment, network systems, and semiconductor and LED solutions. We are also leading in the Internet of Things space through, among others, our Smart Home and Digital Health initiatives. We employ 307,000 people across 84 countries with annual sales of US $196 billion.

To discover more, please visit our official website at www.samsung.com and our official blog at global.samsungtomorrow.com  

Legendary saxophonist Maceo Parker brings his unique sound to South Africa

With roots that go as deep as the history of funk itself and a long list of collaborations with the biggest names in the genre, funk wouldn’t be funk without alto-saxophonist Maceo Parker. For two nights only, Parker will be getting the “groove on” in Pretoria on 8 May and Johannesburg on 9 May.   In what he describes as an experience akin to university, Parker perfected his sound as sideman to James Brown. During the 1960s Parker and his drummer brother Melvin joined the James Brown band; it was the start of a partnership that would last for the next decade. 

Parker’s signature sound led, in part, to the band being recognised as early pioneers of modern day funk and hip-hop.   Constantly redefining his style, Parker continued to live the sprit of funk. He joined George Clinton's P-Funk Mothership, followed by stints with a number of other groups, becoming a golden thread that linked the style. In 1970 Parker, with some fellow James Brown band members, formed Maceo and All the Kings Men and released two albums that continue to remain popular. To date he has collaborated with Ray Charles, Ani Difranco, James Taylor, Prince, De La Soul, Dave Matthews Band and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.   In 1990 Parker embarked on a solo career and while funk still defined his style, his music became richly nuanced with the sounds of jazz and soul. He released two successful albums Roots Revisited (which spent 10 weeks at the top of Billboard's Jazz Charts in 1990) and Mo' Roots (1991). His third solo album Life on Planet Groove, recorded live in 1992, established him as a contemporary artist and boosted his exposure to a college-going audience. Albums like Funk Overload, Dial M-A-C-E-O and Made by Maceo cemented his catch phrase "2% Jazz, 98% Funky Stuff” with his audiences. 

Parker has toured extensively with his own band and since 1999 he has participated in some of Prince's tours when time allowed. In July of 2012 Parker was presented with Les Victoires du Jazz in Paris: a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to music and during the same weekend he was presented with an Icon Award at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam. The youth band Nu-Notes will be opening for Parker at both performances. The Nu-Notes, a group of young talented jazz musicians who are being mentored by trombonist, arranger and conductor Dan Selsick. They form part of the Cape Town Jazz Orchestra programme that aims to develop young South African musicians, through music education, skills development, and creating performance platforms for young musicians.   Parker will be performing on the 08 May at the Brooklyn Theatre, Pretoria and 09 May at the Wits Theatre, Johannesburg. The concert starts at 20h00 and tickets cost R180. 

Tickets can be booked from www.webtickets.co.za

For Interview requests and access to high resolution pictures contact JT Communication Solutions on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 011 788 7632
Issued by JT Communication Solutions on Behalf of Cape Town Jazz Orchestra

KWV, an award-winning, proudly South African brand, is reawakening the spirit of the brand with the launch of it’s first ever consumer trademark brand campaign, ‘Finish Great’ that communicates the company’s proud heritage and product innovation across spirits and wines that KWV has embodied since 1918.

The emotive integrated campaign kicks off today with the flighting of KWV’s first ever TV ad. KWV has a long tradition of crafting some of the finest wines and brandies in the world. This is the company’s first consumer brand campaign that stretches across the product worlds of wine and spirits to deliver a consistent brand theme that works across all touch points; providing the foundation for a bold distinctive brand message.

Tyrone Beck, Creative Director at Saatchi & Saatchi Brandsrock, the ad agency tasked with developing the pioneering campaign for the brand explains: “This is a tribute to the great legacy of KWV, but also demonstrates that by standing on the shoulders of giants, we are inspired to aim higher, to reach even greater heights and inevitably ‘Finish Great’.”He adds: “The campaign idea was based on a core insight that through persistence, character is revealed and in everything we do, we strive to finish great,” says Beck.

“The heart of KWV is Proud Pioneers brought to life through the spirit of: respecting tradition while challenging convention and through persistence character is revealed. We are telling this story through the campaign theme of ‘On the shoulders of giants’. ”Beck continues: “Giants have stature, they are larger than life and undeniably impressive. We revere them and in South Africa, KWV is a giant, it’s a brand that has a 97 year-old history and credible credentials to support such a bold statement.

“The story line follows an affirmation to the giants who enable us to Finish Great,” he adds. “We are bringing to life this story with a 360 degree approach, which we will aim to further build on the ‘Giants’ theme through a product-centric print and fully integrated user generated social and digital campaign.”

Beck says that the integrated campaign includes the brands first ever television commercial, amplification via a full PR rollout, experiential activations, iconic out of home billboards, point-of-sale and in-store promotions.He admits that the task was not easy. “The alcohol marketplace is extremely cluttered, with premium liquor brands playing heavily in the world of inspiration,” he says. “Therefore we strived to achieve a well considered and creatively consistent visual theme to work across all touch points and to be the foundation for a bold and distinctive message.”

“This campaign literally dramatizes how, as individuals, we take inspiration from the past – our legacy, our forefathers,” he says. “We look up to them. They inspire us to have the courage to break new ground. Essentially we are all on a journey to master our own crafts, as young South Africans, as young people we work hard at mastering and we follow in the footsteps of masters and pioneers that come before us.

”KWV’s Head of Strategy, Peadar Hegarty, says that KWV is a company and brand that respects tradition, with a proud legacy of craftsmanship and excellence that stretches back to the early 1900’s. “KWV is a brand that innovates and constantly pushes itself to achieve greater things and this is encapsulated in its entirety in the Finish Great campaign elements,” he adds.He says that any great campaign has to have a number of iconic elements but firstly should be rooted in human truth, KWV’s being that persistence reveals character.“The finish great message is universal and supports our global growth strategy with a truly international campaign,”

Hegarty adds. “KWV is a place where innovation comes alive, where fresh ideas are made possible by building on the great work of yesterday’s pioneers, where convention is constantly challenged, and where new ideas and fresh perspectives are always given the space they deserve.”He continues: “We believe this, our first brand trademark campaign, is a campaign worthy of KWV’s pioneering spirit and we are truly excited to deliver this to the world,” he says. “It’s about reawakening the brand spirit through connectivity, innovation, and sustainability and by continuing to produce award-winning wines and spirits,” says Hegarty.However, Hegarty adds that this trademark campaign is not only consumer facing.

“From a business perspective, the company is switching distribution strategies in a number of global markets and we are working hard to adapt our product offerings to suit the needs of specific markets as well as channel management strategies, ultimately enabling us as a company to continue to Finish Great.”In recent years KWV has transformed itself into a global commercial player, exporting award-winning wines and brandies from its main cellar complex in Paarl all over the world.

“We distribute our brands in over 100 markets globally, with some of our brands having been available in these markets as far back as the 1920’s,” he adds.With one of the largest production capacities of wine and spirits in the Southern Hemisphere as well as being chosen as a distribution partner for some of the world’s most iconic spirits - most recently, Stolichnaya Vodka, Hegarty says, this demonstrates how the company is transforming itself to compete against other brands.

Through an extensive business strategy and market positioning, KWV has been recognised for producing some of the world’s best wines and brandies. “Our attainment of globally recognised awards is testament to this. In the last 4 years we have won over 858 awards of which 307 were achieved in the past year alone,” he says.

“We are constantly improving our products to push the boundaries, being at the forefront of winemaking and brandy making innovation and demonstrating great attention to detail and balance.” In recent months KWV has been creating industry waves with a number of Finish Great moments, like the launch of the world’s first ‘natural’ Pinotage – Earth’s Essence, made possible by utilising a world first technology; the launch of KWV Heritage XO, SA’s first Cognac brand; and the launch of Nexus, the world’s first 30-year old commercially available potstill brandy.

KWV’s First Ever TVC
“The TVC brings across the notion of getting to a destination and achieving greatness, whatever the journey may be, that in essence is the meaning of a Finish Great moment,” says Beck.

“These moments are demonstrated through vignettes of past and present: a mountaineer summiting the highest peak, a runner sprinting across a finish line and a musician strumming the greatest chord right to the end scene where the current branding and winemaker at KWV toast the pioneers of the past.

”The final scene in the TVC showcases KWV’s journey to finish great, representing the pinnacle of its brand journey and showcases its products from vine to glass, a proud fulfilment of an incredible odyssey that represents KWV’s master craftsmen.The iconic TVC is directed by Sam Coleman of Giant Films.

“What makes this commercial so different is that it’s about human endeavour, in past and present, in one frame,” says Coleman. “The production didn’t come without its challenges. We shot for over 18 hours and while shooting one scene other teams had already gone ahead and moved location to create the next ‘world,’ so we could just step into that world and start shooting.

”According to Coleman, the most challenging aspect was the idea of one of the giants mountaineering, modelled on Sir Edmund Hillary, summiting a snowy peak; and that obviously being in the Southern Hemisphere this presented challenges in successfully replicating the conditions and the ascend of the peak.

Watch the TVC here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8jcGpijHfg “From business growth, to our awards, to the talents of our brandy and winemaking teams through to this new campaign, Finish Great is our story of a journey of ups and downs true to the journey our wonderful products embark on as they mature to perfection,” concludes KWV’s Hegarty.

For more information visit:
Website: www.finishgreat.co.za
Twitter: @KWVBrandy #FINISHGREAT
Get a behind the scenes look at the making of here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4kG1eH7qQo

International Coupons Group, leading online coupon provider in Poland, Norway and Turkey, announced the launch of a new site on the South Africa’s market. Picodi.co.za will provide South African online shoppers with free online promotions and vouchers to help them save money when shopping online.

The Group becomes an important player in the coupon code market. In 2014, the International Coupons’ websites generated approximately 88 million euros in sales and received over 10 million visits in total. The coupon sites owned by the Group receive an average of over 800,000 visits each month and this figure only continues to grow.

The new coupon code websites of International Coupons went live in February 2015.

The launch of new coupon code sites, which offer online discount codes and deals from the online shopping sites, is part of the Group’s strategy to facilitate saving money to consumers worldwide.

This time, the company released the website under one brand name – “Picodi”. Currently Picodi has been launched on such markets as Australia, Singapore, South Africa, Columbia, Chile, Belarus and Ukraine. The website’s user-friendly nature will help users get an instant access to online discount codes and coupons. 

By creating and rolling out new international websites, the company wants to achieve a strong and coherent brand identity that uses the “Picodi” name. “We hope to build a strong brand presence and turn Picodi into a synonym for discount shopping” – said Szymon Dobosz, the company’s CEO. 

About International Coupons

International Coupons is a Polish e-commerce company headquartered in Cracow, Poland. The company was established in 2013 after the success of Kodyrabatowe.pl which went online in 2010. International Coupons is the owner of kodyrabatowe.pl as well as its foreign equivalents.

About Picodi.co.za

Picodi.co.za is a coupon code website that collects online discount codes and deals to the South Africa’s online shopping sites, travel websites, online supermarkets and department stores. The large listing of working coupon codes and deals is updated on a daily basis and the service is free of charge and does not require registering. In addition to coupon information, users can find there useful articles explaining all about promotional codes and how to save online by using online coupons. 

With growth come responsibility Who is responsible for your online security? Who's responsibility is it that you stay on the right side of the law at all times? Yes... you are! The latest e-commerce stats from Statista.com show that 40% of worldwide internet users have bought products or goods online via desktop, mobile, tablet or other online devices. This amounts to more than 1 billion online buyers and should continue grow steadily.

This shows us the tremendous growth of eCommerce. With this positive growth comes negatives as well, online scams are increasing, payment fraud is on the uptake, consumers are abusing the CPA when it comes to refunds, returns etc. Protection of personal information is becoming more and more important, information is being stolen and social media is full of schemes and fraudsters.

Thus... The eCommerce Law & Security Conference was born! By attending this conference on 3 & 4 June 2015 delegates will learn from experts how to avoid and prevent all of the above mentioned from affecting you and your company. Speakers will share their knowledge and expertise on industry topics to ensure you leave the conference with an updated wealth of knowledge and strategy on how to implement all of this including the POPI Act in your organisation. More information click here...

Expert speakers include: Robby Coelho - Webber Wentzel Andrew Kirkland - Trustwave SA Rosalind Lake - Norton Rose Fulbright Ashleigh van Kerckhoven - KPMG Rosalind Davey & Khomotso Makapane - Bowman Gilfillan  

Early Bird Registrations Open Register 2 delegates for ONLY R4798. Normal registration fee for the full 2 day conference is R3199 per delegate. Included in the registration fee: *Full access to the conference, panel discussion and workshop *Sit-down buffet lunch both days *Free Parking *3 Refreshment breaks per day *Digital copies of each presentation *Networking Opportunities with speakers and delegates *2 days full of informative up-to-date presentations   Register NOW!    

Exclusive Workshop Attendees will have the benefit of attending a workshop on 4 June inclusive in the conference package. Understanding & Managing the Risks of Social Media presented by Rosalind Davey and Khomotso Makapane from one of SA's top law firms Bowman Gilfillan. Read more