Ornico Launches The Media Report 2014  

Sandton, South Africa – Wednesday 26 November 2014. Brand Intelligence™ and media research company, Ornico, today launched its second annual edition of The Media Report. Aimed at helping brands, marketers, media companies and advertising agencies better understand the forces that shape the sub-Saharan media sector, The Media Report 2014 is an electronic magazine available free for download from MarkLives.com or Ornico.co.za 

With over a hundred pages of insights on Africa’s media and research industry, The Media Report 2014 includes contributions from amongst South Africa’s most influential editors and advertising personalities. Gareth Cliff, SA’s ‘enfant terrible’ of radio, talks about streaming media and the reinvention he and his team effected with CliffCentral.com.  

Undoubtedly the most influential and powerful woman in the media in South Africa, former Editor-in-Chief of Huisgenoot, You and Drum, Esmaré Weideman – the CEO of Media24 – speaks about her responsibility for the commercial success of Africa’s largest publishing group, and talks about freedom of expression, advertising, independence and media monopoly. 

Other contributors include Chris Roper, Editor-in-Chief of the Mail & Guardian, who answers questions about editorial independence and honest information. Herman Manson, founder and editor of Marklives.com, talks about the marketing site’s investigative approach to trade media. Anton Harber, Adjunct Professor of Journalism, writes on the fine balance that delivers autonomy in newsrooms and enables journalists to produce more interesting, impactful and useful journalism. 

The Eyewitness News Editor-in-Chief, Katy Katopodis, answers 15 questions on her life, her values, the hurly-burly of daily news, and media independence. But that’s not all. Paulo Dias of Primedia Broadcasting explains the difference between technology and trust in radio, while Lyn Jones, Marketing Manager of Continental Outdoor Media, explores effective out of home advertising in Africa. 

The theme of The Media Report 2014 is independence. “Despite the fact that media independence and open information are the hallmarks of democracy, what we’re seeing is that there is an ongoing attack on media freedoms both in Africa and across the globe,” says Oresti Patricios, CEO of Ornico. 

“The most recent findings of the World Press Freedom Index, which is undertaken by Reporters Without Borders annually, shows that media freedom is on the decline on all continents,” bar Asia. “Africa is one of the biggest culprits and the freedom index indicates that when it comes to media transparency, this continent is in real trouble,” he says.

“Independent media is critical to Africa’s growth, not only because the press can be a watchdog that reports on abuses of power, but also because it educates and informs. Media independence is important to Africa because the media sector plays such an important role in economic growth and social development. Which is in part why we’ve invested resources in creating this media annual,” says Patricios, who adds that this media annual will become a permanent feature of SA’s publishing landscape.

Download your free copy The Media Report here: http://website.ornico.co.za/newsletters/  

-ends-

ABOUT ORNICO:

Ornico provides Reputation, Media and Brand Intelligence™ research across the African continent, making sense of the tsunami of brand, advertising and media information flooding the media space. By collecting and analysing media data and brand publicity across many media channels, Ornico helps put marketing decision makers in the know about the most important strategic decisions they'll ever make regarding their brands. Ornico employs a dedicated team of over 120 people in offices in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana, and has clients that include many of Africa's top companies.

Ornico - Know how. To grow.

CONTACTS: Oresti Patricios – CEO

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

Twitter: @orestaki  

Mongezi Mtati – Marketing Manager

Call: 011 884 5041

Ornico Head Office: Tel: +27 11 884-5041

Fax: +27 11 783-6931

Twitter: @OrnicoMedia

Web: www.ornico.co.za

Foscam would like to issue a warning as we go into the silly season.

Christmas is such a magical time of year... lots to be thankful for and wonderful parties to attend. Some of us are lucky enough to get away for a change of scenery. Those of us who stay at home may tend to have a more relaxed outlook on life. But please, beware, criminals are most likely to strike when given half the opportunity, when your guard is down or even better, when a home is empty.

Foscam, leaders in surveillance cameras supply households and companies alike with security cameras that send live footage directly to your cellphone or web browser.

Foscam IP cameras, or in lamans terms, ‘internet cameras’, simply require a wifi signal that they can pick up on where they are installed (either ADSL or by means of 3G), and a standard electric point. Once the camera is configured, download an app to your smartphone and no matter where you are in the world, you will be able to login and monitor your most prized assets.

So if you are going on holiday this December, or simply want to beef up your security, why not take a look at our website, www.foscam.co.za where you can purchase your security cameras online. We deliver countrywide and sell a wide range of indoor and outdoor security cameras to suit your needs.

Foscam South Africa
Tel: 011 4695165
www.foscam.co.za

Have you ever tested yourself to the extent that you felt like giving up? That there is not a drop of energy left in your body, yet sheer willpower pushes you to persist and complete what you have started?  

Actor, Ivan Zimmermann plans to add a new dimension to mountain biking – he will depart from Cape Town on 9 January 2015 and plans to reach Cairo by 9 May 2015 as part of the Tour d’Afrique 2015.   

Zimmermann will ride with a team of Tour d’Afrique, a Canadian group known for organising bicycling trip through Africa.  Tour d’Afrique has been recognised as the world’s longest and most challenging mountainbike stage adventure. This will be the 13th edition of the Tour d’Afrique – a test of a  mind, body, and bicycle that will stretch through ten countries.  

“I have always dreamt to travel through Africa for a good cause,”says Zimmermann. “I initially thought I would do it on a motorbike, but I have done several mountainbike races during the past year and have subsequently decided to cross Africa from one point to the other on a bicycle.”  

The main sponsors of Zimmerman’s venture are SAICA (the South African Institute for Chartered Accountants), who will be running an internal motivational campaign, Leaders Never Quit, in conjunction with the trip, and SAGE Pastel. Ivan will also attempt to raise 12 000 tins of food for the Can-a-Kilo initiative as part of the adventure.  

“I plan to raise one tin of food for each of the 12 000 kilometres covered by the Tour d’Afrique. This food will be distributed by the Hanna Charity and Empowerment Foundation in South Africa,” says Zimmerman. Collection points for the tins can be found at www.ivanzimmermann.com  

“At this stage I am the only South African in the group,” he explains. “I will be responsible for setting up my own tent and will have to service my bicycle myself, but there will be a support team should I need assistance.”  

Ivan says tongue-in-the cheeck, “I think I might need all the support possible to finish.  I know it is going to be tough, but I am determined not to give up at any point. Leaders never quit, despite how difficult the circumstances are. There might be days where I ask myself what I let myself into, but it will be on days like those that true leaders are born. Leaders never quit!”  

The trip to Cairo will stretch through Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. Zimmerman will take photos and videos and will share that with media on a regular basis. He is also planning to follow the trip with motivational talks countrywide.  

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a dream that has become a reality,”says Zimmermann. A dream that will test me to my limits. But also a dream that will show the world that leaders never quit.”  

About Ivan Zimmermann  

Ivan was born free and with a great sense of adventure. He is known to the South African public as actor, for roles in Egoli, 7de Laan, Interrogation Room and Dit wat Stom is. He also starred in movies like Platteland, Verraaiers, the Egoli Movie and Spook van Uniondale. During next year he will be starring in Villa Rosa between January and March 2015 and in Vlug na Egipte between January and April 2015, both on kykNET. In his free time Ivan is a keen sportsman, participating regularlyinmountain biking, surfing and stand-up paddle boarding.  

FOR MORE INFORMATION  

NAME: Ilza Roggeband
E-MAIL: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.         
CELL: 083-448-2102
WEBSITE: www.ivanzimmermann.com
TWITTER: @IvanZimmermann1, @CANaKILO (#leadersneverquit, #12000km, #tourdafrique, #12000cans)
INSTAGRAM: eyevanzimmer
FACEBOOK: /Ivan.Zimmermann

The end of the year is marked by the termination of lease agreements and the increasing traffic of accommodation seekers on classified ads websites. As the traffic increases internet fraudsters see an opportunity and start creating false advertisement to take advantage of desperate seekers and rob them their money. These criminals put the life of internet users in danger.

Red Diamond World in partnership with various police stations has come up with a solution to combat these crimes, especially in student areas and is dedicated to bringing this negative exposure to an end. The company's main protected areas at the moment will be Hatfield, Sunnyside and Arcadia in Pretoria and internet users looking for accommodation or anything advertised online are advised to use the Red Diamond World Ads directory to find what they need since this web application only displays verified ads, supplied only by agencies which will make it easier to assist the users should the user be cheated online.

The company urges internet users to be very careful when searching for flats and apartments on the web. Users should be conscious of the fact that anybody post ads on other online advertising websites, allowing criminals to post anything and exposing you to crimes. The number of internet fraud victims is worrying and has been mainly a result of the numerous flexible and popular ads websites everyone runs to when they have a need.

On Red Diamond World Ads advertisements are sent to the website admin by companies and agencies the company has contracted with, which include real estate agencies around Hatfield, Sunnyside and Arcadia. No user has the ability to post any advertisement and no individual or person is allowed to contract with the company to publish ads on the web app, the company only works with other companies and agencies.

We are confident that this will reduce the number of internet fraud victims. Red Diamond World Ads will protect internet users and we encourage students in Pretoria to use it when searching for accommodation.

Website: rediamondworld.com

Adding significant value to its already sterling reputation as a leading supplier of transformational business and individual solutions to the technology, consulting and financial services sectors, the Transformation Capital Group (TCG) has recently acquired Dracore Investments.Based in Honeydew, Gauteng, Dracore provides a diverse and dynamic set of market focused and business operational solutions to customers in the financial, data sciences, social media and communications spheres.

This provides its customers with the necessary resources and expertise to effectively manage their customer lifecycle at every level and maximise market penetration. The new management team of the enlarged TCG company is - Mike Eslick, Reg Bath, Richard Peasey, Chantelle Fraser and Francois Meyer. Dracore can now tap into TCG’s global resources and specialist skills to enable its visions to establish and develop all-encompassing business services and solutions for clients across Africa.

‘Most significantly, TCG shares our long term vision of developing sustainable business solutions by focusing on sustainability, socioeconomic empowerment, profitability and communal reinvestment,’ comments Chantelle Fraser. ‘I’m happy to report that we’ve already made significant progress and, with our combined market knowledge and innovative approach, we’re perfectly positioned to offer any enterprise, large or small, the very best solutions to optimise future opportunities and generate combined benefit to both TCG and its customer base.’

For more information, visit www.tcg-sa.co.za

Techno Brain Officially Opens New Global Headquarters in Nairobi

The move positively impacts its service capabilities, and increases opportunities for Kenya's youth for learning, development and employment

Techno Brain Africa's leading IT Company, has officially opened its new global headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. The sprawling new office space spread over 44,000 sq. ft. will house all the three business units of the company in Kenya - IT Solutions, IT Education & Training and BPO/ITES. The consolidation will result in greater collaboration and increased productivity and quality of work for its various clients across the globe. “This state-of-the-art building with world class infrastructure is an investment in our future and accompanies the strategic plan we have for the continued global expansion of Techno Brain.” stated Manoj Shanker, Group CEO, Techno Brain.

The ribbon cutting ceremony was presided over by the Guest of Honour, Honourable Dr Fred Matiangi, The Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Information, Communication & Technology, Kenya. Dr Matiangi during his address said ”I am lucky to be acquainted with the ways of Techno Brain, and I am always amazed by how much emphasis they place on development, generating employment, engaging with the community, developing leaders; qualities that positively impact our communities, our country and the world at large”.

A leading technology company in Africa opening its own campus in Nairobi again puts Kenya in the lime-light as the epicentre of ICT development in the continent. The country will receive a major boost, both in monetary terms and as a knowledge-based investment, which will benefit it in the long run. The move will also be a big shot in the arm for the youth of Africa and Kenya, as opportunities for learning, development and employment will increase manifold.

Techno Brain's capacity building investments for 'Empowering Lives' and 'Africa 1st' are well documented. "Our new international headquarters puts us on equal footing with the world's leading IT companies, and that's exactly where we want to be. As a truly global African IT company, this is a very important step as we scale our technology and business to the next level. The new premise is a celebration of our past and a harbinger of greater things to come" added Manoj Shanker. Group CEO, Techno Brain.

About Techno Brain

Techno Brain is an African IT company that provides innovative solutions to advance the way organizations do business. Assessed at CMMI Level 3 and with operations in 20 African countries and 24 countries worldwide, Techno Brain provides industry leading technology solutions to NGOs, Government and Private organizations globally.

Techno Brain offers IT Solutions and Products in the areas of Enterprise Business, Identity Management, ICT Consulting & Business Automation, IT Infrastructure, Managed IT Services, RFID & GIS and BI / Data Warehousing.

For more information, visit: www.technobraingroup.com

Your brand has value. You might not be sure how much or where it comes from, but it still has value. This value usually relates to the products, people, and reputation surrounding it. Brands can, however, be diluted and lose value when customers feel annoyed, cheated or disappointed – when the brand fall of its pedestal and is reduced to “just another ordinary” one.

With the help of media intelligence providers, like ROi Africa, your brand’s value can be monitored and corrective actions can be planned pro-actively, all by knowing what the public and media think and feel about you.

Besides Lance Armstrong, who is the one sporting brand that came crashing down during the last two years – from a R21 million per year icon to a shamed brand liability? Oscar Pistorius!

This famous Paralympic athlete, who even competed successfully against able-bodied athletes and was seen as a role model for people facing severe challenges in life, was recently sentenced to five years in prison on a charge of culpable homicide for killing his girlfriend, model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp.

His murder trial caused a media frenzy, in one hour alone (sentencing hour) ROi Africa saw over 110,000 unique items published in over 200 million platforms.

It was a landmark case in more than one way. A court application by media houses allowed for live coverage in the form of Tweets directly from the court room. On the top-yielding day of the trail, the verdict, over 400,000 unique items were reported mentioning the words “Oscar Pistorius” or “Oscar Trial”.

Tonya Khoury, the Managing Director of ROi Africa was the first media intelligence provider to start delivering reliable statistical analysis of media coverage worldwide, becoming a regular face on Channel 199 and SABC Newsroom.  

Mathapelo Matjokana, the producer of the Afternoon Talk with Ashraf Garda Show on SAFM, was one of the first media to use ROi Africa’s statistics on a regular basis, says that, “With the arrival of these statistics and analysis people were able to understand, for example, the Oscar Trial better as complex legal matters were broken down into simpler terms. It also allowed us to follow major events like these through a bird’s eye view with these analyses.”

“The Oscar Pistorius brand – like any other business brand – had to cope with the effect of an incorrect decision and the aftermath thereof. In the media coverage of the trial, it was evident how the media’s reporting affected Pistorius’ brand value. One can, as an example look at his sponsorships that have declined to zero. Well-known brands like Nike, Oakley, Thierry Mugler and BT have suspended sponsoring Pistorius, Nike came under fire after a 2011 billboard campaign with the wording'the bullet in the chamber” which proved to be almost prophetical.

The brands were mentioned regularly during the trial and jokes featured on social media which also negatively impacted Nike, resulting in the suspension of large sponsorships for Pistorius” says Khoury.

When looking at all media (news and social) over the past 100 days and in all languages, these four brands received the following publicity, in relation to Oscar Pistorius.

As the former sponsor with the biggest percentage of media mention, Nike’s coverage during the past 100 days can be broken down, the highest percentages of publicity was achieved on 14, 15 and 16 September, with all reporting on Nike dropping their sponsorship contract with Pistorius formally after he was found guilty by Judge Masipa and thus became a brand liability. These are insights that can be extremely valuable for any brand.  

“With these mentions, sponsors like Nike have gained publicity, but for the wrong reasons, which made Pistorius a brand liability. His brand value thus impacted negatively on a few other brands,” Khoury adds. According to media reports Oscar Pistorius was once the second most popular athlete, after Usain Bolt, but that is history now. During and after the case, he actually received more publicity compared to athletes that have experienced some kind of crisis in their careers,” she adds.  

OJ Simpson: 64.75%
Usain Bolt: 18.42%
Lance Armstrong: 9.04%
Tiger Woods: 7.78%

As with any other brand, ROi Africa also looked at aspects like who and what were mentioned most with Pistorius, which is also an indication of his brand value. Smart Technology, managed by knowledgeable analysts enabled them to generate new angles and comparisons,like these,to keep the media and readers engaged.

“This technology, combined with personal input, identified key trends across all media platforms worldwide - over 2000 print titles that are taken from hard copy to digital format - and converted using the finest global reading technology. Broadcast media is converted from the verbal word to text within 2 seconds of it being aired. Immediate coverage is drawn from an excess of 200 million platforms in online and social media,” explains Khoury.

She adds, “Keeping track of what is being said about a company or brand, their industry of operations or specific topics of interest, and even their competitors can provide a much-needed competitive advantage,” adds Khoury.

Media intelligence on key competitors, main issues in the industry, top journalists reporting on your brand, top-yielding regions, comparative timelines and trends results in valuable instant insight. The successful use of media intelligence during crises depends on the severity of the crisis – in some cases most of the damage cannot be undone, but can be managed – as in the Oscar Pistorius Trial. But on the other hand one wonders what the influence of media coverage was on the eventual outcome of the case,” she says. "In the corporate world one would have a much better chance of using media intelligence information to minimise the onslaught of a crisis.

In conclusion, what Google (as probably the most prominent search engine for online media) says about you has become an important part of brand value management in a digital age – and it is better to monitor and analyse media coverage in your brand than being surprised by an onslaught by a crisis.

FOR MORE INFORMATION  

Tonya Khoury: 073 874 5377
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Twitter: @tonyaroi / @roiafrica
Facebook: Facebook.com/roiafrica
Website: www.roiafrica.com

One of South Africa’s foremost media intelligence service providers, ROiAfrica’s website www.roiafrica.com has just been listed on the Drupal Site, as “Editor’s Pick” for the ‘best looking” sites.

ROi Africa’s site was developed by Adappt UK, headed up by Jon Antony, combining technical expertise, creativity and passion. ROi Africa is a unique company with a unique site, which can inspire innovative use of the Drupal technology.

According to ROi Africa Managing Director, Tonya Khoury, “The ROi Africa site was developed specifically to drive traffic to start a sales conversation, but also to showcase the ability of the smart technology we provide.”

“We are honoured to be showcased by Drupal, and more importantly we are delighted at the ease of Drupal’s functionality to keep our content fresh and relevant,” she adds. Drupal, an open source content management platform, powers millions of websites and applications worldwide. Drupal is used as a back-end framework of at least 2.1% of sites worldwide.

Drupal allows non-technical users to add and edit content without knowing anything about web design. This is perfect for an organisation, like ROi Africa, which operates in the media industry, and need to constantly update their site to link back to main news and social media items.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

NAME: Tonya Khoury
TEL: 073 874 5377
E-MAIL: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
TWITTER: @tonyaroi / @roiafrica
FACEBOOK: /roiafrica
WEBSITE: www.roiafrica.com

Local digital marketing agency 'The Media Image' has been shortlisted for one organic search (SEO) and two paid search (PPC) awards by international body the 'UK Search Awards'. This international recognition comes at a time when many industry observers are operating under the assumption that the local digital search industry is several years behind their overseas counterparts.

In September 2013, search engine giant, Google, introduced an algorithm change called Hummingbird and began blocking keyword data from their tool 'Google Analytics'. This made accurate reporting a challenge for most search companies. In addition, and again in 2013, the search giant also launched its 'enhanced campaigns' pay-per-click (PPC) upgrade – making it a year of rigorous adaptation for digital marketers on a global scale.  

In the face of this year of change, many search and digital marketing companies folded. Many local agencies were already in the process of merging with larger, international bodies and others began merger processes after these updates occurred. On the whole, South African search marketing agencies are often considered to be several years behind their overseas equivalents and lacking in experience, but one of the primary reasons for this actually cited by insiders as being related to the lower internet penetration levels of the local market.  

Lower internet penetration, however, has not slowed all local agencies or businesses. The most successful search campaigns have capitalised on the growth of mobile marketing, display innovations, advanced attribution and measurement systems, as well as advanced marketing or strategically targeted PPC (pay per click) ads. The statistics show that globally, medium to large businesses have increased their online marketing budget for 2014 and will do so again in 2015 – and South African companies hoping to pull ahead of local competitors are doing the same.  

In the face of The Media Image's nominations for work on Gracewell healthcare, Virgin Active UK as well as international gaming operator Coral, co-founder and managing director Pete Brooke-Sumner had the following to say,

"TMI is very proud of the positive and continual impact we have made on the local search market. Beyond this we are particularly proud of our impact and recognition in the competitive UK market, where we have been short listed for three UK search awards, competing against some of Europe's top search agencies. We see this as testament to the fact that strong, experienced local agencies like TMI can compete and succeed in established foreign markets. We are excited to continue to innovate and drive awareness and growth in both the UK and SA markets”

09 October 2014 | Durban, South Africa

Social By The Sea presents

A social media evening  for Durban #SocialByTheSea  

Coming soon is a social media evening for Durban.  Delegates will be able to learn best case practices. This event is perfect for those in advertising, marketing experts, ceo’s, government departments, school heads, ngo’s, entrepreneurs, small business and anyone who wants to learn about social media.  The workshop will feature leading industry speakers, including Fred Felton (Falconscove) and Nazareen Ebrahim (Socially Acceptable). Emma Sadlier –Media law consultant and speaker will be joining us.  She is the co-author of ‘Don’t’ Film yourself having Sex’.  Mike Wronski will also be joining us via Skype to chat South African Internet and Social Media Stats.

Date: 15 October 2014    

Time: 6:30pm  Cost: R50 (Discounts to IDEA Members)
Venue: IT Varsity, 8th Floor, Sage Life House, 21 Joe Slovo Street (Old Name – Field Street)
DurbanTopic: State of Social Media in South Africa for Business                                                                                                                

Please RSVP by 14 October 2014

Tickets and more info: www.socialbythesea.blogspot.com 

About Nazareen Ebrahim Socially Acceptable is headed by Nazareen Ebrahim who has a long career in media & communications. The agency, under the umbrella of Naz Consulting – Corporate.Media.Academia, offers the core services of digital media content, PR and Media liaison.  Socially Acceptable has worked with: Topco Media, Picasso Inline, DUT, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, Harbour View Super Spar, Radio Al-Ansaar, The Journey Foundation, Durban Chamber of Commerce, Newsclip Media Monitoring, BWA, immedia, among many others.

About Fred Felton Falconscove is headed by Fred Felton who owns this media agency based in Durban.  With over 10 years in the business you can be assured of professional work.  The agency provides services such as digital media, social media, copywriting, pr, publicity, blogs, media consulting and communications strategy.  Falconscove has worked with:  Durban Chamber of Commerce, Native, Twitter Blanket Drive, PSASA among many others.  

For more details or sponsorship enquiries: 

Website: www.socialbythesea.blogspot.com
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Cell: 076-977-5788
Twitter: @socialbythesea
Facebook: Social By The Sea
#SocialByTheSea

Media Enquiries and Interview Requests: Fred Felton, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , phone 076-977-5788, twitter @fredfelton