Black & White T-Shirts has announced that it will be supplying Vic Bay products, at cost price, with printing to be done in-house.

Vic Bay managing director Mike Shiller said, ‘We are a wholesaler of garments, primarily made in southern Africa, to local resellers, and Black & White have chosen to partner with us as their primary supplier of apparel, which they will print onto and sell to their customers.

‘This partnership of us as a wholesaler of blank apparel with a leading printer here in Gauteng – Black & White – will show the power of a consistent supply with consistent quality and fast turnaround times on printed apparel into the local markets. This also highlights that locally produced and printed products are as competitive on price and delivery as any foreign garment.’

Black & White director Cal Dawkins said, ‘We have for more than 20 years strived to be Johannesburg’s premier independent T-shirt printing company. However, over the years we have found that imported garments prove to be challenging due to the inconsistency of supply and quality of the garments, most particularly with regards to tone and sizing inconsistencies.

‘So it naturally made sense for us to partner with a top quality local manufacturer that could mitigate our current supply issues. Hence we are delighted to have become an approved reseller of the Vic Bay brand and hope our already strong relationship goes from strength to strength for the both of us.’

VIC BAY
+27114991405
mike@vicbay.co.za
vicbay.co.za

BLACK AND WHITE T-SHIRTS
+27116140993
sales@blackandwhite.co.za
blackandwhitetshirts.com

According to Adfocus 2019, The MediaShop’s increase in billings, new account wins and client retention were a few factors that clinched the deal where The MediaShop Johannesburg has been named Network Media Agency of the Year at the 2019 Financial Mail AdFocus Awards. 

This is the second time in the last three years that the agency has been awarded this accolade. Kgaugelo Maphai, Managing Director of The MediaShop Johannesburg, said this is an excellent way to end the year, ‘On the back of a tough but very successful award-winning year, I am immensely grateful to be able to work with and lead such an amazing, passionate group of people who continually strive to pioneer and do better. 2020 will see our agency evolve into a fully integrated marketing and communications agency, and we’re extremely excited about the future ahead.’

THE MEDIASHOP
+27112584000 
www.mediashop.co.za

The agency has promoted five of its finest creative talents. Mbeu ‘Snooze’ Kambua, Khanyi Mpumlwana, Nhlanhla Ngcobo, Nobantu Sibeko and Jonathan Wolberg have all been promoted to Creative Directors.

Suhana Gordhan and Tian van den Heever, both of whom are no strangers to the advertising industry, have been promoted to Executive Creative Directors, joining Neo Segola, who became an ECD last year. The trio have consistently been creating highly contagious, well-awarded work for the agency for several years now.

According to FCB Joburg Chief Creative Officer, Ahmed Tilly, the agency has been known, for generations, as one that develops and empowers young talent in the industry, many of whom have gone on to become leaders in the larger advertising and communications industry. ‘The decision to invest in the future of the industry by placing the responsibility of creative leadership with a new cohort of young diverse talent is an indication of how serious FCB Joburg is about true diversity and inclusion; and in the future of South Africa.’

‘These individuals have not just delivered excellent creative work but they have already been performing as leaders in the creative department. Promoting them to Creative Directors was the natural next step. We’re exceptionally proud to see them step up. It is this calibre of young and gifted leadership that will take the agency to new creative heights – in South Africa and the global stage.’

FCB JOBURG
+27115666000
fcb.co.za

M&C Saatchi Abel walked away with three accolades at the 2019 Financial Mail AdFocus Awards: including Large Agency of the Year, Partnership of the Year for its work with Nando’s and Industry Leader for its chief creative officer Neo Mashigo.

The awards top off a phenomenal period of growth and success for M&C Saatchi Abel, which is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2020. Entering this landmark year on the back of this recognition is a doff of the hat to the vision of the agency’s founders, partners and staff across the Johannesburg and Cape Town agencies.

The AdFocus awards have evolved into a leading platform for agencies and individuals in the marketing and communications landscape to be recognised in their respective fields, not only for their creative skills, but also their business acumen.

M&C Saatchi Abel co-founder and chief executive Mike Abel said the agency is ecstatic and that the awards top off a period of immense growth underpinned by the agency’s core philosophy of Brutal Simplicity of Thought.

‘Our unrelenting orientation as an agency has always been to add real, measurable value to our clients’ businesses, from their top line, to market share and brand equity. I am very proud that under a very capable team of leaders we have taken these awards ahead of our 10th birthday in a few months,’ said Abel.

‘Mashigo’s Industry Leader award is validation of the immense impact he has had on M&C Saatchi Abel, its clients and the industry as a whole. We are overjoyed that the significant contribution Mashigo has made to our agency, advertising and creativity in this country as a whole has been recognised. He is a dear friend, valued business partner, and creative force in our country,’ said Abel.

Having received his award, Mashigo said, ‘I fervently believe creative solutions not only benefit the businesses of our clients, but form the backbone of all interventions aimed at making South Africa a better, more inclusive and competitive country,’ said Mashigo.

Abel added that the agency’s partnership with Nando’s resonates with South Africans because the relationship is built on authenticity and trust, which allows creativity to flourish and innovative and compelling solutions to emerge. The latest fruits of this relationship are evident in the recently released Nando’s Mzansipoli advert, which has captured the hearts and laughs of the public.

‘The Nando’s partnership has struck a chord with the public. The key ingredients being innate trust, brutal simplicity of thought, brave risk taking socially and politically and mixing it with a whole lot of fun. Then providing the space for the best people to produce the best results,’ he concluded.

M&C SAATCHI ABEL 
+27112686388 
jerry.mpufane@mcsaatchiabel.co.za
www.mcsaatchiabel.co.za

Since 2010, the Loeries Official Rankings have offered a comprehensive overview of the annual performance across the brand communications industry throughout Africa and the Middle East. The rankings list the top brands and agencies, as well as specialist focus areas and individual performance in key areas.

The Loeries Official Rankings is a useful and independent measure of who’s doing what and who’s doing it the best in the industry, across Africa and the Middle East. The Loeries have made some changes to a few of last year’s categories. 

The Music and Sound Composition was divided into three categories (for the individual rankings); Sound Designer, Music Composer and Music Supervisor. The rest were category name changes. For the company rankings; Communication Design changed to Design and Digital Interactive Communication changed to Digital, and for the individual rankings, Film Director changed to Director.

The Process

While there can be many ways of analysing any competition, the Loeries have provided a thorough and fair process to accurately report on the results of the awards. The exact methodology that is used for the ranking is described here, and publication of the chosen procedures in advance of our entry deadline and judging ensures no bias in favour of any particular outcome. To see how the rankings are calculated, click here.

2019 sees Joe Public United being ranked the number one agency in the Overall Ranking by Agency – Africa and the Middle East – for the second year in a row. Xolisa Dyeshana, chief creative officer, was elated because he recognises the Loeries as the premier awards in the Africa Middle East region and as one of the top awards in the world. 

‘To be recognised at this level is a huge honour for Joe Public,’ said Dyeshana. ‘We are proud to be creating work that not only resonates within the regions but is of particularly high quality for our clients. We strive every day to improve our product and add continued value to our clients’ businesses. So to receive this accolade is a testament to the opportunity given to us by the brands we work on and the hard work of the people in our company.’

TBWA\ retained its place as top-ranked Overall Regional Agency Group, while TBWA\Istanbul shot up two places, coming first in the Ranking by Agency – Region Excluding South Africa category. Chief creative officer Ilkay Gurpinar explained, ‘Coming from Turkey and being awarded by a totally different collective of respectable jury members with the highest award in this category shows us once again that the language of creativity is universal. It is like we are speaking to each other through creativity, which is very exciting and fun.’ She further commented on the incredible authenticity and creative DNA that is prevalent across the region.

Pete Khoury, chief creative officer at TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg, said being ranked Regional Agency Group for the second year in a row is ‘an amazing feat and acknowledgement of our collective capabilities across our region: creating iconic, compelling and relevant work for our clients across the region and on multiple platforms that leverage every media channel.’

Cem Topcuoglu, regional CEO of TBWA, added, ‘It’s great to see our regional network building on its strong foundations. Next year, we’re going for the hat trick.’

The top-ranked brand for 2019 was Chicken Licken (up from number 2 in 2018). Newcomers City Lodge Hotel Group and Philips as well as the Nelson Mandela Foundation took second and third place respectively. Chantal Sombonos-Van Tonder, MD of Chicken Licken, says she is proud to continue her father’s legacy in ‘taking this company to the heights it deserves.’

In the Small Agency category (1-24 employees), Regency Global took first place, while Duke moved up one slot from last year to take second place, and Sunshine Collective took the third spot. ‘We are super-excited to receive this recognition,’ said Shani Kay, Regency Global chief creative, ‘and equally so to see our approach to authentic brand building and profit-with-purpose storytelling starting to make some industry waves. We believe in helping conscious brands to build long-lasting and sincere stakeholder relationships, and 2019 has helped us prove the concept of just that. Moreover, it has reaffirmed our conviction in the power of real human narratives to positively impact society, so particularly necessary and relevant in South Africa today.’

For the first time, in addition to brand communication, Loeries Design entries included areas of design such as retail furniture and product design, fabric, wallpaper, lighting, architecture and interior design, and even the design of signage programmes.

This recently extended Design category paid off for furniture designers David Krynauw and Jasmyn Pretorius, who were jointly ranked number two in the individual rankings – Designer category.

Turkish communication designer Önder Sakıp Dündar was ranked the top designer. ‘The bonds between design and advertising are getting stronger day by day,’ he reflected. ‘It’s because agencies and brands have realised the importance of design – giving them a face, boosting visibility, driving conversations and reinforcing messaging.’

Ranking information and methodology was last updated on 26 November 2019. Click here to see the full ratings list.

LOERIES 
www.loeries.com