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Promax Africa 2019 speaker line-up

PromaxBDA Africa
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Promax Africa 2019 speaker line-up

The Promax awards represent excellence in the global media and marketing space, and are regarded as the most prestigious awards for creative endeavour in the field. On 7 November, leading South African and African creatives working in on-air marketing, branding and the design of video content will come together under one roof for the 2019 edition of the Promax Africa conference and awards. Award-winners will be announced at the close of the annual conference, which will take place at The Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg on the same day.

Delivering on its promise to inspire and challenge creatives year after year, the Promax Africa conference programme will once again present informative, original and alternative sessions helmed by leading players in the global media industry.

“It’s become everyday speak. Change, morph, reposition, rebrand, relaunch, reinvent. The eternal brand story! But how do you do it, and do it well? How do you make sure that it’s relevant for your entire audience? The answers are in the Promax Africa 2019 Re.Invent line-up. In one exciting day you can find inspiring perspectives on our industry with lightning-bolt sessions to spark ideas, solutions and of course, all possible ways to Re.Invent,” said Promax Africa chairman, Elouise Kelly in her 2019 letter.

“Each session, from the Keynote address, to the multiple discussion forums, are designed to provoke, challenge, teach and invigorate. Join some of the most creative thinkers, from different corners of the world and harness their insights to chart a future focused, trailblazing reinvention journey. It’s, quite frankly, unmissable!”

Promax Africa 2019 speakers include:

Michael Morgan

Raised on cartoons, video games and movies, Michael Morgan became a professional Animator in 2000, working in Video Games, Television/ Commercials and VFX Films.

Morgan will present a session titled Animate Your World, where he’ll discuss his journey in the world of Animation and Visual Storytelling.

Tim Hughes

With a background in TV promotions, branding and marketing, Tim Hughes is global expert in creative brand strategy and founder of The Brief Doctor. Hughes previously ran strategy for Discovery UK’s in-house creative agency and is a lifetime achievement award-winner and former chairman of Promax UK.

In his session, The Brief Doctor: Your Prescription for Better Creative, Hughes will teach delegates how to jump-start their briefs and resuscitate collaboration in order to deliver Promax Gold-winning creative.

Lee Hunt

Lee Hunt is founder of Lee Hunt LLC, a New York-based consultancy focusing on brand strategy, on-air architecture, competitive analysis and personnel training for television networks and media companies around the world. A strategist, trainer, and industry thought leader, Hunt’s success in launching and positioning channel brands, in addition to his pioneering work in audience management have set many of the standards for our industry.

Hunt will present two sessions at this year’s Promax Africa conference: the first, titled New Best Practices 2019, is his annual Promax keynote in which he explores the best practices that are disrupting and transforming our industry. This year Hunt takes a deep dive into the opportunities for competing with and against both linear and streaming services.

Hunt’s second session, New Ad Sales Initiatives 2019, will look at the strategies, tactics, creative and most importantly, the success or failure of 6-second commercials, 30-second pods, LCI (Limited Commercial Interruption), JAZ (Just the A and Z), 2 x 20 (2 minutes of commercials/hour by 2020), Prime Pods with AI, Prediction Pods, Future Now, Absolute As, Shoppable Ads, Non-stop programming, and brand integrations.

Gavin Strange

Gavin Strange is a Director and Designer for UK creative studio Aardman Animations by day and by night he indulges in all manner of passion projects under the alias of JamFactory – from filmmaking to illustration, toy design to photography.

Strange’s accomplishments include author of motivational book Do Fly and co-founder of the contemporary design store ‘STRANGE’ with his wife.

In his talk, Graft, Craft and being Daft, Strange will share his stories and methods behind getting the most out of your time, conveyed via the medium of bright colours and animated GIFs. His presentation will focus on finding the energy and making the time to create things that matter.

Tebogo “Lepito33” Mogola

With more than a decade’s worth of experience on the frontlines of African entertainment content and creative production, SAFTA-winning creative Tebogo “Lepito33” Mogola is the former Senior Creative Manager for Viacom Africa and Co-Director of Sneaker Exchange.

In his session titled World Gold, Mogola – who is currently a partner at Don’t Look Down Productions – will showcase creative genius, inspirational thinking and straight-up insanity that should supercharge your work for the next 12 months.

Emile Rademeyer

Emile Rademeyer is Creative Director and Digital Placemaking Strategist at VANDAL in Sydney, Australia. Under Rademeyer’s direction, VANDAL combines the physical and digital worlds to enhance human experience and bridge the gap between art, advertising, digital media, content and culture. He further oversees executive curation of the VANDAL Art Gallery in Redfern, Sydney.

Rademeyer’s session, Augmented Reality is the Future of Advertising, will explore the idea that the future of advertising, art, entertainment, content and culture is in augmented reality. Showcasing impressive examples and case studies, the session will demonstrate how augmented reality alters human behaviour and will shape the future as never seen before.

Nokulunga Ncube

Currently the marketing head of department for local interest channels: Mzansi Magic, 1Magic, Mzansi Wethu and Channel-O, at M-Net South Africa, Nokulunga Ncube sets the portfolio brand strategy, drives viewer acquisition, retention and key partnerships for the channels.

Having previously worked at Ogilvy, JWT and Lowe Bull, Ncube began her career in advertising where she cut her teeth as a brand and communication strategist. She then moved on to brand management within the FMCG sector, working at Tiger Brands and Brasil Foods.

Ncube will speak as part of a panel discussion titled The State of our Art. The panel will feature five inspiring women who will offer their differing views on what is happening in the local and global market-place, and how this is driving each of them to find new answers to old questions.

Between them, they offer views from international channel marketing and on-air, local channel and local content marketing as well as Pay TV platform and content discovery marketing perspectives; on how their unique points of view and skill-sets are rising to the challenge of the ever-evolving industry and viewer landscape.

Pippa Tshabalala

Pippa Tshabalala is the On Air Manager for Viacom International Media Networks Africa, where she oversees the On Air team, producing promos and graphics for all the African brands. Tshabalala has a diverse background in television, animation, video games and academics, having worked as a lecturer, television presenter, magazine editor and a content and promo producer. Her accolades include speaking at TEDxSoweto, being named as one of Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans and being listed on BrandSA’s 40 under 40.

Tshabalala will speak as part of The State of Our Art panel discussion.

Samira Gerin-Singh

Samira Gerin-Singh is the Media Networks Marketing Manager for The Walt Disney Company Africa. Previously she worked as Head of the On Air and Creative Services department for FOX Networks Group Africa, responsible for National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, FOX, FOXlife and FOX Sports brands on the continent. She is a local and international award-winning creative, with over 14 years of experience working both in creative agencies and broadcast networks as a promo producer and later creative director.

Gerin-Singh has spoken at the Promax conference in New York in 2018, as well as at the Promax Africa conference in 2017 and 2018. This year she will present as part of The State of Our Art panel discussion.

Bron Schultz

As Content Discovery Manager at DStv, Bron Schultz works within the newly formed Content Discovery team defining and delivering new ways to guide customers to the content they prefer by personalising customer journeys across all available platforms. Previously, Schultz has worked as an Executive Creative Director, winning awards both locally and internationally and leading multi-award-winning teams to stretch their imaginations and problem-solving abilities to deliver ground-breaking campaigns.

At the Promax Africa 2019 conference, Schultz will speak on The State of Our Art panel.

In conversation with Lee Hunt

PromaxBDA Africa
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In conversation with Lee Hunt

Lee Hunt is a strategist, trainer and industry thought leader. His success in launching and positioning channel brands, in addition to his pioneering work in audience management, has set many of the standards for our industry.

At the 2018 PromaxBDA Africa conference, held at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg, Hunt presented two sessions. In his first session, titled ‘New Best Practices 2018’, Hunt presented an updated version of his annual round-up of strategies, tactics and creative shorts – from portfolio promos to reverse episodics, to six-second promos in 30-second breaks.

In his second session, ‘Cross Platform Messaging’, Hunt presented the findings of his two-year study into how linear networks are moving viewers to new platforms – MVPD VOD (on demand via set top box), TVE (authenticated viewing on mobile, tablet, PC), connected devices and OTT.

He chatted to Screen Africa about industry trends, challenges and the importance of audience management.

What is your background and how has it shaped you as a thought leader in the industry?

I began my career 40 years ago working at a local television station in my hometown of Dallas, Texas. In the early 80s, I moved to New York at the beginning of the cable revolution to launch new channels. In 1990, I left the client side and started a creative services agency that specialised in branding networks. In 2000, I sold my agency to the digital services company, Razorfish, worked in Europe on digital entertainment, then came back to New York to begin my strategic consultancy.

Working as a client, vendor and consultant for broadcast, cable and digital services throughout the seismic shifts in our industry has given me a unique perspective. But more importantly, for the last 40 years I’ve listened to people who are a lot smarter than me and tried to integrate their wisdom into my thinking.

What are the current trends shaping the marketing & advertising industry in 2018?

For the television industry, it’s trying to understand not only what our viewers want to watch, but where and how they want to watch. That dynamic changes continually, as new services and platforms launch, and the amount of compelling content continues to grow.

Although, if you think about it, the goal really hasn’t changed. We are still trying to increase time spent viewing: sample new content, watch for longer periods of time, and come back more often. But the paths to reaching that goal are changing and evolving.

In relation to Africa, what in your opinion is the biggest challenge(s) facing the marketing & advertising industry?

In many ways, I believe the African market has the opportunity to leap-frog the U.S. and European markets. The outdated distribution infrastructure that we invested in isn’t a burden in Africa, and the opportunity to reach people through new technologies is greater. But the challenge is still the same:  how do you create awareness, drive acquisition, then foster conversion and retention?

What can African media practitioners do to combat these challenges?

It always comes back to the audience. You have to understand who they are, where to reach them, what drives their interest, what is of value to them and how you can satisfy them.

You’ve conducted ample research into audience management & development. In Africa in particular, audience management is crucial with regards to the success of local content, yet many within our industry still don’t understand the concept. In your own words, what does audience management mean?

I tend to think of audience management in narrow terms: once your marketing has got viewers to your platform, how do you keep them there for longer periods of time and coming back more often?

In either a linear or on-demand experience, it comes down to “accelerated flow”- creating psychological time that is measured by how deeply involved you are in the content, rather than by the second-by-second passing of time. The goal is to make your audience believe that time is passing more quickly than it really is and reduce the urge to sample competitive content or leave the platform.

We do that through both linear and on-demand architecture; combining all the elements that go into a viewing experience – programming, promotion, packaging, advertising and secondary events – into a holistic viewer experience that slows erosion, maximises messaging ratings, reduces internal time-shifting, builds vertical flow and strengthens viewer loyalty.

Why is audience management so important to the industry?

Simple economics. On an ad-supported platform, if I can get a viewer who has come to watch a one-hour show on my channel to stay for three hours, I’ve tripled my ratings and revenue. If I can get them to make my channel or platform a habit, I’ve eliminated my acquisition costs.

With digital platforms fast becoming the favoured way to consume content of all kinds, where does that leave traditional platforms in the marketing mix?

Some people believe that free-to-air and linear channels will become barker channels, simply pushing people to their digital platforms. But I believe the future is a hybrid, very much like the sound system in your car. You have a radio, where someone curates the content for you, but you also have the ability to integrate your own on-demand experience, whether a digital player or music streaming service, where you curate your own experience. You move seamlessly between the two depending on the experience you want. I believe our content distribution brands need to direct our viewers to the right platform for the right experience. I hate the term, but we need to market “omni-experiences” through cross-platform messaging.

You present an annual ‘New Best Practices’ session at PromaxBDA. What value do you think the PromaxBDA conference and similar events hold for the development of the industry?

 

This industry changes so quickly and the transformations are so disruptive, that we need a place where we can exchange ideas, brainstorm new solutions and share our experiences with our peers. I know I take in more information at the conferences than I give out during my presentations!

The New Black Renaissance: Highlights from Jenn Nkiru’s 2018 Promax BDA keynote address

PromaxBDA Africa
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The New Black Renaissance: <em>Highlights from Jenn Nkiru’s 2018 Promax BDA keynote address</em>

SCREEN AFRICA EXCLUSIVE:

Delegates at the 2018 PromaxBDA Africa Conference were treated to a closing keynote address by British-Nigerian filmmaker Jenn Nkiru, who – through examples of her work and resounding words about identity and representation, as well as the centrality of the continent of Africa to the story of the world – outlined her vision of “a new diasporic black renaissance” in global art.

The session – co-presented by the SABC – began with a show reel of Nkiru’s work, including her collaborations with the musician Kamasi Washington (such as “Hub-Tone” and “Fists of Fury”) and the short films Rebirth Is Necessary (2017) and En Vogue (2014).

With their bold compositions, dark, arresting colour palettes and hypnotic rhythms, the films have a curious quality of being both highly cerebral and powerfully emotive. As a director, Nkiru is blessed with the ability to communicate complex ideas about culture and identity in clear and emphatic images; a talent that has been keenly appreciated by audiences around the world, and one which forms the backbone of her artistic vision.

Her interesting treatment of colour – particularly in low-light settings – is showcased in the dance-based film En Vogue, where sequinned performers are backed by a snappy grime soundtrack. The nascent concerns of identity and representation in this video are given fuller expression in Rebirth Is Necessary, which opens with a sampled quote from Afro-futurist pioneer Sun Ra and uses archive footage and filmed dance performances to both tell the story of black resistance and find new modes of expressing these politics on screen.

Meanwhile, her collaborations with US jazz musician Kamasi Washington reveal Nkiru’s sensitivity to the interplay between sound, image and idea. “Hub-Tones” is as astonishing video: consisting of a nine-minute single shot, the footage shows a woman in sparkling traditional garments dancing with her eyes closed in rapture to music that flits in and out of rhythm with the seething jazz beneath it, prompting searching questions about roots, heritage, belonging and dislocation in contemporary society.

Although the event was, for many audience members, a first taste of Nkiru’s work, the filmmaker pointed out that she has spent much time in Johannesburg, one of “her favourite cities in the world.”

Nkiru began her keynote address by explaining that, in her view, her work is part of a global movement – a “new diasporic black renaissance” – that is seeking to subvert and reinvent tired, stereotypical concepts of Africa (and of blackness, more generally).

According to Nkiru, “artists who fall into this movement are taking up space and reshaping contemporary images of blackness within art, film and culture like never seen before,” and she was quick to foreground the continent of Africa in this process of re-imagining.

“Anyone who meets me quickly realises Africa is the holder and the key to my heart. It is my constant – and in my view, central to any understanding or exploration of the world must include Africa. This continent is all that was past, and it contains the present and what can be possible in the future. The most diverse place on the planet, Africa has to be central to any conversation on art, culture, film, politics, the environment and all other forms of progression.”

Quoting the academic Margot Natalie Crawford, Nkiru explained that black artists are moving beyond “mere rage” and are “immigrating into self, family and nationhood – and celebrating the process. We are at such a transitional time globally, and with any great transition in history comes the introduction of a more focused, unified voice [and process of] art-making. The general conversation echoing throughout the world is that we all want change and are finally willing to do the work to see that change that we want to happen. The New Black Renaissance sums up just this.”

Reflecting on her unique style of filmmaking, Nkiru commented: “It is my duty to ask questions and encourage my audience to do so, too. I sometimes refer to myself as an archaeologist: a cosmic archaeologist. I’m constantly searching, excavating those lost codes to get us back closer to ourselves.

In her view, as a contemporary filmmaker with her roots in Africa, she occupies a similar space to that of the griot, memorably defined by Senegalese filmmaker Djibril Diop Mambetey as “a messenger of one’s time, a visionary and the creator of the future.”

Expanding on this point during the keynote, Nkiru stressed that “we have now the choice more than ever before, to envision and create the future that we want to see. After so long spent not seeing the images that are so familiar in our day-to-day life projected within the media, we are now instead exercising the often under-valued importance of imagination, rejecting what we are told we should be and instead choosing to explore what we could be. The people truly hold the power and now is a time everyone is expressing and exploring that.”

After taking some questions from the audience, and expanding on her sources of inspiration and her legal and academic background, Nkiru left the stage with a probing question for everyone in attendance.

“I invite you all to keep in mind the ideas and thoughts I spoken about here when awarding, commissioning, championing and creating new work. Are your choices tapping into our greater global concerns, and are they getting us closer to where we all collectively want to be?”

PromaxBDA Africa 2018 – speaker line-up

PromaxBDA Africa
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PromaxBDA Africa 2018 – speaker line-up

The best of the best of South African and African creatives involved in on-air marketing, branding and design of television and video content on all platforms will converge for the 2018 PromaxBDA Africa conference and awards on 8 November. Across the world, the PromaxBDA awards stand for excellence in the media and marketing space, and are regarded as the most prestigious awards for creative endeavour in the field.

The award-winners will be announced at the culmination of the annual PromaxBDA Africa conference, which is set to take place at The Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg on the same day.

As always, the conference programme seeks to inspire and challenge creatives with often unconventional sessions, presented by leading players in the global media industry. PromaxBDA Africa chairman, Tim Horwood, said in his 2018 letter, “This year PromaxBDA Africa seeks to inspire and motivate you with sessions from industry and thought leaders from around the world.”

PromaxBDA Africa 2018 speakers include:

LEE HUNT, FOUNDER, LEE HUNT LLC 

Lee Hunt LLC is a New York-based consultancy focusing on brand strategy, on-air architecture, competitive analysis, and personnel training for television networks and media companies around the world. Hunt is a strategist, trainer, and industry thought leader. His success in launching and positioning channel brands, in addition to his pioneering work in audience management have set many of the standards for our industry.

Session one: New Best Practices 2018

Hunt presents an extended and updated version of his annual round up of the strategies, tactics, and creative—from portfolio promos to reverse episodics, to six-second promos in 30 second breaks, we’ll take a look at the new ideas that are changing our business.

Session two: Cross Platform Messaging

Hunt will present the findings of his two-year study on how linear networks are moving viewers to new platforms—MVPD VOD (on demand via set top box), TVE (authenticated viewing on mobile, tablet, PC), connected devices (Roku, AppleTV, Playstation, etc.), and OTT (Netflix, Amazon, CBS All Access, etc.). The goal of the study was to determine the best practices for cross-platform messaging on linear, on-demand, D4, digital advertising and social media platforms from a brand, business and behavioural perspective.

STEVE BROUWERS, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, SBS BELGIUM

Steve Brouwers is a creative director at SBS BELGIUM. He has been working in television for more than 20 years. Brouwers says that he reads three newspapers per weekend, receives about a 100 mails a day, does too little sports, and has too many friends on Facebook to ask for coffee. He lives in a blended family of six. So he wrote the book Almost everything you have to know about blended families. He is an inspirational speaker who sessions are well attended all over the world. In his “free” time he helps out his wife who has an art gallery in their house in Antwerp, Belgium.

Session: Fail Better

You have to embrace your failures and own them; figure out what went wrong and what to do better next time. Otherwise, you’ll repeat those errors in the future. Acknowledging your mistakes is important in order to move on. Strokes of genius don’t come about because some people succeed more often than other people do. No, successful people just DO more.

Failure doesn’t mean you’re a loser who will never amount to anything in life. Failure is not partial, and it has no favourites. Failure doesn’t pick on special people like you to torment and punish. It is a blind teacher. It’s only doing its job. It is never personal!

When you accept that failure is an option, you will be able to come up with great stuff. And what’s the worst that could happen? Right: failure. But if you already know this and have accepted it, then there is no fear of failure anymore. You can just DO. Don’t get ready. Just get started!

LIZ DUNNING, SALES TRAINER AND EXECUTIVE COACH

Liz Dunning, has spent much of her career in broadcast marketing, branding and design, working with broadcasters such as the BBC, BT, Disney, Discovery, EMI, Eurovision, ITV, NBC Universal, PBS,  Sony, Sky (in Germany, Italy and UK), Swiss TV, UKTV and Zee TV.

She has had her own agency and worked for many years in senior roles at the pioneering broadcast agency Lambie-Nairn. Today she is a sales trainer and executive coach working with a range of clients including Turner Broadcasting Systems, Harrods and many not-for-profit organisations in the UK.

Session one: Hate the Idea of ‘Selling’?

Whether you like it or not we all sell all the time in our lives – be it getting our ideas approved by our bosses, finding the right partner or posting on social media. So why not get better at this essential life skill? What will then happen – you will see more of your ideas on TV and universally have more of what you want!

Dunning will take you through the ropes of how to sell more effectively, memorably and efficiently.

Session two: Who Wants to Re-Brand?

Is your channel planning a re-brand in the next year? Dunning will take you through a simple step-by-step process with all the vital do’s and don’ts by showcasing relevant, engaging and recent examples of major channel and network rebrands.

TIM HORWOOD, EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR, MASHOBA MEDIA AFRICA

With 28 years’ experience in the broadcast industry, Horwood has been involved in multiple facets of the African television, music, events and youth culture space.

He was part of the team to launch the MTV brand in Africa in 2005 and went on to head up the MTV Base brand on the continent. He also served as senior creative director at Viacom International Media Networks Africa where he headed up creative projects for BET, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana and Angola. He is currently heading up Music & Talent for Coca-Cola’s 2018 FIFA World Cup Campaign in Africa.

Horwood has developed an in-depth knowledge of audiences in a number of African countries and specialises in the development and management of business, brand and creative strategies specifically within the broadcast, digital and event arenas.

Session: World Gold [contains 100 per cent global goodness]

Showcasing creative genius, inspirational thinking and straight-up insanity that should supercharge your work for the next 12 months.

SAMIRA GERIN-SINGH

A passionate and award-winning creative mind, success seeker, and respected media professional, Samira Gerin-Singh is fuelled by everything broadcast, from storytelling and content creation, to marketing and audience behaviours.

With over 10 years broadcast marketing experience, Gerin-Singh began her career as a promo producer at a creative agency, winning the first ever PromaxBDA Africa Rocket Award. She went on to become creative director on M-Net Africa and M-Net Series accounts. In 2012, she consulted at an emerging promo company, helping to structure and develop their team and operations, before ultimately joining Fox Networks Group Africa as the head of On Air and Creative.

Session: 1 Movie, 5 Disruptions

In this sequel to 1 Movie, 5 Promos, we step beyond the traditional 30” spot. With “disruption” touted to be the new normal, this year’s challenge will push five creative teams to find and use new formats and platforms in the pursuit of eyeballs for Hollywood’s biggest disruptor, Black Panther.

With limited budgets, rapidly growing viewing alternatives and more elusive audiences, how do we get our voice heard above the cacophony of “pick me’s”? Or more fittingly, where do we boldly go that no one else dares? The rules: innovate, explore, take risks and be the creatives you’ve always wanted to be.

 

Jenn Nkiru to deliver closing keynote at PromaxBDA Africa 2018

PromaxBDA Africa
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Jenn Nkiru to deliver closing keynote at PromaxBDA Africa 2018

The creative industry is buzzing in the lead up to the 2018 PromaxBDA Africa conference and awards, set to take place on 8 November at The Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg. As always, the event will bring together and celebrate top South African and African creatives working in on-air marketing, branding and design of television and video content on all platforms.

Every year, the PromaxBDA Africa conference programme is carefully curated with the sole purpose to inspire and motivate. Local and international creatives who have and continue to deliver excellence in the field and push boundaries are handpicked to speak at the conference.

This year is no different, with the incredibly impressive Jenn Nkiru – an artist and director from London, UK – set to deliver the closing keynote address, titled A New Black Renaissance.

Nkiru is a visionary artist and director from London. Represented globally by Iconoclast, this year alone she has been named one of 200 women redefining the creative industry by creative network The Dots, and one of 100 global Creative Superheroes shaping culture by Utopia.

An MFA film graduate of Howard University, Nkiru’s first film En Vogue, shot by Bradford Young and Arthur Jafa, screened internationally gaining critical acclaim. Last year Iconoclast, with Nkiru, produced Rebirth is Necessary; a dreamlike art film centred on the magic and dynamism of Blackness – past, present and future. The film went on to win the Canal + award at the Clermont Ferrand Film Festival, Best Documentary at the London Independent Film Festival, and nominee of the 2018 Best Short Film award at Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival. Rebirth is Necessary recently won the 2018 Voice of a Woman award at Cannes. It has been screened internationally – from The Museum of Modern Art (MOCA, LA) to the ICA in London, to the Rotterdam Film Festival in Amsterdam – and introduced the London premiere of Black Panther at the BFI.

Recent collaborators include shooting 2nd unit for Beyonce & Jay-Z’s latest internet-breaking video sensation ‘Apeshit’, shot in Paris, directed by Ricky Saiz.

As a founding curator of Boiler Room’s new video platform 4:3, alongside Elijah Wood, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Peaches, Nkiru recently curated a season titled Afrofrequency which features works from John Akomfrah and Flying Lotus amongst others. Nkiru launched the season this September in London with a special evening and in-conversation with Grammy nominated artist Janelle Monae.

Vanessa Sheldrick, event director, PromaxBDA Africa comments: “Jenn is a fierce, fresh voice in African filmmaking in the diaspora. We are so excited to have her speak at this year’s conference, as she stands on the launchpad of what is, undoubtably, going to be a stellar career.”

Nkiru’s keynote session at PromaxBDA Africa 2018 will explore, through a showcase of her work anchored in the philosophies of the godfather of African cinema, Djibril Diop Mambety, how a new diasporic black renaissance is taking place globally and how artists who fall into this movement are taking up space and reshaping contemporary images of blackness within art, film and culture like never seen before.

Nkiru will round off her closing keynote – sponsored by the South African Broadcasting Corporation – with a Q&A session.

“We are super excited to have Jenn joining us this year. She is part of a movement of young creatives that are shifting and challenging the industry on a global scale, we look forward to her unique insights and can’t wait to be inspired by this acclaimed and influential director,” comments Tim Horwood, PromaxBDA Africa chairman.

 

Don’t forget to register for PromaxBDA Africa 2018

PromaxBDA Africa
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Don’t forget to register for PromaxBDA Africa 2018

Across the world, the PromaxBDA Awards stand for excellence in the media marketing space and are regarded as the most prestigious awards for creative endeavour in this field. The best of the best of South African and African creatives involved in on-air marketing, branding and design will converge for the 2018 PromaxBDA Africa conference and awards on 8 November.

The award-winners will be announced at the culmination of the annual PromaxBDA Africa conference, which is set to take place at The Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg. Information about the awards, conference and speakers can be found on the PromaxBDA Africa website.

For more information about the awards or conference email vanessa@promaxasia.tv.

Early bird registration closes on Thursday, 9 August. Click here to register.

Debra Mallowah talks gender stereotypes in advertising at PromaxBDA Africa

PromaxBDA Africa
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Debra Mallowah talks gender stereotypes in advertising at PromaxBDA Africa

In an effort to elevate the current conversation around gender stereotypes in advertising, a session titled Unstereotype, helmed by Debra Mallowah, kick-started the 2017 PromaxBDA conference, held at The Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg.

Mallowah, general manager of Consumer Healthcare at GSK and a member of the Women’s World Banking Africa Advisory Council, stressed that the narrow and often negative historical stereotypes of women presented in domestic scenes, need to change. She also challenged media influencers in the audience to reinforce change in their next projects.

Mallowah said: “The issue of stereotyping and the negative perception that it can create is actually real – it does happen. So as we’re gathered here, sitting in this room, we have a powerful influence in shaping perceptions.”

In the 1-hour session, Mallowah presented amended advertising guidelines, trends, success stories as well as tips to advertisers on how to combat gender stereotypes, more especially in projecting women in a more positive light.

“We rarely see female heroes coming through and they do exist,” asserted Mallowah.

The #FeesMustFall campaign, spearheaded by a female student was noted, as well as how several Hollywood blockbusters, such as Wonder Woman, have seen great success with women in lead roles.

Mallowah also referenced various TV shows and films that have diminished traditional stereotypes while tackling modern day gender roles in a provocative and intriguing manner. “Orange is the New Black shattered gender stereotypes. The show consists of an all-female cast, and represents a wide spectrum of gender and race. It really tackles gender issues front on and in a confrontational way,” she said.

Mallowah also referenced  the series How to Get Away with Murder: “In this series the idea that men are supposed to be aggressive and violent and women are the ones who are nurturing and caring; these roles are completely reversed with a female lead character that is confident, strong and intelligent,” she shared.

She then brought it closer to home and highlighted films from the African continent that celebrate women in their unique strength and diversity. The 93 Days documentary-drama from Nollywood, shares the true story of the Ebola outbreak in Africa and how one female doctor was on the forefront of fighting the disease and saving Nigeria from a deadly fate. Another film, Ayanda, is a coming-of-age fictional tale from South Africa which opposes the traditional racial and gender roles as a young, Afro-hippie, female, black lead fights to preserve her father’s automobile repair business.

In July 2017, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) announced that it is to adopt stricter standards on gender portrayal and stereotypes as well as implement tougher sentences and banning to advertisers that do not adhere to these guidelines. These laws will take effect later in 2018 and will include the banning of ads that:

  • Depict family members creating a mess while a woman has the sole responsibility of cleaning it up;
  • Suggest a specific activity is inappropriate for boys because it is stereotypically associated with girls, or vice-versa;
  • Feature a man trying and failing to undertake simple parental and/or household tasks.

 

Mallowah expressed her support of these guidelines while presenting some ‘good versus bad’ ad examples to the audience. She also shared tips on how more advertisers can adhere to these new standards.

The story and lesson behind the 2016 Nike ad, which pays tribute to tennis champion Serena Williams and undertook the issue of gender stereotypes, was used as a case study by Mallowah. When an interview celebrating Williams’ reign in tennis became a talking point because a reporter referred to her as “one of the greatest female athletes of all time,” to which Williams blatantly remarked “I prefer the words ‘one of the greatest athletes of all time’”, Nike saw this as an opportunity to defy gender politics in sport by featuring Williams and her profound response  in one of the most successful Nike commercials of all time.

Mallowah expands: “A change is required and we need to set an ambition for our brands and the industry at large to advance from this stereotypical portrayal to a more progressive approach. Progressive advertising leads to much stronger engagement, stronger talk-ability and delivers fantastic brand impact.”

In conclusion Mallowah said that the progressive portrayal of women starts with a better approach and reflection to the roles, personalities and appearances of all women in modern society.

“Challenge yourself in terms of the roles that women are featured in. Beauty should not conform to a male perception of attractiveness and alluring,” she advised the audience.

Mallowah also added that the roles in which women are being presented in the future of advertising, should represent the aspirations of women and their wider achievements.

 

‘Memory Makers’ come together for the 2017 PromaxBDA conference and awards

PromaxBDA Africa
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‘Memory Makers’ come together for the 2017 PromaxBDA conference and awards

Bringing together top creatives from around the world in the media marketing industry; the 12th annual PromaxBDA Africa Conference and Awards took place at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton on 9 November 2017.

Over 400 media professionals attended the 2017 event and participated in various conference sessions led by international and local speakers discussing a variety of current hot-topics and trends within the media marketing industry. “We are thrilled with the continued growth of  PromaxBDA Africa as the premier creative event for professionals involved in Promos, Marketing and Broadcast Design and their platforms,” said Vanessa Sheldrick, event director for PromaxBDA Africa.

The conference commenced with a word from PromaxBDA Africa chairman, Timothy Horwood, who shared what it means to be “memory makers” – which was the theme for 2017.

Howard’s introduction was followed by the first session of the day, titled Unstereotype by Debra Mallowah from GSK in East Africa, her talk focused on the global movement to break gender stereotypes in the advertising and film industry.

In keeping with the theme of the day Mallowah stressed that media professionals should use their influence to create stories that represent positive gender portrayals and tackle the dominance of negative female stereotypes that have populated the film and advertising industries.

Other noteworthy sessions included:

The Mutating Creative by Carl Addy, who presented a documentary hybrid that investigates the ”mutating” roles of the modern creative to adapt to the evolving world of commercial art.

The Future is Here and It’s Bonkers by Glenn Urquhart, which looked at emerging media trends and a future creative forecast.

The Bloody Poms by NBCUniversal’s vice president of Creative and Original Content, Kjetil Njoten. Njoten inspired attending creatives on how to be relevant from afar, taking lessons from his London-based company and how it runs successful portfolios for the African market.

The Cult Of The Handmade In The Digital Age by Gemma O’Brien, an Australian designer and artist with a passion for typography.

My personal highlights for the day included The World Gold 2017 showcase which offered a break from the sessions with light humour from the ever-entertaining Horwood as he presented the best spots from the year 2017. Another interesting showcase was the 1 Movie, Five Promos challenge, whereby five local PromaxBDA winners’ were tasked to create a promo for the same film but given different briefs to cater for specific TV channels.

The last session of the day was helmed by international speaker and author of the book Tell Me About Yourself, Holley Murchison. Murchison presented an extremely moving and spirited session titled Become Who You Are which encouraged creative professionals and entrepreneurs to reflect on their dreams, skills and beliefs to create stories with purpose and work towards leaving a great legacy.

In the evening, the PromaxBDA Africa Awards were held as a celebration of African creative excellence.

Silver and gold winners were announced in 48 categories, with NBCUniversal International Networks scooping the most wins including Best Image Campaign, Best Special Event Promo, Best Sound Design and Best Copy/Scriptwriting.

The Screen Africa Best Movie Promo silver and gold awards went to NBCUniversal International Networks for Van Dammurary and the A to Z of Action Stars promo on the Studio Universal channel.

Other sponsored awards included the DStv/M-Net Best Editing category, in which Disney XD got a silver award for its Star Wars Rebels recap, while NBCUniversal International Networks won gold for A to Z of Action Stars.

DStv also sponsored the Promo Rocket Award which did not have a silver award, but a gold award that went to Zee Entertainment Enterprises for its Puja Ray promo.

The Fox Networks Group Mama Silver award went to CSquared for their Afcon 2017 promo, while Studio Zoo took the gold award for DStv’s The Story promo.

The SABC Best Integrated Marketing Campaign silver and gold awards went to Clearwater for their kykNET brand launch campaign and M-Net’s Animania promo.

A prestigious T + W Future Award was also presented to Vega School Johannesburg students, Saraah Saint and Jessica Hay for their campaign to raise araweness on the ‘Fur for Animals’ crusade.

The evening ended off with a PromaxBDA-style afterparty held at the Taboo Night Club in Sandton. All in all, the 2017 PromaxBDA Africa Conference and Awards was a successful, creative fest like no other.

 

PromaxBDA Africa 2017 conference – one month to go

PromaxBDA Africa
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Across the world, the PromaxBDA Awards stand for excellence in the media marketing space and are regarded as the most prestigious awards for creative endeavour in this field. The best of the best of South African and African creatives involved in on-air marketing, branding and design will converge for the 2017 PromaxBDA Africa conference and awards on 9 November.

The award-winners will be announced at the culmination of the PromaxBDA Africa conference, which takes place at The Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg. Information about the awards and conference can be found on the PromaxBDA Africa website.

For more information about the awards or conference email vanessa@promaxasia.tv.

Click here to register.

Last week to enter the PromaxBDA Africa awards

PromaxBDA Africa
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0

Across the world, the PromaxBDA Awards stand for excellence in the media marketing space and are regarded as the most prestigious awards for creative endeavour in this field. The best of the best of South African and African creatives involved in on-air marketing, branding and design will converge for the 2017 PromaxBDA Africa conference and awards on 9 November.

Entries for the 2017 awards will close on 25 August. The award winners will be announced at the culmination of the PromaxBDA Africa conference, which takes place at The Maslow hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg.

Head to the PromaxBDA Africa website to enter.

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