ZIMBABWE

[2011 Trends] Zimbabwe: Brute force to silence the media

[Wilf Mbanga] One of the first casualties in the onslaught against democracy is always the media. Elections, a key cornerstone of democracy, have been characterised in Africa generally, and in Zimbabwe in particular, by massive election fraud, voting irregularities, vote buying, voter and opposition party intimidation, bogus voter registration, rigged polling stations, corrupt election commissioners and so on. Read more >>

EAST AFRICA

Somalia: Journalists beaten by government soldiers, officials

MOGADISHU: The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has strongly condemned the actions of the Somali Transitional Federal government soldiers and officials who beat two journalists of Shabelle Radio in Mogadishu. Read more >>

AFRICA

[2011 Trends] SEO more challenging in 2011

[Yoray Narainpersad] 2010 has come and gone and what a year it was. 2011 is upon us now, and I think it is time I prognosticate the digital marketing trends for this year. Here are my top 11 predictions. Read more >>

EAST AFRICA

Mobile Marketing Association to launch in East Africa

LONDON: The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) on Monday, 10 January 2011, announced plans to launch a new council in East Africa accompanied by a three-day series of events to mark the occasion. The official launch will take place during the Mobile Marketing Summit, a one-day conference for professional marketers to be held in Nairobi on 8 March 2011. Read more >>

ZIMBABWE

Webcasters, diffusion service providers caught in BAZ loop

[Dumisani Ndlela] The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) has urged diffusion and webcasting service providers to register their operations this year, saying it had the backing of the law to demand fees and licence their operations. Read more >>

AFRICA

Mobile Research Conference 2011 speakers announced

LONDON: The Mobile Research Conference (MRC 2011) will run from 18-19 April 2011 in central London. Dr Nathan Eagle of txteagle, an expert on mobile phones in emerging markets, will open the event. Dr Eagle will share his passion and vision for how mobile research can bring brands, researchers and organisations such as the UN, closer to the opinions, behaviours and experiences of consumers in emerging markets throughout BRIC and Africa. Read more >>

ZIMBABWE

Econet takes defaulters to court

[Hendricks Chizhanje] Zimbabwe's largest mobile telecoms company, Econet Wireless, is increasingly resorting to litigation to recover huge debts owed by defaulting customers. Read more >>

KENYA

Kenya's biggest telecom firm slashes SMS price

NAIROBI: Safaricom, the mobile phone operator in which Britain's Vodafone has a 40% stake and which has more than 70% of the Kenyan market, said on Friday (7 January 2011) it is slashing its SMS prices. Read more >>

UGANDA

The Razor newspaper launches in Uganda

Competition for readership in Uganda's print media industry is set to intensify following the launch of The Razor, a new tabloid newspaper in the country. Read more >>

AFRICA

Tarifa African Film Festival partners APO

The African Film Festival of Tarifa has partnered with the African Press Organisation (APO) for the eighth edition of the event. The festival will take place from 11-19 June 2011, in Tarifa-Cadix, Spain. The APO will be in charge of the distribution of press releases regarding the event to African and international media. Read more >>

SINGAPORE

Rise up together

SINGAPORE: As one of the most iconic beer brands in the world, Guinness has amassed a strong and loyal army of fans over its 250-year history. The "birthday" of Guinness occurs in September, and to help leverage the promotional value of the event, Guinness in Singapore needed to address several issues. Read more >>

UNITED STATES

[2011 trends] ICOM global survey: Mid-size advertising, Marcomm agencies optimistic

ROLLINSVILLE, US: Business is looking a lot better for mid-size advertising and integrated marketing communications agencies the world over, according to a survey of the members of the ICOM global network of independent agencies (www.icomagencies.com). Read more >>

UNITED KINGDOM

[Trends 2011] Greenlight's top 10 predictions

LONDON, UK: With Google's Instant Preview here to stay, leading search marketing specialist and technology firm Greenlight, has 2011 pegged as "web design year" with app search, hotter competition and a huge growth in the PPC model as just some of its predictions. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Happy Christmas for carmakers

[Henrie Geyser: motoring editor] Car companies celebrated a whopping 38.9% increase in new car sales in December compared to sales in December the year before. New passenger car sales alone topped 26 615 vehicles. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

World Travel Awards calls for nominations

LONDON, UK: World Travel Awards is issuing a call to those organisations that aspire to be the best of the best in the business to participate in the 2011 World Travel Awards. Claimed to be the highest accolade in travel and tourism, the event is reputed to be 'the Oscars of the travel industry' by the media worldwide for identifying and rewarding excellence. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Third Hooters restaurant for SA

US-based Chanticleer Holdings, Inc. has announced plans to open its third Hooters restaurant in Cape Town, South Africa, "Hooters on Edward Street", in March 2011. Chanticleer's other South African Hooters restaurants include "Hooters on the Rocks" and "Hooters on the Buzz", located in Durban and Johannesburg, respectively. Read more >>