Headlines
| The Loerie Awards 2008 | 26 & 27 July 2008 |  |
SOUTH AFRICA Net#work BBDO, Gloo take first Loeries Digital Grand Prix Tonight, Sunday, 27 July 2008 at the 30th anniversary of the Loerie Awards in Margate, a total of 112 Loeries were handed out, of which only two were Grands Prix: King James in TV & Cinema Commercials for Alan Gray ‘Beautiful', and Net#work BBDO and Gloo Digital Design in Experiential Digital Mixed-Media Campaign for ‘Youngblood5 - the first Grand Prix in the Digital Category. SOUTH AFRICA Saturday night Loeries winners A total of 172 Loeries were handed out at the Saturday night ceremony, 26 July 2008, of the 30th annual Loerie awards, two of which were Grands Prix - Am I Collective and Trigger Communication - and 15 of which were Gold. Also introduced this year was the Creative Achievement Award, awarded to Mike Schalit, chief creative officer of BBDO South Africa.
MarketingAFRICA Airlines: Who's safe? Who's not?The European Commission has adopted an updated list of banned airlines - carriers that are banned from flying in European airspace - and a number of African airlines are on the list. SOUTHERN AFRICA SA business on Zim MOU South African business is cautiously optimistic following yesterday's signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Mugabe and the two MDC factions led by Arthur Mutambara and Morgan Tsvangirai respectively. ZIMBABWE Zimbabwe: Rivals sign Memorandum of UnderstandingZimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, and opposition leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the capital Harare today, paving the way for talks to resolve the country's political impasse. CENTRAL AFRICA Malawi: Mutharika calls for referendum to decide national budget fate[Gregory Gondwe] Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika has called for a national referendum to decide whether parliament should discuss the national budget or Section 65 of the Constitution which empowers the Speaker to declare vacant seats of parliamentarians deemed to have crossed the floor. UGANDA Anfield Communications, Uganda's first sports marketing agencyIn March this year, Anfield Communications, a marketing agency owned and established by a team of Ugandans was established. Aldrine Nsubuga, Anfield's chief executive officer took advantage of this gap in the sports industry in Uganda and were awarded the first Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) Awards Gala, worth UGX150m.
DigitalSOUTH AFRICA Leaked DNS exploit drives admins bonkersWeeks ago, security researchers spotted a domain name system flaw that could spell trouble for the entire internet. They attempted to keep things quiet while they created and distributed a patch admins could use to plug the holes. But the flaw was leaked, it's in the wild, and some DNS admins may be caught with their pants way, way down. SOUTH AFRICA Subject line testing: what metric should you use to measure success?[Morgan Stewart] Recently the EEC posted the results from a survey asking, "What is the primary metric by which you measure the success of your subject line A/B tests?" GHANA Ghana: Dumping ground for used gadgets At one of the many busy roadside shops in the capital, Accra, John Nuagbe displays the used, rusty and mostly broken electrical gadgets he recently imported from the USA.
Education and TrainingAFRICA African business schools united in developing continent's leadership A strong private sector is the key to driving economic growth and development on the African continent - and can also play a vital role in holding governments to account and promoting political stability.
EventingAFRICA Financial Mail Infrastructure Project Finance ConferenceThe “ Financial Mail Infrastructure Project Finance” Conference, which took place on 8 and 9 July 2008 at the Sandton Sun, served as a highly valuable “feeder” event into next month's NEPAD/SADC Regional Infrastructure Projects Conference.
MediaKENYA Kenyan government publishes new communications billNew bill has controversial clauses omitted; critics believed they were designed to muzzle the media. NAMIBIA Polytechnic declares its premises a "no-go" area for journalists covering student eventsThe Namibian Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa, MISA-Namibia, has come out strongly against the decision by the Polytechnic of Namibia issuing a decree that its premises are a "no-go" area for journalists covering student events. SOUTH AFRICA Media neutrality - or the very real lack of it - in Africa - Janine Lazarus Media Consultancy[Janine Lazarus] In every country in the world, the media writes for a paying audience. If newspapers are to sell successfully, the issues of their particular audience need to resonate with what the media reflects. AFRICA 10th PAMRO Meeting and 2008 All Africa Media Research ConferenceThe event will be taking place 17-19 August at the Protea Hotel in Oakwood Park, Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria. PAMRO aims to make Africa the leader in the world in providing a research database for the growing number of global media owners, marketers and agencies. For more info visit www.pamro.org.
MobileUGANDA Uganda Telecom's 3G network boosts picture messaging[Walter Wafula] Subscribers on the Uganda Telecom network can now send and receive picture messages, following the upgrading of its network to third generation (3G). KENYA Celtel Kenya gets new MD [Carole Kimutai] Rene Meza is the new managing director for Celtel Kenya. Rene brings over ten years of experience in the telecom industry from Africa, Asia and Latin-America. GHANA Globacom targets two million subscribers in one yearGhana's 6th mobile phone license holder, Globacom, has projected that its outfit will hit a two million subscriber mark in the first year of operation. CENTRAL AFRICA Malawi: GAIN awarded mobile cellular operator licence in Malawi[Gregory Gondwe] The newly appointed Board of the Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has given the nod to the awarding of a third mobile cellular operator licence as well as the completion of the licensing process for the second fixed telephone line network operator in Malawi. KENYA Mobile phones banned in schoolsKenyan Education Minister, Sam Ongeri has banned the use of mobile phones among students in schools.
Out Of HomeSOUTH AFRICA Linear Stand point-of-sale and brochure holder - Right Stuff Upgrade your showroom with the latest brochure/banner display combo - the Linear Stand. Made from durable materials, this high-quality point-of-purchase system is designed and manufactured to the highest standards and has a superb finish.
PromotionsKENYA DHL launches heavy-weight shipment promotionDHL Express Kenya has launched a promotion that gives customers discounts for exporting or importing heavy-weight shipments. The new tariff provides a 35-45% reduction on the old tariff for shipments above 51kg to selected destinations.
Public RelationsAFRICA Can PR save the arts?[Vimtha Rajbansi] It is through the arts and culture sector of our society that people can be brought together and be given hope, a touch of magic, and a little escapism for a brighter life. The arts is a part of everyone's life, but the perception of the industry in South Africa needs a radical shift if it is to survive. SOUTH AFRICA Deadline for writing course on doorstep - Quo Vadis CommunicationsThe days are ticking by before the interactive Organisational Communications Course run by Quo Vadis Communications begins in Durban next month.
RetailEGYPT Mbeki to host Egyptian presidentPretoria - South African President Thabo Mbeki will on Tuesday hold bilateral political, economic and trade discussions with his Egyptian counterpart, Hosni Mubarak. SOUTH AFRICA High import tariffs holds up growth[Michael Appel] High import tariffs, trade barriers and a culture of protectionism impedes economic growth, says Department of Trade and Industry Director General Tshediso Matona. CENTRAL AFRICA IMF tips Burundi on better economy[Walter Wafula] The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on the government of Burundi to adopt a set of guidelines to improve its puny economy but also commended its poverty reduction efforts. AFRICA Engen International business gala dinner and awards evening Engen Petroleum Limited recently hosted a gala dinner and awards ceremony evening at the Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West. The event took place on Thursday, 17 July and Rashid Yusof, Engen CEO, and his wife Aminah Yusof were present, as well as Wayne Hartmann, GM: International Business Development for Engen and his wife Sarah. SOUTHERN AFRICA UN boosts farming in SwazilandThe United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) is helping poor farmers to boost their agricultural production in Swaziland, one of many countries suffering as a result of the global food crisis. CENTRAL AFRICA 10th bank opens its doors in Malawi[Gregory Gondwe] FDH Bank Limited, a subsidiary of FDH Financial Holdings Limited opened its doors last Monday in Malawi's commercial capital city of Blantyre with a promise to target corporate clients and small to medium enterprises (SMEs). KENYA Nakumatt launches IT switching system [Carole Kimutai] Retail supermarket chain, Nakumatt has moved to bolster its financial services offering with a KSh20m information technology switching system. AFRICA 15m in Africa face 'disaster'Nairobi: Nearly 15 million people in the Horn of Africa region are facing a humanitarian disaster unless donors urgently release funds to deliver supplies, aid agencies warned on Tuesday. ZIMBABWE Zim manufacturing sector declines further[Dumisani Ndlela] Zimbabwe's manufacturing sector output declined by 28% last year as the country's troubled economy remained mired in a crisis, a Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) survey has revealed. CENTRAL AFRICA Two additions to Malawi bourse list [Gregory Gondwe] Malawi: The mobile phone service provider TNM Limited and Real Insurance Company Limited are preparing to be listed on the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) during the last half of 2008. COTE D'IVOIRE Ministers cut own wages to end public sector strikeA week of strikes and protests in Cote d'Ivoire's economic capital Abidjan ended on Sunday following a government announcement that it would continue to subsidise fuel, and that government ministers would slash their own wages by 50% to help cover the cost. ZIMBABWE Zimbabwe: Bid to resuscitate use of international credit cards falters[Dumisani Ndlela] Zimbabwe's bid to resuscitate the use of international credit cards, abandoned at the start of a gruelling economic crisis now in its ninth year, has crumbled due to the continued erosion of the domestic currency, bankers said yesterday.
TVAFRICA Five out of every seven new subscribers choose GTVResearch shows over the last nine months, five out of every seven new subscribers to satellite television chose GTV, according to a recent report by Balancing Act, an African research company specialising in the media and communications sectors. ZIMBABWE Globecast Satellite acquittedThere was a dramatic end to the Globecast Satellite trial on 24 July 2008 when Harare Magistrate Archie Wochiunga refused to place the company on further remand after the state had applied for a postponement of the matter. GHANA CNN's "Inside Africa" in Ghana "Inside Africa" on CNN International will be hosted on July 26, by Nkepile Mabuse who comes from Ghana, West Africa. The programme features special coverage of the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards, which took place on Saturday 19 July in Accra, plus there's an analysis and focus on where Ghana stands today, 50 years after independence. EGYPT The Fox's DenFox Movies has been generating a buzz among viewers and advertisers across Egypt and the Middle East. The globally-renowned Fox International Channels (FIC) and Arab satellite network, Rotana Media Services (RMS) have teamed up to create Fox Movies, the second 24-hour movie channel in the Middle East that can also toot the FTA horn. | 
