Gerety Awards: Global Shortlist And ‘Agency Of The Year’ By Country Awards

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Gerety Awards: Global Shortlist And ‘Agency Of The Year’ By Country Awards

The Gerety Awards, the only creative prize to reward the best in advertising from the female vision, today reveals the global shortlist and the agency of the year by country titles. Shortlisted entries include Festive for Burberry by Riff Raff Films London, Superb Owl for Reddit by R/GA New York, Keep It Real Online for Department of Internal Affairs/The New Zealand Government by Motion Sickness Auckland and The Beer Cap Project for Ab Inbev by MullenLowe SSP3 Bogota.

Gbemi Adekanmbi, Founder of Forcreativegirls.com was the Ambassador for this year’s Nigerian executive jury and had the following to say “Getting immersed in creative work and energy during the Gerety awards process was really beautiful for me. Being on a jury with creative, badass women who have grown brands, built thriving careers & businesses was the highlight of it all.”

Unique in that the sessions are held around the world, with international executive juries of agency and brand leaders, the judging was followed by the hugely successful jury insight panels. The free to watch events were billed as creative awakenings with each panel including some of this year’s judges from the different jury locations in London, Berlin, Budapest, Milan, Singapore, Lagos, Toronto, Santiago, Los Angeles and Paris.

The 2021 Agency/Production Company of the year by country winners are:

  • UK Agency of the Year – MRM London
  • U.S. Agency of the Year – McCann New York
  • French Production Company of the Year – Quad Group
  • Hungarian Agency of the Year – White Rabbit Budapest
  • Nigerian Agency of the Year – Publicis Insight
  • Canadian Agency of the Year – Taxi Toronto
  • Canadian Production Company of the Year – Grayson Music
  • Italian Agency of the Year – VMLY&R Italy

*Agency/Production company of the year by country is chosen by the local juries from the portfolio cut and requires a single film no longer than 5 minutes in length that includes up to three pieces of work from the past 12 months.

  • Most shortlisted campaign: “Not For Lease” for Roncesvalles BIA (Business Improvement Association) by The Local Collective in Canada
  • Most shortlisted network: across 17 different offices is McCann Worldgroup
  • Most shortlisted country: with 35 entries on the shortlist from 17 different companies is the USA
  • Most shortlisted category: across different media is the Works for Good Cut with a total of 47 entries.
  • Most shortlisted production company: Biscuit Filmworks Los Angeles

The Grand jury that includes the likes of Kate Stanners, Chairwoman & Global Chief Creative Officer at Saatchi & Saatchi London and Jessica Apellaniz, CCO of Mexico & Latam, Ogilvy Mexico, will now choose the final winners which will be announced Monday, September 6. It will include Gold, Silver, Bronze, Grand Prix, and overall Network and Agency of the year awards.

Refining the current shortlist the grand jury will be creating truly diverse and qualitative winners showcase across multiple creative disciplines that are determined based on scores achieved across the board – regardless of the product advertised or medium submitted. This ensures that only the very best work, that resonates with the world’s most powerful consumers, is awarded.

See the full shortlist here at www.geretyawards.com

Named for Frances Gerety, the copywriter who in 1948 coined the slogan “A diamond is forever, The Gerety Awards marks the first time that a jury has been brought together to select the best in advertising — all advertising, not just advertising made for women — through the female lens, creating a benchmark that is relevant to the market reality, all while redefining the standard to which advertising has traditionally been held.

Winners Announced: September 6

Gerety Awards Named Insight Publicis 2021 Nigerian Agency of the Year

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Gerety Awards Named Insight Publicis 2021 Nigerian Agency of the Year

Prior to the shortlist announcement due Tuesday, June 15 and following the Nigerian judging session, the Gerety Awards, the only creative prize to reward the best in advertising from the female vision, announces that Insight Publicis is the Nigerian agency of the year. The Gerety Awards is in partnership with Brand Spur.

The Agency of the year by country is chosen by the local juries from the portfolio cut and requires a single film no longer than 5 minutes in length and includes up to three pieces of work from the past 12 months.

Gerety Awards
Dr. Ken Onyeali Ikpe, Group CEO of Insight Redefini | Brand Spur Nigeria

Insight Publicis were awarded for their portfolio cut entry that included work with the Make it Happen Campaign – “Mom-in-Law” and “Junior” for their client Keystone Bank.

X3M Ideas came second place with their portfolio cut entry that included work with, Mani Mother’s Day Hotline, La Casera Super Heroes and the board game Escape 2020.

Dr. Ken Onyeali Ikpe, Group CEO of Insight Redefini said,

“It is an honour for one of our operating companies – Insight Publicis – to be recognised by the jury as The Nigerian Agency of the Year. This award is for the incredible team at Insight Publicis who continue to put in the hard work. They made this possible. It is very exciting indeed.”

Named for Frances Gerety, the copywriter who in 1948 coined the slogan “A diamond is forever”, The Gerety Awards marks the first time that a jury has been brought together to select the best in advertising — all advertising, not just advertising made for women — through the female lens, creating a benchmark that is relevant to the market reality, all while redefining the standard to which advertising has traditionally been held.

VP Osinbajo Chairs Kemi Adeosun’s DashMe Foundation Launch (Photos)

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VP Osinbajo Chairs Kemi Adeosun’s DashMe Foundation Launch (Photos)

It was a grand outing at the launch of the DashMe Foundation – an initiative championed by former Minister of Finance of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun with Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo and a host of well-meaning Nigerians at the DashMe Store in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.

DashMe Foundation is a fully indigenous, youth-driven, a social enterprise that seeks to creatively raise funds and awareness for indigenous charities that provide direct care to orphans, vulnerable children, disadvantaged youth, and victims of domestic abuse. The Foundation, at the event, committed itself to raise the US $10m in funds and resources for local charities within the first year of its existence.

DashMe Foundation
From left: The Convener Of DashMe Foundation, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun;the Vice President of Nigeria,Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and DashMe Chief Executive Officer, Omorinsola Arogundade at the launch of DashMe Foundation at Lekki Lagos. | Brand Spur

The Vice President, in his remarks, recalled that as a minister, Mrs. Adeosun prioritized the Federal Government’s Social Investment Program (SIP) and hence he is not surprised that she has decided to use her talent and influence to establish an organization that raises funds and provides for indigenous grassroots charities. He expressed how important it is to reach the grassroots, in order to reach Nigerians, which forms the idea of funding local charities.

In her welcome address, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who describes herself as the enterprise’ Chief Volunteer, shared the long-term vision for the social enterprise.

DashMe Foundation

She explained that donations would be sourced from within Nigeria and from the diaspora community. She also noted that the DashMe Store would sell donated goods to raise funds which would be channelled to various partner-charity organizations.

According to her, the DashMe Store is the first of many projects that the Foundation would undertake to raise cash as well as through other conventional and unconventional fund-raising avenues to accomplish its vision.

DashMe Foundation

She emphasized the importance of DashMe’s Donor Assurance policy and its commitment to ensuring that all funds raised to get to the right people. She stated that the organization has hired a Director of Donor Assurance who is responsible for validating and reporting on the activities and statuses of Impact Partners.

In her words, “We recognize that throwing money at a problem is not always a solution and so once we are satisfied with the ‘who’ aspect of our Impact Partners, we must also ensure funds are deployed efficiently. We will measure impact, benchmark, costs and ensure maximum value. We hope that Dash Me can play a part in the relief mission and truly support changing lives.”

Corroborating Adeosun was the Foundation’s Chief Operating Officer, Omorinsola Arogundade, who submitted that “DashMe is building a family of supporters within Nigeria, her diaspora and among those (across the globe) who love all things African.”

Notably, the organization has an overwhelmingly young leadership team. For example, it has an Advisory Board made up of entirely youth, with its above-mentioned Chief Operating Officer being in her 30’s.

AIICO Insurance Plc Predicts Profit After Tax of N3.05Billion in Q3 2021

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AIICO Insurance Plc Predicts Profit After Tax of N3.05Billion in Q3 2021

AIICO Insurance Plc has released its earnings forecasts for the third quarter of the year, Q3, ended 30 September 2021.

Gross Written Premium (GWP) projected for the third quarter of 2021 is N53.82 billion representing 75% of the 2021 full-year budget. The Non-Life business of Aiico represents 28% of the stated GWP while the Ordinary Life, Group Life and Annuity businesses represent 60%, 10% and 2% respectively.

Investment income will be driven largely by its bond investments and investment in other short term financial assets.

AIICO Insurance Plc Announces Change in Date of AGM

The company expects its Net premium income to stand at N43.13 billion. The Operating expenses saw a projection of N9.53 billion with Profit after tax projected at N3.05Billion.

The following non-cash transactions were included in the Statement of Profit or Loss and Other comprehensive income:

  • Depreciation of Non-current asset in line with the Group’s policy
  • Amortization of intangible assets
  • Net fair value gain/loss on financial assets.

Reinsurance expenses is projected at an average of 9% of the projected Gross Written Premium.

Multichoice Offers $281.5M for 49% stake in BetKing

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Multichoice Offers $281.5M for 49% stake in BetKing

In October 2020, MultiChoice acquired a 20% shareholding in Blue Lake Ventures Limited, a pan-African sports betting and entertainment business trading as BetKing.

Shareholders are advised that MultiChoice, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Mwendo Holdings B.V. (Mwendo), is increasing its holding in BetKing to a non-controlling stake of 49%, in line with its strategy to expand its entertainment ecosystem and develop meaningful drivers of future value.

Principal terms of the Transaction and transactional steps

Multichoice BetKing

The Transaction consists of three transactional steps:

  1. The creation of a BetKing employee share option plan (“ESOP”). 10% equity in BetKing will be allocated to the ESOP, with equal dilution across all current BetKing shareholders to fund the equity allocation. MCG’s shareholding will consequently reduce from 20% to 18%.
  2. The acquisition of a 9.6% stake in BetKing for USD100m by Mwendo as part of an equity raise to fund BetKing’s expansion and medium-term business plan, resulting in MCG’s shareholding in BetKing increasing to 27.6%.
  3. The acquisition by Mwendo of a 21.4% stake in BetKing from partially-exiting minority shareholders for USD181.5m, which is at the same valuation as the equity issuance, resulting in MCG’s shareholding in BetKing to increase to 49%.

Steps 2 and 3 will occur concurrently, after the allocation of the ESOP shares. The total Transaction consideration, which amounts to USD281.5m, will be debt-funded.

As a result of the above Transaction, the Agterskot (earn-out) from the original 20% investment transaction concluded in October 2020 will be triggered and a further USD31m will be payable. This will require MCG to raise R4.0bn in ZAR-denominated debt, a condition precedent to the Transaction.

The rationale for the Transaction

Consumers have a growing abundance of entertainment options available to them. It is therefore important for MultiChoice to maintain its relevance and grow its share of engagement time and consumer spending by expanding its entertainment platform with a more comprehensive offering and a greater number of products and services.

Pursuing an adjacency such as sports betting creates a natural extension to the MultiChoice video entertainment platform to further enhance its product set. Well established in Europe and fueled by its legalisation in the USA in 2018, the global sports betting market is currently experiencing a surge in growth.

According to a recent report by Technavio, it is set to grow by more than USD134bn between 2020 and 2024, representing a CAGR of 10%. As Africa currently comprises only 2% of global sports betting revenue, it is poised for significant momentum as it begins to play catch up.

By leveraging its own proprietary technology which allows it to adapt to the unique challenges of each market, BetKing is particularly well-positioned to capture a large share of the African growth opportunity.

It will also benefit from SuperSport’s strong brand and reach across the continent, as well as MCG’s regional presence and acumen. BetKing will use the proceeds of the capital raised to expand its product set and geographic footprint to more markets on the continent.

Omoni Oboli, Alexx Ekubo, Chioma Akpotha Tackle Human Trafficking With Charlie Charlie Movie

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Omoni Oboli, Alexx Ekubo, Chioma Akpotha Tackle Human Trafficking With Charlie Charlie Movie

Charlie Charlie, an action thriller, wrapped in comedy and featuring Nigerian-Ghanaian actors like Omoni Oboni, Monica Swaida, Alexx Ekubo, Chioma Akpotha, Etinosa Idemudia, and Prince David Osei will hit the cinemas on July 16.

The movie is an exposé on money laundering, human and drug trafficking. It opens the eyes of its teeming audience to the flow of illegal money crippling economies, especially in third-world countries.

Omoni Oboli, Alexx Ekubo, Chioma Akpotha Tackle Human Trafficking With Charlie Charlie Movie-Brand Spur Nigeria
Omoni Oboli, Alexx Ekubo, Chioma Akpotha Tackle Human Trafficking With Charlie Charlie Movie-Brand Spur Nigeria

Spiced up with comedy aplenty, Charlie Charlie is full of intriguing drama and sensational moments to loosen up one’s mood and stress.

Shot in Lagos, Ghana and Europe, it tells the stories of two men – Charles Obinna, a Nigerian cartel member and Kofi Badu a.k.a. Charlie, an innocent Ghanaian, who unfortunately looks just like Charles.

Omoni Oboli, Alexx Ekubo, Chioma Akpotha Tackle Human Trafficking With Charlie Charlie Movie-Brand Spur Nigeria
Omoni Oboli, Alexx Ekubo, Chioma Akpotha Tackle Human Trafficking With Charlie Charlie Movie-Brand Spur Nigeria

Kofi is accidentally caught in the web of human trafficking and money laundering operations running from Nigeria through Ghana, Morocco to Europe.

Their mistaken identity puts a dent in the cartel business, causing the cartel loss of money. Someone has to pay for the loss or the two men pay for the price of one.

Omoni Oboli, Alexx Ekubo, Chioma Akpotha Tackle Human Trafficking With Charlie Charlie Movie-Brand Spur Nigeria
Omoni Oboli, Alexx Ekubo, Chioma Akpotha Tackle Human Trafficking With Charlie Charlie Movie-Brand Spur Nigeria

It was produced and directed by Charles Uwagbai, the prolific director of Blood of Enogie, Esohe, and The Ghost and the Tout.

Charlie Charlie also stars Abimbola Kazeem (Jigan Baba Ooja), Mary Remmy Njoku, Femi Adebayo, Sani Danja, Funky Malam, DatWarriGirl, Small Mummy and other notable actors.

MTV Base’s Inside Life With Erica Is The Kind Of Content We Signed Up For

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MTV Base’s Inside Life With Erica Is The Kind Of Content We Signed Up For

Elites, fans of reality shows, ambitious women, and consumers of premium entertainment will have been thrilled when MTV Base’s Inside Life with Erica premiered on Wednesday, June 9, 2021, on DSTV Channel 322 and Go TV Channel 72. 

As promised, this brand-new show ‘ Inside Life With Erica’ is just the kind of exciting content we signed up for. With a fine blend of humour, vulnerability, and unfiltered inside gist, it is proving to be worth the hype and a little more!

The first episode featured the former BB Naija housemate in her element, as she bonds with friends – Demola and Erica, bemoans bug-ridden furniture (yes, you read right), and makes plans for her birthday while navigating a very busy work schedule. 

MTV Base's Inside Life With Erica Is The Kind Of Content We Signed Up For-Brand Spur Nigeria
MTV Base’s Inside Life With Erica Is The Kind Of Content We Signed Up For-Brand Spur Nigeria

Anyone who follows Erica, already knows that she is highly spirited and never afraid of being herself. She reminds us in this show that she is still very much the same star girl as she becomes vulnerable with her work and relationship life.  

She also shares how her acting career has significantly picked up over the past 12 months and lets us in on how grateful she is to finally have the tables turned – “with producers now reaching out to her with gigs as opposed to when I had to beg for roles despite excelling at Film School”. 

It was particularly delightful to watch her have fun and wow everyone at her birthday shoot, including herself! After a stressful shoot day, Erica is well compensated with iconic photos that leave her grinning from ear to ear.  

Really, what’s not to love about Erica? 

Inside Life With Erica continues weekly on MTV Base DStv Channel 322 and GOtv Channel 72, Wednesdays at 8:00PM WAT with repeats on Friday (12:05 WAT), Sunday (19:30 WAT) and Wednesday (14:00 WAT). You can also follow @mtvbasewest across all social media platforms for more worthy scoops from the show and join the conversation using the hashtag #MTVBaseInsideLifeErica. 

 

FBNInsurance Rewards Retail Agents

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FBNInsurance Rewards Retail Agents

As part of her drive to motivate her retail sales force and in line with her corporate strategy, the Management of FBNInsurance Limited, recently rewarded her outstanding Financial Advisors, Sales Managers, Senior Sales Manager, and Area Sales Managers during her 2020 MD/CEO EMBER Award and The Retail Annual Competition (TRAC) Award held in Lagos.

Speaking on the awards at the ceremony, the Executive Director, Retail Business Distribution, FBNInsurance Limited, Mr. Odinakachi Umekwe, commended the efforts of the retail team for the outstanding performances they put forward despite the pandemic.
According to him, “The retail team is the company’s potent sales force.

This team of over 2000 vibrant men and women all over Nigeria has sold insurance under the most challenging environment to ensure the company stays ahead in the retail space despite the limitations imposed by COVID-19. This award ceremony is to adequately reward the top Financial Advisors and motivate others to strive more.”

At the award presentation for the EMBER Award, the Abuja Sales Area won the Best Performing Area for the period under review while Enugu and Aba Area came second and third respectively. The winning Areas were given cash rewards for their efforts.

In the same vein, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Val Ojumah, presented a brand-new Hyundai car to the overall winner of the 2020 TRAC Award (Financial Advisors category), Okonkwo Nkechi Rita.

Winners in other categories got cash prizes, return tickets to the United States of America, a trip to Dubai as well a training opportunity at the South African Business School, University of Stellenbosch.

Commenting on the future of the retail business, Mr. Val Ojumah stated that the future of the retail business is going digital.

In his words: “It is exciting to know that we sold, made profits, and still have our jobs at a time when people couldn’t even go out to work due to the pandemic. Though the year 2020 was challenging, it has taught us how to do things better, away from the traditional way. All thanks to innovation and digitalisation.

And as a business that thrives in difficult times, we will continue to adapt to changes that evolve with time.

Mr. Ojumah on a final note, commended the entire retail team for their relentless efforts and charged them to do more, strive for victory and never rest on their oars. He promised to continue to give them adequate support to ensure they meet their sales target. “Be assured that I and my team will give more attention to what you will need to meet your targets,” he concluded.

FBNInsurance Limited, a member of the Sanlam Group, operates a robust retail structure of over 2,000 retail agents operating out of 60 sales outlets nationwide.

African Development Bank Launches $463.9 Million Kangaroo Social Bond

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African Development Bank Launches $463.9 Million Kangaroo Social Bond

The African Development Bank launched a A$600 million (US$463.9 million) 5.5-year Kangaroo bond, marking its return to the Australian dollar bond market.

The transaction, announced on 8 June, was led by Nomura and RBC Capital Markets. It is the institution’s first benchmark Kangaroo since early 2018 and its first in the mid-curve since 2015.

It is also the largest AUD trade ever issued by the Bank. More than 30 investors participated in the deal, with a total order book of more than A$775 million, leading to an upsize of the trade from the announced size of A$250-300 million to the final size of A$600 million. These included a strong cohort of Australian investors, while fund managers were the major investor type.

African Development Bank Treasurer Hassatou N’sele said the Covid-19 pandemic had led to a rise in global issuances of social bonds.

“Following on from the groundbreaking USD$3.1 bln 3 year ‘Fight Covid-19’ Social Bond we issued in 2020, we’re glad to see that public domestic markets, like the Kangaroo bond market, are now seeing similar development in terms of interest from dedicated ESG investors, which provided additional momentum enabling us to print the largest trade we’ve ever done in AUD”.

The African Development Bank’s social bonds have use of proceeds allocated to projects that alleviate or mitigate social issues such as improving access to electricity, water and sanitation, and improving livelihoods through flood-risk reduction and access to clean transportation and employment generation.

Recent KangaNews (https://bit.ly/3cBzhpt) data show that the African Development Bank had A$1.75 billion of bonds mature between its 2015 benchmark deal and its most recent. Keith Werner, Manager of Capital Markets and Financial Operations, said 38 per cent of investors in the deal had a socially responsible investment approach and that the African Development Bank intends to issue more social bonds in Australian dollars.

“In addition to the important contribution that socially responsible investors had to the success of this trade, it’s also gratifying to see such a large portion of the investors (41%) were domestic, which is an area where we haven’t seen strong support historically. We look forward to leveraging this momentum and continue evaluating opportunities in the future in this market”, Werner said.

The Australian dollar is the fifth currency in which the African Development Bank has issued social bonds since it established the program in 2017, following deals in euros, US dollars, Norwegian kroner and Swedish kronor.

In December 2016, the African Development Bank launched its inaugural Kangaroo Green Bond. This transaction followed successful outings in USD and SEK Benchmark formats.

A Kangaroo bond is a foreign bond issued in the Australian market by non-Australian firms and is denominated in Australian currency. The bond is subject to the securities regulations of Australia. A Kangaroo bond is also known as a “matilda bond.”

Meet The 12 Development Lab Candidates For The Realness Institute In Partnership With Netflix

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Meet The 12 Development Lab Candidates For The Realness Institute In Partnership With Netflix

From over 500 applications, 12 creative industry professionals from Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe have been selected to be part of the inaugural three-month development lab for African Writers and Development Executive Trainees that commenced on Sunday, June 13, 2021.

The program, launched by the Realness Institute, a non-profit organization committed to fostering a new wave of African storytelling in partnership with the world’s leading streaming service Netflix, will kick off this week (13 June) and will run until September.

Six of these candidates will have the opportunity to participate in the Episodic Lab (EPL) where they will develop their story concepts alongside expert Story Consultants and Creative Producers.

The selected participants include; Andile Ngcizela with Drummies (South Africa); Ayoade Adeyanju with Agent 419 (Nigeria); Dominique Jossie with Fafi (South Africa); Kehinde Joseph with Osupa (Nigeria); Kudakwashe Maradzika with Bad Influencer (Zimbabwe / South Africa) and Mary Waireri with Sheitain (Kenya / United Kingdom).

Along with creative training, Writers will receive feedback from the Netflix team. At the end of the lab, each writer will have an opportunity to pitch their incubated concept to Netflix to have their series further developed for production.

There are also six participants who will join the Development Executive Traineeship (DET) to fully immerse themselves in the story development process. The candidates include Anneke Villet (South Africa); Antionette Engel (South Africa); Damaris Irungu Ochieng’ (Kenya); Lara Sousa (Mozambique); Ololade Okedare (Nigeria)  and Thandeka Zwane (South Africa).

They will accompany the incubation of the 6 potential Netflix African Original Series. The purpose of this traineeship is to build a critical missing capacity in the local media ecosystems with the hopes of expanding this expertise across the continent to help bolster the quality of work produced.

This skill creates opportunities for professionals to work with national film bodies, film commissions, funders, story consultants and critics.

“The opportunity to pay writers and development executives to be mentored as they develop local content for Netflix is a gamechanger for these markets because development is often the weakest link in the value chain when it comes to creating content”, says Mehret Mandefro, Director of Development and Partnerships at the Realness Institute.

“We’re excited about the 12 candidates chosen to be part of this program that will bring fresh and incredible new stories to our members around the world. We’re looking forward to this opportunity to develop and nurture the talent pipeline for the next three months and ultimately, give new voices from Africa a chance to be heard on our service,” says Alison Triegaardt, Netflix Manager for Grow Creative in Africa.

The Lab will take place remotely from 13 June 2021 – 5 September 2021, where selected participants will receive a stipend so that they can focus entirely on their development.

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