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"Africa: The US$19.9 billion media market" - MarkLives

And other top advertising, media and marketing news, analysis and opinion on the website this week, including...

Africa Dispatches story: The US$19.9 billion media market

Growth in media spend in Africa is outpacing the US and Western Europe, while media investments are alive, thanks to the politically connected or business people with big egos and pockets to match. Mandy de Waal reports in this Mark Magazine: Africa Dispatches feature.

The Business of Business: The virtuous circle

by Jerry Mpufane. I am fascinated by the subject of "the business of business" and will use this new column to explore what I believe it takes to run a great advertising agency. The intention is to have a lot of fun while sharing perspectives that I hope arouse the reader's imagination.

Africa Style: Colouring outside the lines

by Masingita Mazibuko. Just like my soon-to-be six-year-old and her artwork, several brands have reaped the rewards of their custodians deliberately ‘colouring outside the lines'.

The Switch: Perils of the inside track.

by Alistair Mokoena. One of the lessons one picks up in business school is the importance of environmental scanning as a business practice. I agree with the notion that all things are good as long as they are done in moderation but I think our industry takes competitor intelligence and understanding our clients too far.

Batstone story - the agency for tech start-ups

by Herman Manson. Batstone is a specialist agency that helps start-ups in tech and financial services sector tell their stories. We interview Sarah Rice and Brendan Wade, who head up the agency.

Regular reads:

Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios: More than a jersey

Heroes & Zeros with Andy Rice: Porshe SA & Chevrolet - best & worst brands of the week

Shelf Life with Louise Marsland: Bolt-on app for Instagram in SA

MagLove with MediaSlut: In memory of MH17

#Top40TVratings with SAARF & MarkLives: Commonwealth Games pique SA's interest

Account wins:

Gloo wins Nivea digital account

Havas Worldwide Johannesburg retains Nativa

 Wide Licensing returns to Black River FC

Account wins: NATIVE VML new digital agency for kulula.com.

Appointments:

Jim Faulds promoted to CEO of JWT South Africa

Neo@Ogilvy SA appoints new head of commercial

Petar Spiljevic joins Bouffant

On the radar:

HELLO! now published in SA [GIVEAWAY]

New independent online media buying agency launched

Dentsu Aegis Network enters JV with Media Fuse in Nigeria

New ecommerce association for SA

AMPS Mobile Report: SA mobile audience breakdown

ABF's annual Cape Town Golf Day

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