Utopia — the agency Graham Warsop didn’t know he launched

by Herman Manson. In 2012, Graham Warsop launched a new ad agency. Except he didn’t realise that that was what he was doing. Warsop had set up Utopia as a “creative development centre” to uncover and mentor new talent within the ad industry, trained upon pro-bono work. But the kids kicked ass.

Bidvest Media acquires Retroviral Digital Communications

by Herman Manson. Bidvest Media has purchased a majority stake in Retroviral Digital Communications, its second acquisition in the media space — it owns a stake in integrated sports marketing and sponsorship agency, MSCSPORTS.

Thinking TV: Game of Thrones fans lose sleep

by Inge Hansen. As more A-list movie stars are joining top-quality TV series and viewers continue to invest time in the outcome of the plot, as well as pay TV licences, the trend of binge-watching is certainly set to increase. An example is the TV series Game of Thrones, which has captured the imagination of TV viewers around the globe and in South Africa, after just a short time on our screens.

#TheFutureByDesign: An intelligent future

by Dave Duarte. The question is: how do we use our intelligence to create a better future? As an educator, what I am interested in about the future is that it is fairly unpredictable in most ways.

Grubstreet: Barney Simon app breaks new ground for radio

by Gill Moodie. Last year 5FM’s Gareth Cliff struck out on his own and started CliffCentral.com that goes out on web and WeChat. This year Kagiso Media has launched an app curated by Barney Simon — the legendary alternative DJ from Radio 5 days.

Regular reads:

• Ad of the Week: Making match night legendary

• Talk Africa: Understanding the Ghanaian market through the lens of soccer *NEW WEEKLY COLUMN*

• Global.Ad.Geeks: Making sad grannies glad *NEW WEEKLY COLUMN*

• Shelf Life: Hennessy celebrates 250 years on four continents, including Africa

• Ad Feature: Is Dlamini only great because of his big hair?

Account moves:

• Account moves: IAB SA appoints PR agency

• Account moves: Sales house appointed for Gagasi FM, Heart FM

• Account moves: Rhodes Food Group appoints lead ATL agency

On the radar:

• Online regulation: Press Council authority recognised by FPB

• Primedia Unlimited’s Mall Division creates executive: marketing position

Covering the advertising and marketing industry without fear or favour — MarkLives.com for breaking news, exclusive industry opinion, company news and jobs! Sign up here for an email round-up every Monday and Thursday and follow MarkLives on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest and YouTube.