New advisory board takes the Most Awards to the next level

The Most Awards remain an essential tool for enhancing the working relationship between media agencies and media owners.   Which is why it makes perfect sense to create an advisory panel using the skills of well-known and respected people in the media — including previous Most winners — to help chart the way forward in an industry beset with change and challenges.  

The members of the panel include Wayne Bischoff, Fahmeeda Cassim-Surtee, Merissa Himraj, Celia Collins, Chris Botha, Eben Gewers, Kelvin Storie, Tanya Schreuder and Sandra Gordon. 

The Most Awards recognise the service that media-owner sales teams and their agency partners provide each other, and rate them, with the goal of motivating and inspiring the sector to strive for excellence. 

Group managing director of Park Advertising (owner of The MediaShop and Meta Media), Chris Botha, says the linear way of looking at media — print, television, radio, digital — is disappearing.  

“MultiChoice is a digital media owner and a TV media owner. The SABC and Mediamark are TV, radio and digital media owners. Media owners like Arena Holdings and Primedia own digital, print, out-of-home and radio platforms. So in which category do they fit? In the marketing fraternity, clients are playing a far more important role in the media decision-making process. So I think the panel will help by giving a fresh view of the industry and making sure the questions and results remain relevant.” 

Merissa Himraj, CEO of Wavemaker SA, believes the panel brings with it  diverse thinking and points of view, as well as multiplatform experience and a good blend of client service excellence.  

“It is imperative that we participate in the Most Awards and set the benchmark of what great relationships look like so that we can continue to improve the standard of our agencies and businesses,” she says. 

To Celia Collins, vice-president of Publicis Media, the Most Awards are “all about the symbiotic relationship between the media owner, the media agency and the client — along with the creative agency in the middle. 

“Without this we would not be able to target audiences correctly and sell products for our clients (or really understand what the consumer actually wanted),” she says.  

“Great work is always awarded, but a relationship is not, and that is exactly what the Most Awards aim to achieve. Which, in all honesty, ultimately means that there should be huge amounts of great work being done if we are nurturing our relationships.” 

Chief intelligence officer at Primedia Broadcasting, Kelvin Storie, believes the media business is built on a wealth of expertise, but more importantly, on relationships.  

“The Most Awards are a litmus test for how media owners and agencies are faring,” he says. And he adds: “The awards have been a springboard for small agency recognition and large/consistent agency performance [recognition] as well as recognition of the media owner stars that go over and beyond in service, offerings and partnerships. It allows management the opportunity to reward their staff for being recognised.” 

Tanya Schreuder, CEO of the media division at Joe Public, says the awards represent a dynamic industry. “These awards should reflect this dynamism and fragmentation. Future proofing ensures that someone is always finding a gap, and the awards should be a window into these gaps and opportunities,” she says.  

“From a media agency perspective, the partnership a media owner has with agencies is crucial to ensure not only that we deliver the best value for our clients, but also that we have access to new developments and opportunities for them.”  

The last word goes to Sandra Gordon, founder of the Most Awards, who says while no major changes are to be made in 2023, the awards’ advisory panel faces an exciting challenge going into 2024.  

“Seismic changes to the broader marketing and media sectors are well documented. The Most Awards will reflect these and, importantly, retain relevance and the excitement that goes with any well-managed and promoted celebration of excellence,” she says. 

She believes the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in emphasis being directed towards defining purpose. “As a family unit, work team or business, agreeing on a common purpose invigorates, drives and creates meaning,” she says. “For the Most Awards to retain relevance, we need to interrogate the reason for its existence or purpose and the value to the sector as a whole.”  

She adds: “At the inaugural advisory panel meeting, it was worth reminding ourselves of why the awards were created way back in 2009. The end goal is to create understanding, appreciation and collaboration between media agencies and media owners, and hence to the benefit of marketers. To do this the awards have to be seen as being  ‘by the industry, for the industry’, with platforms, categories and the overall research questionnaires constantly reviewed and agreed to.”  

The Most Awards are taking place on September 14 2023 at the Wanderers Club. Voting opens on May 31. 

A special thank you to the Most Awards sponsors; Jacaranda FM, The MediaShop, Paramount Africa, Mediamark, DStv Media Sales, GH Media, Ebony+Ivory, Spark Media and Torque Media. 

For sponsorship enquiries or for more information, please contact Jade Searle on searlej@arena.africa.