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FCB SA to strengthen Vodacom presence in Africa

FCB South Africa, Vodacom's marketing communication partner in South Africa, the DRC and Mozambique, has been awarded all of Vodacom's above-the-line, below-the-line and public relations work in Tanzania. The account is currently the largest in Tanzania worth in excess of US$5-million.

Making the announcement, FCB South Africa CEO Neil van der Weele, said it was a great win for FCB, not only because of the opportunity to partner Vodacom in growing their brand in Tanzania, but because of the opportunity to develop a top-class agency in Tanzania, which is a fast developing, and very important, East African market.

Van der Weele explained that, to service Vodacom, it has merged two existing Tanzanian agencies - a through-the-line agency and a public relations consultancy - both of which have been partners of the FCB Africa network for a number of years.

He said the merged entity would trade as FCB Tanzania and key clients, in addition to Vodacom, will include Shoprite, Colgate Palmolive and a number of other local businesses. Several FCB South Africa employees will be re-located to FCB Tanzania to assist manage the Vodacom account, establish its communications strategy and ensure the agency makes the best use of FCB proprietary tools and methodologies.

"Our clear goal for FCB Tanzania is to be the very best agency in East Africa," said van der Weele. "This will involve our own people from FCB South Africa spending time in Dar-Es-Salaam to share their expertise ... and no doubt they will learn new skills from their colleagues in Tanzania. A senior member of the Vodacom Client Service team in Johannesburg is already in Dar-Es-Salaam and he will be joined shortly by a business unit director, an art director, and a PR project director.

"We will continually be sending FCB South Africa staff to work for extended periods in African countries in which our clients and network agency partners have a need. I believe that the experience that our staff will gain will be invaluable in terms of their personal growth, their career development within FCB and their ability to develop truly African communication. Within a relatively short period of time we will also have developed a cluster of staff that have significant experience in Africa. This can only benefit our clients. We have a long-term commitment towards our clients in Africa, and we are totally committed to delivering on their needs."

FCB South Africa has partnered Vodacom in South Africa since Vodacom's launch 10 years ago.



Editorial contact

C-Cubed Communications
Cathy van Zyl
(021) 852-7198

14 Jul 2004 10:22

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