CORPORATE NEWS

Responsible driving over the festive season

As the year is coming to an end and the festive season is nearing we encourage all to sign up with cab companies such as Goodfellas and benefit from a personal chauffeur at your disposal, enabling you to not only enjoy yourself over the festive season, but to do so responsibly.

Don't ban, educate

If we look at the experience of other countries before we leap, we'll see booze ad restrictions will not have the desired effect, writes Norman Reyneker, Corporate Relations Director at brandhouse.

Africa's markets beckon SA companies

The Economist showed that between 2001 and 2010, six out of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world were in Africa. Gerald Mahinda, the managing director of brandhouse writes that South Africa can't expect Africa to come to us. We must stop waiting, stop complaining and get out there into Africa and start seeking out those opportunities.

brandhouse recently expanded its beer portfolio with the launch of Guinness Original, a new Guinness variant for South African consumers.

Guinness Original in its 660ml brown glass bottle format is the first of many exciting new brandhouse innovations lined-up in the months to come. Guinness Original is brewed to international standards at the world class Sedibeng brewery in Gauteng. The quality of Guinness Original comes from the barley being roasted which truly locks in the flavour and gives it a refreshing crisp, bold taste and distinctive colour and aroma.

"We are extremely passionate about launching Guinness Original in the South African market and very confident that this will be a true leader in our beer portfolio. As part of our innovation agenda, this launch is a top priority for brandhouse and with its 250 years of history, it is now time for Guinness in South Africa to add a new chapter to the book," says Gerald Mahinda, brandhouse Managing Director.

Smirnoff recently launched Smirnoff Vodka and real fruit juice mixers in a convenient 1.5L bag in box. The convenient new premixed drink is ready to pour and serve on ice, perfect for any picnic or at home occasion with friends. The new Smirnoff box comes in two variants, Ruby Orange and Cranberry.

brandhouse has begun recruiting for the second year of their Graduate Recruitment Programme. This initiative forms part of the Diageo Africa “Growing together” Graduate Programme which offers graduates a fantastic opportunity to work with world-leading brands.

“The sustained growth of our business depends on how well we can attract, develop and retain the best talent. A successful business needs a strong talent pipeline to plan for the future,” said David King, HR Director at brandhouse.

The graduates immerse themselves in brandhouse across all departments from commercial to marketing
to CSR.

Martin Kromat – Finance Director

brandhouse is pleased to announce the appointment of Martin Kromat as new Finance Director. Martin joins brandhouse from Procter & Gamble where he has held various finance leadership roles across global markets. He completed a handover with the previous Finance Director John Campbell during September before taking on the role full time on 1 October 2011.

Joe Heshu – Public Policy Manager

Joe Heshu has recently joined brandhouse in the capacity of Public Policy Manager. Most recently Joe worked at Pasco Risk Management Services. Before then he worked at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation where he briefly served at South Africa's mission to the UN in New York. He was with the department for three years.

New look for Johnnie Walker Blue Label

Johnnie Walker Blue Label recently redesigned its pack, which has not been altered in over a decade. The new Johnnie Walker Blue Label's bottle is three times heavier than the last and incorporates the original 19th century design, with its square shape, blue-tinted glass and thick glass base. This brand has a strong focus in the
SA market.

According to Neilsen (May 2011), Johnnie Walker Blue Label has had a 9.8% growth (MAT) and +38% growth in the short term (L3M) taking 1.5% market share and
almost 3% L3M.

The 2011 FNB Whisky Live Festival

The 2011 FNB Whisky Live Festival is taking place this year at the Cape Town International Convention Centre between the 2-4 November and 9-11 November in Johannesburg. The Whisky Festival has been running since 2003 and has been recognised as the largest consumer whisky show in the world, featuring over 180 top brands.

Over the past year brandhouse whisky beat the competition and took almost 6% Market Share (MAT) in a category that is in decline by -2%. (Nielsen May 2011).

This year brandhouse will showcase some of South African's top whisky's at the festival, J&B, Johnnie Walker Blue Label and Bells, to name a few. J&B recently repositioned itself in the market while Johnnie Walker Blue Label recently rebranded itself.

Heineken^® Symphonic Rocks 2011 events

Heineken^® sponsored this year’s Symphonic Rocks concert that recently took place in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Some of South African’s top musicians, such as Zebra & Giraffe, Arno Carstens, Ard Mathews, Andy Mac from Flatstanley, participated in the event and sang their favourite songs backed by a 65 piece orchestra. The sound, atmosphere and performances were electric.

Heineken^® Rugby World Cup 2011 Opening Ceremony Breakfast

The Heineken^®, official partner of Rugby World Cup 2011, SA brand team hosted the official opening ceremony for Rugby World Cup 2011 at the Star Bar at brandhouse Cape Town on 9 September. There was much excitement in the air as brandhouse employees and media gathered around the screen to watch the opening ceremony, followed by the first game of the competition (New Zealand 41 – 10 Tonga). Staff and guests were treated to a delicious spread of
breakfast goodies.

Heineken^® Rugby World Cup 2011 Ambassadors

Heineken^® has nominated six former legends of the game to be ambassadors during Rugby World Cup 2011. These ambassadors include Gary Teichmann, Will Carling, Scott Quinnell, Zinzan Brooke, Rob Henderson and Matt Burke. The ambassadors feature in weekly videocasts, where they discussed news, their views and predictions for the tournament as well as stories from their own playing careers.

Heineken^® Rugby World Cup 2011 Experience Competition Winners

Twelve very lucky South Africans and their partners won a trip of a lifetime compliments of Heineken^® - an all expenses paid trip to New Zealand to be part of Rugby World Cup 2011 action worth R 500 000. Sports fanatic, Sias Du Plessis from 5FM, accompanied the winners on their exciting holiday. All the winners had to do was buy a case of Heineken^® from a participating outlet and enter the competition.

brandhouse appoints new lead agency for Heineken^®

brandhouse completed a comprehensive pitch process for the Heineken^® advertising portfolio, and is delighted to announce that M&C Saatchi Abel has been appointed the below-the-line agency of choice. M&C Saatchi Abel will be a key partner in contributing to the continued growth and success of the Heineken^® brand in South Africa.

brandhouse Drive Dry campaign won at 2011 Loerie Awards

brandhouse was the most awarded brand at this year's annual Loerie Advertising Awards, thanks to FoxP2 Advertising Agency's creative campaign, "They'd love to meet you", a brandhouse Drive Dry Responsible Drinking initiative. The campaign personalised the consequences of drunk driving, that is, you could be arrested and go to jail and this is who you might meet there.

Eight Loerie Awards were won including two gold and one craft gold award for the campaign.

brandhouse Pitch & Polish Finals

After an extensive search for South Africa's hidden entrepreneurs, Annah Lelimo of Thabong Bakery in the Free State walked away with the prize at the final of the 2011 brandhouse Pitch & Polish competition.

Lelimo won R25 000 in cash and R25 000 in unit trusts.

Asked to describe her feelings and what she'll do next, an ecstatic Annah responded "I'm so excited. I can't believe it. From here, I'm going to go and implement everything I talked about to grow my business."

brandhouse Pitch & Polish returns next year to continue the hunt for South Africa's next winner.

Diageo Isipingo win big in Chicago

GREENiQ continued into its second year and are delighted at the sustained level of enthusiasm and support that has been received.

Launched in October 2009, the programme has gone from strength to strength. 28 sites earned nearly 80 medals bringing the total since the start of GREENiQ to 50 sites in over 40 countries and an incredible 179 medals of which 78 are gold. Similar to last year, there was an equally diverse array of sites taking part in the competition, from breweries and bottling plants to offices and warehouses.

Globally, Diageo has set a target for decreasing waste to landfill to zero by 2015. Isipingo has made dramatic reductions in waste from F07 to F11, achieving a reduction from 75 tonnes in F07 to 25 tonnes in F11, a 66% decline.

The first GREENiQ medal winner for the Africa Region, Isipingo’s achievements are particularly impressive given the difficulty of finding waste solutions in Africa.

This year’s other winners include Kenya, Italy, USA and Australia (where this year’s GREENiQ Hero is based). Each winner is awarded £10,000 to directly fund an environmental improvement programme at their site or in their region.