EThekwini Municipality’s Durban Fashion Fair (DFF) Sindi Shangase, who spear heads this annual event, would like to express on behalf of the DFF team their profound sorrow and heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Xola Ndlovu on his recent passing from pneumonia. Xola Ndlovu hailed from Eshowe, and relocated to Durban to join the Durban Fashion Fair “family” in 2015 as one of the 10 male new faces. He was selected to participate in the annual model bootcamp training programme for undiscovered talent within the greater eThekwini Municipality area. Since his graduation from the 2015 DFF model bootcamp, he was snapped up by leading modelling agency, Ice Models. Since then, not only has he graced the DFF catwalk every year, but he has also walked and modelled in the SA Menswear Week, Vodacom Durban July and the Durban University of Technology (DUT) fashion shows. Ndlovu not only awed on the catwalk but he also established himself as a leading catalogue model as well. This is something that not a lot of models can do, but it’s testament to his great talent and versatility. “Ndlovu will be remembered by the DFF team for his charm, ready smile, sense of humour, his engaging personality and the way in which he was always prepared to go the extra mile”, said Sindi Shangase. “May I extend, on behalf of the DFF team, our heartfelt condolences and deep sorrow to the bereaved family, and his friends, may his soul rest in peace”. THERE ARE MANY THNGS THAT ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO MAN BUT FOR GOD EVERY THING IS POSSIBLE – Quote from Xola Ndlovu’s facebook page. CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. . . .

Recent stats* released to The SpaceStation by Google Ad Manager show that their overall ad viewability sits at an impressive 71%, which is a much higher than the South African market standard, over the same period, of 51%. The same stats also showed an above-the-fold viewability of 82% compared to a market rate of 65% and a below-the-fold rate of 60% compared to 43% clocked by the market. Viewability is an essential metric in online advertising. It tracks impressions that can actually be seen by users and helps advertisers understand the Opportunity to See (OTS) performance of each ad placement – in essence it measures whether consumers are actually seeing ads. The IAB qualifies a display ad impression as viewable if 50% or more of the advert’s pixels appear in the viewable space of an in-focus browser tab for at least one second post render. “Viewability is one of the most logical of metrics, and one of the most important when it comes to campaign success” says Craig Nicholson, Regional Sales Director, Joburg at The SpaceStation. “There have been numerous studies done that have shown an inarguable link between viewability, CTRs and the material impact on offline store visits and conversions. While viewability is not a reflection of an ad’s effect or engagement, it is all about whether the consumer has been given the opportunity to see the ad – an essential factor in a campaign’s success.” The SpaceStation’s viewability rating can be credited to a number of things like the nature of the platforms the company offers as well as the innovation and scale found through their campaigns. Adds Gavin Ruiters, The SpaceStation’s Regional Sales Director in Cape Town, “At the end of the day, advertisers want to see campaign results that show tangible conversions, in other words they want their ads to lead to sales. Our ad viewability results are allowing that to happen.” *Date range: Q3 2018 For more information go to www.thespacestation.co.za or follow . . .

New Media continues to rake in the awards with a category clean-up at the Pearl Awards, which were held in New York last Friday. In the Best Print Experience (B2C) category, New Media won both the gold and silver awards with their publications for Sanlam and Woolworths. Taking gold, the Sanlam Centenary magazine was one of a series of publications produced for Sanlam to celebrate its 100th birthday in 2018. Woolworths TASTE magazine took the silver for the March 2018 edition of the incredibly successful monthly title. Elizka Ferreira, head of foods marketing for Woolworths says, “We are immensely proud of the experience that New Media creates for our customers in TASTE, and to have that recognised on the international stage is phenomenal.” Although primarily a digital content and strategy agency, New Media is thrilled to receive these awards for two printed products. The results reaffirm its belief in print as a powerful solution in the right circumstances. Both products illustrate how careful planning, a relentless focus on excellence and the very best talent can come together to create wonderful reader experiences in what is fast becoming the premium channel of print. New Media’s group creative director Crispian Brown adds: “Although very different in subject matter, audience and purpose, Centennial and TASTE share a basic DNA for creating great content: a good brief, a client who trusts and collaborates with you, a clear strategy and the best creatives focussing on their craft. A good print execution should pique interest irrespective of where people choose to start reading, and surprise and delight the more they explore.” Run by the Content Council in the USA, the Pearl Awards receive hundreds of entries and recognise the very best in content excellence around the world. The awards ceremony was hosted in New York at Hearst Tower on Friday and agencies from the USA, UK, Sweden, Canada, Australia and South Africa were recognised for their world-class . . .

Having a hero to look up to plays a very important role for children, and this role often extends even when they have stepped into the realms of adulthood. These heroes serve as role models, to whom they can look up to, and who can guide them in the right direction when unavoidable ambiguities arise in life. In today’s age and time, environmental heroes are the heroes our world needs! In fact just like them, environmental protection should be our priority as well. There is no doubt when we say it is the kids of today who will be in charge of the world tomorrow, and as a corollary, will be responsible for it. In our capacities as supervising adults, as their teachers, their parents, their siblings, and simply as someone in their vicinity, it becomes our moral duty to steer them towards the right path. From a psychological point of view, it has been discussed innumerable number of times about how a child’s mind is highly impressionable. This can be validated if one were to carefully observe any kid around them in day to day life. Their behaviours are predominantly governed by the experiences they have in their classroom, what their favourite TV characters are like, how their siblings are acting, or how their favourite superhero behaves. As per UNICEF, investment in early childhood development is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve educational achievement and to increase skills, capabilities and productivity. Only when we take steps to make our children conscious about the environment around them, will they start owning up to it. This imbibed sense of accountability leads to an improved emotion of harmony towards their surroundings. Think of it this way; when children know that they are actually responsible for the environment, they will start feeling a sense of unison and belongingness towards it, and become more careful. This will result in a snowball effect, subsequently leading to more responsible and sensitive adults, who share an active bond with . . .

Storytelling was an age-old tradition which inculcated moral values, enhanced vocabulary, improved memory, etc. Unfortunately, it became a humdrum when technology stepped in! Though gadgets are a tool to boost motor skills and cognitive skills, they can still have a negative impact on the character of the child. And in situations like these, moral stories for kids are a blessing. They are not only entertaining, but they also impart some valuable life lessons. Moral story books are one of the most practical platforms to impart education. They are tranquil, captivate children’s attention and alongside bestow valuable lessons of life. A study conducted by “Kang Lee and team” have inferred that some moral story books prominently affect the behaviourial pattern of a child. They also interweave the magic of honesty among children. Furthermore it has been proved by a study conducted by the “Ontario Institute for Studies in Education” (OISE) at the University of Toronto that realistic and genuine characters had a greater impact on kids, thus helping them to learn better. The books that are relatable to these children, leave a footprint on their moral ethics. Amidst this, moral stories also help children to elevate their self-esteem and take responsibility for their own learning and behaviour. Not just this, but it also helps them to look at the quality of life they wish to opt for themselves. The importance and effects of moral stories in a child’s life is manifold. Right from making children resilient to adversities, exposure to value driven books supresses bad influence, promotes helpful behaviour and even strengthens parent-child relationship. CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. . . .