The second annual conference of the Unveiling Africa Foundation is set to hold tomorrow October 15^th, 2011 at ST&T Regency School 20 Remi Fani-Kayode Street Ikeja GRA Lagos. The theme of this year’s conference is Teen, Media and Social Change.

The theme was specifically selected to engage teenagers on their role in nation building. The event will feature over 15 interactive sessions on personal development to be presented by role model Nigerians backed up by innovative presentations on how media and technology can be maximised for social change. Participating teenagers will also be given a mentorship opportunity with the role model Nigerians and a mini skills acquisition fair.

Selected to speak at the event include Chude Jideonwo (Executive Director of The Future Project), Nmachi Jidenma (Publisher, CP – Africa), Wana Udoabang (On Air Personality, Inspiration FM), Mrs. Iyabo Ladipo(Columnist, Genevieve Magazine), Taiwo Akinlami (Child Rights Activist), Daniel Obafemi (Leadership Coach, Now Leadership) and much more. The conference will also serve as the official lunching of the magazine of choice for teenagers; Pacesetters, a UVA Publication with Mrs. Adesuwa Onyenokwe of Today’s Woman (TW) Magazine as the Chief Launcher.

Unveiling Africa foundation is committed to engaging teenagers to contribute to nation building thru the use of new media. It was founded in Canada in 2006 and have so far disbursed over N750,000.00 (Seven Hundred and Fifty thousand) in educational scholarships in Nigeria. It has also trained about 67 teenagers on nation building roles and organised over 10 symposiums on Africa in Canada. Principal Sponsors of this year’s event are Maple Education Canada and ST&T Regency School. Supporters and partners of the initiative include YNaija, CP-Africa, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Association of Private Educators of Nigeria, OfiliSpeaks.com, Beat FM, Cool FM, The Moonlight Place, among others.

New Media Gathering Africa! Red Media and PIN announce 1st New Media
Conference for Businesses and Governments … Cornell University’s Jeff
Hancock and Dmitry Epstein to Keynote

Leading media content and communication company Red Media Group (RMG) and
frontline ICT consulting firm, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) have
announced the first edition of the annual New Media Gathering Africa. The
event will hold in Lagos on March 7 and 8, 2012 and will present to
corporate, governments, change organisations and small businesses
practical, outcome-oriented tools to enhance capacity and enrich bottom
line.
“The conference is a first of its kind in the Nigerian market and brings
together the professionals in the New Media space inside and outside the
country with those who need the knowledge the most,” said ‘Gbenga Sesan,
who is Executive Director of PIN. “This is targeted at Marketing
Executives, PR Agencies, Media Buyers, Media Owners, Marketing Executives,
Fund Raisers, Government Agencies, Political Groups, Advocacy Groups and
SMEs looking to capitalise on this new frontier in people marketing.”
Themed “New Media: Build Goodwill, Get Numbers!”, confirmed to lead the
conversation at NMG 2011 are Dr. Jeff Hancock who is Associate Professor
and Chair of the Department of Information Science at Cornell University
and Dr. Dmitry Epstein, a research fellow in Cornell eRulemaking
Initiative at Cornell University. They will be joined by New Media
professionals from across the country.
According to a joint statement from the organisers, “As everyone from GAP
to GTBank uses social media in ways never bfore anticipated by CEOs and
Marketing Chiefs – our ways of using media and spreading information has
changed. Marketers, brand managers, and advertisers familiar with
traditional media rules and channels now have to make complex decisions
along the untested and uncharted terrain of New Media – this conference
seeks to empower you with the information to make informed and effective
decisions”.
Topics to be treated at the Conference and its Business Clinics include:
“Why Facebook Advertising Works” “Twitter Goes Beyond 140 Characters”
“Microsoft Cloud Services for New Media” and the “10 Commandments of Email
Advertising”. The workshop will provide answers on: How much money should
be spent on new media?  How much of media and marketing budgets should go
to new media? Has your market moved to new media? How can balance be
achieved between new media and the traditional?
The workshop will provide practical insights on how to use new media tools
effectively in   a way that will help brands expand their reach, increase
their bottom-line and effectively engage target audiences.
“PIN has, for more than 6 years, been at the forefront of groundbreaking
trends, and innovation in the Nigerian ICT sector, consulting for
corporates, governments and as advisor and invited participants to
international organisations and conferences across the world,” said Chude
Jideonwo, who is Managing Partner of RMG. “Red Media has also been a trail
blazer in integrating New Media into lifestyles, trends and pop culture
and has helped blue-chips, governments at high level s and internal brands
straddle the two spaces in the unique Nigerian marketing environment. We
are excited to collaborate to help organisations across board understand
exactly how new media can add to their bottom line.”
Information about registration for the conference will be unveiled on the
website www.newmediagathering.com on January 1, 2012. For immediate
enquiries and sponsorship consideration, please contact the Conference
Lead on [email protected].

About Paradigm Initiative Nigeria
Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) is a social enterprise that connects
underserved Nigerian youth with Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) opportunities. PIN has worked with government, civil society,
private institutions and international organisations, on projects that
build on years of combined experience and focus on the use of ICTs for
socio-economic development. Its consulting experience includes work
for/with Microsoft, Harvard University, United Nations Economic Commission
for Africa and Freedom House, among others.
www.pinigeria.org

About Red Media Group
The Red Media Group is a leading media content and communication Company
with a prominent development subsidiary called The Future Project. Its
communication arm offers full-service communication solutions with a focus
on Public Relations, New Media and Demographic Marketing. Clients have
included the Nigeria LNG Limited, the Nigerian Ministry of Finance, the
British Council and the Nigeria Leadership Initiative.
www.rednigeria.com

Bigger and better! Nigerian Idol launches Season II… announces Charles
Oputa as new judge and Tiwa Savage, Ill Rymz as new hosts

After an electrifying first season that saw the crowning of the first ever Nigerian Idol, Yeka Onka, the global music phenomenon returns to Nigeria
for a second season.

Season II of Nigerian Idol is produced by the Optima Media Group (OMG) and Rapid Blue Format. It continues to enjoy the sponsorship of Etisalat, in
association with Sony and Pepsi. This year, they have partnered with Beat FM and Air Nigeria which is the official airline of Nigerian Idol Season
II.

This was revealed at a media & VIP launch on 28 September 2011 at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos. The event also witnessed an electrifying performance of the hot new single ‘Follow U’ by Season 1 winner, Yeka Onka. The singer was produced by Chocolate City’s Jesse Jags.

“Nigerian Idol will be an even more exciting television experience this season,” its executive producer, Rotimi Pedro, said. “The last three shows of NI garnered more viewership, especially with the youth demographic, than any other music reality show – proving the point of the power of the Idol brand across the globe. We are committed to ensuring that the standards from the past show – in terms of content, production and interactivity are surpassed this time around. This is Idol – it’s the real deal.”

The cycle of the show remains the same, spanning seven months, the producers have confirmed. The season kicks off on October 7th with auditions in four Nigerian cities – Abuja, Port Hacourt, Enugu and Lagos, where auditions end in November. Nigerian Idol hopefuls simply have to go to Nigerianidol.com in order to register.

“Based on audience feedback and to enhance the unique Idol experience this season, we’ve made a few major changes,” said Mr. Pedro. These exciting new changes include, a new judge; musician, former music association president and TV host, Charles Oputa, fondly known as Charly Boy.

The judges’ line up however retains songstress Yinka Davies and international choreographer and musician, Jeffrey Daniels who has returned this season.

After hotly-contested auditions that featured the brightest across the media and entertainment sectors, new hosts have also been announced and they are rave-of-the-moment singer Tiwa Savage, and VeeJay Ill Rhymz.

“I am very excited to be a part of the successful Nigerian version of this global franchise,” Savage said. “I am lucky to have worked in the music industry in America, writing for acts like Jennifer Hudson and to have seen close up what the flagship American Idol has done for amazing talents like her. I am incredibly thrilled to be part of that magical experience in Nigeria and to be a witness to the creating of a new Nigerian superstar.”

There are only winners on Nigerian Idol this season as lead sponsor Etisalat will give premium prizers not just to the winner, but also to the runners-up and others from the Top Ten.

The winner of the show takes home whopping new prizes valued at $100, 000 which includes a management contract, the prize money and a recording contract. The first runner up gets N1.5 million, a Galaxy Tab, Blackberry and iPod; and the 2nd runner up will receive N1million, a Galaxy Tab, a Blackberry and an iPod. Finalists from 4th to 10th place also receive each, N100, 000, a Galaxy Tab, a Blackberry and an iPod.

The show begins airing 4th December, until the winner is announced at a grand gala on April 1st 2012. Nigerian Idol is brought to you by Etisalat, in association with Pepsi and Sony. It is also supported by partners, Air Nigeria and Beat FM.

ABOUT NIGERIA IDOL

Following the premise of the original show Pop Idol, Nigerian Idol is a television reality show with a nation-wide search for Nigeria’s next solo superstar, which will offer one young talent the opportunity that raw talented singers have until now, only dreamed of. Nigerian Idol aims to find the best singer in the country who can be defined as the “National”singer, and an International Artiste.
Nigerian Idol Season I was won by Yeka Onka, a former beauty queen and contestant from Abia State, Just as it happened on the previous season following the Idol format, a panel of three judges, made up of some of the music industry’s most influential experts, will be faced with the daunting prospect of choosing 50 talented singers to face the viewing public who will decide, in a series of live shows, who most deserves the chance of stardom. These 50
hopefuls will be set tasks to prove that they have got the musical talent to make it in one of the world’s fastest-growing and most competitive
music industries. The Winner will be chosen after a live show in which the final two contestants sing to the nation in the hope of clinching the
prize that will change their lives forever.

ABOUT OMG

Optima Media Group is Africa’s leading Sports, Media and Entertainment company specializing in the provision of media content and marketing
solutions. We provide unique entertainment experiences throughout Africa, through our media and sports platforms.

Conceived in 1999 and Officially launched in 2000, OMG has been at the heart of the Media industry offering the inside-track on development sand
views that are shaping the sector, thus becoming one of the most reputable and respected media firms in Africa with presence in several African
countries and rapidly growing. We have grown to provide acomprehensive range of premium media content and services throughout Africa, and are
able to effectively re-broadcast program blocks to our large affiliate network of broadcasters, thus reaching out regularlyto more than 300
Million of Africa’s core demographic every month.

As a pioneer, and leading visionary of the Africa Media and Entertainment Industry, OMG has a proven track record for the best sports and media
properties as rights distribution for the European Premier League (EPL), UEFA Champions League, and FIFA World Cup.
The latest offering from the stable of OMG is the popular Nigerian Idol in partnership with Rapid Blue Format.

Olivier Laouchez and Head, Sam Onyemelukwe launch International music brand TRACE Urban TV for Anglophone West Africa

“Nigeria is the place to be!” Co-founder, Chairman and CEO, Olivier Laouchez and Head, Sam Onyemelukwe launch International music brand TRACE Urban TV for Anglophone West Africa.

Nigeria makes another leap in global entertainment reckoning with the official media launch of the global TRACE brand in the country today. TRACE Urban, the network’s #1 international urban music channel has officially set up its offices in Nigeria to reach Nigeria and Anglophone West Africa, with a mission to drive the industry with hit music videos,unique content, digital platforms and events. True to the African born network’s roots it is looking to bring content to, as well as create great content  in Nigeria. TRACE was started in Africa with a global outlook and is the only multi cultural, global platform owned and operated by people of African origin. The concept is to bring Africa to the world and the world to Africa.

“Nigeria is the place to be!” said Olivier Laouchez. “We are inspired by the vibrant music scene, the electrifying artists, great music videos and the passionate creative spirit. Nigerian artists are the hub of the continent’s growing music entertainment industry and our expansion into Anglophone West Africa grew from our desire to be a part of the excitement and to promote African music globally”.

This move is set to transform the fixture in the Western African entertainment industry, with a focus on Nigeria and Ghana.  With all of these developments the network is purposefully not going to transform TRACE Urban into a “Nigerian” channel. TRACE is a global media brand and not just a TV channel but an experience offering digital platforms, radio, events and concerts all of which are eventually destined for the region.
TRACE Urban is now officially open to the Nigerian market – already welcoming local sponsors and partners, including Project Fame West Africa Season 4 and Hennessy Artistry 2011. Managed for advertising, branded content and events and sponsorship sales in Nigeria by Entertainment Management Company (EMC), Mr. Laouchez said, “We are very proud to have selected EMC as the representative for TRACE in the region to commercialise the channel and integrate with artists, viewers and other
stakeholders.”

“We are very excited to be on the ground,” said Sam Onyemelukwe, who is Head of TRACE Urban Anglophone West Africa and M.D. of EMC and was previously Business Development Manager for MTV Base. “With this move, we build on the origins and mission of TRACE and we are set to increase the playlist with home-grown music videos and offer more opportunities for artists, advertisers and viewers, but that’s just the beginning. As a Nigerian, I’m proud that we recognize the huge strides our music and
entertainment industry has made and the incredible cross over potential of our artists and TRACE Urban is a major supporter of our talent.”
TRACE Urban is acknowledged as the most watched in public places all over Africa – and it is already the number one music TV channel in South Africa with commanding ratings of 44% market share in prime time and the coolest TV channel and coolest Music TV channel in the influential Generation Next awards for 3 years running. The channel is available on the “access” DSTV bouquet available to the largest number of viewers and consistently ranks in the top 10 channels on DSTV with 37% of viewers in primetime*. Selected TRACE Urban content is now spread to local terrestrial channels, Galaxy TV and NTA to reach a wider audience with prospects to spread to more Free TV channels across Africa.

ABOUT TRACE

Launched in 2003, TRACE is a brand and an international media group that
provides contemporary music and sports entertainment content to a large
and predominantly young audience.

Its core business is original content and pay-tv channels, available in
nine languages, distributed in over 150 countries through 28 satellites
and 200 carriage agreements. These include:

TRACE Urban (HD and SD): A music channel dedicated to urban music and
culture.
TRACE Tropical (SD): A music channel dedicated to tropical music and culture.
TRACE Sports (HD): An up close, factual and lifestyle entertainment
channel dedicated to sports celebrities
TRACE Africa (HD and SD): A music channel dedicated to the best African
music (to be launched in October 2011).

ABOUT EMC

EMC is a total media, branding and advertising solutions provider focused
on the Anglophone African market. EMC brings together brands, content,
media platforms, artists and record labels, and provide a complete suite
of services from brand marketing concept development to broadcast and
event production. Media and Advertising is a cornerstone business for EMC,
with TRACE Urban as a key media platform, but also offering 1Music (TV),
FAB Magazine (Periodical and Weekly Print). Plans are to add Radio,
Out-of-Home and Digital Media in order to provide a one stop shop for
every type of brand communication campaign.

The Managing Partner of Red Media Group, Chude Jideonwo, was a Speaker at the 2011 Leadership and Entrepreneurship Summit for Junior Chamber International Nigeria, the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife chapter. The summit held on September 23.

The other two speakers included brand strategist ‘Jide Adeyemi and pioneering entrepreneur Tara Fela Durotoye of House of Tara International.

Jideonwo spoke on the topic Leaders and Entrepreneurs for a Sustainable Economy.

It was time for yet another recognition as Managing Partner of Red Media Group, Chude Jideonwo, received an Award for Outstanding Achievement from his alma mater.

The award was given by the National Association of Student Ex-Mays (NASEM) – an organisation connected to his secondary school, Mayflower School, Ikenne, Ogun State, founded by the last icon, Tai Solarin – and which he attented between 1995 and 2000.

The award was presented at the organisation’s 2011 National Convention, which held at the Olabisi Onabanjo University in Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State.

Jideonwo, who was also the Keynote Speaker for the convention, was one of only three awards recipients.

Managing Partner of Red Media Group, Chude Jideonwo will be speaking to young people at the RISE Youth Forum in Uturu Abia State. The annual forum holds this year at the Lion Hall, Uturu Caves Hotels in Abia State on Saturday 10 September with the theme ‘Super Young Stars made in Nigeria.’

Taking the floor as the first speaker he will be speaking alongside other young innovative Nigerian leaders – Audu Maikori, chief executive officer of Chocolate City; Jerry Uchechukwu Eze, founder of Springs of Life International and Folayemi Anifowoshe, Manager Community Relations and Development of LNG Nigeria Limited.

RISE is an award winning organisation that holds the National Youth Forum annually to equip the youth with intellectual skills and entrepreneurial abilities. Earlier this year, on an official visit to Africa, RISE founder Toyosi Akerele was commended by American first lady, Michelle Obama for organising the largest Youth Conference in Nigeria.

Ms. Akerele’s work had been brought to Mrs. Obama’s attention following participation at the US Government’s International Visitor’s Leadership Programme, for which she had been nominated as an alumnus of The Future Awards.

Managing Partner of the Red Media Group, Chude Jideonwo will on the 2nd of September moderate the Youth-Marketer Converge Business Forum. The event holds at the upscale  Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos.

The topic for this session is “Effective Youth Marketing- Thinking In, Out and Around the Box” and the maiden edition of this interactive forum will “explore some traditional, contemporary and avant-garde ways of marketing to a broad spectrum of youth, with a view to keeping them loyal to a brand over time.” The Speaker at this forum is Akpo Daniyan, Head of Brands and Communication at Etisalat Nigeria.

Known across the continent as a Youth Marketing and Youth Culture expert, with a 7-year trackrecord of managing and founding successful youth brands and platforms, Mr. Jideonwo will be moderating the  session with 30 senior executives/professionals in Telecoms, ICT, Marketing, Banking, Media, Food and Beverage, Government, Advertising, Research, Sports, NGO’s etc across a broad spectrum of industries.

The strategy team at Red Media, a media content and communication company based in Lagos, has announced the formal launch of the firm.

Red Media enters the market as a leading media company with a prominent development subsidiary called The Future Project.

“Metamorphosing from our previous incarnation as RedSTRAT Communications, we are launching ourselves as RedMedia, a new company with a sharpened vision,” said a statement from the company. “Red Media stands at the cusp of a new direction for the communication business, as much across the world as in Nigeria, for at least reasons:

“First, we are headlining a new model that combines a strong marketing communication business with media content ownership. Furthermore, in a new media space defined by ubiquitous new/digital media platforms, we are one of a very small community of firms that has a depth of practical experience with both Traditional and New media and understand how brands should integrate both spaces – so we are able to give experience-based advice on where best to spend monies to achieve targeted results.”

Structured into two main businesses, its content arm is headlined by the premium Y! brands (Y! TV, Y! Radio, Y! In ‘D News and Y! Magazine), YNaija.com as well as The Future Nigeria Awards, reputed to be Nigeria’s biggest youth event; while its communication arm offers full-service communication solutions with a focus on Public Relations, New Media, Demographic Marketing (and a reputation as a pioneer in Youth Marketing), Editorial Consultancy and Perception Management.

“Our advantage includes an integrated marketing communication mix that gives our clients access to premium content and platforms, a wide network of national and international partners and goodwill ,thanks to our network ,as well as a knowledge-based approach to brand building.” said Adebola Williams, who is a Partner at the firm.

The company’s heritage over the past six years covers communication services for clients across a wide spectrum including Government, Oil & Gas, Financial Services, Technology, Development, Social Services, Entertainment, Fashion & Style, Education, and Personalities. Clients have included corporates and their brands such as Nigeria LNG Limited, PZ Cussons, Oando Limited, Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Nigeria Leadership Initiative, Nigerian Breweries, British Council, House of Tara, Veda Technology and Alder Consulting, with a strong entertainment PR business that manages communication for international recording artiste Asa, entertainment brand Storm 360 amongst others.

The company is led by Chude Jideonwo, a journalist and communication expert with 10 years experience including work at the Nigeria LNG limited, Virgin Nigeria, Bank PHB’s The Apprentice Africa, amongst others. Recently reputed for securing an exclusive print interview with President Goodluck Jonathan – his first since assuming office – he is a winner of the Nigeria Media Merit Award and is part of the editorial board of NEXT Newspapers.

Other directors include Mfon Ekpo (Strategy); Cheta Nwanze (Technology) and Debie Magnut (External Relations).

The firm will be presented formally at a media and VIP event in Lagos in September. More information is onwww.rednigeria.com and via [email protected].

RED can also be found on facebook.com/RedNigeria, twitter.com/RedNigeria and youtube.com/RedNigeria.

By Chude Jideonwo

I started my career as a print journalist with TEMPO magazine, some eight odd years ago. TEMPO and its sister publication TheNEWS had just emerged from a classic ‘roforofo’ under Abacha and was trying to find its feet. There was no more lunatic general trying to snuff the life out of the media as well as citizens, the dynamics of investigative journalism were changing in a way no one could have anticipated considering the suddenness of ‘Khalifa’s’ death. It was double jeopardy for a magazine with two such stables.

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