Every two years Mediatech Africa (the continent's largest technology trade exhibition) brings the best in the media and entertainment industries together under one roof.  This year, they have once again not disappointed visiting role players from the Broadcast, Pro AV, Computer and Entertainment industries who want to stay up to speed with the latest trends, developments, products and equipment.

Anointed M exhibited, for the first time this year at the Coca-Cola Dome, in conjunction with TDI Distribution and PLED our very popular SLPro Mobile Stage.  We received a lot of positive feedback and interest in the product and we are thankful for promising business prospects that came from this experience.  We also displayed and showed off the latest Montarbo (Point Source) Spot and Wide Sound Systems that arrived from Italy.  It is clear that Mediatech is a definite stop for anyone who is involved in, or has an interest in any of the industries mentioned above.  See you there next time!!...

Anointed M is grateful to announce that we have been awarded the official Montarbo distributorship for Southern Africa.  After the recent acquisition of the Montarbo brand and facilities by die Eko Music Group, Export Sales Manager, Paolo Stefani approached Anointed M to officially represent the Montarbo brand in the Southern parts of Africa. Neither Montarbo nor Anointed M needs any introduction to the industry in South Africa and they've been sharing in a working relationship for the past 14 years.  In more that one instance Chris Serfontein, Managing Director of Anointed M has been referred to as the Montarbo guy.

In Chris Serfontein's own words:  “I sold the units because nothing else impressed me like Montarbo, especially if you consider the cost in relation to other internationally recognized speaker brands.  No matter where we go with the Montarbo equipment, we only receive compliments from amazed people who initially thought that the system will be completely inadequate for the application. Besides the units' performance there is also the no-quibble-attitude of the manufacturer, who has not failed us once, with their approach towards after sales support and back-up service."

So what does the future of the Montarbo brand look like in South Africa?

"A lot of satisfied customers!... It seems that Montarbo will be officially showcased (for the first time ever) on Mediatech 2011.  It will not be a very big exhibit since final agreements have only been signed recently and Montarbo is currently swarmed with sales and orders after the overwhelming success with their exhibition (especially the Palco plus line array system) at the international Frankfurt Musikmesse. We also need to put a proper sales network into place and are looking for sales partners;  people who do not merely sell equipment for the sake of making money, but who have a passion and commitment for customer service and satisfaction.  You are welcome to phone us if your company/shop is interested in promoting the Montarbo brand."

The official Montarbo retail price list, in SA Rand, will be available for download on our website soon.

The local South African act, Romanz, needs no introduction ...  These four men, who have recently performed with international artist, Kathryn Jenkins,  have exceeded all expectations and are climbing the success ladder fast!  They are also busy recording with internationally acclaimed artist Nia Nell. Knowing all of this one would expect them to be with their heads in the clouds and their noses in the air, but we were pleasantly surprised to find four humble, down to earth men, who know and acknowledge where their talent comes from.

With this being said, it's an honor and priviledge for Anointed M to mention that we have been asked to be the supplier of choice for Romanz.  A request which we seriously and carefully considered for a full 10 seconds before jumping for it!  We have since grew to appreciate and value this partnership even more.

"Thank you guys for being who you are ... for making us proud to be associated with you.  We are committed to present our best, continuously, to try and equal the level of professionalism that you present your supporters with."

Anointed M's Stageline SL100 was the only African-based mobile stage unit capable of meeting the unique demands and challenges presented by one of the main sponsors of the Soccer World Cup: MTN.  It met challenges like the need for ultimate mobility; brand visibility; sturdy structural integrity; quick set up times and deployment; and even quicker evacuations.  This gave MTN the maximum impact in a highly competitive environment, already crowded with international marketing campaigns pushing the existing boundaries on international branding standards to the limits and beyond.  During the organisational period preceding the World Cup, we were approached by Octagon, the appointed brand activation company. We were requested to do a no obligation demonstration of the internationally acclaimed Stageline SL100 mobile stage unit at the MTN head office.  Octagon immediately enquired about the possibility of having three Stageline SL100 units available for the Soccer World Cup.  Various options were researched unsuccessfully and we soon learned that our unit would be utilised along with two other similar units, rented and imported from Germany.  One of the concerns was that the units could only gain access to each stadium five hours before the start of the game and had to evacuate the stadium grounds within 60 minutes after kick-off.

Anointed M's unit was delivered to the client around the middle of May 2010. The preparation on it included branding, loading and installing the technical equipment. The SL100 was fitted and pre-rigged with  190m² of branding; 6.2 KW sound system; 7m² LED screen; Dome camera; satellite dish; lighting; cabling; three podiums complete with touch screen interfaces; and 50m² carpet in a soccer field layout.  Anointed M assigned one certified operator. The rest of the six-man team was provided by Shattered Glass, the appointed technical supplier.  The Shattered Glass technicians were orientated with the SL100 in less than two days.   The standard 44.5m² stage floor deck was extended to 50.2m², while an engineered, custom-fit, branded wind wall was manufactured in Canada by Stageline in four weeks.  The rest of the branding was locally manufactured and fitted, including the soccer field carpet from Greensky.   The Stageline SL100 mobile stage unit was also fully branded on the outside and served as a 48m² billboard while in transit.  The main stage deck of 7.3m wide by 6.1m deep was fitted with a backdrop 4.5m high along the long axis, dividing the 6.1m in two sections of four and two meters respectively. The 4m section is were all the action took place and constant interaction with the crowds was orchestrated.

The 2m section housed the full technical setup and control gear. Thanks to the SL100’s ability to transport 1.3 tons of equipment inside the unit, all of this equipment remained rigged inside the unit throughout the tournament and was simply moved to the centre of the stage deck and secured before relocation of the unit to the next venue took place.  This contributed to the deployment and setting up of the unit at the soccer stadiums into full operational status in less than an hour. Similarly the unit could be collapsed and removed in less than 50 minutes.  The Stageline SL100 rig was assigned to service the Rustenburg, Polokwane, Nelspruit, Bloemfontein, Durban and Port Elizabeth stadiums. The mobile unit was deployed 14 times in 21 days, covering 8 500 km with the 48m² external branding.  Even when it was parked, it communicated the Ayoba message in vibrant yellow with pride.  Anointed M enjoyed working with international brand ambassadors such   as Octagon and in particular Craig van Niekerk, as well as other technical experts like Adriano Landi from Shattered Glass.

Our appreciation is extended to our staff member Jan van der Westhuizen, certified operator of the SL100 unit during the Soccer World Cup, who remained focused amid the demanding schedule of activations and was not derailed from the task at hand by difficulties such as excessively windy conditions. This, together with the superior quality and workmanship of the Stageline units, distinguished us clearly from the rest of the competitors.

Though it was not acquired easily or cheaply, the Stageline SL100 rig surely is reaping rewards.

Organized by Gold Circle, this year’s race saw a capacity crowd of 50 000 flood Greyville Racecourse in Durban for one of the most fashionable events of the year. For the technical teams of Anointed M and PLED, it was the second year in a row that they had the privilege to strut their stuff at this prestigious and internationally recognized event.

International acclaimed fashion director and choreographer, Kevin Ellis, was full of praise for technical production and event management company Anointed M and PLED, which specializes in state-of-the-art LED screens. Ellis says, “It is so amazing to get to the July rehearsals and start on the actual scheduled time, with no technical delays or hold ups. I have been involved with the July for more than five years and never had the privilege to start on time, until Anointed M and PLED got involved. An added bonus is the quality of their service delivery and equipment, which I can only describe as thebest. The overall technical package - lighting, stage, screen and sound - compliments our production perfectly.”

The dual level SLPro mobile stage was set up next to the scoreboard and fitted with a 30m² LED screen boasting 10mm virtual pitch and weighing in at just more than 2.1 tons. It also supported the sound and lighting rig and from time to time had more than 25 visitors on the top deck, under the roof of the 10 x 5m marquee, providing them with a shaded, elevated view of the unfolding event. The SLPro was almost effortlessly supporting all of this in winds of up to 30 km/h. The 10 x 8m main stage deck was extended with an additional 50m², of which 30m² was used for the technical control suite. Video and audio signals were wirelessly transmitted and received from the stage roof via two independent systems.  PLED’s new 5.8ghz microwave links exceeded all expectations.  Signal was received from the 50m mark on the track, where all the early morning fashion action was presented. The imagery was then presented on the LED screen suspended from the stage roof and transmitted back for more than 360 meters to the fan park on the opposite far side of the track. Here the image was displayed on an 11m², 6mm virtual pitch LED screen. Anointed M also supplied a further 18 sound distribution points, which all received their audio feed via RF transmission through a Sennheiser system, with directional transmitters and receivers.  Altogether Anointed M covered more than 56 000m² with sound, using the Montarbo W17A and W440A full range speaker systems. These were complemented at the stage area with the Montarbo 218SA Dual 18inch Subwoofer units. An additional 76 LCD screens were supplied and installed in different marquees by PLED.

The combined 12 man team from Anointed M and PLED started with installation on the Tuesday. On Thursday evening, we facilitated the first full rehearsal without a single hick-up or glitch. This was also true for the event itself. Everything (from the traditional canter-down after the seventh race to the exquisite fashion show and prize giving ceremonies) was technically flawless and to the client’s exact specification.

Thanks to the revolutionary equipment used by both Anointed M and PLED, everything described in this article was removed from site in less than 18 hours after the event finished.

For more info, please visit www.vodacomdurbanjuly.co.za.

The world of marketing is transforming vigorously with regards to the vast choice in communication channels and steering away from conventional marketing techniques.  Brand Activation 141 and Provantage Events took cognizance of this fact when they were tasked to develop a campaign that brought life to the Castle Lite brand.  Castle Lite Brand Manager, Jeanne-ette Boshoff, says Castle Lite is the choice of people with a plan and vision for the future. “That’s why they choose Castle Lite.”  Utilizing this insight the Castle Lite Litehouse campaign was brought to life.  The campaign started with two pilot events that took place in Tembisa and Soweto over two consecutive weeks. This unique campaign provided South Africans with the opportunity to market themselves and get ahead in life. Everyone who had a skill, a talent or a business plan, could go to the Litehouse where they were able to record their one-minute self promotion advert recordings.

Logistically, the campaign required the selection of a suitable venue within a community environment that allowed for easy access and could accommodate a four multi staged day event.  ANOINTED M was the obvious choice when it came to choosing a Technical Production Company, as we were able to supply professional, international standard mobile stages, state of the art sound and lighting, as well as a recording suite that could produce DVDs on the spot.  We used the SL100 mobile stage to help create this, still-talked-about, experiential marketing project.  The stage was set-up in an hour's time and was rigged with lighting, 15 KW of suspended sound (5000 PAX) and more than 90 m² of superb-looking corporate branding, 3 hours later.  With thousands of contestants moving across the stage, every other minute, we had to stay focused and true to our slogan deliver exceptional service with accuracy and excellence.

It was a most rewarding project that we were privileged to be a part of!

During the second quarter of 2008 the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) decided to confirm their commitment to their viewers by taking the celebrities of several programs to the people in the street, farms and townships.  Four provinces were identified of which the first was Kwa-zulu Natal (KZN) and thereafter Eastern Cape (EC). The briefing was to produce professional events in specific townships in these provinces. This in itself was not a major challenge, however it is the timeframe constraint that made it an ideal test for the ability of our new Stageline mobile stage units.

The tour for KZN kicked off on 26/05/2008 in the Mdadeni township in Newcastle and proceeded to Ezakheni township in Ladysmith on 27/05/2008 then to the Royal showground’s in Pietermaritzburg on the 28 & 29/05/2008 and down to Durban SABC regional office (Kings park stadium) on 30/05/2008 and Durban Chatsworth on 31/05/2008. Initially it took us almost 5 hours from the moment we arrive on site/cattle “kraal” to when we start the concert but as the crew got more waxed and familiar with the setup it came down to just over 3 hours. To understand the significance of this in context we summarized the procedure ...

We firstly cleared the terrain of any stray cattle and donkeys, then the 17 crew all start with their individual tasks, setting up the following:

• 120 m perimeter speed fence
• The SLPro mobile stage (10 x 8m stage - deck height 1.8m with speaker wings, 3 side wind walls, guard rails, 3 staircases, 4 side skirts, roof - 5.5m above stage floor, speaker fly bars, mezzanine floor on roof top - 7.3m above ground and a 9 x 8m marquee with 2.4m high wind walls fully furnished as a VIP lounge complete with own visual and audio feed).  Including safety certification for the structure at every event
• 100 KVA 3-phase silent pack generator
• 30 KW FOH sound system (16 mid/high cabs flown at 7.3m above ground level)
• 4 KW monitor system
• 11 m² LED screen 6 mm pitch (raised 3.5m above ground level)
• 20 KW generic lighting
• 90 m² of SABC branding
• All dimmers, mixers, switchers, microphones, processing, cabling etc.

All this took ± 3 hours to rig and then we did a three hour production entertaining crowds from the surrounding community ranging from 2000 to 10 000 people per event and two hours after conclusion of the concert we were leaving the site all packed and loaded heading to the next town for the next concert.

In South Africa a project like this was only possible with multiple crews and rigs overlapping from one day to another, in the past. This again resulted in excessively high production and logistical costs. With the extreme safety and reliability, fast setup and versatility, our Stageline units makes the, until recently, impossible now possible within an affordable budget not to mention the overall impression that this 11m high mobile structure leaves wherever it goes. These units certainly are the best investment that we have ever made and the clients agree. At all the professional venues, grounds man and logistical officers could not stop talking about how quickly and efficiently we entered, and left, without disrupting or damaging anything.

A month later it was time to do the Eastern Cape. We started in Jansenville on the Monday, then to Pearston, Bedford, Alice, Port Elizabeth ending in Grahamstown the Saturday, coinciding with the yearly Grahamstown festival. We traveled 2900 km's in eight days while doing six events in six consecutive days in six different towns with 17 crew members and one rig. (Several people believe that this is a world record but we could not confirm it yet.) The concert/show was scheduled to start at 13:00 every day, but approximately 14:00 on the Friday in Port Elizabeth we were informed that the disaster management officer in Grahamstown want to inspect the stage at 08:00 the following morning or he would stop the event. We started the strike at 16:00 and left Port Elizabeth just after 18:00. Arrived 20:15 in a very cold and windy Grahamstown and commenced with our second setup for that day. At 23:30 all was set and ready to go. The Saturday we entertained a crowd of ± 12 000 in Grahamstown and the next day at 18:00 all the equipment and crew was back in Gauteng were we are based.

The world of marketing is transforming vigorously with regards to the vast choice in communication channels and steering away from conventional marketing techniques.  The consumer-oriented South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), took cognizance of this fact when they launched new low power transmitters in the towns of Prince Albert, Nelspoort, Merweville, Leeu-gamka and Klaarstroom to bring better quality TV and radio reception to these parts of the Karoo.  They turned to a more interactive experience whereby they communicated their brand in a professional, time- and cost-effective way to the consumers and engaged them in the experience.  Anointed M Entertainment Enterprises (Pty) Ltd. was the obvious choice when it came to professional mobile stages.  The SABC used the SLPro to create this, still-talked-about experiential marketing. With more than 160 sq.m. of usable space on the bottom floor and top deck and 200 sq.m. of branding/advertising space, the SLPro proofed to be the perfect tool for this type of event where mobility, flexibility and tight schedules are the norm rather than the exception.  The first floor hosted the live entertainment while the second floor was transformed in a VIP lounge area for the VIP guests, artists and celebrities.

Well known SABC personalities such as Connie Ferguson (Generations), Fezile Makhanya (SABC1 Brand ambassador), Zizo Beda (Yo TV Presenter), Rapulana Sephemo (Muvhango), Freedom Hadebe (7de Laan), Diaan Lawrenson (7de Laan), Caroline Jacobs (7de Laan) and SABC Children’s Show Dub graced the event and rendered entertainment. A local band, Zik Zak, Lois, well known Hip Hop Pantsula (HHP) and Shine 4 took part in this interactive show, where the audience got the chance to interact with their celebrities.

The next road show that AnointedM will undertake with SABC is planned for the end of May with five shows in KwaZulu-Natal.

Regardless of rainy weather, a spectacular production of sound and lighting was presented with the South African launch of the Canadian manufactured Stageline® mobile stages, which took place at the Greenstone Shopping Centre on Tuesday, 22 January 2008.

The very popular and talented Soweto String Quartet was the first South African artists to perform on the SL Pro stage at this prestigious event hosted by Anointed M Entertainment Enterprises (Pty) Ltd. Adding to the African vibe created by baobab trees creatively made from wire and beads, a 2m tall Madiba statue, marimba sounds and traditional dances, the Namibian-born singing sensation, Tiro welcomed the Canadian trainer and VIP guest, Yves Lavoui with a medley of African songs.

The delectable cocktail menu further enticed the guests invited from the technical production-; entertainment-; media- and corporate industry.  Introducing innovation, Anointed M, a voting member of the Technical Production Services Association (TPSA) has secured exclusive rights for Southern Africa to own, manage and operate the Stageline® mobile stage range. Two stages – SL Pro and SL100 - arrived from Canada in December 2007 and the Anointed M-team has been in training since 7 January this year to be certified by the Canadian trainer as the only 5 technicians in SA to operate these stages!!

Keeping guests dry from the rain, the event, attended by 120 guests was hosted on both levels of the impressive SL Pro- the first to ever be soldby Stageline®! This revolutionary SL Pro can be utilised for a variety of events from a corporate event stage or music festival stage to a hospitality deck and viewing platform and even a skybox for sports events or a multi-level exhibition booth.

Adding to this historic moment in the South African technical history, the SL100-mobile stage was demonstrated to guests, taking only 45 minutes to set up in its smallest configuration and extended to a larger stage set-up with banners in a mere extra 30 minutes!

This launch did not only light up the sky and promises to be the talk of the town for time to come, but will also revolutionaries the entertainment and corporate industries in 2008!

With more than 25 Afrikaans artists performing free of charge on Church Square in celebration of the capital’s 150th birthday, Anointed M was the production company to take charge at this event hosting thousands of enthusiastic fans on Saturday, 24 November 2007.  Afriforum, the organisation responsible for this brainchild, as well as all the artists were full of praise on the quality and professional manner in which Anointed M handled this full day, open air event.

Challenging sound requests ranging from full bands like DJ Ossewa to solo acts by amongst others Steve Hofmeyr, Kurt Darren and Bok van Blerk were met promptly and executed expertly. The success of this music festival is truly the outcome of Anointed M’s distinctive style of making every effort to deliver EXCELLENCE!!