A return to the winner’s circle for the former Agency of the Year at the Hollard Sport Industry Awards.
Levergy was the big winner at the 2022 Hollard Sport Industry Awards, walking away with the coveted Agency of the Year award.
The annual celebration honouring the best commercial and creative work in the South African sports industry took place at 1Fox in Johannesburg, with a full house of industry members turning out to celebrate each other’s work.
“We recognise the power of marketing to bring sport alive and the determination, passion and diligence of the people within this sector. The work that you do is instrumental in ensuring that sports, brands, and campaigns continue to live, inspire and entertain, creating better futures for those that make, those that market, and those that consume this content,” said Heidi Brauer, Chief Marketing Officer at Hollard. “We appreciate you and we celebrate with you. To each and every entrant, nominee, finalist and winner, thank you for helping to make sport possible.”
The Agency of the Year category was sponsored by Gallo Images and went the way of former category winner, Levergy, the sport and entertainment arm of M&C Saatchi, after another consistent and outstanding year of work.
Levergy went into the awards evening with eight nominations across five categories, and they included two in the Campaign of the Year (Heineken All-Invitational and Nedbank Reality Football) category, with both those campaigns nominated in the Communications Award of the Year category, and the Nedbank campaign also garnering nominations in the Event or Competition Sponsorship and Fan Engagement categories.
Levergy also received a nomination in the Event or Competition Sponsorship for ‘Telkom VS Gaming’ and one in the African Excellence (Crossboarder) category for ‘SuperSport Football’.
Looking at some of the other winners – the Event of the Year category was sponsored by TicketPro and it went the way of ‘Global Team Horse Racing Live Series’, a “reinvention of the age-old sport of horse racing”.
Brand or Sponsor of the Year went to MTN for their support of both the Springboks and MTN8, using the excitement of supporters being back in stadiums to drive engagement and position their brand amongst both rugby and soccer fans.
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Campaign of the Year went to Octagon and Castle Lite for their#LITESIDEOF7S campaign during the Rugby World Cup Sevens played in Cape Town in September. Their activations brought the ‘Lite Side of Sevens’ to life, along with plenty of entertainment, beer and fun.
Last year’s Agency of the Year winner, Mscsports and their client Klipdrift took home the Communications Award of the Year for ‘Go for Gold’. This campaign saw Klipdrift reuniting with rugby as an official sponsor of Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022, with engaging experiential activations ensuring that the tournament and sponsor would long be remembered as ‘Gold Between Friends’, regardless of the result.
For the second consecutive year, the Basketball Africa League won the African Excellence Award (Crossborder), sponsored by MTN. A partnership between the International Basketball Federation and the NBA, the Basketball Africa League features 12 club teams and focuses on growing the next generation of basketball stars in Africa.
Also winning for the second year in a row was the SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge 2022 in the Active and Wellbeing Award category.
Another notable winner was the Sail Africa Youth Development Foundation which, through its “Equity, Education, Environment” programme, went the extra mile to show that sailing is for everyone. This initiative, to encourage equity and gender empowerment within the sport of sailing, won the Social & Environmental Impact Award.
The Indigenous Commentator Award was added to the annual Hollard Sport Industry Awards last year to celebrate the richness of South Africa’s indigenous languages. It “recognises and pays tribute to those sports commentators who bring passion and excitement to the game, those who make the best calls, and those whose emotive anecdotes continually inspire and engage. This year’s award went to Reggie “Mapensela” Ndlovu.
There were also four special awards handed out, with Netball South Africa Chief Executive, Blanche de la Guerre, awarded the Sport Lifetime Achievement Award; former Banyana Banyana player, Portia Modise honoured with the Sport Lifetime Community Award; Mamelodi Sundowns Chairman, Tlhopane Motsepe awarded the Leadership in Sport Business award; and Proteas cricketer Laura Wolvaardt named the Sport Personality of the Year.
See below for a list of all Hollard Sport Industry Award winners or go to https://sportindustryawards.co.za/ for more information.
2022 HOLLARD SPORT INDUSTRY WINNERS
Event of the Year (Sponsored by TicketPro)
Global Team Horse Racing Live Series
Active & Wellbeing Award
SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge 2022
Brand or Sponsor of the Year
MTN – Springboks and MTN8
Campaign of the Year
#LITESIDEOF7S (Castle Lite & Octagon)
African Excellence Award (Crossborder) (Sponsored by MTN)
Basketball Africa League – Expanded Second Season
Fan Engagement Award (Sponsored by Betway)
BokSquad – Planet Sport
Young Agency of the Year
ProAthlete Management Agency
Communications Award of the Year
Klipdrift – Go for Gold (Mscsports & Retroactive)
Social & Environmental Impact Award
Sail Africa Youth Development Foundation
Event or Competition Sponsorship Award (Sponsored by Worldwide Sports)
DSTV Compact Cup (Playmakers)
Agency of the Year (Sponsored by Gallo Images)
Levergy
Audio Visual Content of the Year (Short-Form)
Play with Power – Ona and Grace
Audio Visual Content of the Year (Long-Form)
Map1mp1 – Retroviral, Retroactive, 10th Street
Indigenous Commentator of the Year
Reggie “Mapensela” Ndlovu
Sport Lifetime Achievement Award
Blanche de la Guerre – Netball South Africa CEO
Sport Lifetime Community Award
Portia Modise – Former Banyana Banyana footballer
Leadership in Sport Business award
Tlhopane Motsepe – Mamelodi Sundowns Chairman
Sport Personality of the Year
Laura Wolvaardt – Proteas cricketer
