The second instalment of the annual Lilac Media Awards took place last night, Friday 13th December 2013, in at Peugeot in Gaborone. The big winners of the night for overall prizes were Sunday Standard and Yarona FM respectively. The Guest of Honour, Honourable Vice President Dr. Ponatshego H. Kedikilwe, conferred the awards to winners.
The Lilac Media Awards aim to recognise and celebrate Botswana’s media houses, as surveyed in terms of the public’s perception during the period 2012/13. The platform at once works to empower the consumer, as highlighted through the theme for the night, that of revolution and election.
This year’s media survey is the fourth consecutive polling. The Awards were broken down into two key categories: radio and newspapers, each with a number of accolades within the respective categories. Sunday Standard walked away with their lilac ceramic cow, a nod to their being recognised as the Best Overall Newspaper. “It is rewarding to see that the efforts we put into giving our readers true value are being well received. We’re honoured to have fared so well at the second Lilac Media Awards and thank the public and all stakeholders involved in this platform for this honour. These accolades are as much the public’s as they are ours. It is a vote of confidence in our efforts to do a thorough work in all our journalism,” said Spencer Mogapi, Editor of Sunday Standard.
The second major award of the night went to Yarona FM, applauded as the Best Overall Radio Station. Station Manager, David Moepeng commented, “Whenever the consumer is given the vote, Yarona FM emerges victorious. We always work hard to offer only the best for our listeners, locally and for our international audience. Be it from our programming to our guests and our content, we work hard to stay on top and it’s wonderful to have those efforts recognized.”
The night also saw the announcement of two key initiatives, by Bic and PLEASE. Mr. Tiaan Cronje, Business Development Manager Central Africa & Indian Ocean, BIC South Africa, made the official handover of 52,000 Bic pens to the Minister of Education and Skills Development, Honourable Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi, with further details on the collaboration expected to be announced within the week. The second announcement saw the introduction of Products Leading Economic And Social Empowerment (PLEASE), an initiative which aims to empower members of the community with the tools and means for sustainable entrepreneurial efforts.
Concluded Mr. Kabelo Binns, Group MD of Hotwire PRC and Wired Y&R, “It’s been an incredible process of planning to make these awards a success and we’re truly grateful to everyone involved. Special thanks go out to Associated Fund Administrators (AFA), BIHL Group, St Louis Export, Core Cider, BIC Pens, Glenfiddich, PLEASE, Show Group, Executive Catering, Zambezi Motor Group, SKY Vodka, and of course the Hotwire PRC and Wired Y&R family. We’re also incredible grateful to the Honourable Vice President for his gracious support. We’re already looking forward to the Lilac Media Awards 2014!”
The results of the Lilac Media Perception Survey 2012/2013 will be accessible by the public shortly at www.hotwireprc.com
