Machine_ has taken home five awards and seven runner-up accolades at the 2020 SA Publication Forum Awards. The awards recognize Machine_’s specialist content marketing work with RCS, Sanlam and Sanlam Reality, the loyalty programme of the Sanlam Group and its strategic partners.

The accolades include the prestigious Best Corporate Publication and Best External Publication for the custom magazine the agency created for Sanlam Reality, as well as Editor of the Year for Machine_’s Chief Content Officer, Sarah Browning-de Villiers, and Best Digital Publication for Sanlam Connect, the interactive digital magazine created as part of Sanlam Group’s internal communications using Machine_’s world-first StoryStackr experience.

“Our content marketing team at Machine_ delivers innovative content marketing strategy and solutions for a host of marketing and communication needs, and we’re honoured to have our work recognised by the SA Publication Forum,” says Browning-de Villiers. “We’ve been the content marketing partner of Sanlam Reality for over seven years and are privileged to have held their trust for so long. We’ve partnered with Sanlam Group on their internal communications since the beginning of 2020, and it’s been exciting to see the enormous strategic and digital transformation strides achieved in such a short period of time, during a pandemic.”

Francois Uys, Head: Marketing, Communications and Digital at Sanlam Reality, who launched Sanlam Reality’s custom print magazine for its members nearly 11 years ago, says: “Some people say that print is dead, but I’m a firm believer that there’s still a place for it in our omni-channel approach to connect with our clients in an authentic way. Over the years, in partnership with Machine_, we’ve been able to respond to the needs of our clients and reposition the voice of the publication to deliver against our holistic client-engagement strategy. It’s a huge honour to receive so many accolades from the SA Publication Forum, and it speaks to the dedication from the teams at both Sanlam Reality and Machine_.” Sydney Mbhele, Sanlam’s Chief Executive: Brand, adds: “2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, so to have won Best Digital Publication for Sanlam Connect – innovated and launched as a fully interactive, world-first, digital experience over this past year in partnership with Machine_ – is phenomenal. It is testament to our teams and partners that we can deliver award-winning content marketing and communications solutions that drive connection and meaning in a time when we need these things most.”