The first-ever Advertising Week Africa partners with Snake Nation and The Mic: Africa to provide free tickets to 100 innovative SA college creatives and technopreneurs, alongside key thought-leaders in this space, including Hollywood celebrity and comedian, Kevin Hart.

08 February 2023, Johannesburg- As creatives, media and advertising professionals prepare for Advertising Week Africa (15 - 18 Feb 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa), the most important gathering in the advertising and media industry on the continent, the company has teamed up with Snake Nation and TBTM Studios’ award-winning show, The Mic: Africa, to deliver a day dedicated to the future of youth involvement in media and advertising.

Snake Nation will provide 100 free tickets to University Students via its Snake Nation Societies in the Johannesburg area to attend the Advertising Week and the dedicated youth-focused ‘Building the Future’ track.

With its strong network of Universities and Student Societies, Snake Nation drives awareness of its goals to empower African Millennials with their own creative narratives, across 52 campuses with a reach of over 600,000 students in Southern Africa, and via Snake Nation’s partnership with the AASU (All-African Students Union), reaches over 8 million Millennial creatives across the entire continent’s 54 countries – with an extended influencer reach in excess of 300-million."

The Mic: Africa is an award-winning, original interactive music competition and docu-series that bridges TV, digital, the metaverse and more, offering a window into an Africa the world has not yet seen, presented through the eyes of rising young African talents the world has not yet met. It recently completed its third season, sponsored by Africa’s largest telco, MTN, and has received seven international awards, including 5 Telly Awards (2 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze), opposite the biggest companies in media and entertainment, with broadcast reach across 40+ Sub-Saharan countries via Premium Free Satellite TV and free-to-air partners. The show has discovered gifted singers, dancers, rappers, visual artists, DJs and dancers from 10 countries across the Continent and shared their images on 6 Times Square billboards in New York City, launching their careers to a new global level, and earning 1.1 Billion media impressions worldwide. As part of the ‘Building the Future’ track of AWAfrica, delegates will hear from thought leaders in the brand media and culture tech associated with the African creative and tech ecosystem and will explore how new technologies, like Snake Nation’s dedicated social media platform and others, unlock new business models that enable equity, creative and economic freedom.

Karl Carter, founder and CEO of Snake Nation, is excited about reaching not only a dedicated audience of media and advertising professionals with the company’s vision and message, but also reaching out directly to the youth and millennial participants that will form the backbone of the industry in years to come and also immersing them in the world in which they will play leading roles.

“The first Advertising Week Africa gives Snake Nation and our partners a golden opportunity to immerse the young African media and advertising leaders of tomorrow in what the future holds for them and the African continent. We see the industry as a vehicle for change and welcome working with partners to help increase impact. This was a great chance to align with Advertising Week, a juggernaut in the global Media, Tech and Marketing industry, to help create greater reach and catalyze the lives and minds of 100 young creators and innovators from our college society network. ”

Lord Matthew Schenker, founder of Advertising Week says: “Snake Nation’s embrace and on the ground connectivity to young people are key ingredients as we deliver on the promise of leveraging the Advertising Week global platform to touch and inspire young people, the next generation of leaders, and amplify some of the incredible stories coming out of Africa. We’re grateful for the partnership with Karl and Team Snake Nation as well as Derrick and the team at TBTM.”

‘Building the Future’ delegates will hear from some of the leading minds in creativity, innovation, and how the next wave of digital monetization will address the intersection of culture, creativity, and community. Questions answered at this track will be: “How do community-driven technologies spawn new creative business models such as NTFs, DAO and Web3? What does the future hold for creators?

Other important activities during the track will include a fintech ‘Snake-a-Thon’ hackathon featuring QNTM Women, a Snake Nation society dedicated to encouraging women to take pursue technology and media-related careers, as well as other youth participants, that will strive to empower youth and build tools and technology that will improve lives within their communities. The program will be topped off by live and metaverse performances from The Mic: Africa. The electrifying cultural event will bring a mix of Hip Hop, Afrobeat, and young emerging artists from Take Back the Mic, to Advertising WeekAfrica, where the best up-and-coming talent from across the continent will be showcased.

Ghana-born TBTM Studios CEO and The Mic: Africa creator, Derrick N. Ashong, said, “We are thrilled to collaborate with Snake Nation and Advertising Week, and partners like Coca-Cola and Kevin Hart, on the first ever AWAfrica, shining a spotlight on the remarkable creative talent and entrepreneurial innovation that the youngest, fastest-growing population in the world has to offer.”

Students wishing to receive one of the 100 free passes to Advertising Week Africa X Snake Nation: Building The Future track should contact their campus Snake Nation society executives for more information.

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snakenation.co is a mission-driven culture content and technology company based in Atlanta GA and Cape Town South Africa, focused on creating access to the creative economy for young diverse creators, as a means of combating youth unemployment and poverty.

Snake Nation helps diverse creators build their audience, distribute creative product and create value for their work in the global Creative Economy by connecting them with opportunities, training and platforms.

The Snake Nation network encompasses Online Platforms, Content Development, Production, Community Societies, and Social Studios (Labs) to help make the creative economy accessible.

ABOUT TBTM (Take Back the Mic) STUDIOS
TBTM Studios has built the world’s first blockchain-based video entertainment platform at www.tbtm.app, which rewards creators and fans for building movements around great content. Their flagship program, the interactive talent competition and docu-series, “The Mic: Africa,” has earned 5 Telly Awards (2 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze), opposite Netflix, HBO and Disney+, and a Murex D’Or Award, as well as 1 Billion media impressions worldwide. For more about Advertising Week Africa: https://advertisingweek.com/event/awafrica/

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Media Enquiries and Media Interviews during Ad Week
Su Hassam at Tishala Communications - 071 876 9005 or su@tishalacommunications.com
Roy Bannister at Tishala Communications - 082 468 8622 or roy@tishalacommunications.com