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Stuff from Johannesburg

CWDi Appointed as ONTEC YOUtility’s New TTL Agency

MyPR: CWDi Appointed as ONTEC YOUtility’s New TTL Agency:

CWDi is proud to announce that Ontec YOUtility has awarded the agency its TTL (Through-the-Line) Marketing work. Seen as an extension of Ontec YOUtility’s own Marketing team, CWDi will use its creativity to bring reach and connections together while delivering on ROI.

“CWDi is honoured to welcome the Ontec YOUtility brand to its stable of clients. Ontec YOUtility is a challenger brand that believes in purpose led plans that build long term connections with its customers. We love working with clients that have the same shared values as us. We are excited to be part of the team that helps move Ontec YOUtility into the future and definitely see this relationship as a partnership. A big thank you goes out to the team who worked tirelessly during the pitch process, this is really not a bad way to start 2021”, says Craig Naicker – Group MD of CWDi.

Ontec YOUtility is a specialist utility management (electricity, water and gas) solutions provider. The company’s innovative products and systems make utility management a dream for body corporates and managing agents. Ontec YOUtility services an entire spectrum of customers, from small, single property owners to large multinational property groups.
For more information or to connect with CWDi, please click here.

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Have you tried: Visiting Port Elizabeth?

Did you know this about Johannesburg? Johannesburg is more than 130 years old: The city was founded on the 4th of October 1886. It’s one of the youngest world cities though.

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The Oriental Plaza: A Phoenix in Fordsburg

If Johannesburg is a city of forced displacements, the Oriental Plaza is its most resilient response. While the Rand Club was built for the elite and Ponte for the “jet-set,” the Oriental Plaza was born from the trauma of the Group Areas Act—a piece of Apartheid legislation designed to geographically separate the races. Yet, in true Johannesburg fashion, what was intended as a tool of containment and financial ruin for the Indian community transformed into one of the most vibrant, independent commercial powerhouses in the country.

The story of the Plaza begins with the destruction of Pageview, affectionately known as Fietas. In the mid-20th century, Fietas was a legendary multicultural hub, centered around the bustling 14th Street. It was the city’s premier destination for textiles, clothing, and spices, where shoppers of all races would rub shoulders in a “jazzy, soulful” atmosphere. However, because Fietas was located so close to the white-only city center, the Apartheid government declared it a “white area” in 1962. The community fought back for decades, but by the 1970s, the bulldozers arrived. Homes were leveled, and the thriving traders of 14th Street were forcibly relocated to a purpose-built, modernist complex a kilometer away in Fordsburg: the Oriental Plaza.

The government’s intent was cynical: by moving the traders into a controlled environment with high state-mandated rents and strict rules on what could be sold, they hoped to break the back of Indian commercial dominance. The early years were devastating; many businesses folded, and the “Grand Bazaar” felt like a sterile warehouse compared to the street-level energy of Fietas. However, the traders refused to vanish. They eventually won the right to purchase their own shops, making the Oriental Plaza unique among South African malls because it is owned by the shopkeepers themselves rather than a corporate landlord. This ownership model changed everything. Without the burden of massive monthly mall rentals, the 360+ independent stores can offer prices that national retailers cannot touch, turning the Plaza into a “bargain-hunter’s paradise” that draws millions of visitors a year.