Larissa Fainberg

Believe was founded in 2005 with a vision to help artists grow their careers through music technology and services. Having acquired DIY service TuneCore in 2015, Believe was able to provide access to tools and services to a wider digital distrubution network. In 2020, Believe launched artist service & development imprints and today represents more than 1200 employees in 45 different countries.

As Editorial and Marketing Partnerships Lead for Africa at Believe, I was responsible for collaing and curating new release priority submissions from our network of Label Mangers from across the continent (representing Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone sub-Saharan Africa) and crafting the strongest and most compelling editorial and curatorial pitches as well as other trade marketing opportunities for all of our Digial Streaming Platform and Digital Music Service Clients.
This encompassed New Release priority pitches as well as Catalogue exploitation campaigns.
Over and above the pitch, I also supported Label Management and labels and artists with crafting long-tail release strategies and content & influencer marketing strategies that would best serve to amplify the release project and strengthen the pitch proposal to editors.
By supporting and advising labels from the inception of the release planning phase, I was better empowered to craft tailored collaborative offerings for particular partners, and unlock bespoke tools, assets, and artist support.
I acted as the key contact point for all DSP and DMS partners operational in SSA, including:
- YouTube
- Apple Music
- Spotify
- Deezer
- Tik Tok
- Triller
- Audiomack
- Boomplay
- Tidal
- Huawei Music
- Joox
- Simfy/ MTN Ayoba
- Vodacom MyMuze
- Mdundo
- Beatport

I also had the privilege of leveraging Believe's global EMP network to upsell local priorities for support and consideration inoverseas territories (UK, Benelux, France, North America) and have also had the pleasure of localising global campaigns.

I managed operations for Huawei Music in Sub-Saharan Africa.
My duties encompass curation, editorial, content strategy, brand strategy, product development and optimisation, content partner relationship management, new content and license acquisition, reporting, analytics, market segment insight, marketing campaign configuration and branded communications.
My objective is to foster awareness for Huawei Music as an advocate of Africa, putting local music, artists and fans first.
Having launched Music Premium in South Africa in February 2020, we are now operational in three African countries and continue plans for further expansion.
My professional passion lies in connecting music lovers to music artists and content they love, from across the continent and the world. The breadth and depth of music and audio content experience serves as a touchpoint and critical emotional recall for each of life's important moments. Thanks to on-demand streaming, music has become the definitive accompaniment to life.

As a Digital Account Manager at Sony Music Entertainment Africa, my role encompasses three key facets:
1. Commercial Portfolio Management: I am directly partner-facing in the account management of several digital commercial business portfolios, which represent digital download, streaming and mobile content services. I am the lead account manager for Simfy, Vodacom, Kisom Unitel, Airtel, Orange and Orange Mauritius, and I provide support in partner liaison with iTunes/ Apple Music EMEA.
2. Planning and Insights: I provide artist brand, audience, channel and digital marketing strategy services to a variety of international and local artist projects, as they pertain to South African and Pan-African markets, relying on proprietary audience insights models and strategic planning expertise, with a view to grow the profiles of our international as well as local artists within the market which we operate, as well as with the mission and vision of elevating and bolstering the SME Africa organisation as a market leader in digital music innovations.
3. Digital Marketing Services: As a supportive service to SME Africa's several label teams, I provide a variety of in-house digital marketing services, including social media marketing, digital campaign roll out, copywriting,content creation and design, content strategy, and paid media strategy.

I am responsible for the brand management, copy and design content creation, creative activation strategy, and performance analytics reporting of the managed social media properties of several key accounts under the MTN Op-Co client stable, as well as that of STANLIB Asset Management, Avis South Africa and Mercedes Benz Commercial Vehicles (Content Creation and Strategy). I have also had the pleasure and the privilege of working on multiple pitches and proactive projects, as well as in assisting on projects as part of the Social Media team.

I am also responsible for briefing, client liaison, and social media reputation management, crisis management and online reputation assessment in collaboration with my dedicated ORM analyst team.

Campaigns I have worked on:

MTN Swaziland Bushfire 2015
MTN Swaziland NguShifta Icon content campaign
MTN Skrill Social Media
MTN Moon Data Social Media
CIRO Hug in a Mug
Avis Unlock the World
Mercedes Benz Trucks Direct Drive
Skip #MyFabulous Competition; #SkipFashionExchange event

Campaign and content creative conceptualisation, strategy, execution, management and analytics for the social media and digital space, and striving to collide these spaces with integrated TTL advertising and marketing efforts as much as possible. By bringing my copywriting, digital and social media management experience to the table, I hope to provide an holistic, multifaceted and fresh approach to exciting key accounts under Havas Digital's portfolio, namely Volvo SA, and SAA, as well as some other exciting proactive stuff!

Furthermore, my skill set will be honed towards growing, strengthening and expanding Social Media innovation at Havas internally, whilst emphasising Havas South Africa's presence and visibility in the broader social media landscape.

Platforms and Channels:
Social:
- Facebook
-Twitter
-Pinterest
- LinkedIn
- Instagram
- Google+
- Vimeo

Digital:
- Websites
- Campaign Sites
- CRM solutions

Tools and Applications:
- Expion
- Radian6
- Crimson Hexagon
- Unmetric
- Simply Measured

I was head of the Copywriting and Social Media Department at Wetpaint Advertising, managing a small but dynamite (little, BIG!) team that provides traditional as well as digital and social media creative, strat, analytics and media(CPC) services.
Platforms I work on:
- Social Media (Facebook; LinkedIn; Twitter; Pinterest; Google+)
- Online/Digital: Website copy, banner ads, eMailers
- Print (ATL and BTL)
- Radio Script Writing
- TVC Script Writing
- On-site/POS/POP activations
- Internal/corporate activations and events
- OOH (billboards, flyers, brochures, pull-ups, table talkers etc)
- Online and Social Media Analytics: Google Analytics, Facebook Analytics
Major Accounts:
- Novartis Animal Health: Bio-Protection and Sheep Care Accounts
- Ethiopian Airlines
- Qualcomm
- Huawei
- Southern Power Maintenance
- Sasria
- Teljoy
- SMH Group
- IDance
- Credit Guarantee
- Autism South Africa
- AdvantEdge/Legal Interact
- Triple E Training Holdings

Programs:
- Microsoft Office Suite: Word, Powerpoint, Excel
- Gimp 2.0
- Adobe Photoshop and After Effects C3-4 (intermediary)
- Camtasia