On the 24th August 2015 Tom Goldgamer and Danny Aaron of the Benater Productions Group accepted The Absa Entrepreneur Award at the Jewish Achiever Awards gala banquet.
You may not have heard of Danny or Tom (yet) however you have certainly heard of Adrian Gore (Discovery Health), Raymond Ackerman (Pick ‘n Pay), Brett Levy (Blue Label), Sean Melnick (Peregrine Holdings) and Herschel Jawitz (Jawitz Properties). All of whom are past winner of this prestigious award.
The Benater Productions Group is a collection of 14 diverse start-ups, all engineered from the creative and entrepreneurial energy of both Danny (33) and Tom (40). However, the group of businesses started from only one, 3 Way Marketing. In fact it was off of the ingenuity of 3 Way Marketing that Danny and Tom were able to build the knowledge, contacts and other foundations which would be necessary to start the Benater Productions Group which is now an incubator for new start-up businesses.
It all started in 2007 when a 24 year old Danny and a 32 year old Tom decided to embark on a new journey (subsequently they both left their respective positions at Hollard Insurance). Their dream was to utilize technology in order to fill a gap in the marketing market. Their vision was to create a risk free marketing agency which would service clients who were looking for prospective customers (known in the industry as leads). Danny and Tom’s vision was to offer clients the ability to buy the end product of a marketing campaign, namely an interested would-be client, and 3 Way Marketing would take care of the actual marketing cost (in other words 3 Way Marketing actually bears the risks related to their client’s marketing campaigns and only charges its clients for the actual leads, or in some cases sales, which are generated from the campaign).
Now only 8 years on and 3 Way Marketing is one of the largest lead generating agencies in South Africa. Today the company generates over 150,000 leads a month (to think that it all started with under 1 000 leads a month). Danny jokes “I guess just 365 days of work a year for 24 hours a day for 8 years pays off”.
It’s offering a better ROI for their clients which has allowed for such an accelerated growth “At 3 Way Marketing we pride ourselves for being a risk free approach to marketing” says Tom. “A client can take out a TV advert in order to bring in new customers, but what we offer is a way to pay for only those clients who expressed an interest in your product. It’s like being able to only pay for people who saw your TV ad and who then walked into your store”.
Danny and Tom realised that in order to offer their clients a truly profitable product they had to become experts in every facet of the digital environment. However they also realised that just understanding SMS and Email marketing, call centre operation, data management and search marketing was not enough. In order for the Group to offer a truly valued product to their clients it would have to have specialised in house teams and a specialist for every facet
of the business. Today, the Group specialises in email and SMS marketing, in data management and in search marketing (PPC and SEO). The team, who ranges from call centre operator to digital designer, has grown from 2 to almost 300.
Using the technology and the digital marketing tools at hand, Danny and Tom have identified various gaps in the market in as many as 14 industries ranging from insurance to cell phones to home maintenance and consumer subscription services. Each identified gap is the birth of a new start-up.
It’s Danny and Tom’s approach to business that awarded them The Absa Entrepreneur Award. Each new venture is built from the same foundation as 3 Way Marketing; namely transparency, ethics and a highly motivated team – as Danny made clear during his acceptance speech when he proudly said “They say you should never work with family or friends, but I think that we disproved that. At the Benater Productions Group most of us are friends and family, in fact over half of us are from King David Victory Park”.
Each year, for the past 17 years, the SA Jewish Report newspaper hosts the Jewish Achiever Awards gala banquet. The banquet is host to some of South Africa’s most esteemed business owners, entrepreneurs and humanitarians. The Absa Entrepreneur Award Awarded is reserved for one (in this case two) who has shown enormous entrepreneurial flair and business innovation.
The Benater Production Group consists of 14 companies, some of which are:
3 Way Marketing
3 Way Marketing is a digital marketing company and one of the largest lead generation firms in South Africa. 3 Way Marketing is the cornerstone of the Benater Productions Group. The business utilises a wide range of digital channels to improve sales and optimise clients’ ROI Read more
Phonefinder
Phonefinder is the Benater Productions Group’s first business within the telecommunications sector. The website services over 5 000 daily visitors and allows them to obtain a wide array of cellular services including unbiased contract comparisons, prepaid recharging, sales, repairs and insurance. Read more
Dionysus
Dionysus Cellular was SA’s first online provider of cell phone contracts across all leading networks. Through Dionysus customers would apply online and their devices are delivered to their door. The Benater Productions Group acquired Dionysus to form part of the Phonefinder makeup. Read more
Fix My Life
Based on a model similar to Uber, Fix My Life is an online portal which gives home owners and residents the ability to find reliable service providers, schedule appointments and process the payments in a safe pre-vetted environment. Read more
All My Stuff
SA’s first fully independent insurance comparison solution. Technology is advanced enough to produce 100% accurate premiums for the first time in SA. Customers receive unbiased, impartial comparisons. Read more
Joyspring
Utilising 3 Way Marketing’s database and marketing engines, in a short period of time, Joyspring has become one of SA’s largest aggregation services and subscription businesses which connects consumers with daily content and phone services. Read more
BMI
BMI is 3 Way Marketing’s sister company. BMI is a leader in Automatic Voice Messages and specialises in providing data to financial institutions, cellular telecommunications companies, insurers and other corporations who require access to consumer data for Direct Marketing Purposes. Read more
Gluon
Gluon is an app that launched in the United States of America in June 2015. Based in Silicon Valley, the app’s designers have created a platform for users to create an instant social network and broadcast it to anyone. People can see, comment on and share your photos, videos and insights of what’s happening in real time.
Hudlr
Hudlr’s real-world Database comprises over 22 million financially active South Africans. Through Hudlr marketing campaigns can be setup which are geographically and demographically targeted to a precise audience.
In Place Recruitment
In Place Recruitment is the culmination of a dream, hard work, and a wealth of financial services experience. In Place Recruitment consult to leading insurance companies on recruitment strategies.
Read more about The Benater Productions Group
