by MarkLives (@marklives) FCB Africa is rebranding to Nahana Communications Group. “Nahana” means to “think” or “imagine” in Sesotho.
The group consists of creative agencies Hellocomputer, McCann1886, HelloFCB+ and FCB Joburg; media agencies The MediaShop and Meta Media; content creator Fuelcontent; public relations consultancy Weber Shandwick; and a socioeconomic development arm, Nahana Foundation. Agencies are retaining their own independent structures, cultures and management teams but will work together where synergies exists. The communications group continues to headed by group CEO, Brett Morris.
“As a group, we believe that — using the power of creative thinking and imagination — we are able to help our people and our clients achieve extraordinary things and more than they ever thought possible,” says Morris in a statement published on the Nahana Communications Group website. “Sometimes ‘nahana’ is used to express a sense of disbelief, as if to say ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’ or ironically saying ‘can you imagine that?’. We like that. Because there will always be people who doubt the power of creative thinking and we love proving them wrong!”
Continues Morris, “Our ambition is to become a model for transformation by using all our resources and creativity to help build a sustainable economy for all South Africans. By being representative of the demographics of the country and creating an environment that is intentionally and deliberately inclusive, every single one of us will be able to meaningfully and authentically contribute to work that truly resonates with all South Africans.”
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The obvious question not answered in this release is why the name change? Is shareholder structure still the same, is FCB global still involved? Is this simply to appear more locally relevant? Is there no perceived value in the FCB name or halo?
Hi Tim – we forwarded your query to Brett Morris. Here is his reply: “Over the years, the FCB Africa group has expanded considerably to include numerous specialist agencies, and managing complex integration for many of South Africa’s favourite brands for decades, evolving and redefining this approach to one that embraces Open Architecture. The new name embraces this journey and vision – to connect and integrate the best resources for a client regardless of where those resources reside within Nahana. Each agency retains its independent structure, culture and management team. But, driven by a desire to help the modern marketer navigate today’s overwhelming choice of marketing and technology opportunities, will collaborate where the synergies benefit the client. FCB Joburg will continue to trade as FCB Joburg and yes FCB Global is still very much involved; no, there is no change in shareholding.”