by Herman Manson (@marklives) Integrated creative agency, 360eight, will be closing its doors, effective 30 April 2017. The closure follows the consolidation of various divisions within Telkom, which owns a majority share in 360eight’s parent company, Trudon (publishers of the Yellow Pages). The Trudon board subsequently decided the consolidation process should include 360eight.
In a letter to stakeholders, managing director Olaf Brinkmann says that the agency, which launched in April 2013, had grown to become a R40m business and turned a profit every year of operation. The business is now being wound up and all 14 members of staff, including Brinkmann, are being retrenched. Brinkman says the tight timeframe excluded the possibility of a sale, and the formal wounding up of the business means that the exit process for staff is being managed responsibly.
Out to pitch
The bulks of 360eight’s revenue came from the Yellow Pages. It is expected that the business will now go out to pitch in the near future. Several smaller accounts had been handed over to other agencies, says Brinkmann.
In the letter announcing the closure of 360eight, Brinkman writes: “We are proud of all we achieved, of the calibre of people who’ve worked here and the awesome clients we were able to partner with over the past four years. Our supplier friends have been immense and industry itself has been generous in its acknowledgement of what we do. We thank every single person and institution that have walked the road with us and made us better people for it.”
Herman Manson (@marklives) is the founder and editor of MarkLives.com.
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