by MarkLives (@marklives) For 2019, Chicken Licken (@ChickenLickenSA) has been voted the most-admired brand in South Africa by South African ad agency executives.
Every year since 2012, MarkLives has been polling South Africa’s top ad agency leaders to find out what they think of their competitors, whom they see as effective managers and great creative leaders, and where they believe their future competition is likely to come from. This is our final week of results for 2019.
There’s a certain level of responsibility bestowed upon an ad agency when the founder of one of South Africa’s most-iconic homegrown fast-food brands approaches it directly and, without a pitch process, appoints it lead creative agency. This is exactly what happened to Joe Public United, says Xolisa Dyeshana, chief creative officer, with Chicken Licken in mid-2016.
Says Dyeshana, “I think for us, a proudly South African company ourselves, to have this incredible South African brand with such an amazing heritage and… its founder found us and placed that responsibility in our hands, it’s just one of those things that we’ve taken with such humility and such agency around how do we take this brand forward as a brand for South Africans and by South Africans?”
The brand and its agency set itself — and the public — a challenge. Can we, as a nation, reimagine who and what we are? Can the brand change perspectives by telling relevant stories, stories that resonate with the majority of us, while ensuring that the ads are entertaining, inspiring and make a point, whether it’s to ourselves or to the rest of the world?
November 2019
May 2019
November 2018
March 2018
May 2017
November 2016
Diverse
Although the leadership team at Joe Public is always aware of what has and hasn’t worked before, responsibility is placed on the creatives to come up with something completely new every time, with past learnings helping to guide the bigger campaign from a commercial standpoint. The creative team is also made up of diverse, young, and enthusiastic members who all come from very different backgrounds and, for Dyeshana, this means they’re able to bring ideas that are steeped in what’s happening in South Africa today.
“Essentially, it’s that fine line between what you carry over and what you do to ensure that each execution is completely new. I think that this is what’s kept the communication so fresh for consumers because they’ve never known what to expect,” he says.
For Dyeshana, it’s also all about trust and he will never forget what George Sombonos [Sombonos passed away in 2016 — ed] , the founder of Chicken Licken, said to him: “I will not tell you how to create communication or adverts and you will not tell me how to make chicken.”
Trust
It’s this level of trust, says Dyeshana, that compels the agency to be so meticulous in how it manages the brand communication.
“Not only do people respond to the communications and its entertaining nature, they also go out and they purchase the products that we market. That balance continues to be a thing that we constantly watch and make sure that we get right. So far, it’s been a fantastic ride,” he says. “I have to give kudos to the client [which] has given us this responsibility and [which has] trusted us with this responsibility. As an agency, our purpose is growth. We believe in the growth of our people and that that leads to the growth of our clients and… our country. Chicken Licken is the perfect example of how amazingly this ecosystem can and should work.”
— Profile by Sabrina Forbes.
Previously: in 2018, it was Nando’s. In 2017, Coca-Cola tied with Volkswagen. In 2016, it was Nando’s and, in 2015, it was Coca-Cola. In 2014, the first time we polled this category, it was Coca-Cola, too, with FNB close behind Coke.
The runner-up
There is no runner-up for 2019.
Previously: There was no runner-up in 2018 but the contenders were Chicken Licken and KFC. There were also no runners-up in 2017 and 2016. In 2015, the runner-up was Nike. In 2014, the first time we polled this category, FNB was runner-up.
How the poll works
In late October 2019, we invited a panel of handpicked agency executives — in creative and management, and ranging over a wide spectrum from small- and medium-sized to network agencies — to nominate their most-admired companies and company leaders of various types of agencies. This year we conducted only a national poll, doing away with the two regional polls for Johannesburg and Cape Town. Execs couldn’t nominate their own agencies or staff members. All the nominations were then tallied up for the final result. The editors of MarkLives held two votes in the final poll and could choose not to apply these in tight races.
Note: Runner-up(s) are only named if they achieved a good nomination tally, relative to the winner’s position. Contenders are named if they stood out significantly above other nominees but weren’t able to close in on the winner’s tally. The Most Admired Agency of the Year is disqualified from the One to Watch category; votes cast in its favour in this category are discarded.
by MarkLives (@marklives) This year, Design Indaba celebrates its 25th edition. A panel of agency and media execs who’ve been regular attendees tackle: What impact has Design Indaba had on the thinking, attitude and leadership of agency and marketing creatives and executives? Has it evolved and inspired you to research new ways of doing and thinking? Has it changed how you perceive the industry? Have there been any personal highlights, and where should the event pivot next — what can it do to add meaning to the industry and to one personally? Next up in our #BigQ panel is Superunion‘s Kyley Potgieter.
Kyley Potgieter
Kyley Potgieter is a creative director at Superunion. Having spent over a decade working with some of Africa’s biggest brands and startups, she believes in design brands that matter in the simplest and most-meaningful way — design that affects the heart of the business, not just its outward expression. Kyley has extensive brand design experience in the financial services, telecommunications, aviation, real estate, retail, tourism, and FMCG sectors. She holds a BA from Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography and has trained in human-centred design through Ideo.
For me, the impact that Design Indaba has had on the thinking, attitude and our industry leadership is best described as a rubber band being stretched as wide as it can go. You never quite know where it might dart off to. Still, the potential energy created when stretching that it far and the anticipation of where it may go is seriously exciting. That’s what Design Indaba does to your brain. And I think the single most-valuable aspect this event has taught our team is to embrace the unknown.
The speakers at Design Indaba have inspired my colleagues and I to seek new ways of doing things and it continues to stretch our thinking. I find moments when the nuggets of information that I was exposed to pop into my brain, connecting unsuspecting dots at the most opportune times. This has made me realise, when we obsess over a challenge, that obsession is what drives you to seek new perspectives and find novel ways of solving brand challenges with design.
Let go of insecurity
When I initially chose to pursue a career in design, I felt the need to justify it to my friends and family as I didn’t know many successful designers. By seeing other creatives succeed and thrive sharing their successes and failures at Design Indaba, I’ve let go of that insecurity and feel incredibly proud of our creative community. The variety of people who live and breathe design are, I believe, the soul of the broader creative community. It’s inspiring to see how much they encourage and influence one another to make the world better through their craft, in the simplest and most meaningful way.
I’ve experienced so many personal highlights each year, having had the privilege of being able to sit in that auditorium year after year, and feel the energy of the speakers and guests first-hand. I think being able to see some of my idols in the flesh makes extraordinary success through impactful work feel closer than I had ever imagined. It makes it real.
Some of my favourites include;
Ivan Chermayeff — his relentless pursuit of absolute simplicity through trademark designs
Paula Scher — seeing my icon with my own eyes, I mean…
Casey Niestat — how he’s embraced the notion of being the person in the room who doesn’t actually know what he’s doing
Kate Moross — finding her own expression in-between
While the Design Indaba stage celebrates creatives from around the world, I believe there’s a significant gap that needs to be made for local designers across Africa. Finally, in my mind, the biggest challenge is to find a way to share micro-doses of creative inspiration, with the same potency as the main event, to help make it more accessible to a broader audience.
— MarkLives.com is a proud media supporter of Design Indaba 2020, taking place 26–28 February 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa. Book your tickets online for the main conference or the live simulcast to multiple cities around South Africa.
Launched in 2016, “The Big Q” is a regular column on MarkLives in which we ask key advertising and marketing industry execs for their thoughts on relevant issues facing the industry. If you’d like to be part of our pool of panellists, please contact editor Herman Manson via email (2mark at marklives dot com) or Twitter (@marklives). Suggestions for questions are also welcomed.
McPherson joins from Publicis Groupe ad agency, Machine_, where he was one of the original partners, serving as group creative director from 2012 before becoming MD in early 2019. The agency experienced a creative and commercial revival under him, landing Heineken South Africa’s full TTL portfolio in December 2019. The same month also saw Sanlam Group appointing Machine_ as its internal communications agency.
Senior appointments
During the course of last year, Virgin Active made a number of senior appointments, bringing Mark Field back as its South African MD after his global role as group finance director and promotingNikki Cockcroft to global chief marketing and technology officer. The CMO position had been empty since Zeyad Davids left for a similar position at Virgin Money in late 2017.
According to Field, the company is positioning itself as a digitally led and customer centric brand, with McPherson tapped to deliver “an enhanced customer proposition and experience, as well as increased relevance in a market where online coaching and fitness apps are prolific”.
Comments McPherson in a statement announcing his appointment, “The Virgin brand embodies an entrepreneurial spirit and there is an intersect of my own personal values and mindset. The role is a departure from agency, but it is one that embraces digital and data on every level to put the member first, deliver solutions and move the business to a position of increased relevance in an online world. It is a role that offers opportunity with the right amount of challenge.”
Filled with highlights
McPherson describes his Machine_ career to MarkLives as filled with highlights, from the work the agency produced for clients and its culture to memorable milestones such as being ranked a Top 10 creative agency in the country at its first Loeries, winning AdReview Breakthrough Agency of the Year in 2013 and “One to Watch in South Africa” for 2015 and 2014 in the MarkLives #AgencyLeaders Most-Admired poll.
“The stuff I admire and recall the most is the difference the agency has made in people’s lives,” he says. “We founded a scholarship to educate an orphaned boy, Zolani, who matriculated and is now attending university. We support a Cape Town school, Cyprus Primary, where we have funded teachers’ salaries and offered support through multiple initiatives to paint, clean and create inspired learning environments. We offered free office space for a year to start-up companies, of which seven took up the offer and have all gone on to do amazing things. It’s all these social creative solutions — using creativity for good — that make me immensely proud of the agency and teams involved in those projects.”
Machine_ itself finds itself in a really great space, says McPherson, having doubled the business at the end of last year through those key pitch wins. “We upskilled in our distinctive areas of specialisation, and added more brand-experience capabilities to our offering. All of this has resulted in a strong agency culture that’s been recognised and awarded by Publicis Groupe and the industry at large.”
“Opportunities don’t keep timelines”
Why leave now, as the agency seems to be regaining momentum? “Opportunities don’t keep timelines and, while this opportunity may have come sooner than thought, I think it’s right for me to take it,” he says.
A strong leadership team remains in place, according to him, as does strong client relationships. The agency is set to announce the appointment of a new managing director, along with a managing partner, in the next few weeks.
On what he will bring to Virgin Active, McPherson says, “I think my point of difference will be the fact that I’m a creative at heart. With technology disrupting, and an exponential explosion in new ways and methods of doing things, I think there is an advantage to tackling challenges with creative, unexpected thinking. Being a creative at heart means I am open to change and always curious — something I know will resonate at Virgin.”
The Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRCSA) is a non-profit, industry body that was incorporated in 2015 to cater to the audience research needs of the radio and television industry in South Africa. In 2016, it changed its policy about giving away TAMS and now only monthly reports, highlighting the top 20 or 30 primetime shows on several popular channels, are available.
Rangaka has been with Ogilvy South Afrrica for 13 years across both the Johannesburg and Cape Town offices, and he succeeded Chris Gotz as Cape Town ECD in 2015.
“Ahmed has imbued our work with a real sense of relevance for the South African market; he has unselfishly nurtured many exceptionally talented young people. We are grateful that he chose to spend a chapter of his journey at FCB for the last three years and we’re sad he is leaving us, but we wish him the best of success in the next chapter of journey,” says Thabang Skwambane, FCB Joburg and Hellocomputer Johannesburg group MD. “That said, we are exceptionally excited to welcome Tseliso, who has been an inspiration to so many in the industry since he started his career at FCB and throughout his journey at Ogilvy.
“His commitment to pushing creative boundaries and making a positive impact in the South African marketplace resonates deeply with FCB Joburg’s values. I’m convinced he’ll take the agency’s already-strong creative team to new heights and can’t wait to reap the rewards of his strong work ethic and understanding of what it takes to create truly iconic South African work.”
To be announced shortly
Vicki Buys, Ogilvy Cape Town MD, says a replacement for Rangaka will be announced shortly: “I am very confident that the great depth in the agency’s creative leadership will ensure that clients are not in any way negatively affected by this transition.”
The agency is currently working through a list of internal and external candidates. Every vacancy is also an opportunity, Buys notes, to cast new and fresh perspectives into the agency.
Ogilvy SA has suffered a series of high profile talent losses over the last few months. Most recently, Ogilvy SA CEO Alistair Mokoena left to become Google South Africa country director; last year, Ogilvy SA group MD Luca Gallarelli left to join TBWA\South Africa as GCEO; Ogilvy SA COO Joanna Oosthuizen left to take up a global position as director public relations & influence for Ogilvy’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region; and Pete Case, Ogilvy SA chief creative officer, also left at the end of 2019. Meanwhile, Ogilvy Johannesburg ECD Mariana O’Kelly also took up a new position in Ogilvy’s global operations in Chicago in June last year.
Every year since 2012, MarkLives has been polling South Africa’s top ad agency leaders to find out what they think of their competitors, whom they see as effective managers and great creative leaders, and where they believe their future competition is likely to come from. These are the results for 2019 and this week we are running the following categories.
After a gap year, the Joburg agency has once again bagged this award — and with good reason.
“Overall, 2019 [was] a great year for The Odd Number, both creatively and commercially,” says Xola Nouse, The Odd Number GCEO. It offered agency the opportunity to compete creatively against larger players and demonstrate that it was capable of holding its own, he says. “Winning the Game account, for example, and then being able to make the pitch-work we presented, and have it resonate so well with South Africans, means a lot to us.
“Highlights [also] include picking up some metal at The Loeries and a fantastic showing at the Pendoring Awards, while also maintaining a consistent showing at the Creative Circle Ad of the Month Awards.” The Odd Number took home one Silver and two Bronze awards at Loeries, and four Pendoring Golds.
Business-wise, the agency continues to exceed revenue targets while shaping its margin growth in a challenging environment, says Nouse. The Odd Number reported a compounded annual growth rate of just over 96%, putting it in the R40m–R50m revenue band. In addition to Game, key client wins included Panado, Cricket South Africa (for Mzansi Super League), Viu, Assupol, Lion Lager, Becks Beer South Africa, Lovers+ and Trust Condoms.
According to him, The Odd Number’s success is the result of a winning culture driven by all of its team members, supported by the clients who champion the agency: “Our philosophy [is] to connect brands to people through powerful, nuanced creative executions. This underpins our creative and commercial drive. [Our values are] humility, simplicity and honesty: [we are] humble in our approach to understanding the markets and clients we serve, simple in the solutions we provide to business challenges that ultimately drive results, and honest with all stakeholders in the co-creation process.”
In the year ahead, says Nouse, the agency hopes to feature in both local and global award shows while continuing to produce work that is truly South African.
— Profile by Carey Finn.
Previously: For 2019, it was Avatar (now Avatar Agency Group). For 2018, it was The Odd Number. OFyt was our agency to watch for 2017; Promise and Y&R Group tied for 2016; for 2015, it was Publicis Machine (now Machine once again from late 2019) and, for 2014, it was MACHINE (which merged with Publicis Worldwide in 2014 to become Publicis Machine). (2013 was the first year this category ran.)
When you know the advertising and marketing industry is at breaking point and needs fixing but don’t know where to begin, you start small while you try and figure out exactly what it is you want to achieve — because, at that point, you don’t yet know what doing things differently looks like. This is exactly what happened with Duke, says founder and CEO Wayne Naidoo, and so the agency came into the market quietly. While he didn’t know what he was going to end up with, he definitely knew that he needed fast, experienced, entrepreneurially minded people at his side — such as head strategist Steve Miller and ECD Mike Beukes.
Duke offers a deeper strategic business service than simply advertising and doesn’t participate in pitching. The last pitch, says Naidoo, was over two years ago and, after having been unsuccessful in winning, it started seeing its ideas being executed by the winning agency. This ripped the team apart, they decided to never pitch creatively again and this decision has impacted massively on the agency — his employees finally have their weekends back, leave work at normal times, and get to spend time with people outside Duke HQ in Cape Town. The team also has business conversations with clients’ top decision-makers every day and this access, he believes, allows changes to be made quickly and effectively.
In July 2019, Naidoo announced the Duke Group: a partnership with digital media specialist Mark1 and PR firm Positive Dialogue Communications. “This thing is beginning to hum,” says Naidoo, adding that he gets a new business call every week in an industry where agencies are living in fear of client losses and retrenchments. So how, he asks, could how one could possibly get the best out of people with this cloud over their head?
First, he’s created a champion culture: where every potential account is looked at in such a way that the team’s only interested in working on it if they’re entirely sure they can shoot the lights out. Secondly, he champions people —he’s invested in creating a work environment that understands how each individual ticks and lets them focus on stuff that’s important to them outside the confines of an office. Thirdly, he aims for commercial rewards for both agency and clients; Duke doesn’t have big agency money to fall back on and the entire team understands what could really happen if this ‘thing’ doesn’t work out.
“We still don’t know what we want to become — it just keeps opening up — but I knew that, the minute you get the culture right, anything is possible,” he says.
— Profile by Sabrina Forbes.
Previously: No runner-up was named for 2019. For 2018, The Riverbed Agency was the runner-up and, for 2017, Avatar (now Avatar Agency Group) and The Odd Number tied as runners-up. For 2016, there were no runners-up but six contenders and one special mention. For 2015, Ogilvy Johannesburg/Gloo and FCB South Africa (which became FCB Africa and is now Nahana Group) tied as runners-up. For 2014, there was no runner-up (2013 was the first year this category ran).
How the poll works
In late October 2019, we invited a panel of handpicked agency executives — in creative and management, and ranging over a wide spectrum from small- and medium-sized to network agencies — to nominate their most-admired companies and company leaders of various types of agencies. This year we conducted only a national poll, doing away with the two regional polls for Johannesburg and Cape Town. Execs couldn’t nominate their own agencies or staff members. All the nominations were then tallied up for the final result. The editors of MarkLives held two votes in the final poll and could choose not to apply these in tight races.
Note: Runner-up(s) are only named if they achieved a good nomination tally, relative to the winner’s position. Contenders are named if they stood out significantly above other nominees but weren’t able to close in on the winner’s tally. The Most Admired Agency of the Year is disqualified from the One to Watch category; votes cast in its favour in this category are discarded.
by Carey Finn (@carey_finn) South Africa’s favourite isiZulu teacher recently added more African languages to his Everyday Speak virtual classroom, with no plans to slow down. He weighs in on learning, and leaving our comfort zones.
Q5: Towards the end of 2019, you launched Everyday Xhosa, Sesotho, Sepedi and Kiswahili (among others). What has the response to these learning spaces been like, and what can we expect from them this year? Melusi Tshabalala: Yes, I recruited other writers to come on board and contribute to the Everyday Speak family but sharing words, phrases and expressions in their own languages. So far, we have Everyday Xhosa, Everyday Setswana, Everyday Sesotho, Everyday Sepedi, Everyday Kiswahili and, of course, Everyday Zulu. The reception has been great. People really are eager to learn, not only the languages but also about different cultures. The stories that accompany the words also share a lot about the worlds the different writers inhabit. Everyday Kiswahili has been particularly interesting, because the writer is based in Kenya so we get to learn a lot about Kenyan life. It’s also been interesting to see South Africans’ minds get blown by the similarities between Kiswahili and SA’s languages, particularly the Nguni languages — isiZulu, isiXhosa, isiNdebele and isiSwati.
I secured a feature on Cape Talk for Everyday Xhosa, and I am currently working to secure more radio features for the other languages. It really would be great to have Everyday Kiswahili on SA radio, as the language will be taught in SA schools now.
Everyday Zulu already has features on East Coast Radio[also available on iono.fm — ed-at-large] and Kaya FM. There is also an e-learning portal and face-to-face classes. Unlike the Facebook initiative, where just one word/phrase/expression is shared a day, the beginner course (e-learning and face-to-face) is a proper curriculum, designed to help learners start to read, write and understand the language.
Q5: When might we see other African languages go live, and what’s the end goal you have in mind? MT: There are no set dates for when other languages might go live. They go live as and when I secure great writers [who] will deliver top-quality content on a regular basis. I hope to partner with more female writers going forward, because so far only Everyday Sesotho is written by a woman — and the value of having a female voice is very clear. Just like with Kiswahili, I also hope to get writers [who] aren’t based in SA and will share their languages with us. The popularity of Everyday Kiswahili has shown that South Africans are very eager to learn about fellow Africans. We have been isolated for so long, one might think we are not interested in other Africans — but that is not the truth.
My hope is for the initiative to grow beyond Facebook, as is already happening with Everyday Zulu and Everyday Xhosa. That way, we reach more people and it is more engaging. I would be happiest when the initiative gets more and more people to break out of their silos and interact with people that aren’t like them. SA’s diversity is a great strength but a lot of people are stuck in their little corners.
Q5: When choosing which African languages to learn, how would you recommend readers in adland decide which one(s) to focus on? MT: I think the best place to start is to look at which province you are based in, and which language is prevalent in that province: Eastern Cape — isiXhosa; Western Cape — isiXhosa; Northern Cape — isiXhosa/Setswana, KwaZulu-Natal — isiZulu, Free State — Sesotho, Mpumalanga — isiZulu/isiNdebele/isiSwati, Limpopo — xiTsonga/Sepedi/TshiVenda, North West — Setswana, and Gauteng — you decide. One should also look at what language the people you deal with on a day-to-day basis speak. You learn a language so you can speak it.
Q5: In your opinion, what are the biggest barriers for adults when it comes to acquiring a new language? MT: The biggest barrier for a lot of people is fear. Because of our country’s apartheid past, people are scared of the ‘other’, and that stops them from experiencing the beauty that is SA and its people to the fullest. There is nothing to fear. Remind yourself of that and take that first step towards learning a new language.
Then you have the ones [who] believe there is no point in learning African languages because there is English and we should all speak English. That mindset is very damaging because, by refusing to learn an African language, you deprive yourself of experiencing your fellow citizens. English-speakers need to ditch the unfounded superiority complex and they will see how much more they will enjoy this country.
Time is also a real factor. For some people, it is difficult to find the time to learn. This is exactly why I launched the Everyday Zulu e-learning portal. With the portal, you learn at your own pace and at your convenience.
Q5: Could you give us a word or two, in isiZulu, for the major change the South African advertising and marketing industry needs to make this year, or challenge we need to face? MT: The word I would like to share with the advertising and marketing peeps is “isintu”. Isintu is the ways, languages and customs of African people. The root word is abantu — people. The singular is umuntu — a person. Ubuntu is another related word.
While there rightly is a lot of talk around tech, in SA we also face the challenge of having to connect with people in more-meaningful ways. We can only do that when we respect and appreciate isintu, not only in our campaigns but also in our work spaces. We need to create work spaces that allow abantu to be themselves and this will be reflected in the work that is produced. Abantu, creating work for abantu need to be in touch with isintu.
Special offer:If a company enrolls 10 or more staff members for the Everyday Zulu beginner course, Everyday Zulu will match that by giving away an equal number of e-learning enrollments to a school of the company’s choosing. Email sales@everydayzulu.co.za for more info.
Carey Finn (@carey_finn) is a writer and editor with over decade and a half of industry experience, having covered everything from ethical sushi in Japan to the technicalities of roofing, agriculture, medical stuff and more. She’s also taught English and journalism, and dabbled in various other communications ventures along the way, including risk reporting. As a contributing writer to MarkLives.com, her regular column “Q5”hones in on strategic insights, analysis and data through punchy interviews with inspiring professionals in diversive fields.
Every year since 2012, MarkLives has been polling South Africa’s top ad agency leaders to find out what they think of their competitors, whom they see as effective managers and great creative leaders, and where they believe their future competition is likely to come from. These are the results for 2019 and this week we are running the following categories.
2019 was a big year for Riverbed — the best yet, in the words of CEO and founder Monalisa Sibongile Zwambila. The agency almost doubled in size to reach the R100m–R125m revenue band (according to the MarkLives Agency Revenue Rankings 2019) as it picked up key wins in the form of Nedbank, McCain and Sasol; it performed well in the awards arena; and it ramped up its leadership team. It’s in the area of staffing that the year brought challenges, says Zwambila, as getting the right people into the right places in response to growth is always difficult.
But the Riverbed team, —which in 2019 welcomed Bridget Johnson as executive creative director, Kabelo Lehlongwane as director of strategy and Mogani Naidoo as director of client services — seems to be an example of how an agency can get that right, keeping diversity, inclusivity and transformation at the centre of its team-building. “In the South African context, transformation [means] building a black independent agency of influence not only creatively but one that works towards identifying and growing black talent,” says Zwambila.
“In addition, [it means] creating an environment for women to have a louder voice and be part of the decision-making process,” she says. “It’s always been important for me to build an agency that provides a safe space for employees — one where ideas and opinions can be heard, where people can be seen, and where diversity [and gender identity] can be embraced, with the understanding that it only serves to build what we’re trying to achieve.”
Rather than instilling fear, which she has found is sometimes used as a motivational tool in the ad industry, Zwambila works to create an environment in which she can lead by example to deliver great results. “I’ve realised that how we show up at work is directly related to who we are, what we’re going through, where we come from — and, as such, it’s important to create equitable spaces for all of us to have the right chance to succeed,” she says.
— Profile by Carey Finn.
Previously: In 2018, Joe Public United. In 2017, the first time we ran this specific category, it was Avatar (now Avatar Agency Group).
“The Odd Number is proudly 100% black-owned, and finding and nurturing young black creative talent will always be part of our DNA,” says Xola Nouse, The Odd Number GCEO. “Having said that, there will always be opportunities for talented individuals at ‘TON’ — across the board.”
The ad agency reflects the market and society in which it operates, says Nouse, and diversity, inclusivity and transformation are some of the primary drivers for The Odd Number’s existence. “These are also the key drivers of [how] we’ve managed to attain the success we have in a relatively short period of time — both creatively and commercially,” he says. “For us, this is not merely a governance requirement but a market and societal need that we champion from the front. Fact is, we are a diverse team, made up of individuals from all walks of life. We have an inclusive culture that does not discriminate in any shape or form, and there’s no doubt that we are transformed.”
The agency, which employs upwards of 35 people, named executive creative director Terry McKenna and strategy director Selae Thobakgale as key hires in 2019. Further key executive appointments are expected to be announced in the first quarter of 2020.
— Profile by Carey Finn.
Previously: There were no runners-up in 2018 and 2017.
How the poll works
In late October 2019, we invited a panel of handpicked agency executives — in creative and management, and ranging over a wide spectrum from small- and medium-sized to network agencies — to nominate their most-admired companies and company leaders of various types of agencies. This year we conducted only a national poll, doing away with the two regional polls for Johannesburg and Cape Town. Execs couldn’t nominate their own agencies or staff members. All the nominations were then tallied up for the final result. The editors of MarkLives held two votes in the final poll and could choose not to apply these in tight races.
Note: Runner-up(s) are only named if they achieved a good nomination tally, relative to the winner’s position. Contenders are named if they stood out significantly above other nominees but weren’t able to close in on the winner’s tally. The Most Admired Agency of the Year is disqualified from the One to Watch category; votes cast in its favour in this category are discarded.
The Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRCSA) is a non-profit, industry body that was incorporated in 2015 to cater to the audience research needs of the radio and television industry in South Africa. In 2016, it changed its policy about giving away TAMS and now only monthly reports, highlighting the top 20 or 30 primetime shows on several popular channels, are available.
Every year since 2012, MarkLives has been polling South Africa’s top ad agency leaders to find out what they think of their competitors, whom they see as effective managers and great creative leaders, and where they believe their future competition is likely to come from. These are the results for 2019 and this week we are running the following categories.
Joe Public United has broken King James Group’s three-year winning streak in a tight poll to emerge as 2019’s most-admired South African communications agency.
Revenue growth stood at 10% YOY (according to the MarkLives Agency Revenue Rankings 2019, Joe Public United’s revenue band sits between R200m–R250m) and the group currently employs around 300 people. New client wins over the course of 2019 included Nestlé, Revlon, Expedia, Bonitas and UberEats. Its largest clients include Anglo American, Chicken Licken, Clover, Jet, Nedbank and South African Breweries (SAB).
“As we all know, 2019 proved to be a tough economic year but, despite these challenges, we are proud to have continued to play a key role in helping grow our clients’ business and, in so doing, our own, with Joe Public growing by 10%,” says Gareth Leck, Joe Public United GCEO. “This was achieved by retaining all of our key clients, winning new business, creating value-added services and generating new revenue streams. This business growth has in turn allowed us to increase our investment in upskilling and growing our people. The agency also managed to have our best year in terms of creative recognition, including winning Agency of the Year at the 2019 Loeries for the second year in a row.
“Streamlining”
“During [2019], the agency put a lot of effort into streamlining its ways of working. One of the ways we did this was to create dedicated integrated teams specifically built around our clients’ individual needs, providing them with all of the required services they need to deliver on their strategy in the most-efficient way. We have also spent [2019] investing in developing more-robust and -scientific processes that will allow us to manage and measure all of the key areas within Joe Public to ensure systematic and continuous improvement is achieved in the future.”
Joe Public Maximise, the media-planning and -buying division within Joe Public United, grew by 9% compared to the previous year. The group’s proprietary brand-planning process, Growth Compass, gained steady traction with a number of new clients during the period. The Joe Public School of Growth, (through which it delivers SETA-accredited programmes) increased its training investment by 58% during the period. The group also launched Joe Motion, a motion graphics, animation, 3D, digital assets production studio to service existing and new clients.
Finally, it solidified its partnership with Ethno Afrika (previously part of its enterprise development programme), making it a specialist division providing clients with rich ikasi township market-research data and insights.
The year ahead
In terms of the year ahead, Leck says that Joe Public United invested much effort and energy in 2019 into building a number of key foundational structures, new systems and offerings “that will all help deliver on this growth for our people and our clients, and we look forward to 2020 being a great year for the group”.
“We firmly believe that, when times are tough, great creativity is the most-effective way to assist clients in their business growth and, in this regard, we believe that Joe Public is well-positioned to deliver on that requirement in the coming years, given our current creative standing and the quality of work that we are producing for our clients,” he says. “We say this without wanting to sound arrogant or complacent, knowing we still have massive room for growth in this area. We believe that digital advertising will continue to be a strong growth area for clients and we will be very focused on ensuring we are well-equipped to meet this demand by continuing to add value for our clients in the broader digital space.”
According to Leck, the group will be focusing on the following for 2020:
Transformation: “We are firmly committed to the growth of our people and country and, based on this, we looking to further build on our current transformation strategy. We look forward to becoming an authentically transformed, independently owned, South African agency and we are aiming to begin 2020 with some exciting news in this regard.” Around 60% of its staff complement consists of black talent, and 40% of that is black female talent.
Creative product: “We will be pushing even harder in 2020 to improve the calibre of our creative product within the group. As mentioned, we firmly believe that the most-effective way to achieve growth for our clients is by delivering creative excellence and, given the fact that the economy will not be much easier in 2020, we will keep our eyes firmly on upping the level of our creative product in service of our clients’ growth.”
New services and offerings: “As the advertising landscape and our client’s needs evolve, so must our offering; in that regard, we have a number of new services and offerings we are working on that we plan to take to market in 2020.”
— Profile by Herman Manson.
Previously: King James Group won three years in a row in 2018, 2017 and 2016, while Joe Public United took top honours in 2015. From 2012 (our inaugural poll) up to and including 2014, it was Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town.
In 2019, King James Group SA saw YOY revenue growth coming in at 2% (according to the MarkLives Agency Revenue Rankings 2019, its revenue band sits between R200m–R250m), while its staff count also grew by 2% to 224. New client wins included Nederburg, Anglo American, Siemens AG, Kaap Agri, Bata, Johnson & Johnson, McDonald’s and the BBC. Its major clients included Pick n Pay, Sanlam, TymeBank, Santam and AB InBev.
Acquisitions
In August 2019, the agency acquired a majority stake in retail and shopper marketing agency, 34°, and later in October it concluded a deal with Cedar Communications in the UK to take over the southern Africa licensing agreement by acquiring a majority stake in privately owned content marketing agency, Cedar South Africa. Alistair King, King James Group SA co-founder and chief creative officer, was inducted into the Loeries Hall of Fame.
“The biggest opportunity from 2019 was the need to find ways of doing things differently — smarter and more effectively,” says Lesego Kotane, King James Group JHB MD. “It was not an easy challenge in an environment that is already moving so fast by its nature, needing to also deal with the ongoing pressure from clients to provide greater levels of work with fewer people, and the increased pressure on cost savings – which may not feel unique to 2019 but the pressure around the conversation seemed to be bigger. We are confident the hard yards put in to address it [last] year will hopefully stand us in good stead as [2020] looks set to be a really tough year.
“2020 is going to be a challenging year for the industry but one that presents a real opportunity for those agencies eager to embrace a step change and reimagining; it will be a year to do things more creatively than ever, to elevate performance and effectiveness front-and-centre in all our conversations, and to find operational solutions that match a world that needs nimble, agile and responsive. It needs to be the year of dramatic innovation — we talk about it as an industry but need to put tangible solutions to clients that relieve very real pressure and also provide very real return, and in this shrinking economy it’s not going to come from doing the same things the same way.”
Growth plans
In terms of growth plans in 2020, Taryn Walker, King James Group CT MD, says, “For us as the King James Group, 2019 was a year of focusing on growth from within our existing clients. By leveraging the strength of our integrated model, we [were] able to help deliver holistic solutions to our existing clients that help[ed] solve their challenges of the year and [made] the process of solving them a bit more seamless. Through the acquisition of both Cedar Communications and 34 Degrees, [we] also broadened our specialist offerings to match those client needs. Our work in the social communication space [was] an important growth point in 2019, giving us the opportunity to bring our creative tone to always-on communication and brand-building in digital.
“2020 will be all about focused new business in categories and on brands where we know we can add real, demonstrable value to their bottom lines. Coupled with that is finding growth opportunity in really unexpected places and ways, focusing on our core strength of problem solving through ideas – be it communication, digital services, analytics or data needs to take us beyond an expected ‘advertising’ conversation. Our specialist capabilities give us a greater scope to deliver a wide array of solutions for business, and that conversation doesn’t always sit with the same individual on client side. Our expansion into East Africa will also be an important part of this growth plan.”
On the creative output at the agency, “our work on Sanlam for [its] funeral cover proposition still continues to remain a source of pride for me,” says Walker. “Continuing the momentum started by Uk’shona Kwe Langa a few years ago, our ‘Gogo 4 Hour’ campaign for 2019 delivered outstanding results for the Sanlam business and generated significant positive engagement amongst the audience.”
Says Kotane, “Our latest piece for AB InBev, ‘Corona Street Surfers’, [was] a really standout piece of branded content; in an age of fast, it [stayed] true to the fundamentals of great emotional storytelling and shed light on a part of society that is often ignored yet is making a massive difference to a conversation that is globally relevant at the moment (ocean plastic and recycling). What has been exciting for us is that it is being recognised in forums such as London film festivals, which [have] nothing to do with advertising — validating the kind of work we want to do.”
— Profile by Herman Manson.
Previously: In 2018, it was Joe Public United. In 2017, Joe Public United tied with Ogilvy South Africa. In 2016, FCB Africa was the runner-up and, in 2015, it was King James Group. In 2014, results replicated 2013 exactly — with Joe Public Group as runner-up and joint second runners-up being FoxP2 and King James. In 2012, our inaugural poll, the runner-up was King James Group.
How the poll works
In late October 2019, we invited a panel of handpicked agency executives — in creative and management, and ranging over a wide spectrum from small- and medium-sized to network agencies — to nominate their most-admired companies and company leaders of various types of agencies. This year we conducted only a national poll, doing away with the two regional polls for Johannesburg and Cape Town. Execs couldn’t nominate their own agencies or staff members. All the nominations were then tallied up for the final result. The editors of MarkLives held two votes in the final poll and could choose not to apply these in tight races.
Note: Runner-up(s) are only named if they achieved a good nomination tally, relative to the winner’s position. Contenders are named if they stood out significantly above other nominees but weren’t able to close in on the winner’s tally. The Most Admired Agency of the Year is disqualified from the One to Watch category; votes cast in its favour in this category are discarded.
Every year since 2012, MarkLives has been polling South Africa’s top ad agency leaders to find out what they think of their competitors, whom they see as effective managers and great creative leaders, and where they believe their future competition is likely to come from. This is our final week of results for 2019.
There’s a certain level of responsibility bestowed upon an ad agency when the founder of one of South Africa’s most-iconic homegrown fast-food brands approaches it directly and, without a pitch process, appoints it lead creative agency. This is exactly what happened to Joe Public United, says Xolisa Dyeshana, chief creative officer, with Chicken Licken in mid-2016.
