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Web development was a perfect fit. Today Avatar employs a team of more of the insights they gain from different
It was not labour intensive and the than 60 people and counts among its communities. Many of my counterparts
margins were healthy enough to rapidly clients brands such as KPMG, Brand will blame lack of education as a
grow the R2 000 investment.” South Africa, National Geographic, reason for not transforming fast
Fox International Channels and South enough, but that is only a small part
Mkhwanazi and his business partner African Airways. The success of the of a bigger problem. What is truly
tried applying for tenders, but without agency led to him being named a World needed is bravery and a commitment
success. They then turned to cold Economic Forum Young Global Leader, to transform by finding, investing and
calling, with equally poor results. With an achievement that has helped to nurturing talent. That is how we will
no offices, cars or access to funding, further broaden his insight. grow this industry.”
it was difficult for people to take them
seriously. The anxious entrepreneurs “Our talent in the agency reflects LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
then decided to partner with advertising South Africa’s diversity and so do our
agencies that did not have an in-house ideas,” Mkhwanazi says. “We are a With so many South Africans now
website-building capability. mixed strategy-driven business. That having access to mobile technology,
means we are able to create mass- it’s clear that digital marketing
“That worked like a charm. Our is becoming increasingly key to
two-man band was exposed to serious ? advertising. Research by PwC predicts
brands through our partner agencies The agency had to that consumer spending on Internet
and we built a profile that eventually transcend dated access will reach nearly R60-billion
enabled us to approach large clients industry thinking a year by 2017. But digital is still
directly, without involving our partners,” in its infancy and an appetite for
Mkhwanazi says. market communication that engages experimentation is critical,
with targeted audiences and triggers Mkhwanazi says.
INTEGRATED THINKING desired behaviours using a mix of
different channels.” “We are all in the race to understand
By 2012 it was time for something the customer better through data
bigger and better. Their creation was FASTER TRANSFORMATION and experiences on digital marketing
Johannesburg-based Avatar, which Mkhwanazi, now aged 33, believes channels. Once we have deeper
positions itself as an ‘integrated that because so many of South Africa’s knowledge of consumers, digital
marketing agency with digital at its core’. biggest agencies are sought-after by communication will be less noisy
international networks, it means that and more effective. This is especially
Avatar was born because Mkhwanazi we are doing something right when true when it comes to understanding
wanted to build an agency that could it comes to creativity and marketing young black consumers. Speaking to
transcend outmoded above-the-line insight. There’s no doubt that local them in language they understand
and below-the-line thinking. Applying agencies have been attractive to global does not mean translating English into
the client experiences he had absorbed groups, particularly as the country vernacular languages or tweeting in
since the launch of his first business, provides a springboard to the rest isiZulu. It means that the strategy and
he did not believe that the traditional of the continent. big idea should be thoroughly tested
demarcation between marketing’s so that it resonates and creates truly
lines of ‘above’ and ‘below’ were He’s less positive about meaningful experiences.”
relevant anymore. transformation in the marketing
industry, however. “We’re still getting Looking to the future, he observes
“I knew then that integrated that wrong. We need to get the that technology will play an even bigger
marketing was the future,” he says. transformation agenda right if we are to role in the communication mix in future.
“Avatar is now an established and have a sustainable industry. The reality “This means that there will be a big
successful full-service agency.” is that transformed agencies produce technology skills requirement, even
better strategies and ideas because at CMO level on the client side. I don’t
The business is co-owned by foresee the title of digital manager
Mkhwanazi in the position of CEO, and lasting very long because every
his founding partner Veli Ngubane, who brand manager will be just that,
fills the role of Chief Creative Officer. and more.”
The latter came from a well-known
above-the-line agency and brought
in different skills and new thinking.
October 2016 – January 2017 strategicmarketing 25
