These included Samsung South Africa (as digital agency) in 2013 and Comair (for corporate communications), and Medihelp/Strata and ATKV Group (as creative agency) in 2014.

Besides attracting and retaining large brands, the agency also rakes in numerous advertising and creative awards, including three Loeries, six Pendorings and a third place at the International Newspaper Marketing Awards in 2009. 

“Signing the FNB Business Bank account in 2009 was undoubtedly a highlight. Another memorable achievement was when we won our first Pendoring and Loerie for the newspaper Sondag’s My Buurvrou Campaign in 2010. Landing the Samsung account in 2013 was definitely another game-changing milestone for Etiket,” says MD Janhendrik Oosthuizen.

Mission, value set

Oosthuizen ascribes Etiket’s growth and success to its short and simple mission statement: ‘Build Belief Through Narrative’. Inspired by business guru Simon Sinek’s well-known mantra, Start with the Why, the mission, along with a clearly defined twofold value set, meticulously guides Etiket in every project and undertaking.

“Essentially all the work we do gets ‘checked’ against this mission: are we building the brand belief through the story we are telling? Fact is, Etiket has always had a love for storytelling at its core,” says Oosthuizen.

An integral part of the Etiket DNA is its values. These guiding principles have been divided into two sections, namely blue-sky values and grounding values, which not only firmly anchor the agency, but have always been its compass. 

“This allows us to conceptualise solutions that create new conventions without becoming counter-creative. By leading our clients to adopt the best possible strategic and creative solutions, and inspiring them by creating authentic narratives true to the brand, our blue-sky values come to life. On the other hand, we are driven by our grounding values, namely to add real value and to always respect our client’s brand by keeping our creative solutions true and authentic.”

The beginning

Etiket came into being in 2007 when Oosthuizen and Paul de Klerk of Blueberry Creative and Ricardo Rocha of Ric decided to join forces. Tiaan Ras joined the team in mid-2009 as the fourth director after being the agency’s client. 

Originally the agency focused mainly on AV productions. “But over the past seven years it built a massive digital skills set that allows us to tell stories with people as opposed to telling stories to people. Having said that, Etiket does not consider itself a digital agency, but rather a conceptual agency that is digitally inclined,” explains executive creative director Paul de Klerk.

Etiket has since branched out to Johannesburg where it opened an office at the end of 2014. However, the company’s headquarters remains in its hometown: Pretoria.

Structure

Adds Oosthuizen: “Restructuring Etiket into four profit centres in mid-2013 allowed us to measure profitability much better and to isolate ‘problematic areas’ much quicker.

“Also, to this day, Etiket’s structure is fairly flat. It does not function as, nor reflects the traditional agency. We function best when we are challenged; BHAGS keep us focused and interested in our work,” he stresses.

Adds executive creative director, Ricardo Rocha: “In Etiket’s early years we could not afford to have a separate strategy department. However, what we viewed as one of our biggest weaknesses became one of our greatest advantages.  Because we could not afford a team of strategists, we ‘drilled’ our creatives to ask critical, strategic questions and think very systemic in their creative approach. As a result, our creative team thinks much more strategically about solving communication challenges than what is expected in the industry.”

Competitive advantage

“Being a small company means we do not need the long lead-time that larger agencies may require. We can get your message out while it is still relevant. On the other hand, we are large enough to run with the big dogs. Our highly skilled team is capable of handling large accounts with finesse and has successfully done so numerous times in the past,” says Oosthuizen.

Adds content director, Tiaan Ras: “Constantly striving to be pro-active, Etiket always goes above and beyond the brief to strengthen the message it intends to deliver by finding innovative ways to achieve this. Also, Etiket is a young agency that has not become entrenched in the ‘copy-paste’ mode of some older agencies. Our team is young and vibrant and is constantly looking for the next big thing. Last, but certainly not least: Etiket has a sense of humour. We laugh at ourselves. Often.”

Challenges

“Across the board, the creative industry is in flux and naturally we feel it as well. Technology is advancing much quicker than the average person’s desire to adopt it. Social media provide us with unbelievably exciting communication opportunities, but  also create challenges in targeting an audience in a very personalised space,” notes Oosthuizen, adding that the skills shortage is another real challenge, especially for a fast-growing company like Etiket.

Moving forward

The central theme of Etiket’s 2015 strategy is to build more value. “We will pursue this by continuing with an aggressive pitch strategy, driving award-winning creative outputs and exploring new digital and mobile storytelling opportunities,” concludes Oosthuizen.

For more information on Etiket, visit www.etiket.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook and on Twitter.