Brand inc. Creative Group bolsters its team with five new recruits

“In the age of collaboration and integration, agencies have to be on their toes 24/7,” says Brand inc Creative Group MD Chris Heaton. “Digital and social media marketing and tracking are getting more and more sophisticated with the ability to track consumer movements online and push selected communication to a targeted consumer to increase acquisition opportunity. Meaning that we need to be masters in more than just creative, but in understanding consumer trends, technology, data, content creation and planning; and of course, the big idea that brings it all together.”

“These types of skills and formulas are going to be pushed harder and will start to demonstrate through creative innovation, a formulated approach to communication campaigns; advertising and marketing campaigns that actually show a genuine ROI,” he says.

“This is the ethos of Brand inc Creative Group: to change the way people think and behave through the power of ideas, while delivering a solid ROI on marketing, advertising and sponsorship spends.”

Brand inc's five new employees; Yolande Botha, Madelaine Biezanek, Munzi Makhuvha, Cara Rickens and Ryan Gosling are filling various positions in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, as the agency strengthens its marketing and creative services in South Africa’s business centres, while Maude Crookes is elevated to the position of Agency Head of Client Service.

Crookes brings a wealth of experience in client services having worked in the field for the past eight years with clients such as Procter & Gamble, WesBank, Nissan South Africa, Vox Telecoms, Jacaranda 94.2fm, Vodacom, Evox and SAB. She brings her extensive knowledge in direct marketing and branding, great understanding of events and activations, and her creative inspiration from being in theatre and working in design. All this, plus her IT skills and information and knowledge management know-how, make her an invaluable asset as the Client Service Director responsible for overseeing Brand inc on a national level.

Botha has thirteen years’ experience in above and below-the-line advertising, writing and conceptualising great ideas. She has won many accolades while working as a copywriter for The Jupiter Drawing Room, TBWA\Gavin\Reddy and Y&R Hedley Byrne, amongst others. Botha joins Brand inc’s head office in Cape Town as creative director where her vast experience and passion for filmmaking will be put to good use.

Filling the role of production manager in the Mother City office is Cara Rickens. With skill sets covering production, creative and PR, Rickens can merge supplier management and costs with creative outlook, doing what needs to be done in the best possible way to suit clients’ needs and budgets. She moves across to Brand inc after sharpening her marketing and production skills at Krone GmbH in Germany, Stretch Experiential Marketing, WhiteRoom and Jolie360 Brand Management.

Biezanek’s extensive background in sports marketing and brand strategy comes from nine successful years in this arena. She worked for Brand Union in London before becoming marketing manager at BSquaredLTD Lonsdale South Africa. Biezanek now takes over the reins as account director for Brand inc key accounts in Johannesburg.

Also joining the growing Highveld team is Munzi Makhuvha who has been hired as account manager on the Nashua LTD account. Makhuvha has studied Integrated Marketing Communication at the University of the Free State and during her short time in the industry has worked with several big clients, including the Ford Motor Company, Kelloggs SA, Bayer SA and Consol.

Ryan Gosling has joined Brand inc as account director for Durban business. Gosling has finally “crossed over to the other side” after being a client of Brand inc for years working as the brand manager for Vaseline at Unilever. He brings his pedigree as a marketer from his experience at Unilever for the past six years and will be managing all Durban-based operations and new business development.

And finally, not a new employee but an internal upgrade: Maxine Miller has been promoted to account executive on Unilever and Cape Town-based business. Miller joined Brand inc as an intern over a year ago and has grown rapidly into a very effective administrative client service go-getter.

Brand inc Creative has come a long way since being formed as a small design agency in 2003 and has a proven track record that continues to deliver. The agency is currently working with Nashua on their successful ‘Real People. Real Solutions’ campaign which amplifies unique, localised, authentic stories of Nashua’s clients, grounding the brand with its target audience and reminding them why Nashua has become a household name in South Africa.

The agency has also been busy with the brand strategies and development of two new companies about to launch in South Africa. One being a local fibre optic solutions and service provider, and the other being a subsidiary of a major international company that will be a new VOD content provider to the local and African markets.

“We are thrilled to welcome Yolande, Cara, Madelaine, Munzi and Ryan to our ranks and at the same time congratulate Maude and Maxine on their promotions. We keep our team lean, agile and hungry so that we can produce the best work for our clients every time. Our philosophy is that we are only as good as our last idea and this keeps us motivated to continue innovating and producing creative work of the highest quality,” concluded Heaton.

For more information on Brand inc., visit www.brandinc.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.