By Adam Wakefield

Chetty got her start at Creative Spark when she was hired as the agency’s founding social media manager. From there, she progressed to account manager, head of digital marketing, and in May 2015, she was appointed to her current position in Johannesburg, making the move north from Cape Town.

“The different roles I've gone through in the company helped with building a diverse skillset for me, which allowed me to build up the experience and the confidence to take on new roles,” Chetty says.

“Having worked in all these fields and being extremely passionate, and somewhat obsessed, about digital marketing, it allowed me to move up to Johannesburg and rely on myself to cover many roles until our team started to grow.”

Starting as the social media manager and moving into account management means that in Chetty’s day-to-day duties of overseeing a team of social and account managers, she knows what challenges they face and where they need support.

In her opinion, it is easier to lead a team when you have been in their shoes, and they can be trained and supported.

Being originally from the West Rand, Chetty moved to Cape Town in 2004 to study at the University of Cape Town, and ended up staying for 11 years before returning to the City of Gold. It was her return to Johannesburg that reminded Chetty how much she enjoys living in South Africa’s most populous city.

“I love Johannesburg, I'll just put it out there. It's big, diverse and always buzzing. I do miss the close community of digital folk in Cape Town, although, at times, is felt a bit too small and there's only so far one can go there,” Chetty says.

“I love the personality of Joburg and how willing people are to connect and make things happen. I feel there's a bigger appetite for creativity and innovation here.”

Chetty admits that Johannesburg’s magnetism cannot be separated from the bigger budgets characteristic of the industry on the Highveld, but it is that sense of expanded thinking, and willingness to test and learn, which Chetty finds infectious.

Working in the digital environment means keeping pace with constant change and innovation, and with Chetty being a self-described “geek at heart”, she always wants to know what is next, and how it can be mastered.

“The team attends and speaks at conferences, talks and webinars. We're constantly reading and experimenting with new digital opportunities that arise from changes to platforms or the addition of new products,” Chetty says.This has paid off, as her team recently won a Gold award for Best use of Technical Innovation at the recent New Generation Awards 2016, for a Virtual Reality campaign for one of their key clients.

Tracking and reporting on digital trends, consumer behaviour and innovation forms part of daily life at Creative Spark, with the agency making it part of their offering to keep their clients up to date, as if they are also part of the team.

“Of course, it also helps to have trusting clients that allow you the budget to experiment and learn,” Chetty says.

Creative Spark was acquired by M&C Saatchi Abel towards the end of 2015, but according to Chetty, although her focus has been mainly digital a new challenge has arisen: The big “integration” question - how to apply digital in a traditional, analogue context. Being part of a larger international network with 26 offices around the world does have its advantages.

“We can tap into network resources. For example, I've recently concluded a project with M&C Saatchi Dubai. We love the perks that come with being in a large agency environment – Creative Spark Johannesburg is based at M&C Saatchi Abel’s office in Johannesburg,” Chetty says.

The six years Chetty has spent at Creative Spark saw it move from being a “small start-up” to a major player within the digital space, but come the beginning of November, she will be embarking on a new journey.

“I will now set a new course to building up my own business and I will be leaving the company at the end of October,” Chetty says.

“My new venture is going to be a similar move and I'll be joining a Cape Town based startup called Drinksfeed as a business strategist from November while freelancing as a consultant while I build up my own profile as @MerlotGirl.”

Chetty’s new venture is a new chapter in her ever-growing story. It is not imprudent to suggest that it still has much, much further to go.

For more information, connect with Chetty on Twitter.