Thursday, 7 March marked a landmark in the history of HKLM as the agency and more than 100 guests celebrated a decade of ‘ideas delivered’ with a special event in Sandton. With many awards under its belt, a staff complement of 65 and a footprint spanning Africa and the Middle East, it certainly was a milestone worth celebrating.

Added to this, the agency appointed new directors in the form of client service director, Julia Leuner and executive creative director, Johan van Wyk at the end of 2011, and non-executive director, Dave Reddy, with his wealth of local and international business experience, earlier in 2013. It also appointed Simon Willar to head its West African operation and Clayton McCoy to manage the business in the UAE, and realised its East African strategy through the opening of HKLM Nairobi with Jerry Nyagah at the helm in June 2012. All these developments made the occasion even more significant.

But the agency had a modest beginning: four staff members jammed into a tiny Johannesburg office with little more than the garden chairs and trestle tables that served as office furniture. It wasn’t long before Gary Harwood, Paul Kirsten, Graham Leigh and Sean McCoy’s passion for Africa and branding in emerging markets, inherent quest to challenge the status quo and burning desire for unrestricted independence started to make their presence felt.

Within the first couple of months the team had notched up their first paying client in Scooters Pizza, secured their first anchor client in Glo Nigeria and undertaken a major packaging project for a large South African pet food manufacturer. Just five short months after launching to market, HKLM landed the major accounts Peermont and Anglo Gold Ashanti.

And so the foundation was laid. The following year HKLM secured its first banking client, Investec, undertook its first major 3D project in the rebranding of King Pie and opened a satellite office in Cape Town. By 2005 it had 25 employees, a representative office in Berlin and new head office in Sunninghill. The following year was marked by significant growth, including the opening of a Dubai office, the signing of the agency’s first Asian client in India and the expansion of its core services to include advertising through HKLM Connect, and annual reports through HKLM Exchange. In 2007, it diversified its service offering further with the establishment of HKLM Ignite, focusing on internal brand alignment, and HKLM Digital. Most recently, it entered into a joint venture with a Ghanaian group to establish a presence in Accra (2011) and re-established HKLM Nigeria (2013).

Throughout this time HKLM has shaped, made, processed and delivered thousands of ideas around the globe and back again as a full turnkey agency focused on creating standout 360 degree media-neutral, business-oriented branding solutions.

It has also made good on its founding vision and today is renowned as Sub-Saharan Africa’s leading independent strategic branding and communication design consultancy.