2013 APG Committee Nominees

Firstly I bring plenty of experience, and a certain, proven passion for trying to do things better. About 10 years ago I switched from Creative (TBWA, FCB, DDB) to Strategy because I figured I could help make better work by doing so.

Since then I’ve done brand strategy at Leo Burnett and DDB, innovation strategy at Membrane and Meshfield, and integrated strategy at DDB, M2K, Sharpe in (NYC) and Gloo.

And I’m an inveterate activist and organizer – been doing it from my early heady days as student activist, and in my stints as legal activist and journalist, to a string of recent community projects.

A strategy for strategy… A dream task!
That’s what I want to sign up for – I want to be a part of a team that represents the relentless pursuit of innovation in strategic thought leadership. Quite simply, we as the custodians of strategic thought need to stay one step ahead of the own game if we are to deliver relevant, measurable and creative solutions to the brands we represent. Co-piloting thought leadership and building a cohesive voice in an industry that we are all passionate about is what will not only cement our relevance in a future of convergence, but will result in even more value being given in future strategies. This committee isn’t just a great idea – it is imperative as a representative tool of our industry, beliefs and a shared passion in delivering shit hot work that works. My 16 plus years of doing this for other people and brands in the FMCG, financial services and media spaces, would be well spent in participating in the manifestation of the ultimate strategy – a strategy for our own future.

Please vote for me so I can deliver value to a passionate team and industry, hell bent on pushing the limits of innovation in creative planning and strategic brand communication. Want to know more or have a chat? za.linkedin.com/in/simonborchert/

There is nothing that gives me greater pleasure than working with great minds to find a way to change the world from the 'inside of the system'. I really do want to make business aware that who they are and what they do, really can matter – because this is one of the very few ways that we use to change our world. It sounds trite but it has worked.
The APG has always struck me as a forum to push creative and critical thinking, to encourage others to do the same and to bring a new generation of thinking into the fold.
I love teaching – it's in my blood.
I think the majority of planners in SA are not as good as they could be. That's putting it mildly. And that the APG is an opportunity to improve this.
I have been following the APG UK for the past 10 years.

Thys de Beer is Vega School of Brand Leadership’s National Head of Brand Strategy. He navigates into Innovation and Brand Management and is the head of the BA Honours in Brand Leadership-degree at Vega Cape Town. Thys is an admitted Advocate (non-practising) and holds a B.Proc. degree from the University of Johannesburg, an LLB degree from the University of Pretoria and a Post-graduate Diploma in Brand Contact Management from Vega and is currently investigating Design Thinking in Brand Strategy on a master’s level.

Thys has a keen interest in human expression and understanding the human condition and spent several years in the advertising industry as a strategic planner with global agencies such as DRAFTFCB and JWT. As a member of the strategic consultancy, Mercury 1, Thys consults on Brand- and Communication Strategy projects to various agencies and private clients. Thys loves film, friends, food and his 3-legged cat, Piet.

In terms of what I hope to bring to the Committee:

· Objectivity and multi-party collaboration: Not being in the industry full-time offers a unique viewpoint and intersection between academia and industry;

· Academic thought-leadership beyond ‘advertising’ and a platform to young minds and the innovators and Planners of tomorrow;

· Design Thinking and Innovation insights applied to Planning as a discipline.

Having specialised in a fairly new strategic discipline (Content and Messaging Strategy) and with experience in implementing it, I feel I have some value to add in this exciting discipline - one many strategists may not have yet explored. I do a lot of thought leadership for our clients regionally and globally and feel this experience would also be valuable to pass on to younger members of the APG. In addition, having been a writer for years my ability to document and write long prose persuasively may also benefit the committee. Lastly, I'm really interested in the opportunity digital affords to help Not For Profit initiatives with specific regard to e-learning for disadvantaged and rural students - this is a project I would like to pursue in some way and may interest the APG committee.

My passion is advertising and the digital landscape specifically. This is what I eat, sleep and live!

Bio: http://www.markschefermann.com

Some of my thinking: http://www.f5onmarketing.com

My career has spanned the marketing spectrum with experience at an FMCG company, advertising agency, design agency, consultancy and research firm. I'm currently a strategist at The Jupiter Drawing Room and develop curriculums and lecture at Vega Brand Communication School. My multi-disciplinary background and brio for building brands will make me a valuable team member. Also, I'm great at pretending to listen and scoffing biscuits in meetings.

Planning, strategy whatever you call it needs to be useful. Less lengthy PowerPoint more collaboration with client and creative teams to solve real problems, real problems that change peoples' lives and make stuff better (eloquent I know). Sounds a bit cliched but it's really not about brand triangles, onions, spectrums or "digital"… it's about tangible solutions.
I look after strategy (and the consumption of great coffee) at The Brand Union, JHB and hopefully my perspective can add something interesting to the APG.

Originally from the UK ad industry but working in SA for 3 years, I come from an ATL background leading brands across Europe and Asia. I now drive Shopper and BTL strategy for 34 in JHB and CPT. I'm passionate about driving the planning community in SA and think there are huge opportunities to inspire our upcoming talent. Our biggest opportunity is to start innovating for SA consumers versus copying the rest of the world! I would be very keen to be part of the APG revolution in SA! You can check my opinions on my column http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/mimi-nicklin-the-sell/ or @miminicklin

I would like to build a group that is dedicated to supporting and developing the strategic marketing talent & culture in South Africa.

I would be able to bring experience of planning methods from top global networks like Saatchi & Saatchi / Leo Burnett Worldwide as well as my newest digital passion 'Social Network Analysis'. (Plus my love of tequila enables me to 'moonwalk' )

Over the past 4 and a half years as a digital strategist; I have worked with many different strategists including digital, CRM, brand and communication specialists.

I am passionate about strategic planning and the value it adds not only to the business but to the creative output.

We face challenges in building credibility as a discipline and in inspiring young talent to become strategists and I would love to be involved in driving the strategic culture in South Africa as well as learning from the other strategists on the committee.

I am a social business strategist, advising businesses, organizations, and individuals on how to use social, digital, and mobile technologies to build customer relationships and develop new revenue streams. My passion is to inspire innovative thinking using unconventional approaches which leads to creative solutions across all levels from established businesses to start-ups. With a passion for retail I pride myself on my knowledge and experience in Southern and East Africa, I am fascinated by differing consumer behavior across the African continent. I am director and co-owner of an innovation company, DOTNXT, where we strategically position businesses in this new digital age, specializing in managing large scale IT and other digital development projects.

Everyone needs a challenge and something a little outside of their comfort zone. I believe there are too few people thinking and acting critically against the status quo within our industry, and I’d like to see that change, which is why I’d like to join the APG committeeI come from a unique strategy background, where I spent 3 years straddling traditional and digital media strategy for NotaBene/MEC group. From this to Communication strategy specializing in social media, I’ve covered all the bases so I’d bring critical thinking across both spectrums of lean forward and lean back.

My background is eclectic, with academic roots in both commerce and humanities and a career that started in investment but quickly moved through advertising account management into strategic planning.
Before joining iKineo I was on the management team of both BBDO Cape Town (now 140 BBDO) and The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town, where most recently I was Head of Strategy.
I have worked with many of South Africa’s top clients across multiple categories including liquor, financial services, broadcasting, FMCG, retail, automotive and healthcare. And I have a particular interest in building brands and businesses in emerging markets – most notably in Africa.
WHAT WOULD I HOPE TO BRING TO THE COMMITTEE?
Most salient and motivating to me during my time in advertising has been my natural alignment with the creative development process, and a love of immersing myself in the emerging markets of Africa. As such the two things I would like to do are:
• Challenge the outdated and counterproductive stereotype of the ‘great divide’ between strategy and creative. The best work already disproves that and it’s time we as an industry bought overtly into a different paradigm – one where strategy and creative are two symbiotic sides of the same coin.
• Explore ways in which South Africa can entrench itself as the global client gateway into Africa by positioning our strategic planners as the continental experts on Africa’s shifting consumer landscape.

My first issue is my title – Digital Strategist. Even though it looks mighty impressive on a business card, I don’t believe strategy should be restricted to operating only within certain channels and mediums.

Secondly, and this is not an issue – I am young. I have an insatiable appetite for fixing things. I am not attracted to brands and shit hot ads – I am attracted to problems that require solutions.

Lastly, I don’t live for advertising. I live for solutions and answers. Within the context of my 9-to-5, I solve problems for our clients. On a bigger scale, I want to solve problems for people.

Matt is the an integrated strategic planner. He’s developed brand strategy, designed digital engagements and won creative and effectiveness awards. He’d like to be remembered foremost as an inquisitive people watcher with a bad surfing habit.

I would relish the opportunity to become involved with a committee that's dedicated to furthering the thought leadership and innovation of the strategic planning community. I'm passionate about the advertising industry and I believe planners and strategists play an important role in solving business problems for our clients.

APG South Africa can play an integral role in connecting like-minded people to ensure better work and understanding of our industry, and I would love to be part of that process. I'm a people-person who currently work as a TTL strategist on a variety of local and international brands in the FMCG, liquor and media sectors, and am interested in building relationships between agencies to further learning.

Rob Hill has lead Ogilvy’s SA strategy team for over 2 decades.
During this time he’s served as the Planning Director at Ogilvy Cape Town and has held the role of Executive Head of Planning for Ogilvy South Africa.
He’s also been a Director at Added Value Marketing Agency and The Consumer Insight Agency.
He is currently the COO at Ogilvy South Africa.

I’m a passionate marketer. Passionate about people. Passionate about behaviour. Passionate about planning. APGSA is the type of platform that will give local strategists an avenue to better entrench the right type of thinking into the industry. Challenging accepted practise. It’s important for strategists to better collaborate to help develop the industry and its’ young people. My ambition lies in helping this come into actuality. An opportunity to sit down with like-minded thinkers would be fantastic. As a young planner, I’d like to bring in the element of the next generation to the committee.

I have always wanted to think for a living. And now I do.

I am lucky enough to get paid to think until my head hurts and then I wake up the next day and do it all over again.
A lot more young people should be afforded that privilege.

Young strategists in South Africa are discouraged.
Mostly we are herded towards being "suits" for a myriad of reasons (more money, not having had enough "years in the game" etc.) which just veil the fact that very few people are willing to put in the time to teach.
Strategy is a discipline and like any discipline it is easier to learn it young.

The advertising community needs to invest in creating the kind of conversations where young strategists can learn and share thoughts that could change the way we think about advertising in this country.

That is a priority for me.
If it is a priority for this committee too, then we are a perfect match.

I'm very interested in this project, and I'd love to help make the most of it. I'm not a big committee kind of person, but I think this is something very interesting and exciting! I'm passionate about what I do and would love to be a part of a group that shares the same attitude.

I want to join the committee as I am absolutely passionate about Brand development and Brand Strategy and as such I want to work at changing the industry so that we can better serve the needs of our clients and that of the consumer. I believe in the concept of the “Good Brand” where positive reciprocal transactions between Brand and Consumer are paramount. I will bring value to the committee due to my expertise in Systemic Brand thinking.

Digital media is in a constant state of flux with new channels and formats emerging daily. This dynamic environment is the reason I wanted to become a digital strategist and it's why I love what I do. I want to address the new challenges that the media industry faces both locally and globally and help drive digital solutions to these challenges within the South African market. I would love to help create digital toolkits, resources and training in order to excite and educate up & coming planners and clients.

17 years of experience with different agencies across multiple categories has allowed me to broaden my perspective on what planning is, where its going and what it should be.
I am worried about a dearth of smart young talent coming into the planning function in our industry, and would like to play a role in helping young planners find their feet, expand their knowledge and see planning as a viable career path.
I see one of the roles of the APG as promoting the strategic function within the industry, to our clients, to learners and within our own organizations. I also find us a fairly introspective bunch at times and not very good at getting to know other planners out there, and I see the APG as being crucial in this role.
I am particularly interested in a lot of the new thinking and science around marketing and consumer behavior. At Draftfcb, we are questioning much of the existing marketing theory, debunking myths about the way things supposedly work, and taking a more scientific approach to why consumers do what they do. All of which ironically sets up a platform for the development (and selling) of better creative work. Along this theme, I'd like to ensure that our thinking as an industry is moving into a far more credible space and that we are rightly acknowledged as experts in our field.

Incidentally, one of the challenges the APG would potentially need to overcome is the sharing of knowledge amongst planners vs proprietary organizational expertise and knowledge. We tend to want to keep what we know to ourselves as a competitive advantage

Nicole Zetler is a Senior Strategist at Yellowwood. She is both formally trained and experienced in the fields of business, brand and marketing strategy, with work experience covering both the client and agency environments. Nicole has worked across a number of industries including Financial Services, Retail, Consumer Goods, IT and Hospitality & Leisure leading projects in the local market as well as emerging markets such as Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria. Nicole contributes regularly to Yellowwood’s thought leadership, writing articles for publications including Bizcommunity, Entrepreneurship Magazine, Strategic Marketing Magazine, Advantage, Finweek and The Saturday Star and has also recently released a white paper on brand relevance.

Nicole would like to be part of APG South Africa for the simple reason that she is passionate about learning new things and sharing ideas. She believes in the power of collaborative thinking and hopes that APG can help strategists punch above their weight in the boardroom.