I catch up with Luzuko Tena who had a brief stint with Ogilvy Sociallab from 2018-2019 as junior campaign manager and recently rejoined as paid social campaign manager.
I’m very excited. The company has grown enormously since I was last with them. Although I must admit it is quite interesting starting a new job virtually.
I’ll be joining the companies US Hub Team as one of their paid social specialists where I’ll be working together with local Social Lab and US based Ogilvy colleagues on a new US based client we’ve recently won. In addition to this, and probably the most exciting, I’ll also be leading the newly established Social Lab Academy, from a Cape Town office perspective, together with my colleague Sarah-Jane Lowes who’s based in Johannesburg.
Anyone who knows me, knows how passionate I am about the development of talent in this industry. I found out about the Social Lab Academy and plans for it to be launched in South Africa and, I guess, the rest is history.
There’s a great energy within the company to learn and constantly get better and being in an environment like that is so encouraging.
It’s something a friend once told that I still refer to as a reminder from time to time.
Time, as young people, is our biggest asset. If we want the industry to become the utopia we dream of, we need to be willing to trade that asset to make it happen.
What do you love most about your career, the industry and what you do?I love that there’s always something new to learn!
Family, friends and all young people in this country who want to make an impact in their industries and society in general. I have the privilege of being part of an amazing team with the IAB Y-Council. Tshegofatso Phetlhe, Ruddy Gatare, Lesego Thomas, Nicole Adolph, Maxinne Mboweni, Nosipho Maseko, Amy Hurle-Hill, Gregory-Leigh Booysen, Brendan Zietsman and Melissa Kuriaki, remember these names because they’re part of something very special and long overdue in the media and marketing industry.
Social is just one part of the digital ecosystem and where you can reach and communicate with your audience. Not every trending topic and hashtag is for you to jump on.
Invest in media intelligence to find out more about what your audience and consumers are really interested in. Have a plan and stick to it, that way everything and anything that comes out of your social channels is authentic and true to your brand. The platforms we use have test and learn functions for a reason. We won’t always get things right the first time, but as long as we apply the lessons we learn “we’re gon’ be right, we’ll be alright (not to quote Melusi Gigaba)”
