Dialling into South African advertising with +27

Forward-thinking is to be expected from a through-the-line agency that looks to exceed the limitations of conventional agency offerings and give you something leaner and smarter.

By keeping strategy and technology top-of-mind, +27 Agency founders Adrian Miller and Prenneven Govender do just that. They also elaborate on the "interesting-ness" that's the core of their business objectives and what sets them apart with their clients by explaining that "People don't read ads. People read what interests them," - and if you're interested, you'll read their responses below...

1. Explain the agency name.

Miller and Govender: Obviously, +27 is South Africa's international dialling code. We wanted something that was simple and indicated that we were local and here for the long haul. We think it's quite clever, but then again, everyone thinks his or her name is clever.

2. When and how did the agency get started?

Miller: The agency opened its doors in June 2012. Having worked for more than a decade abroad, I was in South Africa to chair at the Loerie Awards, and decided to stay on and do something completely different. Needing a break from the big agency scene, I then started a joint venture with Velocity Films, which is where I met Govender. While the venture didn't quite pan out as expected, our relationship did. So off we went to start +27 Advertising. In hindsight, it was either terribly naïve or terribly brave...

3. What's the basic workflow or creative process in the agency?

Miller: Having spent many years running large agencies, I could see the flaws of the multinational structure. We wanted to create an agency where red tape, layers and unnecessary bag carriers take a back seat. So at +27, the person doing the work is the person taking the brief. It's that simple. The client interacts with the person doing the work. Any issues are ironed out there and then. This makes for a faster turnaround time as it only involves people who have a vested interest in the work and only the work.

4. Makes sense. Tell us about key account wins this year that have made an impact on your portfolio.

Miller and Govender: This year, +27 won the NFVF business and re-launched the Discovery Life brand. NFVF is primarily digital, so this further adds to the agencies digital capability as +27 currently handles the digital platform for Jungle Oats and it's various sub-brands. Discovery Life was an interesting journey. The brand hadn't advertised above the line for 11 years. The client was looking for something that didn't fall into the cliché life territory. And so, 'Penguins' was born, an animated commercial that took three months to develop and is proving to be extremely popular in the market.

5. What makes you stand out from the rest? Please explain your strategy.

Govender: The size and the scope of the work we execute is comparable to any large agency in town. Yet the client isn't paying the overheads they would have to if they were with a large agency. Our agency is fast, nimble and doesn't place emphasis on things that have little to do with the work. +27 is a truly an integrated agency that handles all aspects of the work right through the line. Given my agency and production house background, our production capability is also second to none.

6. Let's talk about local advertising work that actually gets awarded...

Miller: Like anywhere, South Africa has good work, bad work, extremely bad work and work that should never have seen the light of day. What South Africa doesn't have is any exceptional work at the moment. We've both noticed a trend where agencies like to take historical anecdotes and add the brand at the end of the commercial with some spurious link - because this great explorer was tenacious, therefore we are too as a brand.