The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town restructures

The Jupiter Drawing Room CT team. Front row L-R: Michelle Beh and Lucas van Vuuren. Back row L-R: Kevan Aspoas, Luanne Slingerland and Suasnn Kompa.

For some time now, Jupiter CT has been looking at new business models that are highly efficient, nimbler and that cut out bureaucratic processes. The loss of Windhoek Beer was unfortunate but it liberated the agency to embrace innovative new thinking and processes.

The Jupiter Drawing Room (Johannesburg) closes, forms Black Powder

27 Sep 2017

“Our industry is changing rapidly, and our client’s industries are no different. We will be working very closely with each of our clients to adapt to their needs and to ensure the agency is nimble. A fundamentally different approach to how we service our client's needs will see them have a one-on-one relationship with the people who will impact their business directly - our senior creative team and strategists,” explains CEO Kevan Aspoas.

New approach enables faster solutions

Several accounts within the agency have been operating in this manner for over a year with great results. This will now be rolled out across the entire agency. The new approach enables solutions to be found faster, with less layers for misinterpretation.

Tim Wyatt-Gunning, CEO of Webafrica, says “I hate advertising agencies. it’s always layer upon layer of fees, some of which pay for irritatingly ill-equipped account managers to protect an army of poorly briefed creatives from demanding clients. And then Jupiter came along and changed everything. We only deal with the people who make it happen. We grew by nearly 50% this year. The Jupiter team is so good and so in touch that they made us feel it was because of our genius. It wasn’t."

This new way of working from Jupiter CT will be guided by the talented and capable hands of Lucas Van Vuuren who has been the executive creative director of the agency for the past two years. He will be joined by Jupiter’s strategic director, Michelle Beh, who will take on the additional role as managing director.

"Lucas and Michelle have played a pivotal role in the agency and have garnered much respect from clients, and within the agency itself. We believe they are well poised to lead the team and also bring their own style of management to the fore. A breath of fresh air if you will, but with the history and understanding of who Jupiter is as an agency, and the family culture which everyone lives,” says Aspoas.

New kind of agency model

A group of 'hybrid' creatives will support Lucas, with varied skill sets across all media – TV/ social/activations etc. whilst projects which require specialist skills will be outsourced through a network of specialists. An elastic approach to outsourcing the best of breed for the relevant job.

Public relations will be spearheaded as an integral part of the agency’s offering under the leadership of Jupiter’s head of PR, Luanne Slingerland. Her team is involved from the briefing process and play an important role in the development of ideas that live beyond the creative space, building credibility through messaging with stakeholders, the communities the clients engage with, and the media and influencer space.

Aspoas takes on the role of chairman for the Cape Town agency giving guidance and support to the new team, as well as focusing some of his time on Jupiter CT’s sister agencies namely Blackriver FC in Johannesburg, and Weathermen & Co. in Windhoek, Namibia.

"Ironically, out of the inherent sadness that comes with an account like Windhoek Beer moving on after ten years, comes the opportunity that the agency has been waiting for. Once we get over the inevitable loss of many special people at the agency, we see this new development in Jupiter's life as an extremely positive and liberating one. I am extremely confident that this will set the solid foundations for building a new kind of agency model relevant for the future,” concludes Aspoas.