Draftfcb Durban chooses new creative team

16 May 2012

Draftfcb Durban has had to rediscover its entrepreneurial skills after a major restructure transformed it from a large national player to a smaller company operating under licence to its multi-national parent.

Clive McMurray

After the Beiersdorf (Nivea) media account moved to Johannesburg last year, it was decided to relocate the account and creative team working on the Nivea business in Durban to the Draftfcb Johannesburg office.

Nevertheless, the need for a KwaZulu-Natal based agency remained. Faced with the choice of opening his own agency or continuing with the Draftfcb name under an affiliation agreement, Clive McMurray, chairman of Draftfcb Durban, opted for the latter, both because the company/brand was well known and because he had an opportunity to handpick an experienced creative team to continue.

"I chose staff with three "C's" in mind - Character, Competence and the Chemistry to work as a family. We are a close-knit team and everyone sits in on weekly status meetings so they can give their input."

The team

The team will constist of:

Paul Vosloo, creative head: Design. After ten years service with the old company Paul assumes the role of creative head of design. Vosloo says, "Design has the power to enhance, enrich and simplify the world we live in. An alchemy of science and art. It's where creative thinking meets considered logic. Above all else, design solves problems. And elegantly."

Brandon Govender, creative director. He will be responsible for ensuring the creative product is consistent of a world-class standard and the delivery of an effective and relevant solution for clients.

Declan Sharp, creative head: Art. Sharp's responsibility as creative head is to come up with a concept after brainstorming with the rest of the team. He will decide on and put together all the visual elements of a job. This includes photography, illustration, typefaces/fonts, layout, design, etc.

Marlan Naidoo, senior creative: Design. He will be responsible for communicating ideas visually, combining creativity and technical skills enabling him to create visually appealing communication that best conveys the client's message.

L to R: Paul Vosloo, creative head: Design; Brandon Govender, creative director; Declan Sharp, creative head: Art and Marlan Naidoo, senior creative: Design.

Always operate in two streams

Going back to his [Murray] entrepreneurial roots and being more hands-on has also helped what is now officially a small agency with a completely new approach. Because the team is smaller and more flexible, it is better able to respond to market changes quickly. It adds an ability to draw on its own experiences of coming together to grow what is essentially an emerging enterprise in a tough market.

McMurray believes that, whether large or small and in all market conditions, companies should always operate in two streams - the economic reality of the day, which might require some short-term interventions and the future based on strategies and interventions that ensure it is poised to take full advantage of an inevitable turnaround.

"Some brands actively pursue market share growth during tough periods, investing in various support activity (advertising included). This increases their share of voice whilst competing brands are less visible through drastic cutbacks. "For me, the bottom line is that if a brand remains relevant to consumers and is prepared to ring the changes where necessary, it will always prevail," he concludes.

Updated at 11.07am on 17 May 2012