Creative - Meet data

Hoorah Digital, the leading digital transformation consultancy that believes in the marriage of data, creativity, and media tech, unveiled its new look and innovative digital marketing solutions at the business' head office in Bryanston, Johannesburg.

Hoorah Digital CEO, Shaune Jordaan (Photographer: Alison Tu)

"In an increasingly connected world that’s constantly evolving, people don’t just want personalised experiences, they expect them," Hoorah CEO Shaune Jordaan asserted in his welcome address. "We think it’s time to connect the dots and prepare for the future, now."

The rebrand doesn’t just represent a new look and feel for Hoorah Digital, but also the massive evolution its made as a company since its founding.

The new Hoorah logo (Photographer: Alison Tu)

Hoorah Digital was founded in 2018, by four digital marketing veterans to deliver real business value to its customers through people-based marketing. Expansion followed in July 2018 when Hoorah acquired Tenzing Agency, a Durban-based design and development agency, and again in February 2019 when it acquired the creative storytelling agency, Ritual Studio.

Its founders each have a history working in, and with some of South Africa’s biggest digital agencies as well as the holding companies which have bought out those businesses over the past decade. These experiences led them to believe that there was a better, more empowering way for brands to represent themselves digitally.

Initially, they did so by presenting themselves as an alternative to traditional digital agencies. They quickly realised, however, that in order to really change the way digital marketing worked in South Africa, they had to help companies fully embrace digital transformation.

The Hoorah Digital management team (Photographer: Alison Tu)

“In a lot of agencies, you’ll be given a creative concept and asked to make it work with the programmatic and data tools at your disposal,” said Jay Thomson, the chief digital officer at Hoorah. “We think that’s the wrong way round. Instead, you should use data to create interesting and unique experiences for your potential customers.”

Addressing the audience at the launch, Hoorah’s Head of Paid Media, Vumani Ncube said: “Artificial Intelligence in marketing is taking a load off marketers’ shoulders, allowing us to focus on more data-driven strategies. Media marketers can leverage the basic principles of AI in order to understand human psychology and the implications of it in the real world scenario. When Media marketing automation leverages AI, it helps to understand and track multiple aspects of user behaviour. Once we get sufficient visibility on these aspects, we can combine this with past marketing campaign data and then build hyper-personalised marketing messages that are sure to bring success.”

Hoorah Digital specialises in combining data with creative output, and thoroughly understands performance marketing. It innovates by bringing data and creative together and firmly believes in onboarding the right media technology as its foundation to ensure it establishes strong integrated media roots.

Simon Spreckley, Executive Creative Director of Hoorah Digital (Photographer: Alison Tu)

“Most people think of performance marketing as being all about data and dry numbers,” says Simon Spreckley, Executive Creative Director at Hoorah. “But the truth is that data is most powerful when it is combined with world-class creativity and storytelling.” And with accolades that include 50 Loeries, a Loerie Grand Prix, Cannes Lions, Clios, multiple Bookmark awards, Webby Honorees, and several coveted FWAs, Spreckley knows a lot about both.

Spreckley said that the Hoorah team believes in the power of brilliant creative and real data-driven insights. “The days of just servicing our clients as a marketing agency are dead,” he concluded. “We're excited to work with our partners, offering innovative solutions across their businesses, transforming them digitally, making meaningful change, and growing their bottom line.”

With a Silver Loerie for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) campaign 'For Nature. For You.' Sustainable Apparel Project within the first year of operations, one can expect many more great things from this dynamic team.

A Silver Loerie was awarded for Hoorah’s project for WWF.