Following a competitive, 5-way pitch process for the iconic Windhoek Beer brand, M&C Saatchi Abel Johannesburg has been appointed as the lead agency to drive the brand’s growth. The agency will be tasked with building on the brand’s legendary intrinsic story and with continuing to develop a powerful emotive connection with its various target audiences across South Africa and Namibia.
“M&C Saatchi Abel demonstrated a strong creative and partnership approach. The agency team displayed a keen ability to cut through the clutter and land on a powerful idea for Windhoek Beer. We are confident they are the right partner to assist us in our journey to continuously grow the brand and further entrench it as an icon of quality and craftsmanship”, says Dana Katz, Windhoek Beer Marketing Manager.
The Windhoek Beer win comes five months in for M&C Saatchi Abel’s newest Partner and ECD, Adam Weber, who together with Makosha Maja-Rasethaba, Group Head of Insights and Alan Bell, MD for the Johannesburg agency, will lead the account.
“It’s both exciting and a great responsibility to be entrusted with Windhoek Beer, an iconic brand that is nearly 100 years old,” says Weber. “Throughout its history, the brand has always stood for something truly authentic. That’s a powerful place from which to drive Windhoek Beer’s compelling story.”
“This is a hugely exciting challenge,” says Maja-Rasethaba. “Windhoek Beer, like many brands, finds itself in a highly contested and cluttered category. Our job is to strip away all the layers and complexity to get to that beautifully simple idea that will shift the brand into a dynamic new trajectory of growth. That’s what we call Brutal Simplicity of Thought.”
Alan Bell, MD for the Johannesburg agency, says the team can’t wait to get started on Windhoek Beer.
“We have a talented and diverse team of 70 plus people,” he notes. “But it isn’t just about diversity in numbers, it is about delivering the very best diversity of thought that then leads to the most powerful ideas for the brands we work on.”
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