Brave celebrates a hat trick of new business wins

As South Africa revels in the dawn of a new era, the Brave Group joins in the jubilation as it celebrates a hat trick of new business wins and a basket of new brands with which to be brave.

In January 2018, Brave added ten iconic South African brands to its existing Tiger Brands account, closely followed by the 32 brands included in the Ascendis Health account. It has now solidified this new business track record with South Africa’s largest privately-owned wine and spirits merchant Edward Snell appointing it as lead agency on a selection of high-end brands.

This equates to more than 50 new brands, including: Tiger Brands’ Halls, Rose’s, Jeyes Fluid, Gill, Perfect Touch and Aunt Caroline Rice; Ascendis Health’s Solal, Evox, Vitaforce, Marltons, Wonder and Efekto; and Edward Snell’s Glenfiddich, Grants, Balvenie, Jose Cuervo, Stroh, Bushmills, 100 Reserve and Wellington VO brands.

Significant empowerment

The wins come hot on the heels of the Group’s announcement of a significant BEE deal, in which 100% black-owned investment firm FastGro Investment Holdings acquired a 25% stake in the business. This development also saw the appointment of new Group CEO Karabo Songo and Chief Future Officer and renowned digital guru Musa Kalenga.

Commenting on the hat-trick, Songo says the group’s innovative, and brave, approach to marketing always plays a crucial role in business wins. “This influx of new business can be attributed to positive sentiment in the country at large but also specifically within Brave. This follows the announcement of our recent empowerment deal and our commitment to solidify the agency’s presence in the market by remaining at the forefront of diversification within the South African marketing sector.”

Brand depth

The depth of brands that now fall within the Brave stable cannot be under-estimated given that Tiger Brands is one of the largest manufacturers and marketers of FMCG products in Southern Africa, housing some of the continent’s most iconic brands. As lead agency on the new brands, HOB will develop through-the-line creative across multiple communication channels.

Ascendis Health is another local success story, having grown from humble roots in South Africa to become a multinational health and care company with a portfolio of market-leading products in consumer brands, pharma-med, sports nutrition and phyto veterinary.

Last but not least, Brave will manage and coordinate all communication platforms for Edward Snell across Africa; including digital and social, CRM, above and below the line as well as public relations. Commenting on the overall fast pace of growth at the agency Brave MD Andrew Shuttleworth says; “It’s a brave new world both within our agency doors and outside of them, and we couldn’t be more excited and more positive about the change!”.