10th Street Breaks the Mould of Strategy and Production

The agency, founded as 10th Street Media in 2014, has simplified its name, it’s brand and invested in state-of-the art new premises in Parktown North. It is also in the process of appointing three key senior roles –strategic director, creative director and art director – to bolster its marketing communications capabilities, while relaunching its website and corporate identity to reflect its strong visual story-telling ability. The company is investing in a state of the art sound recording and podcast studio.

“There is a massive trend of large communication agencies investing in audio-visual production capabilities to offer 360 services in-house,” says Darren Kerr, director and executive producer at 10th Street. “We’re moving from the opposite end of the spectrum, but it’s much easier and faster for us to make the transition to offering more strategic creative services in addition to the production expertise we’re already known for.”

10th Street, which counts leading brands and agencies as clients, has already convinced more than half of its clients that it can offer more than just implementation of existing briefs, but also contribute smart ideas and insights based on vast experience at the very beginning of the conceptual process.

As part of its expansion, the agency is also launching a pilot online briefing portal for its agency clients, aimed specifically at the production of award entry videos, making the briefing process for these submission videos easier and more precise.

Should this prove successful, it will be rolled out as a bespoke solution for agency clients (advertising, marketing and communication agencies) to allow for a cost-effective, quick and easy briefing, quoting, production and payment process for award submission videos – a huge demand during awards season.

Kerr’s vision for 10th Street over the coming five years is to grow the agency into a fully-fledged content agency, operating across sub-Saharan Africa. He sees the traditional production company model losing relevance in the fast-moving world of digital media and on-demand content.

“There’s definitely room to develop truly African content that features on powerful entertainment platform such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Africa is a continent rich in stories and narratives, and these need to be told to the world” Kerr says. “However, the development of content needs to become much more efficient and strategic while improving quality and increasing volume over time.”