One of Africa’s leading marketing and brand communications networks, Ogilvy Africa has announced the appointment of Alex van Niekerk as the company’s Group Creative Director.
Based in Nairobi, Alex joins the network’s creative leadership team to a portfolio of brands managed by Ogilvy Africa from Kenya and select countries across SSA.
Alex is a highly accomplished creative having won over 50 awards at festivals such as Cannes Lions, Clios, One Show, London International Awards, Loeries and several others.
“Top-of-the-line creative talent across marketing disciplines is an essential ingredient to our One-Ogilvy recipe. Over the past 12 months, we’ve made a deliberate effort to further strengthen competencies across communication, content, experience and PR with fresh talent who thinks digital-first. Alex’s appointment is another important step in that direction. With his track record of continued excellence, we hope to see him further raise the bar in how we drive growth for our clients,” Vikas Mehta, CEO – Ogilvy Africa, said.
With over a decade of experience at some of South Africa’s top agencies, Alex started his career with the red and white at Ogilvy Cape Town and later became Creative Director at the King James Group, where his work contributed to both agencies reaching #1 rankings by the Loeries Panel including Digital Agencies of the Year respectively.
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He has created and executed world-class campaigns for some of the region’s leading brands for clients such as EABL, Ford, Sanlam Investments, Santam Insurance, SAB, Netflix, Pick n Pay, Johnnie Walker, Carling Black Label, Volkswagen, Audi and Comedy Central, to name a few.
His previous experiences at both traditional and digital agencies mean he brings to the table concepts that truly transcend disciplines.
“What excites me most about rejoining the organization, which in many ways has had a profound impact on my development as a creative leader, is to see the resilience and conviction with which the team here has upheld the standards of creative excellence that Ogilvy has always stood for. In a time where finding ways for brands to make meaningful differences in people’s lives has become more complex and challenging than ever before, it speaks volumes to the talent and ambitions of our agency, as well as the potential for innovation that lies in front of us in finding solutions for the problems our clients are facing. I’m looking forward to the ride,” Alex said.
Ogilvy Africa is one of the largest network agencies on the continent catering to 40 countries with an estimated team of 900 people across Central, East and West Africa. Headquartered in Nairobi – Kenya, Ogilvy Africa manages a portfolio of over 100 brands for clients such as AB Inbev, Airtel, Africa CDC, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Distell, Equity Bank, Exxon Mobil, Kenya Airways, Mondelez, NCBA, Nestle, Philips, PWC, SAB Miller, Sanlam, Total, UNICEF, Unilever and WWF amongst others.
It offers services across the full spectrum of marketing domains including Communication (Advertising, branding and content), Consumer Experience (Technology & e-Commerce), Growth Consulting (incl. Digital Transformation), PR; Influence and Media; under one unified setup. The agency has also created proprietary marketing products in areas such as real-time marketing, social intelligence, virtual experiences, influencer management, e-commerce enablement and content hubs. It’s a unique operating model, One Ogilvy, allows clients
and brands to cut the complexity of agency structures and create seamless omnichannel experiences for their consumers, across touchpoints.
Fuelled by the holy trinity of content, data and technology; Ogilvy Africa strives to be the best-practice agency model, for Developing & Emerging markets. With 20+ years in Africa, Ogilvy Africa has won the highest number of regional and global awards for the region including Cannes Lions, Clio Awards, Dubai Lynx Festival, SABRE Awards (Global and Africa); to name a few.
