JAWBONE BRAND EXPERIENCES
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JAWBONE BRAND EXPERIENCES
uMhlathi to Help Jawbone Deliver Brand Experiences PRODUCTION: Karl Pietersen
Jawbone Brand Experiences is quickly growing but quickly changing. In this, its tenth year of operation, the specialist activation agency has launched a new manufacturing company and is targeting nationwide expansion.
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: MARKETING
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It is now widely accepted that effective marketing is the key to business success. Without marketing properly, businesses quickly fail. But it’s strange that, even with this knowledge, some companies cut marketing as soon as they need to find savings. American business magnate, Mark Cuban, once said: “No sales, no company.” There’s the famous anecdote about Coca-Cola, suggesting that if they stopped marketing for just one week, they would lose mass market share to Pepsi almost instantly. Clearly, the importance of marketing remains, and as well as informing potential customers of an offering, marketing can also help to create a need for an offering. But how do you make the most of a marketing budget? How do you involve customers and embed a brand into their mind? How can you ensure that your brand is shared with customers in an effective and measurable way? Jawbone Brand Experiences has the answers. Featured in Enterprise Africa in May 2017, this is a business that can connect brands with customers in novel and exciting ways. Forming deep
SVEN REINERTSEN - CEO
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relationships with its customers, Jawbone understands the messages and strategy that businesses want to deliver and has grown from not only being a corporate and commercial event management company but also an activations and experiential delivery specialist. Back in 2017, CEO Sven Reinertsen told Enterprise Africa about how Jawbone had grown from a one-man-band, founded in Durban, expanded into Gauteng and operated from a residential garage, before achieving major success with international brands across SA and sub-Saharan Africa. The business had grown to such a size that it was bursting at the seams and needed extra space to hold stock and manufacture new products. Reinertsen explains that the move to new premises is now underway but other significant changes have also been set into motion. “From June 1 we will be in new offices on Witkoppen Road, Johannesburg. A lot of change has happened,” he says. “We’ve pivoted the business and we’re strategically creating Jawbone the activation agency and our BEE business and production hub,
// WE ARE WELLPOSITIONED AS WE HAVE A 10-YEAR TRACK RECORD AND WE HAVE CLIENTS THAT TRUST US, AND WE ARE VERY OPTIMISTIC // uMhlathi. uMhlathi will be a Level 2 BEE supplier to Jawbone and to the industry and will be open from the end of May.” As the company grows, being compliant and being able to handle an increased workload in an effective manner has driven the idea for uMhlathi. With the new entity feeding from Jawbone and the existing business strengthening current relationships with its clients, now is a new period of expansion for the business. “The two separate entities will work very closely together, and I will step across to take the reins of uMhlathi while our COO Mitch Bowker will be more involved with Jawbone. We will be scaling up and I would hope that by 2019, uMhlathi will have 30-40 employees,” says Reinertsen. “We did look at doing things the other way round, setting up uMhlathi as the sales side and Jawbone to handle production but it’s much easier to create employment through the manufacturing side. Our partners in the deal are a transformation advisory service they specialise in skills development and training, we are aiming to become an accredited training facility. We’d love it if people could join the team with limited skills and work for us, leaving with a trade – that’s just an ambition for now but down the line I’d really like to pursue that,” he adds. ALWAYS BUILDING Reinertsen, originally from Durban, moved to Johannesburg before starting Jawbone with his wife in 2008. But now that the business is established and has a
JAWBONE BRAND EXPERIENCES
long track record of success, he is keen on opening up a new office in his old city. “Durban is definitely a growth area for us,” he says. “The majority of work does come from Johannesburg as most of the decision makers are here, but part of our plan is to have a footprint in Durban by 2020. “I will focus my attention on managing the two businesses over the next two years and then I will seriously look at opening an office in Durban, where we already have enough business to warrant a base. SPAR and Monteagle both have head offices in Durban and require face to face meetings quite regularly; we also handle the Comrades Marathon for Energade which is a very busy time. Right now, the team is flying down from Johannesburg to Durban on a regular basis and that is not efficient,
so we will set up a small effective team there very soon.” Previously, Jawbone has been asked to assist on the continent as clients have grown and as the exhibition industry has
become more popular. From designing and building exhibition stands for mining conferences, to rolling out brand strategies and activations for fast food organisations, Jawbone has cut its teeth
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: MARKETING
// WE’D LOVE IT IF PEOPLE COULD COME WITH LIMITED SKILLS AND WORK FOR US, LEAVING WITH A TRADE // in Africa and enjoyed the experience. But Reinertsen admits, without a regular largescale corporate in a certain region, the company will not be opening an office outside of South Africa anytime soon. “We are still working in Africa,” he says. “One of our clients, Investec, recently had a stand built for the Africa Energy Forum in Sandton and in June we will be going with them to Mauritius to build new stands. There is no need for an African office at this stage, we can containerise everything from here and fly over with the team. If we can secure large contracts with blue-chip clients in Africa then we would not rule out opening an office in the right location and right situation.” STANDOUT PERFORMER In 2016, Jawbone was on a serious growth drive, picking up some vast new contracts and growing profit by 700%. 2017 and 2018 have continued in a similar vein although the growth has not been quite as rapid. But Reinertsen remains resolute
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about the company’s position in the market. “The country has turned a corner and South Africa is now receiving more investment internationally. We are in a position where we have seen some our major competitors folding in the past few months as the industry was tight, but we play across different sectors, we managed to achieve growth and we are wellpositioned for the next few years,” he says. “The last 12-months have been good but tough at the same time as we are going through a lot of change,” he adds. “We are using new business management software, new accounting software, new accountants, we’ve changed our strategy slightly, we’re looking at working closer with our top clients, and we are changing how we communicate with the market. It’s been very exciting with a lot of change but with change comes struggle and we are positive.” Positive feeling in business has also been buoyed by the appointment of President Ramaphosa. Where there is
uncertainty and unpredictability, money can stop flowing and progress halted. The South African economy had realised this since 2016 but with a future under Ramaphosa already looking more stable, business is upbeat. “He is a successful businessman in his own right and apart from his political ambitions, he understands business and he understands that businesses like ours are required to grow this economy. We are well-positioned as we have a 10-year track record and we have clients that trust us, and we are very optimistic,” says Reinertsen. MAGIC BEANS Recently, Jawbone has managed to add to its already glittering portfolio of clientele, helping to boost international coffee brand Nespresso into South Africa. Part of the Nestlé group, Nespresso brings ethically and sustainably sourced beans to help coffee lovers create perfect espresso in their own homes. Nespresso is present in 60 countries, employs around 12,000 people, and in South Africa trusts the launch and on-theground activation management of new products to Jawbone. “We are fortunate enough to be
JAWBONE BRAND EXPERIENCES
Nespresso’s preferred activation agency and we have already completed some exciting campaigns,” explains Reinertsen. “We bought two old 1970s VWs and converted them into coffee vans and they are currently driving around the country. We have done 67 activations in the past few weeks as they have been launching a new product. They came to us with just these products and we designed a campaign, fabricated the vans, came up with supporting ideas and turned it all around in less than a month. “We like it when we can understand the client’s needs and objectives and find them solutions. While Nespresso was happening, we were also planning more activation campaigns and it’s great to be involved with a brand when we understand their objectives – that makes it a lot easier to quantify results.” This is the perfect example of how Jawbone likes to work – getting involved from inception, coming up with the aligned concepts, helping to drive interaction, and gaining measurable results. “It’s the only way we could operate; it’s how we want to operate. I’d rather have fewer clients and be more involved with our existing clients,” says the CEO.
And the company’s portfolio is continuing to grow, building off a base of some of South Africa’s biggest brands and adding some major global players too. “We partnered with Nespresso, and we were recently appointed the events and activation agency for Lego in Southern Africa, we’re doing more work with Investec, so we do have global brands and it’s so far so good for 2018 potentially partnering with another very brave brand that understands who we are and how we can create memorable activations and events for them to, it is too hot to mention right who this brand is, but we are very excited.” WINNING FORMULA Now, with 10-years’ experience behind it, Jawbone is entering another exciting chapter of its life. uMhlathi will provide a new set of opportunities and will also position the business for a new period of sustained growth. While Reinertsen looks back over the past decade as one of success, he admits that it certainly has not been straight forward. “We have suffered to get here, it hasn’t been smooth sailing, but we have built a dynamic team and a great culture,” he says. “We understand where we are
going as a business; previously we were chasing whatever work we could get but now we are more focussed and refined and we have direction. It’s amazing to see how much more focused the team is now that we have that direction.” With positive feelings now flowing back into the economy, with a business that has a reputation as an industry leader, and with a group of people that are experts in their field, Jawbone’s future is bright and its experiential marketing knowledge can help big-name brands achieve results. “We have hired some new senior managers this year and Mitch and myself are looking to be more on the business rather than in the business. It’s been a good year and we have learnt a lot. We have invested heavily in assets, so it won’t be as profitable as last year, but we are very well-positioned going forward and geared for growth. While others around us are closing their doors, we are showing growth and expanding, and that in itself is a win,” Reinertsen concludes.
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March 2018
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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ABB SA CEO LEON VILJOEN
Technology Focus Powers ABB’s African Growth ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
Jawbone / AutoTrader / Dis-Chem / Attacq
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