Senior thinking.
Sharp turnaround.
Zero fluff.

A senior creative & strategy partner, curious about your business…

I start by asking good questions, to deliver work that works. I bring through-the-line commercial and creative synergy - from concept through to execution. When needed, I assemble trusted specialists to deliver with speed and accountability.

A snapshot of work

Game of Thrones: ‘Join the Night’s Watch’

Season 8 was coming, and we had to get people to binge all 7 previous seasons before it landed. We drove a 281% increase in episode views, and elevated the Showmax app to trend at #1, surpassing targets and winning multiple awards.

Investec: ‘More than data’

Investec is a highly personalised private bank, and we needed to bring this truth to life. Our commercial won Silver and Bronze Bookmark awards.

Sport has a new player

The launch of Showmax Pro in SA, Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria.

We brought the legend Ali alive. Awards: Promax Africa Grand Prix, Ciclope Gold, Loerie craft.

Work With Me

Tali’s Joburg Diary: TikTok

Tali had moved to Joburg, and we needed to market her new season. The campaign had 32.5 million impressions, a CPI 54% higher than target, and won Promax Gold: Best TikTok campaign.

TikTok campaign case study video.

Words from clients & colleagues

“Under Philippa’s guidance, our creative projects were not only groundbreaking but also directly contributed to tangible business successes. She is a strategic thinker with a profound understanding of business dynamics.”

- Karabo Makenna: Creative Director Showmax

“Philippa is by a rather wide margin one of the most strategic creative directors I have ever worked with. Philippa is masterful in her craft, strategic in her approach and obsessive about work that delivers against business objectives.”

-Nicola Van Ast: Founder & CMO Growthink

“I appreciate Philippa’s ability to zoom out and see the full picture — how each campaign or piece of content fits into a broader narrative — while also diving into the weeds to guarantee we delivered excellence.”

- Kourtney Simons: CMO Yoco Technologies

Where I add the most value

I work best as senior capacity you can plug in fast — as an extension of your in-house team, a lead on launches and brand moments, or a partner to agencies that need sharp craft, writing or concepting without adding headcount. When a project needs more firepower, I assemble and lead trusted teams, and use AI to move quicker from insight to strong first drafts and polished work.

The reimagined Yoco App

Fintech company Yoco reimagined their app, and needed to encourage merchants to upgrade to the new version through a CRM campaign.

Yoco Counter

Introducing a sleek new counter-top point of sale, Yoco Counter.

Coca-Cola, Drive Alive & Nestle

Drive Alive TVC. This is one of four commercials that won a One Show Merit, 4 Gold Vukas, and a campaign Silver Loerie.

Coke social campaign to reward and share happiness. The campaign broke all previous campaigns’ engagement records, and won a Gold Assegai and a Gold Sigi.

Nestle Maggi Senses web series about a Wok that’s lost its purpose. It drove major brand love, and won a Bronze Assegai.

You can run, but you can’t hide…

A chilling integrated campaign for a horror series. Awarded Promax integrated Grand Prix.

St Agnes: where the only saint is in the name.

The murder mystery ‘The Girl from St Agnes’ required a campaign as mysterious as its plot. We propelled the show to break viewership records, and won multiple awards.

‘No one tells a story like a local’

The Handmaid’s Tale

South Africa’s domestic violence statistics are some of the highest in the world. We repurposed the Season 3 trailers of Hulu’s Handmaid’s Tale to bring awareness to the state of women abuse in South Africa and provide an outlet for help. The work won a bronze Promax.

Some see conspiracy everywhere

To market the UFO series Project Blue Book, we created lo-fi stock footage YouTube pre-rolls that tactically alluded to conspiracy theories in a sequential targeting campaign. The strategy resulted in an 11.5% view-through rate increase. We also won a Bronze Loerie.

Here comes the pride

The Original reality series Somizi & Mohale: The Union documents the famous couple’s wedding journey. It was a landmark event in the LGBTQ+ community, and our campaign drove record-breaking viewership, a #1 organic Twitter trend and a 38% increase in Showmax’ Instagram following. We won 2 Promax Golds in Integrated and Social.

Our social media campaign drove the show to trend at #1 on Twitter, and increased Showmax’ Instagram following by 38%.

We edited footage from the reality series to provide a glimpse into Somizi and Mohale’s beautiful union.

Our Audi Xenon Plus print won a bronze campaign Loerie, and my Hotel De Ville copy was nominated for Loerie craft writing.

Print & copywriting craft

The Wife Original Series

Succeeded subscription targets by 222%. Trended on Twitter every week for 14 weeks. The most-watched show on Showmax of all time. Here is the integrated campaign overview, and count down videos.