Andy Dippenaar.
Working with CMO’s and marketing teams to build brands creatively.
Well, hello. I’m a Zimbabwean-born creative director and brand consultant, cultivated in South Africa and now based in the UK.
Schooled in three of South Africa’s biggest global agencies (Ogilvy, TBWA/ and FCB) I co-founded an independent creative studio (Pump Brand Ideas) which is now in its 26th successful year.
I’ve worked on the world’s best known brands, on feisty challenger brands and have helped maverick start-up brands get going.
I’ve contributed to work that’s had success on the international awards stage and that’s also shown its value at the cash register.
I’ve learnt that intelligent, strategically driven creativity creates enduring connections, makes budgets work harder and helps brands earn the love they deserve.
I’m on a mission to prove the power of creativity in business. For brands with an insatiable appetite for growth, it is an indispensable tool.
WHAT I DO:
Brand strategy. Creative platforms. Advertising concepts. Creative direction.
I’m an explorer on a journey to help brands find their place in the world.
I partner with business leaders, marketing teams and the specialists they have supporting them.
Together, we hunt for strategic advantage. It’s the only thing that leads to relevant, distinctive and enduring ideas. These are the kind that drive change.
I build powerful creative platforms; the crucial bridge between strategy and execution.
I conceive, write and guide integrated advertising campaigns and work across all platforms and disciplines.
It’s all about discovering and delivering the big ideas that will make the future a wonderful place to be.
The power of strategy.
I think of creativity as the sharp end of the arrow.
It’s the bit that sticks.
But an arrow only gets where it’s going if it’s straight and balanced.
That’s strategy. If the strategy is not singular, incisive and clear, the work won’t be either.
That’s why I always begin with understanding the business (and the people who drive it), the market, the landscape, the context, the challenges and the goals. If you don’t begin here, you won’t know where to go. So you can’t know how to get there.
The best work begins with this logic.
Without it, there’s no magic.
Let’s get things done.
It’s exciting having ideas. Like it’s exciting having soapy water and a little stick with a round thing on the end.
But they’re pretty useless if you don’t know what to do next. You need to know how to turn soapy water into spellbinding bubbles.
Part of my usefulness as a creative director is not just having and recognising good ideas, but also knowing how to get them made.
It’s about discovering the best talent, finding the right resources, solving practical problems and then simply leading everyone to do their best.
“Big ideas are usually simple ideas.”
David Ogilvy