While the agency is taking a brief look back at its history, via a timeline, and sharing quotes and photos from the archives, the majority of the agency’s 25th anniversary will be squarely focused on the next 25 years.
Boomtown Managing Director, Andrew MacKenzie remarks on the milestone saying: “Boomtown is uniquely positioned as one of the South Africa’s oldest agencies, we have seen how the consumer has evolved, experienced tech change how we communicate and we have helped brands enter the South African market and cross borders to enter new territories. But the future’s exciting and we want to celebrate 25 years with a future-focussed approach. We’ve had an amazing quarter century. But what’s next?”
Our team are the industry’s future leaders, so who better else to ask about the next 25 years? “We invited our employees to make predictions about the future of the industry,” adds MacKenzie. “Our people are our most important asset and we’re invested in them, so we were interested in their opinion.”
Products compete against each other via algorithms to gain traction into the market, and AI w reduces the amount of clutter in the market. But stories haven’t lost their allure and when choices are made by individuals for products of desire it's the story that makes or breaks brands.
- Anthony Heim
Creative
- Hilton Mashonga
Creative director
- Simon Browne
Client services
- Meagan Viljoen
Creative
We don’t learn from the ‘greats of our industry’ for the way forward, we turn to the Gen Z’s and Gen Alphas. The pace at which the world is changing is too rapid to keep looking too far back… instead innovative thinking, agility and most importantly, a growth mindset keeps us relevant.
- Lara-Anne Derbyshire
Strategy
Boomtown was founded in 1994 in the rural Eastern Cape through the sale of two cows to purchase its first computer. The agency and its team have never forgotten its humble beginnings, it keeps us grounded. As a proudly independent agency, we utilise our unique combination of cultural relevance, creativity and commerce to connect with consumers’ hearts and help build iconic South African brands.
Possibility for Boomtown is about 25 years of growth from one small, brave decision to having a significant impact across the continent. It’s about continually asking What’s next? What’s next for you, your brand, your market, your consumer?
Possibility is about adapting to change. About being agile enough to be constantly innovating as markets move and our country transforms.
Boomtown has realised the possibilities for many brands from: