Sometimes you win. Other times, you win an award for the first time on an entire continent.
We created the winning campaign for Rocket Learning, an NGO working to improve children's education. The aim was to encourage parents who didn't feel equipped to teach their children to get more involved in their learning at home.
Why? Because research shows that parental involvement in children's education can improve their chances of succeeding in life.
Our idea? Show parents that they already had everything they needed to help their children learn. They just needed to see things differently.
When I say this moment changed my life, I really mean it. Following the win, I was paraded across South Africa to speak about the work. It even led to me being headhunted to Dubai, where I built my career at some of the biggest agencies.
But can I be honest? Somewhere along the way, I realized how much I missed creating work that mattered to everyday people. That's what made being part of something like Rocket Learning so meaningful to me. Connecting services with the people who need them.
I'm the kind of person who will use the product, get out on the street and ask people what they think, and gather real, on-the-ground insights before diving into the creative work.
Why? Because I still believe that's where the best campaigns come from: understanding the people behind them.
I also won the South African leg of the Cannes Young Lions competition twice.
(Thank you, COVID-19, for cancelling the entire international competition that first year. The original win became void, but at least it gave me a reason to try again. If you ever needed proof that I don't quit, here it is.)