FCB Africa has rebranded to Nahana Communications Group. It is headed by Group CEO, Brett Morris, and brings together digital specialist Hellocomputer; media agencies The MediaShop and Meta Media; content creator Fuelcontent; public relations consultancy Weber Shandwick and full-service agencies McCann1886, HelloFCB+ and FCB Joburg as well as a socio-economic development arm: Nahana Foundation.
‘Nahana’ means to ‘think’ or ‘imagine’ in Sesotho and conveys the rationale for the Group’s composition, said Morris. ‘As a group, we believe that – using the power of creative thinking and imagination – we are able to help people and clients achieve extraordinary things and more than they ever thought possible.’
‘Sometimes ‘nahana’ is used to express a sense of disbelief, as if to say ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’ or ironically saying ‘can you imagine that?’ We like that. Because there will always be people who doubt the power of creative thinking and we love proving them wrong.’
Morris said Nahana comprises numerous specialist agencies with their own independent structures, cultures and management teams, and a desire to work together where synergy exists.
Each of these agencies is driven to help the modern marketer navigate today’s overwhelming choice of marketing and technology opportunities, he said. By bringing together specialists who develop creative solutions to business problems and seamlessly integrating these across channels and platforms, Nahana helps them navigate this complexity.
‘We’ve been managing complex integration for many of South Africa’s favourite brands for decades. We’ve evolved and refined this approach to one that embraces Open Architecture. We say we work with data in our spine, insight in our heart and creativity in our blood,’ he said.
‘Our mission is to engage clients early, intelligently and collaboratively, to tackle the business problem, not just the creative task. The aim, very simply, is to connect and integrate the best resources for a client regardless of where those resources reside within Nahana.’
Morris added that the Group had a strong transformation ambition at its core spanning leadership, including inclusivity and belonging. ‘Our ambition is to become a model for transformation by using all our resources and creativity to help build a sustainable economy for all South Africans. By being representative of the demographics of the country and creating an environment that is intentionally and deliberately inclusive, every single one of us will be able to meaningfully and authentically contribute to work that truly resonates with all South Africans,’ he said.
