Koketso Masisi, Executive Creative Director at Retroviral, spoke to Modern Marketing about her journey into creative leadership, building inclusive teams, creating opportunities for women of colour and why women needed to be brave enough to make themselves visible.
Masisi was appointed as Retroviral’s first Executive Creative Director, a milestone that reflected her progression from a young creative finding her place in advertising to a senior leader overseeing the agency’s creative direction and a portfolio of brands.
Masisi played a key role in developing Retroviral’s creative team as the agency evolved from a social media agency into an integrated agency. Her approach to leadership was centred on empathy, respect, developing individual talent and creating an environment where people could do their best work.
Outside of her agency role, Masisi was also the founder of Ko.Kreate, an initiative focused on creating opportunities and providing support for women of colour in advertising.
For Women’s Month, Modern Marketing spoke to Masisi about her career, leadership, representation, mentorship, creativity and the work still needed to create greater opportunities for women in the industry.
Congratulations on becoming Retroviral’s first Executive Creative Director. What does this milestone mean to you personally?
This milestone is incredibly meaningful because it represents how far I’ve come in finding my place and purpose in this industry.
Sometimes you have to create what you want to be a part of. Over time, I realised that one of my greatest strengths was not just creativity, but leadership: bringing people together, building teams and helping people do their best work. I also made it a priority to understand the craft myself, so that I could lead with credibility and help others grow.
When I joined Retroviral, we were a small social media agency. Together, we’ve evolved into an integrated creative agency by building a team of specialists who are often better than me in their own disciplines.
Becoming Retroviral’s first Executive Creative Director feels especially meaningful because, by the time the opportunity came, I realised I was already doing much of the work. Your opportunity may arrive before you feel ready. That doesn’t mean you’re not ready. The title simply recognised the journey, the trust and the responsibility I had grown into.
What have been the biggest lessons you have learned on your journey to creative leadership?
Meaningful work gives life purpose and connects you to something bigger than yourself. One of my biggest lessons in leadership has been understanding that success does not look the same for everyone. I call it identifying each person’s ‘time in the sun’. For some, it is being on stage or winning awards. For others, it is learning, growing, doing meaningful work or having the flexibility to be present for their family.
It is also about being strategic; sometimes helping people see strengths and opportunities they may not yet see in themselves. Growth is rarely comfortable. Growth and comfort never co-exist. Growth isn’t gentle. It challenges you, stretches you and asks you to become more.
Ultimately, I have learned that the strongest teams are built on trust and support. The culture I want to create is one where, when one person falls, everyone gathers around to help carry what needs to be carried. We do not always get that kind of support in our careers, and I believe it can make all the difference.
Retroviral’s workforce is made up of 78% women, with Black women representing more than half the business. How has diversity influenced the agency’s creativity and culture?
Diversity has had a huge influence on both our creativity and the stories we tell. Our team brings together people from different backgrounds, experiences and walks of life, which gives our work more texture, nuance and authenticity.
You see it in how we tell distinctly South African stories. Because we have different lived experiences in the room, we can create work that feels more human and resonates with the people we are speaking to.
Having a predominantly female workforce also brings valuable perspectives to brands whose audiences are often women and mothers. At the same time, it allows us to challenge categories traditionally seen as male-dominated, such as automotive. With a brand like AutoTrader, for example, we can move beyond simply showcasing the car and instead tell the story of the person behind the wheel.
Ultimately, diversity gives us more perspectives to draw from; and that leads to richer storytelling, stronger cultural insight and more authentic creative work.
You founded Ko.Kreate to create opportunities for women of colour in advertising. What inspired you to start the initiative?
Ko.Kreate was inspired by my own journey in advertising. When I started at AAA, I was the only Black woman in my graduating class of art directors, and when I entered the industry, I found myself in a similar position. The industry was male-dominated, and there were very few Black female leaders I could turn to for mentorship or guidance.
As I grew in my career, I realised that if I was feeling isolated or struggling to navigate certain experiences, I could not be the only one. That is where Ko.Kreate began.
Don’t wait for someone to create the space for you. We wanted to create a space where women of colour could have honest conversations, share their frustrations and ambitions, and feel seen without being judged or labelled. The overwhelming response we received when we started reaching out confirmed how necessary that space was.
Ultimately, Ko.Kreate is about community, connection and action. It is about saying, ‘I see you, I understand your experience, and we can find ways to move forward together’.
What does Ko.Kreate aim to provide beyond creating a support network?
Beyond community and support, Ko.Kreate aims to give women of colour practical tools to step confidently into leadership and executive roles.
One of my biggest focuses is business and financial literacy. You cannot contribute meaningfully in executive spaces if you have never been given access to the knowledge or tools needed to understand the business; whether that is reading a financial report, understanding revenue or making strategic decisions.
I want to help bridge that gap, particularly for creatives who may not have come into the industry with a traditional business background. Whether a woman wants to become an executive, lead a business or eventually build one of her own, Ko.Kreate should help equip her with the skills and confidence to take up space and add real value in those rooms.
Because ultimately, there’s nothing more expensive than a missed opportunity. If we can give women the knowledge, networks and confidence to recognise and act on opportunities when they come, we are helping to change the trajectory of their careers.
Is Ko.Kreate still active?
Ko.Kreate has been on a brief pause this year while my partner, Kgothatso Maditse, has been baking a mini Ko.Kreator. Rather than put unnecessary pressure on ourselves, we wanted to give the initiative the time and space it deserved.
We are now getting ready for our next chapter: a podcast launching at the end of this month, spotlighting women, leaders and young women coming into the industry. We have already had some incredible women say yes, including Thandeka Gilbert, Nwabisa Tolom and Sibuyiselwe Nhlangwini.
We also want to bring industry allies into the conversation; people from agencies and organisations who can help us have more honest conversations about navigating the industry and creating better opportunities for women.
So Ko.Kreate is very much alive. We are simply evolving the platform into its next chapter, with more voices, conversations and action.
Is there someone who has inspired or mentored you, and what did they teach you?
Mike Sharman, industry heavyweight has been an important mentor to me. Through our relationship and the exposure he has given me, I have learned a great deal about leadership, business and the power of visibility.
One of the biggest lessons he taught me is that if you are quiet, people may never know what you are capable of or what change you want to create. PR, storytelling and visibility can be powerful tools for making an impact.
He is also deeply passionate about creativity, which has influenced me. But perhaps most importantly, we have always been able to have honest conversations. We can challenge each other, tell each other when we need to do better, and still maintain mutual respect. That kind of trust is rare, and it has shaped the leader I am today.
What advice would you give to young women who want to build careers in advertising, design or creative communications?
My biggest advice is: actively seek out mentors and sponsors. Find people whose journeys you admire and learn from how they navigate the industry, particularly at leadership level.
Be curious beyond your own department. Immerse yourself in other parts of the business, pay attention, attend events, network and take every opportunity to put yourself in the room. You never know what you might learn or who you might meet.
And most importantly, be brave about being visible. I know it can feel uncomfortable, even a little cringey, to talk about your achievements or share your work, but people cannot support, recommend or open doors for you if they do not know what you are capable of.
And remember: if you weren’t capable, the opportunity would never have come along. You belong.
Work ethic takes no talent. It takes a decision. Show up. Be curious. Do the work. Step up. Take the opportunity. Be brave.
What campaign or piece of work has shaped your thinking?
One campaign that really shaped my thinking was Lil-Lets’ ‘Cyclebreakers’.
The idea was rooted in how period stigma and shame are often passed down from generation to generation. We wanted to ask: how do we break that cycle through honest conversation?
What made the campaign powerful was its authenticity. Instead of the usual sanitised portrayal of periods, we showed what a young girl can actually experience when she gets her first period; the uncertainty, anxiety and vulnerability.
We worked with young girls who were not professional models and brought their real experiences into the work. Their emotions were genuine, which made the storytelling feel honest rather than performed.
That campaign reinforced something I believe strongly in: when you work with clients who genuinely share your values, you can create work that is not only creatively strong, but culturally meaningful.
For me, that is the kind of work worth pursuing. Meaningful work gives life purpose and connects you to something bigger than yourself. It is also a philosophy that sits at the heart of what we are trying to build with Ko.Kreate.
If you could leave women across South Africa with one message this Women’s Month, what would it be?
My message to women this Women’s Month is simple: Leadership should feel safe.
Success should not mean constantly proving yourself, sacrificing your family or feeling like you have to be ‘on’ all the time. It is okay to put down the laptop, go home, laugh, take a holiday and simply enjoy your life.
As women, we put so much pressure on ourselves to achieve the next thing that we often forget to celebrate what we have already accomplished. Pause. Celebrate the small wins. Remind yourself, ‘Girl, you did that’.
And remember, growth isn’t gentle. It challenges you, stretches you and asks you to become more. But growth does not have to mean losing yourself in the process.
Sometimes, the person you are becoming requires you to outgrow the person you thought you had to be. Give yourself permission to do that.
We are doing the most. It is okay to slow down, laugh, enjoy the moment and be proud of how far you have come.
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RETROVIRAL
retroviral.co.za
