Ogilvy Africa Network launches Ogilvy One in SSA with Jason Smit as managing partner

The Ogilvy Africa Network has launched Ogilvy One in SSA with the leadership tema of (Left to right:) Kavata Wafula - head of paid media, Jason Smit - managing partner, Adderley Williams - head of digital content and Vimal Kaul - chief technology officer (Image supplied)

With over 15 years of experience in digital marketing, AI, and MarTech, Smit has a proven track record of delivering innovative, data-driven solutions for leading brands.

Joining Smit on the leadership team is Kavata Wafula, head of paid media; and Adderley Williams, head of digital content.

The technology practice for Ogilvy One would be led by the Ogilvy Africa Network’s chief technology officer, Vimal Kaul.

"I'm thrilled to join the Ogilvy Africa Network on this journey," says Smit. "The potential for digital and AI to empower businesses of all sizes is immense."

New opportunities for brands

Announcing the leadership team, Vikas Mehta, regional CEO of sub-Saharan Africa, Ogilvy, says, "Vimal, Kavata and Adderley have made significant contributions to Ogilvy’s success over the years and we are delighted to welcome Jason to the Ogilvy family. With his addition, Ogilvy One can boast an enviable all-star lineup, right from the start."

Commenting on the launch of Ogilvy One, Mehta, says "We are delighted to bring Ogilvy One to a region that boasts of one of the youngest audiences in the world."

He says this expertise further enhances Ogilvy Africa Network’s ability to partner with clients to innovate at the intersections of content, data and technology.

"Powered by creativity and enabled by a suite of MarTech products custom-built for Africa, Ogilvy One opens new opportunities for brands to sandbox and scale innovative experiences across the user journey."

The launch of Ogilvy One in SSA is a significant step in the agency's commitment to enhancing customer experience.

Led by content, powered by data, and supercharged by technology, the Ogilvy Africa Network is shaping the future of customer engagement by designing relationships that drive lasting business, brand, and customer value.

Ogilvy One offers end-to-end services, including a suite of MarTech products to transform the customer journey.

This offering is underpinned by a newly unified global technology backbone powered by Verticurl, the global Ogilvy network's leading marketing technology agency.

Service offerings

Ogilvy One integrates specialist digital service offerings including:

• Digital Creative: A creative approach that designs impactful digital content to captivate audiences, elevate brand storytelling, and foster lasting emotional connections.

• Digital Media: A strategic framework for leveraging online platforms to maximize brand visibility, drive targeted engagement, and enhance customer acquisition.

• Applied Marketing Science: Leveraging advanced statistical methodologies and AI to uncover unique insights from unconventional data sources, inspiring creativity and driving bold, strategic decisions.

• Experience Design: A customer-centric approach that crafts intuitive and engaging experiences across all touchpoints, ensuring seamless interactions and building brand loyalty.

• Artificial Intelligence (AI): Harnessing the power of AI to revolutionise marketing strategies, enabling brands to deliver personalized experiences, predict customer behaviour, and drive measurable impact with precision and scale.

• Tech Services: Providing cutting-edge technology solutions that streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and empower brands to adapt and innovate through seamless platform integrations and scalable systems.

MarTech products

Complimenting the services is a robust suite of MarTech products, such as:

• Feed 2.0: A real-time social intelligence platform that helps brands create and distribute agile, data-informed social content to drive impact for KPIs.

• InfluenceO: An influencer marketing platform that connects brands with relevant influencers, optimizing campaign management and performance measurement.

• OBrio: A media intelligence platform that consolidates multi-channel data into a customizable dashboard for real-time analytics and unified ROI tracking.

• Optimus: A marketing automation platform that streamlines lead generation, nurturing, and conversion through task automation and actionable insights.

The convergence of content, data, and technology is reshaping brand-consumer interactions.

Ogilvy One goes beyond optimising campaigns; and puts creativity at the centre, to design more meaningful customer relationships for creating long-term value.

Globally, Ogilvy One works with a broad range of B2C and B2B clients, including some of the world’s most iconic brands such as IBM, Mondelēz, Nestlé, Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company, Verizon, and Enterprise as well as several regional and local clients.

Ogilvy One has approximately 100 specialists in sub-Saharan Africa and 3,800 specialists in the global network spanning strategy, creative and design, UX/UI, data, media and performance, platform integration, creative technology, innovation, and AI, among other areas.