Vanessa recently joined MANGO-OMC and is working with Catherine on getclosure! Her energy, enthusiasm and experience make her a pleasure to work with and she has already made a significant contribution to the team.
1. What attracted you to MANGO-OMC?
From the word go it was the positive energy and focus on producing really amazing work that attracted me to the team. I had heard great things about the results they were getting, and this was proven true when I first met Catherine and Nicole. Also there is a great cultural fit – I love the fact that the agency only takes on clients that make a positive contribution to South Africa and the world we live in.
2. Are you enjoying working with the MANGO-OMC team?
Absolutely. It’s fun, hard, rewarding work in an amazing team with great clients. There is also so much scope to get involved – if you have a good idea you get to run with it and see it implemented.
3. What other projects are you working on at the moment?
I work with another of MANGO-OMC’s clients, Shake Interactive. They are doing great things in the area of digital and mobile marketing and really putting South Africa on the map as a place to get cutting-edge integrated marketing campaigns created.
Other than that, I am working with a tech PR company from San Francisco to set up an outsourced-style admin office in Cape Town to support their client-facing teams in the US and UK. I also do some copy-writing and content creation, and have started advising a premier South African property company on their branding and comms strategy. There is a lot going on in Cape Town at the moment!
4. How long have you been working with getclosure! and what role do you play?
I started working with getclosure! in May 2008 and take care of implementing most of the PR work for the company in order to raise brand awareness and also educate consumers on what their rights are. It’s a great story to tell which definitely helps get good results. I now also know more about the Consumer Protection Bill than I ever imagined possible 
On the flipside it’s also about telling suppliers why they should embrace feedback from their customers and how it is key to building their business. Thanks to the internet and other new ways of communicating, word of mouth is stronger than ever before. Companies can’t bury their heads in the sand anymore and should be looking at this as a fantastic opportunity to build brand loyalty and rectifiy any mistakes that inevitably do happen.
5. What are the five things that you enjoy most about getclosure!?
- Its obssession with improving customer service for the good of South Africa in general.
- The inclusive culture at getclosure! that means that as a service provider you get treated as part of the company – which definitely makes my job easier and more fun, and helps me get better results.
- It’s simply a great South African success story to tell – it’s win-win all round for customers, suppliers and the general public. It’s not all about complaining either – plenty of getclosure! customer use the site to post compliments about great customer service.
- getclosure! uses technology and social media techniques as a means to an end, and where they make sense, rather than simply for their own sake.
- And I think everyone who has been interviewed so far has said this – but it’s true. Definitely working as part of such a dynamic team that has achieved so much in such a short time.
6. What has been the highlight of your working life so far?
Two things: moving back to Cape Town almost four years ago after working in London for the bulk of my career, and being able to play a positive role in our vibrant country. And making the break from the corporate world a few months ago to be my own boss. Cape Town is the perfect place to do this, I’m working with amazing people and enjoying every minute.
7. What do you do when you aren’t working?
One of my intentions when I came back to South Africa was to enjoy this unique lifestyle we are so fortunate to have – and frankly I don’t think exists anywhere else in the world. So, to that end, I am a newbie wine writer, learning about wine, wine making and the SA wine industry. It’s great fun getting to ask stupid questions on behalf of the wine drinking public, and tasting some of the amazing wine South Africa produces. Have a read on WineCountry.
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