Cape Town, South Africa (8 March 2013) — JWT South Africa announced today the hire of Willem van der Merwe, formerly Managing Director at Trigger Isobar, as Managing Partner JWT Cape Town. Van der Merwe, 33, will report to Jim Faulds, COO JWT S.A.
"At JWT we are committed to evolving our agency to remain a relevant and trusted partner to our clients as the world continues to digitise and media fragment" commented Modise Makhene, CEO JWT South Africa. "We are delighted to have Willem on board and I am excited about working with him as we further enhance our digital marketing offering" he concluded.
Widely respected in the industry for his unique blend of strategy and production, creating superb branding experiences, van der Merwe joins JWT from Trigger Isobar, confident that the team there "will continue to grow and achieve great things". Van der Merwe rose rapidly within the firm during his two-year stint with the specialist digital outfit, becoming Managing Director of both the Johannesburg and Cape Town operations in 10 months. Managing brands such as Kellogg, Nike, Nokia, and Red Bull he worked closely with "some of the brightest minds in the global digital landscape".
Prior to Trigger Isobar van der Merwe held the position of Head of Digital Media at Digital Fire, where he was responsible for setting up the social and search divisions within the company. Before Digital Fire, van der Merwe spent four years at Media24 honing his digital marketing skills with the Women 360 division. Van der Merwe is a graduate of Stellenbosch completing his law degree in 2004.
"After a number of years specialising in digital, I am excited to join the JWT Cape Town team" said van der Merwe. "As a result of convergence, clients are looking to their agency partners for a fully integrated approach to communication and business solutions. Specialist digital creative agencies will continue to be relevant for some years to come, but the agency of the future is one that adopts a holistic approach. JWT Cape Town is perfectly positioned to capitalise on opportunities across the full marketing mix, and I look forward to driving a culture of innovation and success alongside the JWT management team" he added.
About JWT
JWT is the world’s best-known marketing communications brand. Headquartered in New York, JWT is a true global network with more than 200 offices in over 90 countries employing nearly 10,000 marketing professionals. JWT consistently ranks among the top agency networks in the world and continues a dominant presence in the industry by staying on the leading edge—from producing the first-ever TV commercial in 1939 to today, developing award-winning branded content. JWT embraces a WORLDMADE philosophy, making things inspired by the world through blending technological innovation with international imagination. JWT has forged deep relationships with clients including Bayer, Bloomberg, Brand USA, Diageo, Ford, HSBC, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg’s, Kraft, Macy’s, Mondelez, Nestlé, Nokia, Rolex, Royal Caribbean, Schick, Shell, Unilever, Vodafone, Vonage and many others. JWT’s parent company is WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY). For more information, please visit www.jwt.com and follow us @JWT_Worldwide.
JWT Middle East and Africa is one of the leading communication agencies in the MEA region with 27 offices in 24 markets. JWT MEA is structured to deliver communication based business solutions across all channels needed to deliver the marketing plan driven by a matrix that combines the strength of its competencies and the know how of its practices. For more information, please visit us www.jwt.com/mea and follow us @jwtmea.
