Through trials and triumphs, Executive Director of Incepta Communications, THABO MAJOLA tells of how the company evolved from its formative years with one client to a hybrid institution with with multi specialties and a whole array of clients and rich portfolio. Below he responds to questions from KOOBONYE RAMOKOPELWA
BOTSWANA GUARDIAN: Kindly introduce Incepta Communications to our readers and the general public?
THABO MAJOLA: Incepta Communications is a strategic communications organization that was established in May 2008, making us 15 years old this year. We like to call ourselves, the “home of experts” and we specialize in brand communication & research, public relations, strategy, crisis communications & reputation management as well as experiential events. We are a purpose-driven agency, and over and above making money, our purpose is to “use ideas and creativity to positively impact lives”.
Our belief is that those clients with clear, authentic purpose, and performance strategies aligned to business objectives are most likely to succeed. At our core we provide strategic advice to help drive business growth and the reputation of our clients. Our success lies in our ability to join the right dots. Connecting the strategy to the business goal and creating a clear picture of a way forward while navigating through the constant change is what we are best at.
GUARDIAN: How has the past 15 years of Incepta’s existence been? MAJOLA: It has been an insightful and exciting journey of growth and delivering impactful client experiences. We started off as a one-client agency, and a team of 4 at the time where we had one retainer client who was paying all our expenses and sustaining the business. I must admit that those were the most uncertain times as we were driven by passion and our understanding of the market, but Incepta was a new market entrant in a highly competitive landscape.
We were forced to work very hard to establish the brand and the company. Over time, we managed to secure more clients- ad hoc, some substantial projects while solving complex brand assignments. As Incepta, we have had to reinvent ourselves over the years due to the significant technological advancements, changes in the collective consciousness of our society, and alternative ways to do business, which fortunately led to a higher demand of our services.
The explosion of Social Media is one of the disruptors that I have to mention. Not only did social networks change the way we engage with our societies and the world around us, but they also changed the way businesses operated. From the moderate news cycles to the massive increase of unreliable news sources, or “fake news,” businesses were forced to become much more mindful of their brand and public persona and we have been there to lead the conversations.
As digital marketing became more complex, businesses realized they were missing out on opportunities by not marketing properly. Incepta has been fortunate enough to have seized the opportunity by developing digital marketing services that supplemented our clients Marketing and PR efforts. It has become common place over the last decade for PR firms to track the results of their campaigns. At Incepta, we are happy about what we have achieved but we believe there is still a lot of great work and assignments ahead of us. We remain excited about the future.
GUARDIAN: What have been some of the major challenges? MAJOLA: The long and short of it is that every business journey is not always smooth sailing, but the greater feeling during the journey is rising to the challenges and ultimately overcoming them. As a start up, the biggest challenge was to get to a point of sustainability. We had to be very innovative in our initial stages to try and get the revenue to a level where the company could operate sustainably, and I must thank the team who were flying the flag at the time as we reached that point way ahead of schedule. Once the company was stable, one of the other obstacles we had to overcome was managing growth.
It sounds simple but we needed to develop systems and processes to ensure that as we grew at a fast pace, the client service and quality of work did not drop. That was important to us as Superior Client Services was one of the anchors that we differentiated ourselves from our competitors. There was a lot of trial and error involved but in the end we managed to create high level standards that we still pride ourselves with. I guess it would be remiss of me not to mention COVID-19, we were in the boat along with other businesses but thanks to Government’s response, we were able, to not only survive but to become a hybrid agency. Meaning, we are now able to work and service our clients consistently without being in our offices.
GUARDIAN: What has been the success stories so far for the company?
MAJOLA: We have worked on a variety of clients in almost every sector- Government, parastatals, mining, FMCG, banking & financial institutions, gaming and gambling, telecommunications, energy, health & medical aid, hotel & tourism to name a few. Within these industries, we have celebrated wins in the following disciplines - rebranding, public relations, CSR, research and social behavioral change & advocacy.
At the last industry awards in 2016, we scooped two silver accolades at the Segai Awards in the Public Relations & Live Events categories. We have successfully rebranded companies and organizations such as SPEDU, BUAN, Pulamed to mention but a few. With all the tangible work that we have done, the biggest success for us has been the people development aspect. At the heart of our business, we believe in empowering and training our team members.
This has resulted in us producing many strong leaders who are still working for Incepta and others who have left Incepta and are conquering the industries that they are focusing in. In our view this is great for our Nation.
GUARDIAN: How has Incepta managed to transit over the years, especially since more and more companies are now digitally transforming?
THABO MAJOLA: Incepta Communications is a strategic communications organization that was established in May 2008, making us 15 years old this year. We like to call ourselves, the “home of experts” and we specialize in brand communication & research, public relations, strategy, crisis communications & reputation management as well as experiential events. We are a purpose-driven agency, and over and above making money, our purpose is to “use ideas and creativity to positively impact lives”.
Our belief is that those clients with clear, authentic purpose, and performance strategies aligned to business objectives are most likely to succeed. At our core we provide strategic advice to help drive business growth and the reputation of our clients. Our success lies in our ability to join the right dots. Connecting the strategy to the business goal and creating a clear picture of a way forward while navigating through the constant change is what we are best at.
GUARDIAN: How has the past 15 years of Incepta’s existence been? MAJOLA: It has been an insightful and exciting journey of growth and delivering impactful client experiences. We started off as a one-client agency, and a team of 4 at the time where we had one retainer client who was paying all our expenses and sustaining the business. I must admit that those were the most uncertain times as we were driven by passion and our understanding of the market, but Incepta was a new market entrant in a highly competitive landscape.
We were forced to work very hard to establish the brand and the company. Over time, we managed to secure more clients- ad hoc, some substantial projects while solving complex brand assignments. As Incepta, we have had to reinvent ourselves over the years due to the significant technological advancements, changes in the collective consciousness of our society, and alternative ways to do business, which fortunately led to a higher demand of our services.
The explosion of Social Media is one of the disruptors that I have to mention. Not only did social networks change the way we engage with our societies and the world around us, but they also changed the way businesses operated. From the moderate news cycles to the massive increase of unreliable news sources, or “fake news,” businesses were forced to become much more mindful of their brand and public persona and we have been there to lead the conversations.
As digital marketing became more complex, businesses realized they were missing out on opportunities by not marketing properly. Incepta has been fortunate enough to have seized the opportunity by developing digital marketing services that supplemented our clients Marketing and PR efforts. It has become common place over the last decade for PR firms to track the results of their campaigns. At Incepta, we are happy about what we have achieved but we believe there is still a lot of great work and assignments ahead of us. We remain excited about the future.
GUARDIAN: What have been some of the major challenges? MAJOLA: The long and short of it is that every business journey is not always smooth sailing, but the greater feeling during the journey is rising to the challenges and ultimately overcoming them. As a start up, the biggest challenge was to get to a point of sustainability. We had to be very innovative in our initial stages to try and get the revenue to a level where the company could operate sustainably, and I must thank the team who were flying the flag at the time as we reached that point way ahead of schedule. Once the company was stable, one of the other obstacles we had to overcome was managing growth.
It sounds simple but we needed to develop systems and processes to ensure that as we grew at a fast pace, the client service and quality of work did not drop. That was important to us as Superior Client Services was one of the anchors that we differentiated ourselves from our competitors. There was a lot of trial and error involved but in the end we managed to create high level standards that we still pride ourselves with. I guess it would be remiss of me not to mention COVID-19, we were in the boat along with other businesses but thanks to Government’s response, we were able, to not only survive but to become a hybrid agency. Meaning, we are now able to work and service our clients consistently without being in our offices.
GUARDIAN: What has been the success stories so far for the company?
MAJOLA: We have worked on a variety of clients in almost every sector- Government, parastatals, mining, FMCG, banking & financial institutions, gaming and gambling, telecommunications, energy, health & medical aid, hotel & tourism to name a few. Within these industries, we have celebrated wins in the following disciplines - rebranding, public relations, CSR, research and social behavioral change & advocacy.
At the last industry awards in 2016, we scooped two silver accolades at the Segai Awards in the Public Relations & Live Events categories. We have successfully rebranded companies and organizations such as SPEDU, BUAN, Pulamed to mention but a few. With all the tangible work that we have done, the biggest success for us has been the people development aspect. At the heart of our business, we believe in empowering and training our team members.
This has resulted in us producing many strong leaders who are still working for Incepta and others who have left Incepta and are conquering the industries that they are focusing in. In our view this is great for our Nation.
GUARDIAN: How has Incepta managed to transit over the years, especially since more and more companies are now digitally transforming?
MAJOLA: When the Agency started we provided Advertising, PR, Events and Digital as a support service. But as the world started transforming to becoming more digitally led, we then invested in having a dedicated a fully-fledged Digital team to solve our client challenges.
GUARDIAN: Government, parastatals & private companies spent on marketing, public relations and communications activities has drastically been cut. How has Incepta managed to cope with this reality?
MAJOLA: We live in a world where its ‘adapt or die’; you either adapt your business model to where the world is moving or you die a slow death. As a business it’s forced us to be agile in providing client solutions and innovative in our product offerings. It’s no longer enough to sit back and plan for the next 5 years, we constantly need to keep checking that we are relevant and bring the best specialisms from the industry to create agile communication solutions for our clients.
GUARDIAN: How is competition given fact that advertising and PR agencies are mushrooming all over?
MAJOLA: If there’s one thing we learnt from the pandemic 3 years ago is that brands need to communicate and during uncertainty brands need to communicate even more. That also must have been what everyone else realized and has led to the many new entrants in the market but we will always embrace competition and take on the challenge. As content and storytelling continue to evolve, there is an increasing need for effective, compelling, and authentic communications that build relationships in today’s complex and ever-changing situations. This is truly an exciting time for us as marketers, and I am looking forward to partner with our clients to drive marketing outcomes that are aligned to their business goals.
GUARDIAN: What is Incepta’s competitive edge?
MAJOLA: We have a strong team. Collectively we have a qualified, competent and very experienced team that has over 50 years of combined brand communication experience and through the TBWA partnership, the total exceeds this.
GUARDIAN: As a corporate body, how have you contributed to communities you operate in?
MAJOLA: You’ll be happy to know that in addition to developing CSR frameworks for clients, we also help them align their CSR activities with their business objectives and purpose. Part of being purpose-led includes being intentional and aligning every activity to your why.
As Incepta Communications, we embark and impact different societies across Botswana. Over the years, we have worked with AAP Home-based and family care to donate clothing and build toilets at a primary school in Mmaothate, as well as the Botswana Gender Based Violence Centre (BGBVC), which is a shelter that looks after GBV victims. We produced a documentary called “Restoration of Hope” that was premiered and aired on BTV and we also donated food and perishables to the shelter, as part of giving back as a responsible corporate citizen.
GUARDIAN: How is the company’s working relations with the media?
MAJOLA: Due to the nature of the type of work we do for our clients, we actually consider media as part of our core business structure. We regularly engage and deal with the media, and even have a signed MoU with the Botswana Media and Allied Worker’s Union, our PR Director also sits in the BOMAWU committee as Secretary for the Union’s PR and Publicity.
Just this past weekend, we also sponsored the Botswana Editor’s Forum (BEF) dinner, which formed part celebrations commemorating World Press Freedom Day. In a nutshell, we are one with media. However, improvement and growth is always continuous and we remain alive to feedback and conversations on how these relations can be made better.
GUARDIAN: What other strategic relationship(s) does Incepta has?
MAJOLA: Incepta is a part of the TBWA network. This is a global affiliation which allows us to co-create work with partners across the globe, benchmark international best practices for the industry, access to the latest courses/ material and evoke new conversations and areas for growth for our clients.
GUARDIAN: What does the next 15 years holds for the company?
MAJOLA: It’s a lifetime of opportunity in our opportune areas for growth. The way I see it, we have a blank canvas to paint the picture of the next 15 years now. We are ready to renew the Incepta corporate brand to create more value for our clients, employees, partners, and communities. If we are intentional, deliberate and purposeful in our actions today, I believe we will accelerate the company's growth in Botswana and beyond.
GUARDIAN: Government, parastatals & private companies spent on marketing, public relations and communications activities has drastically been cut. How has Incepta managed to cope with this reality?
MAJOLA: We live in a world where its ‘adapt or die’; you either adapt your business model to where the world is moving or you die a slow death. As a business it’s forced us to be agile in providing client solutions and innovative in our product offerings. It’s no longer enough to sit back and plan for the next 5 years, we constantly need to keep checking that we are relevant and bring the best specialisms from the industry to create agile communication solutions for our clients.
GUARDIAN: How is competition given fact that advertising and PR agencies are mushrooming all over?
MAJOLA: If there’s one thing we learnt from the pandemic 3 years ago is that brands need to communicate and during uncertainty brands need to communicate even more. That also must have been what everyone else realized and has led to the many new entrants in the market but we will always embrace competition and take on the challenge. As content and storytelling continue to evolve, there is an increasing need for effective, compelling, and authentic communications that build relationships in today’s complex and ever-changing situations. This is truly an exciting time for us as marketers, and I am looking forward to partner with our clients to drive marketing outcomes that are aligned to their business goals.
GUARDIAN: What is Incepta’s competitive edge?
MAJOLA: We have a strong team. Collectively we have a qualified, competent and very experienced team that has over 50 years of combined brand communication experience and through the TBWA partnership, the total exceeds this.
GUARDIAN: As a corporate body, how have you contributed to communities you operate in?
MAJOLA: You’ll be happy to know that in addition to developing CSR frameworks for clients, we also help them align their CSR activities with their business objectives and purpose. Part of being purpose-led includes being intentional and aligning every activity to your why.
As Incepta Communications, we embark and impact different societies across Botswana. Over the years, we have worked with AAP Home-based and family care to donate clothing and build toilets at a primary school in Mmaothate, as well as the Botswana Gender Based Violence Centre (BGBVC), which is a shelter that looks after GBV victims. We produced a documentary called “Restoration of Hope” that was premiered and aired on BTV and we also donated food and perishables to the shelter, as part of giving back as a responsible corporate citizen.
GUARDIAN: How is the company’s working relations with the media?
MAJOLA: Due to the nature of the type of work we do for our clients, we actually consider media as part of our core business structure. We regularly engage and deal with the media, and even have a signed MoU with the Botswana Media and Allied Worker’s Union, our PR Director also sits in the BOMAWU committee as Secretary for the Union’s PR and Publicity.
Just this past weekend, we also sponsored the Botswana Editor’s Forum (BEF) dinner, which formed part celebrations commemorating World Press Freedom Day. In a nutshell, we are one with media. However, improvement and growth is always continuous and we remain alive to feedback and conversations on how these relations can be made better.
GUARDIAN: What other strategic relationship(s) does Incepta has?
MAJOLA: Incepta is a part of the TBWA network. This is a global affiliation which allows us to co-create work with partners across the globe, benchmark international best practices for the industry, access to the latest courses/ material and evoke new conversations and areas for growth for our clients.
GUARDIAN: What does the next 15 years holds for the company?
MAJOLA: It’s a lifetime of opportunity in our opportune areas for growth. The way I see it, we have a blank canvas to paint the picture of the next 15 years now. We are ready to renew the Incepta corporate brand to create more value for our clients, employees, partners, and communities. If we are intentional, deliberate and purposeful in our actions today, I believe we will accelerate the company's growth in Botswana and beyond.
