Marketer Spotlight: Behind the Craft with Grant MacPherson

‘He’s a leader who understands and appreciates the value of creativity and its ability to move people.’

– Pete Case, Ogilvy South Africa Creative Chairman & CEO
 

‘It’s a real art that takes painstaking craft to position the brand as a local fav. Grant takes real pride in this, and he is hands-on in the process...’

– Kabelo Moshapalo, Ogilvy South Africa Group CCO
 

Q:  Can you tell us a bit about your journey in the industry and what led you to your current role as CMO at KFC South Africa?

Grant: First of all, thank you so much for the opportunity. I’ve been a fan of your platform for several years now, and really admire the work you do to showcase South African creativity – both across the country and globally. So, thank you, and long may that continue.

To answer the question – my career in marketing really took off in my final year of studying, during my postgrad honours at Vega. That’s where I discovered my passion for both the commercial and creative sides of marketing – something not many careers offer in equal measure.

After Vega, I had my heart set on joining a classic FMCG company. So I figured the best way in was to do my dissertation on a well-known bread brand, to try get a foot in the door. Turns out you actually have to apply for the job… which I hadn’t, so I had to rethink things quickly. I ended up taking a role at a Premium spirits company – which at that age felt like the dream – but after just two weeks, I got another shot at FMCG when a recruiter from Reckitt Benckiser called me. 

So I did what any 22 year old would do, I traded booze for bar soaps and detergents and it turned out to be a great decision. Reckitt gave me an incredible grounding in classical marketing and the commercial side of business. After a few years, I got the chance to move to London, experiencing all the nuances of a new market, consumers and retail industry. Reckitt afforded me the opportunity to work across several leading brands such as Dettol, Vanish, Clearasil and Finish. I am incredibly grateful for the ground it gave me so early in my career as well as the amazing leaders I got to work with. 

Then in 2013 I got a call from KFC UK via LinkedIn. Honestly, it was completely out of the blue and I wasn’t sure what to make of it but I distinctly remember thinking – after just one call – that I really wanted the job. I was fortunate enough to be selected as Marketing Manager and that’s where my KFC journey began.

Fast forward 12 years, I’ve worked across three markets including the UK, parts of Europe (based out of the Netherlands), and now South Africa. Coming home was always part of the plan for my wife and me – we’re incredibly passionate about this country and its people. So about seven years ago, we moved back, and I’ve been fortunate to work on this amazing brand across Africa ever since.

I started as Marketing Director here, and held a few different roles before stepping into my current position as Chief Marketing and Digital Officer for KFC Africa. It’s been a remarkable journey – with amazing results, award-winning work, and a brand that continues to grow. But what really keeps me here is the people, our culture and this amazing brand. We have exceptional people working across the business – passionate, creative, and talented. I also consider myself fortunate to work on a brand that is loved by so many. Whether it’s our famous Streetwise 2 or the amazing work Add Hope does in our communities, KFC has a significant impact in our society and it’s a privilege to be part of it.

Q: You’ve helped shape a brand that moves effortlessly between emotional storytelling (Add Hope: Indlala) and absurdist humour (Clever Box, Bottomless Bucket). How do you balance such range while keeping the KFC voice consistent?

Q: ‘Beyond the Sea’ and ‘Dangerously Distracting’ are visually slick, cinematic pieces. What role does film craft play when you’re evaluating scripts or ideas?

Q: There’s clearly an appetite at KFC for unexpected creative work. How do you create a culture that supports risk-taking?

Grant: I really believe that when it comes to human emotion, the worst response you can receive is indifference. People can love you or even loathe you – at least that means you’ve made them feel something. But if the reaction is just meh, there’s nothing to build from. No connection, no conversation – just apathy. And that’s the real danger for any brand.

So for us, embracing risk is non-negotiable. We actively try to avoid creating wallpaper – work that could belong to any brand, or worse, that’s forgotten five minutes after someone sees it. That’s not just a missed opportunity, it’s an expensive mistake.

To avoid that, we’ve worked hard to build a culture that rewards bold thinking. We celebrate the wins, but we also celebrate the lessons from the failures. Because if you’re not taking risks, you’re not pushing the brand forward. You’re not pushing your agency or your team. And over time, that leads to creative stagnation – and ultimately, declining relevance.

At KFC, we know that relevance today requires bravery. That’s why we back ideas that challenge the norm, as long as they stay true to who we are. That belief is deeply embedded into our culture, and it’s a big reason why we’ve been able to produce work that’s both creatively distinctive and commercially effective.

Q: You’ve worked with a range of top production companies and directors. How do those collaborations elevate the work?

Grant: I’d say, first off, we’re incredibly lucky in South Africa to have such brilliant creative talent – across agencies, production houses, and directors. The level of craft and thinking in this market is world-class.

For me, the foundation of any great collaboration is trust. Everyone – whether it’s the agency, the production team, or the brand – needs to respect each other’s role and expertise but also believe in the power of collaboration. It’s not about handing over a script and stepping back. It’s about creating space for shared ownership and honest conversation.

Some of my favourite moments in my career have been on set – chatting with directors, producers, and creatives, workshopping ideas that may have looked great on paper but weren’t landing in the moment. And that’s where the magic happens. When there’s mutual respect, a shared appetite for excellence, and even a bit of healthy tension – that’s when you elevate the work from good to great.

Ultimately, it’s about being aligned on the vision, while giving each other the freedom to bring our best thinking to the table. That’s what makes the work both creatively great and commercially effectively.

Q: When an idea from Ogilvy lands on your desk, what gives you that gut instinct that this one’s worth making?

Grant: I think first and foremost, it really comes down to that word trust – the kind of partnership you build with your agency over time. When you hand over a brief and you can already see the wheels turning in strategy and creative, that’s when you start to feel you might be onto something special.

By the time a script lands on my desk, I know it’s gone through rounds of iteration, debate, rejection, and refinement. So the first step is to respect that process – and appreciate the amount of thinking that’s gone into getting it to this point.

But when it comes to that gut instinct – that sense that “this is the one” – it often comes down to the passion and energy in the room. You can feel it in the way the idea is presented. When the creative team struggles to contain their excitement, when they can’t wait to talk you through it, that energy is contagious. That’s usually the first sign.

Then there’s the emotional and even physical reaction – that moment when you get the metaphorical punch in the gut and something just clicks. You can picture the ad, you can hear it, feel it. It’s distinct. It’s culturally sharp. And it feels like something that will create buzz and drive fame. 

And finally, once you start sharing it with directors and production houses, the great ideas always get better. You start seeing new layers, unexpected plot lines, and added texture. That’s the power of a strong idea – it invites collaboration, it inspires, and it grows. When that happens, you know you’ve struck gold.

Q: How important is your relationship with your agency in driving great work? What does that collaboration look like in practice – are you quite hands-on in the creative process?

Grant: I think the relationship with your agency is everything when it comes to driving great work. Like any strong relationship, it’s built on (that word again) trust – and trust takes time. When that’s in place, you can have the honest, sometimes tough conversations – whether you’re completely aligned and building on an idea, or whether you see things differently. That trust creates the space to push each other, which ultimately pushes the work.

In practice, I’m really fortunate to work with an incredible marketing team – in my view, one of the best in the country – and across the entire marketing floor, we have fantastic relationships with our agency partners. We see them as extensions of our team, not just vendors or suppliers. In fact I hate the phrase “client/agency”.

When it comes to the creative process, yes – we’re very hands-on. We co-create the brief, debate the insight, and stay close to the work throughout. But it’s also about giving the creative team space to bring their own vision to life and fighting for the work they believe in.

If you asked Ogilvy, they’d probably say I’m very involved – and they wouldn’t be wrong! But it comes from a place of genuine passion. I love being in the room – whether it’s with creatives, production partners, or strategists – because that’s where the energy is. That’s where the magic happens. And when everyone’s in it together, the work just gets better.

Q: KFC ads have become moments the industry looks out for. How do you keep that creative standard consistently high?

Grant: Thank you so much – I really take that as a compliment on behalf of the entire KFC brand and our agency partners. It means a lot.

The truth is, our ambition is always to create blockbuster work. That’s the goal. But just like in Hollywood, even the best directors have a mix of blockbusters with the occasional “straight to video” films. And that’s okay. Although we strive for Cannes winning ads with every brief, we also need to be comfortable with the fact that not every piece can be a Cannes contender. Sometimes you’re in campaign mode, you need speed, and the brief demands it. The key is knowing the difference – and always striving for more.

What helps us keep the standard consistently high is making creative excellence part of our DNA & daily rhythm. It’s in the culture. My team and Ogilvy are constantly talking about the work – our own, our global counterparts’, and our competitors’. We make time to look, evaluate, debate, and learn. It’s how we sharpen our sense of what ‘great’ looks like. This helps create a safe space where we can challenge each other. The more you talk about creativity, the art and science of it all, the better your collective instinct and know-how becomes. 

Q: Finally, what advice would you give to other marketers about investing in creativity and trusting the craft?

Grant: If I had to give one piece of advice, it would be: believe in the power of creativity. There’s so much data to back this up – creativity isn’t just about making award winning work, it’s about making something effective that ultimately drives the top and bottom line. 

You can not dispute the data, WARC studies show that creatively awarded companies outperform the market by three times. Kantar has found that high creative quality drives four times higher profit returns. And perhaps most powerfully, another Kantar study revealed that creative quality accounts for up to 50% of media effectiveness – more than reach, frequency, or even media synergies. In other words: creatively excellent work works.

I recently attended a work shop hosted by Jon Evans (from System1 and host of the Uncensored CMO) as well as Adam Morgan of eatbigfish – they spoke of a phrase that I loved: the extraordinary cost of dull. And it’s true. Dull work is a cost. You’re spending serious money on media and production, and if the work is forgettable, you’ve wasted that investment. You haven’t moved the needle on brand, and while you may receive a small bump in sales it is likely very short term.

So, embrace risk. Back creativity. Be distinctive and disruptive. And just as importantly, build deep, trusting relationships with your teams, your agency, your creatives, and your production teams. The best work doesn’t happen in silos – it happens when you’re truly collaborating with a shared ambition to create something great.