Ranked the number one Creative Director in Africa and the Middle East at The One Show 2024, and Chair of the Marketing Craft panel at the Bookmarks, Alex Goldberg is the Creative Partner at Ogilvy Cape Town overseeing Volkswagen, Audi, and Coronation. His work racks up metal locally and abroad, but the real tell is how he builds ideas that live in culture. From WhatsApp briefs and proactive hunches to rigorous reviews and the right director at the right moment, Alex runs a process that kills the safe stuff and protects the ideas worth fighting for. He’s as disciplined on the mat as he is in the boardroom, a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and co-author of ‘The Book Every Marketer Should Most Definitely Read’. In this Q&A, he breaks down how ideas really happen inside Ogilvy SA, what it takes to move a brand forward, and how to trust your gut without losing the craft.

Q: How does a brief land on your desk, like what’s the process and what do you do when it gets there?

Alex: Briefs come from all corners, and platforms. Most through the classic Client and Account Management channels, others through WhatsApps, voice notes, verbal briefings between meetings, the odd chat through Insta while sharing dog videos, on set at the craft table, and sometimes the briefs come from us, the agency. When you’ve got a great relationship with your Client, the briefs can materialise in many ways. It all comes down to knowing the business challenges (and therefore opportunities) that lay ahead. Through our Brandplanning sessions we have a good understanding of what products we’ll be launching, so we can already start the thinking process before the brief even lands, and be conscious of any flags that could become issues down the line. This always-on approach creates the space for great proactive work to live as well. I’ve never met a Client who doesn’t appreciate unexpected ideas that can help their brands grow.

Q: How do you make sure you and your team are solving the right problem before you even start generating ideas?

Q: What does idea generation look like at Ogilvy Cape Town? Is it a structured process or more fluid? And is the client involved at all?

Alex: To create anything new and original, you’ll encounter new problems all the time. So being fluid is the way to navigate it all. Once we have some platforms, we like to include Clients in the process. Really helps sense check things and pick up on any issues before we spend time going down the wrong path. 

We’re always trying to create ideas that step out of the traditional spaces, and with that comes logistical issues which we need to navigate through. This is where the Client (and their legal team) really helps with the process. The key to it all is communication. We have the type of relationship where I can jump on a call and bounce something off, instead of waiting till we have a formal review. It makes the process far more flexible and efficient.

Q: Do you believe in ‘big bang’ eureka moments, or is it more about building step by step until something clicks?

Q: How do you balance the tension between strategy, creativity, and client demands when you’re shaping an idea?

Q: Are there any rituals, exercises, or tools your team uses to spark fresh thinking?

Alex: It depends on the size of the opportunity or fire. A huge plus of being in a network agency is that we get to pull resources, inspiration and support from all corners. Where possible, we’ll pull teams from different parts of the network and spend a few days working on a brief. It’s a great way of injecting new perspectives into the process.

Outside of that, the most powerful (and underrated) way to unlock new ideas and create work you love, is proactive. I really believe our superpower as creatives is our ability to pick up on trends and insights before anyone else does. So we write proactive briefs that cover a range of issues, products and challenges on a client’s radar, as well as the type of work we want to make. This way the ideas we develop have a much higher chance of being sold, and the energy you put in, comes right back to fuel your next wave of thinking. You’ll find the more you make, the more you make.

Another thing we do is create themed inspiration sessions (Bretail, Unusual Collaborations, New Tech, B2B, Case Studies etc) where the Creatives need to go and find a piece of work that they think fits that brief. Each person then presents the piece with a rationale of why they like it. It makes everyone (from Junior to Senior) be more outward facing, and students of the game. It’s a great way to grow people, skillsets, and the culture of the team. All of these things require action and initiative.

Q: How do you know when to push harder on an idea versus when to kill it?

Alex: It’s a feeling. You just know when you’re onto something. This is where internal reviews show their worth.
When you physically have to share your idea and can see the reaction from other people, you know where you stand. If you’re bored explaining your idea, imagine making that. What a waste of time and energy. 

The true test of an idea is the case study. So when we think we’re onto something, we write the case study. You’ll quickly see where the holes are, and if the juice is worth the squeeze. If you’re not happy with the idea, and don’t think it’s going to do anything, then ditch it and move onto the next one. Don’t ever present an idea you don’t want to make, because that’s the one you’ll end up making. No good comes from making bad work. 

The best part about this job is that we get to create our own future. When you sell in a great idea, you get to spend the next few months or years bringing that to life. You work with awesome people, learn new things, see consumers respond positively, strengthen your relationship with your Client, win some shiny things, attract Clients and Creatives who want to make work like that, grow the culture of an agency, and lay a foundation for the next awesome idea to happen. If everyone truly understood the power of great ideas, they’d be less precious about the average ones, and fight a lot harder to make the great ones live.

Q: What role do strategists, producers, and even clients play in the idea-making process at your agency?

Alex: While the ideation remains in the hands of the creatives, it takes a WhatsApp group to raise a big idea. We’re constantly checking in with different parts of the agency to determine the practicalities of bringing these ideas to life (and creating good problems for people). Whether it’s connecting with the producers to see how feasible an idea is based on timings and budgets, or strat (local and international) to see if we can mine some data to support a hunch, it’s constant communication. By pulling more people into the idea, you give it the means to grow into something far bigger.

Q: At what stage do you include the production company and director?

Q: How do you encourage young creatives in your team to trust their instincts but also refine their thinking?

Alex: As a Creative your gut or inner voice is one of your most powerful tools, and it takes a while for people to learn to answer it. Some never do, and every decision they make ends up being safe – and safe is ignored. Your inner voice says what you really feel about something – an idea, edit, script tweak, everything. It’s this voice that can direct your idea to greatness, help avoid a campaign being cancelled by the online mobs, guide you to hire the right person, sense if something isn’t quite right with one of your team, and ultimately make you a more confident, capable Creative.

Now, the first thing I tell any new member of my team, is: ‘Find your voice’. One of two things will happen:

1. You give your view, it’s wrong, and someone gives you a valid reason why (always ask for a reason). You end up closing the loop in your head, and keep that insight in mind when developing your next round of thinking. You are already better for it, and the people in the room will take note of your contribution.
2. You give your view, and it’s right. The idea is better, and you’ve positively influenced the path of the work. People begin to value your opinion. You begin to trust yourself more. So you do it again, more people listen, your confidence builds, and you grow.

Now that you’ve created a space for people of all levels to share their ideas, you need to be brutal and ask yourself ‘Would this idea stop me mid-doomscroll? Would I share it?’ 

The next part is pushing the craft to the edge of madness, and beyond. Our standards must be higher than everyone else’s. It needs to be 2nd nature, and not reserved for the odd brief. Everything needs to have our invisible signature on. The same clients who are buying a banner ad, are buying your big integrated campaign. Can’t sell the big things, if you can’t do the small things right.

Q: Do you have any personal habits or spaces that help you come up with ideas outside of the office?

Q: What’s the strangest or most unexpected place a great idea has come from?

Alex: This feeds into the next question. We were doing a shoot for Rape Crisis at a police station, and I got into a conversation with a forensics investigator between shots. We were just chatting and I said something stupid about CSI Miami which got us onto the topic of evidence, and he mentioned that plastic actually destroys evidence, and the best thing to use is paper. ‘Like newspaper?’ I asked. ‘Ja, newspaper could work.’ He replied.

And ‘The Rape Page’ was born. A newspaper ad that could be used to preserve evidence.

Q: Is there a campaign you’ve worked on where the idea seemed almost too simple at first, but ended up being powerful?

The other is ‘Volkswagen Night School’. The idea came from one of our Juniors who didn’t even have a driver’s license at the time. Big ups Thando Solundwana. He walked into my office with the observation that majority of accidents happen at night, yet we only learn to drive during the day. It was just so simple. Jump forward a few years, and dozens of workshops with the Advanced Driving Academy and the Road Traffic Management Corp (RTMC), and we now have an official Government endorsed curriculum that has begun training law enforcement officials, and gone global, with activations already running in Spain. 

This was a reminder that great ideas have a gravitational force that pulls people in. The key thing is to be flexible enough to let the idea grow and evolve through these interactions.

Q: With AI, data, and new platforms changing the game, how has the process of generating ideas evolved in the past few years?

Alex: AI has empowered the world to create more than ever before. It’s levelled the playing field and given everyone the ability to do more, if they know how to use it. AI certainly helps streamline certain processes, and provide huge chunks of curated information, but it has made people lazy with their thinking. Creativity takes initiative. You need to test out the products, talk to people, write things a bunch of different ways, and scamp…yes, scamp something up and put it on the wall. 

There will always be a shiny new thing, and we’ll make every effort to learn and harness it to make our lives easier, but it should never replace the thing that makes us valuable – the human element. It’s how we create work that truly connects with culture, and makes consumers feel that the brands truly get them. The agencies that strike the balance, will strike gold. If you’re not upskilling yourself, you will be left behind, and this doesn’t align with my mantra of constant evolution.

Q: What advice would you give to a young creative who feels ‘stuck’ and can’t find a way into a brief?

Q: At the end of the day, what makes you believe an idea is strong enough to fight for?

Alex: You know you’ve got a great idea if you can’t shut up about it. You feel it in your bones. Once you present an idea, it’s out into the collective universe, and the chances of someone else launching a shittier version is high. So you fight like hell to get it made. 

These ones tend to poke the bear and that’s okay. Resistance is good. It means you’re challenging something. It can’t be crazy for crazy sake. You need to make it bulletproof for your Client, who is the one taking most of the risks. We need to remind ourselves what’s at stake and then throw caution to the wind.

You have to have a healthy bit of disrespect for the way things are. Original ideas are challenging by their very nature. They disrupt categories, challenge people, and make the world take notice. Sure, it’s easy to play it safe, but that’s not why we’re here, and we’ll be doing our Clients, teams, and selves a disservice by not pushing to create the type of work that grows brands and gets us up in the morning. 

I’m like a dog a with a bone when it comes to ideas. Blind Spot took 6 years to make, but it happened. It took effort, and a phenomenal team of people to make it work. 

Honestly, if you have a vision and you truly believe in the idea, then do what you can to get others to see it to. Some won’t and that’s okay. The ones that do, spur you on. Unless someone gives you a valid reason why the idea won’t work, push on and find a way to make it happen. Those tend to be career-defining moments. It was for me, and I’ve seen so many incredible creatives rise to new heights through their ideas.