Three IIE-Vega Alumni are flying the Vega flag high after their outstanding performance in the recently released 2024 Loeries Official Rankings.
Brandon Govender (IIE Postgraduate Diploma in Copywriting from IIE-Vega Johannesburg), Executive Creative Director at Joe Public Durban, was ranked the #4 Executive Creative Director in Africa and the Middle East. Two members of his team, Art Director Zainab Mitha (IIE BA Honours in Creative Brand Communication from IIE-Vega Durban) was ranked #2 Art Director, while Copywriter Jasmin Vandersteen (IIE BA Honours in Creative Brand Communications from IIE-Vega Durban) secured the #3 Writer spot in the region. This places them among the top-ranked professionals in their respective fields in South Africa. Joe Public also claimed the title of #1 agency in Africa and the Middle East.
The annual Loeries Official Rankings is a trusted industry benchmark which celebrates the agencies, brands and individuals that set new creative standards. IIE-Vega, an educational brand of The Independent Institute of Education (IIE), has a strong track record of developing top creative talent. The rankings are based on cumulative scores from awarded Loerie Awards entries and it reflects the exceptional quality of work submitted across disciplines.
Vandersteen expressed her gratitude for the recognition. “I think I’m still processing it, to be honest. I feel very thankful and privileged. It’s the team that got me there – my Executive Creative Director Brandon, my mentor and Art Director Zainab, Creative Director Declan Sharp, Executive Creative Director Martin Schlumpf and Joe Public Durban which invests in growing its people and female talent.”
IIE-Vega Durban Alumni Zainab Mitha (Art Director at Joe Public Durban) (left) and Jasmin Vandersteen (Copywriter at Joe Public Durban) together with IIE-Vega Johannesburg Alumnus Brandon Govender (Executive Creative Director at Joe Public Durban) (right) shone at the 2024 Loerie Awards in October. Alongside Creative Director at Joe Public Durban Declan Sharp (second from the right), their Joe Public Durban team won seven of their 11 awards - including four Golds - for their Youth Day campaign with Nedbank, Honouring the Class of ’76.
Mitha shared similar sentiments. “I’m incredibly grateful for the team and mentorship that got us here. Being ranked #2 Art Director in Africa and the Middle East is a huge honour.”
For Govender, the highlight was seeing his team excel. “We have a growth mindset as an agency. Many say they want to grow people, but we actually do it - and the results speak for themselves. Our group goal is to be the number one creative agency in the world by 2030. It’s ambitious but so was becoming the top agency in Africa and the Middle East, and we did it. Staying at the top is harder than getting there, but we’re committed to making it happen.”
On her journey into advertising, Vandersteen said copywriting was a natural fit. “As a child, I constantly rewrote adverts in my head. When I attended an Open Day at IIE-Vega Durban, I was hooked. The transition from high school to IIE-Vega was mind blowing - it was a space that encouraged out-of-the-box thinking.”
Mitha had a different path in mind before discovering her passion for advertising. “I was convinced I’d manufacture solar panels! That was my plan until IIE-Vega Durban visited my school and I learned what advertising was. It was exactly what I wanted - a way to make people stop and think, ‘Whoa, how did you come up with that?’”
Govender’s introduction to advertising came during his BCom studies. “A copywriter visited our marketing lecture and I was instantly hooked. I had no idea advertising was a career option. I completed my degree, explored my options and found IIE-Vega Johannesburg, which was still in its early days. It was a perfect match. The postgraduate diploma in copywriting was tough but rewarding and my lecturers were a huge help.”
When asked their advice for aspiring creatives, Vandersteen emphasised the value of hard work. “Talent only takes you so far. Hard work is what gets you to the finish line. Employers look for that. Curiosity is also key - copywriters connect unrelated ideas to create something new and that skill is built through curiosity.”
Mitha highlighted resilience. “In advertising, you can’t get precious about ideas. You must be able to let them go because most will be bad, but that one brilliant idea makes it worth it. Also, what you put in is what you get out - if you don’t put in the effort, you can’t wonder why things aren’t working out.”
Govender added that passion is essential. “Don’t pursue something unless you’re willing to give it your all. If you can do what you love and get paid for it, that’s the dream. IIE-Vega is an excellent training ground for that.”
All three alumni named Honouring the Class of ’76, a Youth Day campaign for YouthX by Nedbank, as their most meaningful project. The campaign, which earned seven of the team’s 11 awards - including four Golds - at Loeries 2024, paid tribute to the Soweto Uprising victims who were never able to fulfil their potential.
On June 16, 1976, Sowetan schoolchildren peacefully protested against Afrikaans being enforced as the language of instruction. Over 100 youths lost their lives when police opened fire. To honour their memory, YouthX by Nedbank and Joe Public Durban launched a campaign that added the names of the Class of ’76 to school honours boards across the country.
Schools that joined the campaign, invited the victims’ next of kin to special assemblies.
Vandersteen described the campaign as deeply moving. “There was so much behind the scenes work, which included tracking down the youths’ next of kin using old phone books and with help from their neighbours and facing institutions that were gatekeeping the youths’ stories. It was all worth it in the end when we met parents who had lost their children in the march and saw how much this moment meant to them.”
To watch the Honouring the Class of ’76 film, click here: https://archive.loeries.com/entry/113420
To learn more about the Youth Day campaign, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PPpFnWcDAg