Siboniso Mncube, Sibangani Ncube, Sinethemba Masiku and Sipho Biyam are four of the 18 young, creative professionals to have participated in Nike’s recent Sock Dart Creative Hub experience in Braamfontein, and to go on to be selected to collaborate with Nike.
The young creatives were handpicked through a selection process by South African creative authority, Between10and5, and were then invited to join the Nike team in Braamfontein for two days of interactive workshops, mentor sessions and brainstorming.
They were given the opportunity to interact with two of South Africa’s top creative minds, Gustav Greffrath and Grant Sithole, who both shared inspiring stories from their wealth of experience in the industry. They also networked with like-minded peers and were exposed to some of the inner workings of the Nike brand before coming up with a few ideas of their own.
During the brainstorming sessions, the candidates were tasked with developing a new tagline for the launch of the Nike Sock Dart in South Africa in February, individually or in teams. At the final pitch, the eager students amazed the Nike creative team with their original, locally flavoured ideas. In a room filled with brilliant minds it was a challenging task to narrow it down to just one winner, so after much deliberation the top three teams were awarded.
The ultimate winning team that won the panel over walked away with a R12 500 prize and an internship for two of the group members with creative agency, Futura and a further two members from the runner up teams also received an internship with Between10and5.
“We are extremely excited to be the winning team. This opportunity of working with a big international brand like Nike means a lot to us as emerging black talent from the township”, said Siboniso Mncube on behalf of the winning team.
“When we developed the idea of a creative hub, we wanted to give young creatives an opportunity to meet with the top industry leaders in the country to challenge their creative thinking. The first ever Nike Sock Dart Creative Hub pulled together South Africa’s best young hungry minds and gave them an opportunity to get involved with a leading International brand, and in return, Nike was also able to tap into a pool of up-and-coming talent”, said Uno de Waal, Managing Director of Between10and5.
The winning copy will be featured on social media and in retail from February.
