Brand strategy
We look at your market, your competitors, and where your brand sits within both. From there we build a growth strategy, covering positioning, messaging, digital, social, CRM, and SEO, and we make sure every part of it is measurable.
Johannesburg · Est. 1997
Your brand is the
point. Not ours.
We’re an integrated marketing and advertising agency based in Johannesburg, South Africa. For 26 years our job has been straightforward: understand your market, build the right strategy, execute it well, and show you the numbers. We work with brands across South Africa, Africa, and internationally.
Who we are
A full-service marketing agency that works across every channel, without preference for any of them
Wetpaint is based in Johannesburg and has been operating since 1997. We handle brand strategy, creative content, media planning and buying, social media, digital marketing, and African market entry. Everything is run from one team, connected by one strategy.
We work with the same process whether a client is a South African financial institution, a global FMCG brand, or an international company that wants to reach African markets. We look at the business problem first, then decide what to build. We set measurable targets on every brief, and we report against them.
We don’t specialise in one channel and try to apply it to everything. We specialise in building strategies that work, and then executing them, across whatever channels that requires.
Creative services
Wetpaint produces the content that campaigns run on: copywriting, scriptwriting, video and TV production, social media content, digital assets, and full creative campaign development, from concept through to final delivery.
Social media
We manage social media presence across platforms: content calendars, community management, paid social campaigns, and performance reporting. The goal is consistent output that builds an audience and converts it.
Media buying
We plan and buy media across channels: print, broadcast, out-of-home, and digital. Our approach is multi-channel because audiences are multi-channel. We optimise spend against reach and response, not just impressions.
Digital marketing
SEO, AEO & GEO, display, programmatic, CRM, web development, and mobile, built around data and, increasingly, AI. We use machine learning and analytics to personalise campaigns and improve performance over time, not as a talking point.
Africa services
If you’re entering an African market for the first time, or expanding into new territories, we’ve done this work for 26 years. We know where the entry barriers are, what the regional differences mean in practice, and how to build campaigns that work locally.
International services
A growing number of international businesses run their marketing through our Johannesburg team. The quality is the same as what you’d get from a major agency in London or New York. The cost is not. We’ve worked with companies from Switzerland, the USA, and Australia.
Campaign management
Our team manages campaigns from brief to post-campaign analysis. That includes concept development, channel deployment, real-time optimisation, and reporting against the KPIs we set at the start. Every campaign has a scorecard.
Audit & research
Our Audit & Research service is all about getting you the insights that’ll power your next big move. We break down every aspect of your business, industry, and competition, making sure you have the data to thrive in a competitive market.
AI Development
AI isn’t just a tool, it’s a business growth engine. We go beyond data to build real, AI-powered solutions tailored to your business challenges, so your brand stays ahead while others play catch-up.
AI visibility
ChatGPT, Google AI and other tools are already recommending businesses to your customers. If they don’t understand or trust yours, they’ll recommend a competitor instead, so we show you exactly where you stand.
Brand strategy
We look at your market, your competitors, and where your brand sits within both. From there we build a growth strategy, covering positioning, messaging, digital, social, CRM, and SEO, and we make sure every part of it is measurable.
Creative services
Wetpaint produces the content that campaigns run on: copywriting, scriptwriting, video and TV production, social media content, digital assets, and full creative campaign development, from concept through to final delivery.
Social media
We manage social media presence across platforms: content calendars, community management, paid social campaigns, and performance reporting. The goal is consistent output that builds an audience and converts it.
Media buying
We plan and buy media across channels: print, broadcast, out-of-home, and digital. Our approach is multi-channel because audiences are multi-channel. We optimise spend against reach and response, not just impressions.
Digital marketing
SEO, AEO & GEO, display, programmatic, CRM, web development, and mobile, built around data and, increasingly, AI. We use machine learning and analytics to personalise campaigns and improve performance over time, not as a talking point.
Africa services
If you’re entering an African market for the first time, or expanding into new territories, we’ve done this work for 26 years. We know where the entry barriers are, what the regional differences mean in practice, and how to build campaigns that work locally.
International services
A growing number of international businesses run their marketing through our Johannesburg team. The quality is the same as what you’d get from a major agency in London or New York. The cost is not. We’ve worked with companies from Switzerland, the USA, and Australia.
Campaign management
Our team manages campaigns from brief to post-campaign analysis. That includes concept development, channel deployment, real-time optimisation, and reporting against the KPIs we set at the start. Every campaign has a scorecard.
Audit & research
Our Audit & Research service is all about getting you the insights that’ll power your next big move. We break down every aspect of your business, industry, and competition, making sure you have the data to thrive in a competitive market.
AI Development
AI isn’t just a tool, it’s a business growth engine. We go beyond data to build real, AI-powered solutions tailored to your business challenges, so your brand stays ahead while others play catch-up.
AI visibility
ChatGPT, Google AI and other tools are already recommending businesses to your customers. If they don’t understand or trust yours, they’ll recommend a competitor instead, so we show you exactly where you stand.
Year founded
Years in South Africa
International awards
Continents worked across
Services
Marketing services for South African and global brands
We handle everything from single campaigns to full brand and marketing operations. Each service connects to the others, because separate strategies rarely produce consistent results.
How we work
We set KPIs at the start of every brief.
Then we deliver against them.
That’s the short version. The longer version involves four things we do on every project, for every client.
Step 01
Understand the business
Before strategy, we look at the market, the competitors, the audience, and what the brand actually needs to achieve. We don’t skip this step.
Step 02
Build the strategy
We build a strategy that fits the brief, not a template. Channel selection, messaging, timeline, and measurable targets, all connected.
Step 03
Execute across channels
One integrated team handles creative, media, digital, and social. No handoffs between separate agencies. One consistent output.
Step 04
Measure and report
We report against the targets we set. If something isn’t working, we adjust. Every campaign ends with a debrief and documented learnings.
Africa
Working in African markets since 1997
Most agencies say they understand Africa. We’ve been working here for 26 years, across multiple territories, with clients ranging from South African corporates to international brands entering the continent for the first time.
We know what changes between markets and what stays the same. We know where entry barriers sit and how to work around them. And we know how to build campaigns that feel local, because they are.
International
World-class work, South African costs
A number of international companies now run their marketing through our Johannesburg team. They get the same quality of strategy, creative, and media work they’d get from a major agency in their home market, at significantly lower cost.
We’ve helped a Swiss company expand globally, launched an American education brand across Africa, and built an Australian advisory firm’s international profile. The work is the same. The rate is not.
Results
Some numbers from the work
We put specific campaign stats here, not averages or estimates. These are documented results from real campaigns.
Impressions in 7 days
Beefeater London Dry Gin social campaign
Clicks generated in the same 7-day period
Beefeater London Dry Gin social campaign
ROI on a single social campaign
Beefeater London Dry Gin
Unique reach in one week
Social campaign, 7-day period
Years of consecutive client results
South Africa, since 1997
Ave. long-term client relationships
Per client testimonial on record
Recognition
Industry recognition, on the record
These are the awards we’ve received. Each one is publicly verifiable. We list them because they’re a useful reference point, not because they’re the most important thing about how we work.
What clients say
From clients we’ve worked with in South Africa and beyond
For 6 years and counting, Wetpaint has consistently delivered highly conceptual work with innovative approaches. Implementing countless successful and fresh go-to-market strategies for us. They are truly great and reliable strategic business partners that I cannot recommend highly enough.
Natasha Fraser
Creative Manager
Wetpaint is currently supporting us in various marketing strategies, helping us with the development and execution of our social media marketing, Google Ads management, billboards, magazines and digital advertisements. Their exceptional work is now showcased in multiple national campaigns, both physical and digital.
Mara Glennie
Founder | CEO
Wetpaint has been our digital agency for 18 months and have contributed significantly to Vuma achieving our business goals. Improving our digital brand awareness, assisting with website development, helping launch new projects and campaigns and taking our lead generation from strength-to-strength.
Chelsea du Plessis
HOD Sales Operations
Our business has significantly benefited from Wetpaint’s strategic inputs and operational execution. They’ve been key to our success as our sole communications agency partner. Delivering with a quick turnaround time and flexibility, in addition to their commitment to growing our brand.
Junaid Munshi
CEO
Wetpaint’s creativity and adaptability have been nothing short of remarkable and through their proven ability to deliver, they have effectively repositioned the brand in the market. Wetpaint’s expertise in developing and implementing digital strategies has also been a game-changer for us.
Michelle Van Trotsenburg
Head of Marketing
Insights
What we’re watching in South African and global marketing
Our team publishes regular analysis on the forces shaping advertising, digital, and brand strategy. These are the most recent pieces.
Read the article
FAQs
Questions we get asked about Wetpaint
Wetpaint is a Johannesburg-based integrated advertising and marketing agency. We help brands with strategy, creative content, media planning, digital marketing, social media, AI-powered marketing, campaign management and reporting.
Wetpaint has been operating for over 26 years. The agency has built its reputation through long-term client relationships, creative strategy, measurable campaign results and integrated marketing work across South Africa and beyond.
Wetpaint has worked with a wide range of local and international brands across different industries. Examples shown on the Wetpaint website include Allan Gray, National Lottery Ithuba, VUMA, South African Mint and TEARS Foundation.
Yes. Wetpaint works with both South African and international clients. The agency supports brands entering or expanding in African markets, as well as businesses that need marketing support through its Johannesburg-based team.
Wetpaint has received multiple industry recognitions, including Global 100 awards for Most Innovative Integrated Marketing Agency, TechBehemoths Global Awards recognition, and the Success Knocks Innovation Excellence Award.
Yes. Wetpaint uses AI as part of its marketing approach, combining human creativity with AI-powered tools for smarter strategy, campaign insight, predictive analytics, automated ad creation and performance optimisation.
Work with us
If you need a Johannesburg-based integrated marketing agency, let’s have a conversation.
We’re not the right fit for everyone, and we’ll tell you if that’s the case. But if what you’ve read here sounds like what you need, get in touch.