Marketing. Development. Built to perform.
Start with the Commercial Foundation, or bring us in for the service you need now.
Make your business the obvious choice.
We help ambitious businesses become distinctive, sought-after brands that grow in demand and in value.
Work for
Marketing and Brand division
How we help brands grow
Four named offers from a creative agency built for South Africa's ambitious businesses, in the order they usually happen: one clear starting point, then what the brand needs next.
Where we startWhere we start
The Commercial Foundation
Brand strategy and positioning
The buyer insight, positioning, offer and story behind everything we make.
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What we create
Hallmark
Brand identity, brand story and creative direction
The identity, story and voice that make your brand recognisable.
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What we create
The Campaign
Creative campaigns, product launches and brand activation
Turn a product moment into a reason to pay attention.
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How it reaches people
The Growth Programme
Integrated SEO, GEO, content, social media, PR, paid media, email and analytics, run as one
Search, content, social, PR, paid, email and analytics, run as one.
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The Commercial Foundation
More marketing only makes more noise.
When your market looks and sounds the same, more marketing only makes more noise.
The Commercial Foundation finds the reason customers should choose you - one that is true and that they value - then gives every brand, marketing and advertising decision a clear job to do. It does not copy competitors or guess at customers.
One team, one Foundation
Every discipline, working from the same brief
Specialists in strategy, creative, marketing and growth, public relations, development and design work as one aligned team, from one shared brief - the Commercial Foundation where there is one - so the identity, the campaign, the website and the product all argue the same thing.
Meet all the team
Creative Director
Tarryn de Jager
Head of PR
Gillian Bentley
Client Account Manager
Megan McLuckie
Head of Social Media
Amber Maye
Research and Insight
Kaylin Tennant
Software Engineering
Trevor
Development division
We don’t just market the destination. We build it.
Strategic websites, web and mobile apps and prototypes, built to do a clear job for the business.
Where you have a Commercial Foundation, it guides what we build, how it works and what it has to achieve. You own the code, the accounts and the repository outright.
Websites
The Website Build
Strategic website design and development
A website built to make the next decision easier.
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Apps and software
The Product Build
Web app, mobile app and SaaS product development
The web app, mobile app or SaaS product, built to be used.
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Prototypes and MVPs
The Prototype Sprint
Prototype, MVP and proof-of-concept development
Test the product question before the larger commitment.
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Selected work
The work, not a description of it
Websites
LaunchingBlue Whale Resort
A coastal resort website rebuilt around the view, with booking one tap away.
Brand identity
LiveDoors
A luxury property brand that looks established on day one, built around a keyhole.
Brand identity
LiveQRTip
A brand for cashless tipping that speaks to the person being tipped, not just the venue.
How the work connects
From strategy to expression to growth
Three chapters of one relationship. Each is scoped on its own, and nobody has to buy every chapter.
Where we start
Commercial Foundation
Establish the buyer insight, positioning, offer and story that give the brand its direction. Agree what matters before deciding what to make.
What we create
Brand and creative
Turn that direction into a compelling brand idea, identity, messaging and campaigns. Build the expression around what the brand needs to communicate and how it should make people feel.
How it reaches people
Activation and growth
Bring the brand to market through the appropriate marketing, website and selected development work. Learn from the response and improve the agreed work over time.
Before you ask
The questions that usually come first
Where does working with you start?
Wherever you need us most. The Commercial Foundation is the best place to start, because it settles the buyer insight, positioning, offer and story everything else is built from. If your brand is already clear and you need one service now - social media, SEO, PR, a website - we can start there. Before you commit, we confirm the scope, the fee and the dates in a written proposal.
Do we have to buy everything from you?
No. The Foundation stands on its own, and you can take it to your own team or another supplier. If you want us to carry it into identity, campaigns, growth or development, each piece is scoped separately. There is no automatic retainer.
What does it cost?
Every engagement is quoted in a written proposal once we understand what needs to be done. The proposal confirms the scope, the fee and the dates before you commit, so nothing important is left vague.
We have not launched yet. Can you still help?
Yes, from a different starting point. The standard Foundation is built for a business with paying customers, one priority offer and a decision-maker ready to take part. An offer that has not launched gets a separately scoped research engagement suited to the evidence available.
What could your brand become?
Tell us about your business, where you are now and what you want to achieve. We will discuss whether Assay House is the right partner and what a useful first step could look like.
The direction first, then the work it calls for. That is how a creative agency South Africa's ambitious businesses can rely on should work.