2010 | It’s alive
The start of the ‘Holy Trinity of Marketing’ – the more digital savvy we become, the more we crave human interaction. Retroviral set out to disrupt by applying a digital-PR-activation lens to the digital marketing world.
13+
Years
of virality
2010 | It’s Miller Time. Oh, and Nando’s
We secured our first retainer with Miller as the brand’s first community management agency, we then introduced Nando’s to digital PR and influencer (before it even had a name) marketing. We started seeding content via social media as opposed to ‘traditional media’. We broke the internet for the first time and never looked back.
2011 / 2012 | Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner
From Chicken Excellence Officer to Last Dictator Standing, Prisms Gold to Cannes Lions metal, we knew we were onto something when our local notoriety turned to global fame.
2015 / 2016 | The Lead Creative
From amplification specialists to creative generalists, we started to flex with everything from content to earned media. Leading the creative for Russell Hobbs, Castle Lager, RocoMamas, and Survivor, we proved that lightning strikes again, and again, and again. In 13 years, we’ve made at least one brand go viral – globally – annually.
2018 | Shaka Sharman
Mike Sharman (CCO) partnered with Shaka Sisulu – who took on the role of Chairman – and the duo upped the ante on the creative product that measurably impacted client business results.
2020 – 2022 | Gold Rush
Retroviral is coincidentally headquartered in Johannesburg, the City of Gold. Lockdown heightened the need for brands to adopt a braver outlook, and they naturally gravitated towards our approach. From Kreepy Krauly’s #MyKreepyTeacher to Checkers Sixty60 Swindler and our execution of Lil-Lets feminine hygiene product communication, we’ve won more awards and delivered more bottom-line value in the past two years than we had in the prior decade.