The Ethical Agency

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Communications Specialist of a food waste reduction nonprofit

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our initiative aims to prevent and reduce food loss and waste by half by 2030. The initiative was launched on the 29th of September 2020, as an outcome of a series of dialogues that involved over 500 stakeholders in the South African food system.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Ethical Agency to accomplish?

• Run our first public facing awareness campaign
• Help build our social media presence outside of LinkedIn
• Build a campaign landing page that can be reused/reskinned as needed for future campaigns

SOLUTION

How did you find The Ethical Agency?

Referral

Why did you select The Ethical Agency over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from The Ethical Agency were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Building a Strong Organic Presence: Establish and nurture active profiles on key social media platforms relevant to your target demographics. Develop engaging and visually appealing content including informative posts, short videos, infographics, and interactive polls/quizzes.

Strategic Paid Social Media Campaigns: Implement targeted advertising campaigns across selected platforms to reach specific demographic segments based on factors like age, location, interests, and online behaviour. 

Influencer Marketing: Collaborate with relevant influencers who have an engaged audience to push the campaign goals. 

·        Identify influencers with a genuine interest in sustainability, food, or lifestyle topics. Influencers that are not food focused could arguably be better since they would be reaching the target audience with new messaging that isn’t present in their content. They may not be speaking to the converted.

·        Develop clear briefs outlining key messages and desired actions.

·        Explore various collaboration formats such as sponsored posts, stories, reviews, or participation in online events.

Website/Landing Page: Redirect people to the Food Loss and Waste microsite hosted on the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa’s website. This will serve as a central hub for information, resources, and our calls to action. 

Video Content: Produce engaging video content, which can be highly effective in conveying information and evoking emotion. It is critical to make use of subtitles and captions to ensure accessibility. The South African Food Loss and Waste Initiative also has an archive of b-roll and interviews that could be used in the creation of video content.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Awareness levels of food waste issues within the target audience (surveyed before and after the campaign launches). Targets were set based on baseline awareness levels.

Reach across the various platforms used. Metrics for targeted reach adapted as the project went on as initial targets were met way ahead of schedule.

Engagement with campaign content across all channels. Same as above, these metrics had to change to become more ambitious due to the initial success of the project.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The team was professional and were excellent in their delivery.

We had a couple of major delays due to internal processes and The Ethical Agency worked to accomodate us, while still delivering quality work on time.

Regularly schedule check-ins help move the project along, and all our needs/specs were met by their team.

What was your primary form of communication with The Ethical Agency?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their commitment to sustainability is one of the main reasons we picked them. They understand our industry very well and were up to date on best practice. They really walked the talk on this.

Their team was also very good at helping us problem solve and strategise. Turn around times were quick and very specific needs were always accomodated.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Ethical Agency could have done differently?

None that I can think of post project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Communications & Publications Manager of GreenCape

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

GreenCape is a not-for-profit company that drives the widespread adoption of economically viable green economy solutions in Africa. We work with businesses, investors, academia and government to help unlock the investment and employment potential of green technologies and services, and to support a transition to a resilient green economy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Ethical Agency to accomplish?

• Graphic design of our publications including our flagship market intelligence reports
• Website hosting and maintenance

SOLUTION

How did you find The Ethical Agency?

LinkedIn

Why did you select The Ethical Agency over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from The Ethical Agency were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

I have been fortunate enough to work with Brett and his team from the Ethical Agency. Aside from providing a really first-class design and website management service, Brett and his team also focus only on working on brands that promote an environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive present and future. I admire the morality of this approach, and I look forward to continue working with TEA in the years to come

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

All MIRs designed and published

Active, functioning websites reflecting upgrades

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They have always delivered on time, often meeting challenging project timelines.

What was your primary form of communication with The Ethical Agency?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Brett and his team focus only on working on brands that promote an environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive present and future. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Ethical Agency could have done differently?

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Manager of a medical company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The company is a medical pathology laboratory by testing samples from the human body (like blood, urine, tissue, etc.) to help doctors diagnose, monitor and manage diseases.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Ethical Agency to accomplish?

• Develop a rebrand that modernize the identity of the company while staying true to its value of diagnostic excellence.

SOLUTION

How did you find The Ethical Agency?

Online Search

Why did you select The Ethical Agency over others?

• High ratings
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from The Ethical Agency were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The Ethical Agency was engaged to lead the end-to-end rebranding of , covering both strategic brand development and full-scale creative execution.

The scope of work included an initial discovery and immersion phase, where they worked closely with internal stakeholders to understand the organisation’s legacy, market position, and future ambitions. This informed the development of a clear brand strategy, including positioning, purpose, vision, and a refined brand story that translates complex medical expertise into a more human, accessible narrative.

From there, they delivered a complete visual identity system. This included logo refinement, colour palette, typography, and a distinctive design concept inspired by biological cell structures—ensuring the brand feels both scientifically grounded and modern. The identity was built to be flexible and scalable across multiple regions and platforms.

Key deliverables included:

• A comprehensive set of brand guidelines to ensure consistency across all touchpoints
• Messaging frameworks and tone of voice guidelines aligned to the new brand story
• Corporate and operational collateral (e.g. stationery, templates, internal documents)
• Marketing assets for both digital and traditional channels
• Environmental and applied branding, including vehicle branding and signage
• Digital design direction for web and online platforms

They also played a critical role in ensuring internal alignment, working collaboratively with our marketing team to embed the new brand across the organisation and ensure it could be practically implemented at scale.

Overall, the engagement covered the full brand lifecycle, from strategy and storytelling through to design, rollout, and real-world application.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The development and rollout of the CI manual for us delivered immediate and measurable value, starting with the fact that the project was completed ahead of schedule, enabling earlier-than-planned implementation across the business.

The CI manual has since become a critical operational tool internally and externally. Internally, it has significantly improved efficiency and alignment by giving teams a clear, structured framework for applying the brand. This has reduced back-and-forth, minimised subjective decision-making, and enabled faster turnaround times on marketing and communication materials.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They delivered ahead of schedule, were highly responsive, and quick to address any issues. Most notably, they intuitively understood our needs, even when we couldn’t fully articulate them, and translated our vision into a clear, cohesive outcome.

What was your primary form of communication with The Ethical Agency?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

What stood out most about The Ethical Agency was their ability to deeply understand our business and translate complex, clinical concepts into a clear, human-centred brand. They grasped our vision better than we could articulate it and carried it through with both strategic insight and creative excellence.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Ethical Agency could have done differently?

One area for improvement would be being more upfront when there are changes to scope, and proactively flagging these for discussion. That said, this has already improved in our ongoing work together, and we’ve seen a more transparent and collaborative approach in our current project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior content strategist and storyteller for a nonprofit organization. We work with civil society groups globally to promote transparent, participatory, and accountable public finance systems, aiming to improve governance, service delivery, and poverty reduction.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Ethical Agency?

We hired The Ethical Agency to work on a series of design challenges, both online and for reports.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Ethical Agency handled all the design aspects of our projects. They worked on our annual report, designed a chatbot interface, designed a webpage, and designed an accompanying report.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 2–5 teammates from The Ethical Agency.

How did you come to work with The Ethical Agency?

We found them through an online search. We chose them because they had high ratings, were close to our geographic location, had pricing that fit our budget, and had company values that aligned with ours.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together between 2025–2026.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The Ethical Agency did an excellent job each time. We had an excellent experience working with them on a less conventional design project. They pulled out all the stops and did a wonderful job. 

How did The Ethical Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

We primarily communicated via virtual meetings, emails, and messaging apps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve recommended them to colleagues in other organizations and will very much be partnering with them again on upcoming work. Thank you for the excellence you put into every project!

Are there any areas they could improve?

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am a Department Manager at BirdLife South Africa

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a wildlife conservation NGO working in South Africa.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Ethical Agency to accomplish?

• Improve our website's UI/UX
• Redesign our website's feel
• Make our website faster and more reliable

SOLUTION

How did you find The Ethical Agency?

Online Search

Why did you select The Ethical Agency over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from The Ethical Agency were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Redesign of our website from the ground up. Infrastructure, various webpage templates, migration of existing website, migration of our archive, graphic design, web form streamlining, etc. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Completed website reviewed and approved by colleagues and Board of Directors of our company. 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They were perfectly responsive and adaptive to our working conditions, accomodating of our needs, proactiv ein finding better solutions for ourselves and our users. 

What was your primary form of communication with The Ethical Agency?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Accomodating, large team which delivered various aspects of our website with great responsiveness and high quality 

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Ethical Agency could have done differently?

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Communications & Storyteling Manager of Greenpeace Africa

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Environmental organization 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Ethical Agency to accomplish?

• Copywriting
• Design
• Translation

SOLUTION

How did you find The Ethical Agency?

Referral

Why did you select The Ethical Agency over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from The Ethical Agency were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Production of our annual report and Air Pollution Report 
Copywriting and design. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Delivery in due time 
Comprehensive organisation of the information 
Attractive design 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Daily tracking of project status allowing facilitation of internal alignment 
Regular meeting at each critical phase
Agile work process 

What was your primary form of communication with The Ethical Agency?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I appreciate The Ethical Agency's creativity and proactive approach. Not only the team challenge our ideas but provide strategic guidance to reach our common goal. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Ethical Agency could have done differently?

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Marketing & Communications of GCX

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We guide and support some of the largest and most complex organisations, across a range of sectors, to drive sustainability throughout their value chains.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Ethical Agency to accomplish?

• Website Design
• SaaS Platform UI Design
• Expo stand artwork design

SOLUTION

How did you find The Ethical Agency?

Referral

Why did you select The Ethical Agency over others?

• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from The Ethical Agency were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The Ethical Agency provide us with a range of services. Some have been once off projects such as brand design, website development and design. Others are on a retainer basis such as paid search management.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

There were a range of outcomes, these include -

Improved website functionality and design

User friendly UI design 

KPIs for paid search

KPIs for GA

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Yes the agency delivered all the projects in an effective manner.

What was your primary form of communication with The Ethical Agency?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

We like how they understand our industry and their willingness to stretch the scope boundaries to accommodate our requirements. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Ethical Agency could have done differently?

No we are satisfied with their work ethic and deliverables. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Communications manager of IPES-Food

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

A think-tank delivering research, reports and writing guiding action for sustainable food systems around the world.
 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Ethical Agency to accomplish?

• Beautiful and impactful design for our latest report

SOLUTION

How did you find The Ethical Agency?

Referral

Why did you select The Ethical Agency over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from The Ethical Agency were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Delivery of a high quality report design and layout, plus 10 infographics and social media banners

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Design delivered on time & meeting our specifications

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They were excellent, communicative, clear and adaptable to our shifting timelines and needs

What was your primary form of communication with The Ethical Agency?

Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The 'head in the cloud' report looks just absolutely fantastic - many of our partners have commented positively on the style and look - especially the front cover design; and the infographics. So thanks to Ethical Agency for the hard work and making it all run so smoothly. Also for their patience, as I know this was difficult to get right! 

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Ethical Agency could have done differently?

We'd love them to help us more with infographic conceptualisation