South African businessman Mike Sharman has been the only South African selected for the 2022 PRovoke Media’s Innovator 25 list.
South Africa (17 November 2022) – PRovoke Media’s Innovator 25 is an established barometer of marketing and communications innovation. Since launching in 2013, it has identified 25 individuals each year in North America, EMEA and, more recently Asia-Pacific, who have positively contributed to, elevated and evolved engagement and influence in their respective markets.
This year, Mike Sharman, founder and chief creative officer at Retroviral was the only South African to be included in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) innovator list that includes Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sharman pioneered his holy trinity of marketing concepts, digital, PR and activation, with the launch of Retroviral in 2010. For twelve years under his leadership, the agency has been responsible for more brands – Nando’s, Russell Hobbs and Douwe Egberts and many more – going viral in both awareness and sales than any other agency in Africa. And over 2022, the agency has won more awards than in the previous decade combined.
Named one of the Mail & Guardian’s top 200 South Africans under 35 in 2013, Sharman is also co-founder of digital marketing platform Webfluential.com, disruptive sports storytelling agency retroactive.digital and MatchKit.co – the athlete profile builder and off-field commercialisation tool. His specialisation is bootstrapping startups, steering them to profitability and unlocking maximum value for shareholders.
Demonstrating true innovation, he once presented to an audience of 300 over Zoom from a toilet when all flights at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International airport were grounded due to an apocalyptic storm. A regular guest on South Africa’s most influential talk radio stations, in the last year, he authored his second book, Brandalism.
Says PRovoke media on this year’s innovators, “We look to recognise those who have taken risks to disrupt outdated business practices; blended masterful creativity with stunning impact; taken social purpose to new heights; made real progress in changing behavior and outcomes; or reformed hiring practices and cultures to achieve more diversity. These are just a few achievements that we consider innovative.”
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