Selected work
Purpose narrative — impact work made visible
Endangered Wildlife Trust — "Meet Ronja"
The challenge There are roughly 650 African wild dogs left in South Africa. That number is in every report written about them, and it's the first thing people forget. The work of protecting the packs is constant, and almost none of it reaches anyone outside conservation.
The insight A number tells you there's a problem. It doesn't make anyone care. The proof was never the statistic. It was the person doing the work, and what it costs her.
What we did Rather than opening on the number, we opened on Ronja, a field officer in the Greater Kruger. Cutting wire out of an animal's flesh, getting a vet on the phone fast enough to matter. Between rescues, sitting with farmers, because coexistence is the actual job. Made with Black Bean Productions for the Endangered Wildlife Trust.
What it achieved It turned a conservation statistic into something people could feel. Show someone Ronja and they arrive at the 650 themselves, which is the version they remember.
Employer narrative — Culture made visible
Showmax - Leadership Narrative: Marc Jury (then CEO)
The challenge Most CEO videos are stiff, corporate, and tell a candidate nothing real. The opportunity was to show the human being behind the title, because people don't join companies, they join people, and they rarely get to see who's actually leading them.
The insight The things that make a leader worth following are never the vision statements. They're the small, human details, the stuff that makes someone feel like a person you'd actually want to work for.
What we did Produced end to end: concept, direction, and edit. We built a warm, personal portrait of Marc: his kids, his golf, cooking for his daughter's birthday, right down to his weakness for Nik Naks Chips, which we put on screen.
What it achieved Internally, it turned a distant figure at the top of the org chart into someone employees recognised and related to. Externally, it gave candidates a real sense of who they'd be working for, one of the most decisive factors in whether someone accepts an offer.
ABSA / Expresso - "Untold Stories" (Women's Month)
The challenge Expresso, South Africa's biggest morning show, had a remarkable truth living inside it every day, and the outside world couldn't see any of it. The brief, for ABSA's Untold Stories campaign, was to bring that hidden reality to the surface.
The insight The most powerful culture story wasn't on screen, it was behind it. Every department, social media, technical direction, post-production, was led by a woman, at a company that's itself woman-owned. That truth was lived daily but completely invisible externally.
What we did Produced end to end: concept, scripting, shooting, and edit. We gave voice to the people who make the show happen but never appear on camera, turning an internal reality into a story the public could feel. It aired on Expresso during Women's Month.
What it achieved It made an invisible truth visible: celebrating the women leading the show to the audience who'd never have known, and giving future talent a real, felt sense of what kind of place this is to work.
Showmax - "What Do You Love About Working Here?" (Employee Voices)
The challenge Candidates trust other employees far more than they trust anything a company says about itself. The challenge was to capture that trust honestly, without it tipping into the polished, scripted testimonial that everyone sees through.
The insight The most credible employer brand asset is often the simplest. Real people, talking honestly, with no gloss, because the moment it feels performed, it stops working.
What we did Produced end to end: concept, scripting, shooting, and edit. We asked Showmax employees one question: what do you love about working here? - and cut their answers so one flows straight into the next, building a single honest chorus rather than a corporate montage.
What it achieved Internally, it reminded the team what they value about being there. Externally, it let candidates hear, unfiltered, what it's actually like to work at Showmax, the kind of proof no company claim can buy.
Multichoice - Employee of the Year (Recognition Storytelling)
The challenge Most recognition moments stay internal: a certificate, an award, a quick post, and then disappear. The challenge was to take a single recognition moment and make it work much harder than a one-day announcement.
The insight Recognition isn't just morale. When it's positioned deliberately, it becomes employer brand equity, and in competitive markets, these small moments compound into how people perceive you.
What we did Produced end to end: concept, scripting, shooting, and edit. Instead of treating Employee of the Year as an internal formality, we built it as a deliberate employer brand asset, shaping the recognition into a story that worked both inside the company and out in the talent market.
What it achieved Internally, it strengthened pride and reinforced what the company values. Externally, it positioned Showmax clearly in the talent market and drove real engagement on LinkedIn.
Brand Storytelling - People behind the business
Vodacom — "Sinawe
The challenge Vodacom wanted to show what its technology does for small businesses. The easy version is a customer testimonial about a card machine. Nobody watches those, and nobody believes them.
The insight The business isn't the story. The person who built it is, and so is the community that made it possible. Anthony grew up in Alexandra and built his clothing store there, and the same people who helped him build it are the ones now producing his final product. That's a real thing that happened between a man and a place. The technology sits inside that story, it isn't the point of it.
What we did Part of a documentary series profiling business owners across South African communities. We followed Anthony through a working day, into the streets he grew up in, and around the people who work with him. Shot documentary style, natural light, real places, no scripts. The story was built out of what he actually said rather than what a brief wanted him to say.
What it achieved It turned a product story into a portrait of a business owner and his community, which is the version people watch to the end and remember afterwards.
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If what's true about your organisation isn't reaching the people who need to see it, that's the gap I work in
Thabiso Ngcobo · Founder, Culthos · culthos.com
See more of Thabiso Ngcobo’s film and television work: thabisongcobo.com