Senior Creative Strategist & Designer · Cape Town, South Africa
10+ years of brand, design and performance marketing across 14 countries, from startup to enterprise. Open to contract work or the right full-time role.
Real clients, real results.
Content · SEO · Social · Email · Brand · Fiskal Finance · 2025–2026
Fiskal
As Marketing Lead I owned the full marketing function: content strategy & execution, webinars & events, social media across LinkedIn / Facebook / Instagram / X / YouTube / Spotify / Reddit, website & SEO (improved ranking on both search engines & LLMs), email marketing via Beehiiv, cold outreach, press releases, customer case studies and cross-functional collaboration.
Fiskal's partner status
Xero Platinum Partner · Intuit QuickBooks Platinum ProAdvisor · ShipStation Certified Implementation Partner · Gusto Bronze Partner · Cin7 Certified Referral Partner · Cin7 Marketing Partner 2024 · Cin7 Accounting Partner of the Year 2025, an award I helped secure and covered in a press release.
website traffic YoY
Ideas Competition Winner
Company-wide · with Head of Data & Head of CX
Design · Brand · Content · UI/UX · Animation · Shop2Shop · 2022–2024
Shop2Shop
As Design Lead (and interim Head of Brand & Marketing) at Shop2Shop, a 200-person Stellenbosch-based company. I created an all-new illustration style and look & feel, handled digital content (copy, design, UI/UX, print, video, animation), managed final art on large-format print (billboards, popup stands, taxi stands, merchandise, clothing, gazebos, device packaging), mentored junior designers, and collaborated with some of SA's largest retailers including Massmart and Jumbo. Also produced an internal announcement video.
person company
Google Partner
Certified agency
MACE Excellence Award
Stellenbosch University animation
Managing Director · Marketing Manager · Wolf & Halo · 2017–2022
Wolf & Halo
Over 5.5 years I grew from Junior Designer to Marketing Manager to Managing Director of this Stellenbosch creative agency. As MD I ran all company admin, payroll and accounting, led lead generation and client relations, and project-managed multiple marketing, animation and design clients simultaneously, with monthly budgets ranging from R1,000 to R1,000,000.
new clients signed as MD
2D Animation · Motion · YouTube
The School of Life
Views across channels I animated for. Multiple videos for one of YouTube's most respected philosophy and psychology channels, from storyboard to final motion.
Paid media · Facebook · Instagram · Google
Adventure Bootcamp
Monthly signups from a single month campaign. Took over from another agency. –22% lower CPA, +200% franchising enquiries, lower bounce rate.
Lead gen · Digital strategy · A Rupert Company
Business Partners Ltd
Leads from campaign 1→2. R2M over 11 months, 3–5K qualified leads for business loans. 30% high-quality leads.
eCommerce · Google · Social · International
Melvill & Moon
Avg monthly ROI on ad spend. Consistently 20× ROAS. Cost per sale reduced 90%. Expanded to UK, Germany, France.
eCommerce · Conversion optimisation
Happy Culture
Conversion rate increase. CPA lowered –77%. YoY revenue increased. SA's proudly local kombucha & water kefir brand.
Political campaign · Chatbot · 2021
Anonymous National Election
Social engagement over 2 months. 95,000 contacts via MobileMonkey chatbot. Party won with 60% of the national vote.
Hospitality · Google · Social · Wilderness, SA
Nima Lodge
Occupancy increase. Tripled YoY revenue. Achieved full independence from OTA platform fees.
App installs · FinTech · SA's first insurance app
CTRL Insurance
First app installs at R11/install (Google). Animated video included sign language for the hearing-impaired.
Landing page · A/B testing · Insurance
VirSeker
Landing page conversion rate. 12K+ visitors, 8K+ sign-up clicks. Split-tested 3 landing page variants.
Education · B2B · MTN / UCT GSB
Solution Space
Of all programme applications came from my campaigns. 68% decrease in CPA. Sold all available tickets across multiple runs.
Health · eCommerce · UK brand in SA
Kollo Health
Checkouts in two months. UK's leading liquid collagen brand. Increased store traffic, CVR, adds-to-cart, and checkouts simultaneously.
eCommerce · Health · 1-month campaign
Revite / Pharmamark
Online orders in a single one-month campaign for the SuperB supplement range. Custom creatives across social and Google.
Medical research · COVID tests · Paid media
CPGR Genetics
Facebook reach. COVID test sales campaign. Design work plus paid media on social and Google.
Skincare · Instagram · Follower growth
The Natural™ Africa
First followers acquired in 2 months on a minimal budget. Increased engagement and reach for unisex plant-based skincare brand.
Social media · Follower growth
BAS Interesting Times Gang
Followers gained. At kr42 per follower. Avg engagement rate increased significantly over 2-month paid social campaign.
Renewable energy · Lead gen · 15-month campaign
Energy Partners Home Solutions
Lead-to-opportunity conversion rate. 47% decrease in cost per lead. Website redesign + 15 months of demand generation.
Real estate · Netherlands · Amsterdam
Baxter Building
Boardroom rental rate. Website + 3-month campaign with 24/7 live dashboard. Extended through COVID with pivoted targeting.
SaaS · B2B · CPC optimisation
Magnetic HQ
Cost per click within 3 months. Agency workflow management SaaS. New targeting, new creative, significantly lower CPA.
FinTech · App growth · Virgin Group
Virgin Money / Spot
People reached on a minimal budget. Fully-animated ads across social and Google Ads to drive app user uptake.
Spirits · eCommerce · Organic agave
Leonista
Sales increase with minimal spend. Higher returning customer rate and avg order value. Bespoke content across multiple creative approaches.
Sports · Animation · Stats video
Varsity Cup
Produced an advertising stats video: an animated highlight-reel format showcasing tournament statistics and sponsor value.
What would content be without somewhere to host it? From eCommerce and app UIs to campaign microsites and corporate rebrands. 60+ sites built over 10+ years.
Alongside client work, I design, build and run my own products. All three are live and free to use.
2D animation, explainer videos, motion graphics, 3D modelling, documentary editing. 10M+ views across animated channels.
From traditional painting and wine-label illustration to CI guides, large-format print and UI/UX. 10+ years across SA's biggest brands.
CI guides, logo systems, colour palettes and full rollout across digital, print, merchandise and signage. Clients include Fiskal, Shop2Shop, Melvill & Moon, Microsoft and more.
Hand-drawn and digital illustration: character and concept work, children’s book art, posters and editorial pieces.
Two picture books I wrote and illustrated from cover to cover. Both are complete and looking for the right publishing home.
Final art and design for billboards, popup stands, taxi stands, merchandise, clothing, gazebos and device packaging. Large-format retail work for Massmart and Jumbo.
Paid and organic creative across Meta, Google, LinkedIn and Reddit: static, animated and video ad sets built to convert.
App and web UI, design systems, prototyping in Figma, email templates and editorial layout.
About Haiko
I'm a Senior Creative Strategist and Designer based in Somerset West, South Africa. I've spent 10+ years at the intersection of creative and performance: building brands, directing campaigns and obsessing over results across every channel and format imaginable.
My career has taken me from wine-label illustration in Stellenbosch to running national election campaigns (helping to win twice, not South Africa), from animating content that's clocked 10M+ YouTube views to scaling eCommerce stores to 20× ROAS. I've managed ad budgets from $250 to $60,000/month across 14 countries.
I hold a 4-year BA Visual Arts: Visual Communication Design degree (cum laude in Visual Studies, minor in Industrial Psych) from Stellenbosch University and am an Adobe Certified Expert and Google Certified Expert. I'm also a Toastmaster and a proud new dad.
Currently Senior Creative Strategist at Fill My Funnel (UK, remote, 2026–now), Chief Marketing & Growth Partner at Advertified (remote, 2026–now) and Moderator at S3 Community (2026–now). Available for the right freelance and consulting projects.
Core skills
Tech stack
Countries I've managed ads in
USA · Canada · Netherlands · Belgium · Germany · Sweden · Norway · UK · France · Switzerland · Zambia · South Africa · Australia · New Zealand
Using my skills where they matter most.
Daktari Bush School
Managed their Google Ads grant to attract volunteers for 3 years.
K.E.E.P. & Tracker Academy
GivenGain fundraising campaign, exceeding the $16,500 goal by 21%. Sponsors include Tswalu, Escape, Melvill & Moon, Swarovski Optik and the Shuttleworths.
BirdLife South Africa
Raised awareness for Dave Chamberlain's 50 consecutive ultra-marathons for the African Penguin Relocation Project.
Wildhood Foundation
Edited documentary videos and ran campaigns raising awareness of the endangered rhinoceros.
Also supported
Golden Key International Honour Society · 2014
Membership for academic excellence at Stellenbosch University.
YouTube · 10M+ views
Animated videos across multiple channels have collectively exceeded 10 million views.
Microsoft · 2015
Designed 2 wallpapers for Microsoft's new Lumia device range.
Adobe Certified Expert · 2011
Photoshop CS4, Dreamweaver CS4, Flash CS4, Web Specialist.
Google Certified Expert · 2017–2019
Google Ads: Fundamentals, Shopping, Search.
LinkedIn Certified · Jun 2026
Marketing Measurement Cert. (ID: zn3d6kpt268i) and Advertising Fundamentals Cert. (ID: h8modcjwc5k4). Both expire Jun 2028.
Available for freelance projects, consulting retainers and the right full-time roles.
I respond within 24 hours.
