When she joined The Hardy Boys in February 2022 as a Creative Director, Zodwa Gunuza was looking forward to challenging herself and it wasn’t long before she got her chance!
In August, Zodwa was invited to represent THB as part the 2022 Loeries Digital Judging Panel.
Zodwa has been in the industry for over 13 years and came to THB after a two-year stint at HelloFCB+, where she was part of the IAB Digital Content Marketing Committee and had earned a reputation for her award-winning concepts, including her work on My Covid Diaries for the City of Cape Town.
She says she is known for her gentle but effective approach as a Creative Director and leader. “I tend to get things done in a very gentle manner, barely getting frazzled by tight deadlines or hard work,” she said.
An eye opening experience
This was Zodwa’s first time judging a major awards selection and she took her seat on the Loeries panel alongside creative directors, senior content strategists and executive creative directors from groups including Publicis, Ogilvy, King James, TBWA, Meta and Tiktok.
She says it was a privilege to be in a room with some of the giants of the industry right now and described her experience as eye-opening – especially seeing how different people perceived different jobs and ideas.
Digital for a changing world
When asked what she looked for in an award-winning piece, Zodwa said, “We can’t be viewing work in the same way we did three years ago. More platforms of communication have opened up and how we reach and speak to our audience has changed. The winning pieces needed to portray this new way of thinking and doing.”
Speaking on her overall views of the work judged she said, “There’s been more and more meaningful work across the board, work that solves real societal problems. It’s exciting to see how work has evolved to mimic how life has changed since the pandemic.”
THB Chief Creative Officer Geoff Patton said he was proud to have Zodwa representing the team at the Loeries. “We’re proud to have someone like Zodwa on our team that has clearly garnered respect in the industry. It’s especially exciting for us to have a voice from The Hardy Boys present in the Digital creative conversation.”
