Work that matters: How OLC is turning brand purpose into real-world change

Because here’s the truth: real creativity doesn’t just sell products. It serves people, communities, and the planet.

As consumers demand brands that show up for the planet, for people, and for progress, South African agencies are uniquely positioned to lead this global shift combining empathy, creativity, and cultural fluency to drive measurable impact. Few embody that intersection quite like Offlimit Communications (OLC), whose award-winning campaigns prove that purpose and performance are not opposites, but amplifiers.

Every brief is an opportunity to create progress, to affect social change. That’s the real benchmark of modern marketing.

Our managing director, Garon Bloom, weighs in: “For us, doing work that matters means using creativity as a force for change. The real win isn’t just a trophy, it’s when an idea improves a child’s future, cleans up a festival, or makes mental health feel safe to talk about. That’s where creativity earns its keep.”

Milo Future Champs: Empowering a generation through sport and nutrition

If sustainability is the soul of purpose, Milo Future Champs is its beating heart. Tackling childhood obesity and unequal access to physical education, this national programme reached over one million children through school and sports-club activations across quintile 1–6 communities.

Partnering with the Department of Basic Education, Milo turned a brand mission into policy impact, establishing South Africa’s first brand-backed, structured physical-education initiative. Children participated in biokinetics sessions, nutrition workshops, and play zones that championed inclusion and movement for all.

The results were as measurable as they were meaningful: Brand Awareness (+3 pp), Relevance (+5 pp), Resonance (+2 pp), and Salience (+3 pp). More importantly, the DBE extended its partnership with Milo until 2030, proof that when brands invest in wellbeing, they don’t just shape behaviour; they shape policy.

Assegai Award winner – Best Campaign for Social Good (second place).

Old Mutual 'The Nest': A space that nurtures the nurturers

In collaboration with Ogilvy South Africa, we launched The Old Mutual Nest, a first-of-its-kind sanctuary for parents and young children, nestled in The Zone @ Rosebank.

The Nest was built on a simple yet profound insight: while malls cater to shoppers, few truly cater to parents. The space reimagines what it means for a financial-services brand to 'show up' for families, not through advertising, but through acts of care.

Inside, visitors find everything a parent could need: private breastfeeding rooms, spotless changing stations, bottle-warming and cleaning facilities, soft play zones, and freshly brewed coffee and tea, all free of charge, open to everyone, whether or not they’re Old Mutual customers.

More than an amenity, The Nest is a tangible expression of empathy: a brand activation that trades hard sell for human service. It reframes financial wellness as something that begins not with a policy, but with peace of mind.

TikTok Digital Well-being Summit: Protecting the people behind the posts

In 2025, TikTok took a stand: you can’t celebrate culture if you’re not protecting the people creating it. Hosted at Langhams Lifestyle Estate, the Digital Well-being Summit transformed mental health from a corporate talking point into an experiential movement.

Gamified demo zones let guests test in-app wellbeing tools, from meditation features to safety filters. Pan-African stakeholders, from SADAG and the Film & Publication Board to the WHO Fides Network, joined forces to drive systemic change. The summit’s hybrid design balanced Gen Z creativity with policy-level gravitas, proving that creativity and safety can coexist.

The impact was unprecedented:

• 133 stakeholders across six African markets
  
• 375 media stories/93.7 million impressions
  
• 99% positive sentiment + 97% message penetration
  
• Extension of TikTok’s $2.3m Global Mental Health Education Fund into sub-Saharan Africa.

This wasn’t marketing. It was systems change where a platform became a lifeline, a hashtag became a helpline, and a one-day summit became the moment Africa’s youth wellbeing moved from talk to tangible, trusted action.

The takeaway

From playgrounds to festivals to digital spaces, OLC’s portfolio demonstrates that creativity can be a catalyst for good. These campaigns span three pillars of social impact, physical, environmental, and mental wellbeing, each proving that purpose-driven marketing isn’t just good ethics; it’s good business.

When agencies design for impact, brands become movements. And when movements uplift people, protect the planet, and leave policy-level legacies – that’s when we can truly call it work that matters.

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