Helping Google celebrate their customers’s success through the power of film

We’ve all heard inspiring stories about entrepreneurs who transformed a homegrown passion into a globally successful business - but have you ever met one of these mythical people? This year, we had the privilege to tell the story of not one, but two such entrepreneurs, in South Africa.

Our client, Google for Retail, played a crucial role in helping these entrepreneurs turn their dreams into reality. And we led the creative process of championing their success, through film, for the world to see.

When our client asked us to produce their customer stories, we looked towards South Africa. We knew good business ideas were blossoming there, but not many films about them were being produced. So we set out to find a story worth telling - and amplifying. 

Picture this: a woman can’t find beauty products tailored for her hair type, so she starts making her own, using local and natural ingredients. A man wants to celebrate his traditional culture and give it global visibility through fashion. To turn their ideas into businesses, they look to Google to boost their visibility online. This helps grow their clientele - and their revenue, allowing them to expand and take their ambitions even further. Great stories, aren’t they? These are the real-life successes of hair-care brand Native Child and knitwear label MaXhosa, now established businesses in the global market.

Two stories that addressed our client’s needs? Check. A solid plan on how to showcase them on film? Check. Both brands available for a shoot? Check. Now all we had to do was hit GO on our South African project. Our team collaborated with Laduma Ngxokolo, founder of MaXhosa, and Sonto Pooe, founder of Native Child, to produce films that delve deeply into the personal, intimate, human elements of these brands and their journeys towards success. As a result, we delivered a genuine celebration of Google’s solutions from their closest fans: their thriving customers. Here they are: