Planning for the Best: Challenging Convention with Maxine Selmer-Olsen

Maxine is a strategic planner who brings a touch of creative flair to the rigour of planning – with three Effies and a Loerie win for works such as Nozizwe for Gillette and Decolonise Autocorrect for Savanna Cider.

LBB> When did you first realise creativity was something you were interested in? Was there anything in your childhood that would indicate the industry you ended up in?

Maxine> Funny enough, I used to love making my own talk shows and movies with my parents' video camera. These were complete with 'ad breaks' for anything I could find around the house. So, even though advertising didn't cross my mind when choosing university courses and careers later on, the signs of me ending up here were there early on. 

LBB> Choosing what to study at university, how did you decide on journalism and how did that then form your first few years of work?

Maxine> I've always loved telling stories. I had fantastic English teachers at school who fostered this and helped me explore and develop a talent for language and writing.

The decision to pursue journalism was inspired by two of my History teachers, who used a lot of investigative journalism as source material. It was also around this time that investigative units for newspapers like Mail & Guardian were really starting to expose deep-rooted corruption. I started writing for a magazine called TeenZone when I was in my last year of school and joined the University of Pretoria's student newspaper when I began studying there.  

LBB> After time spent as a journalist and editor, you joined Grey as a copywriter. What were some of the formative lessons you learned during this period?

Maxine> I've taken three key lessons from that time through to the rest of my career. First, you won't always get it right the first time. You might go into a review with what you think is a great piece of copy, only to come out with a rewrite. I wasn't used to that way of working, and it took a while for me to become comfortable with that because I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist. 

That takes us nicely to the second lesson, which is grit. You have to have the resolve to keep going and keep doing well in this industry. I remember writing dozens of versions of the script for what eventually became 'Nozizwe' for Gillette, with one review with Fran Luckin, our Chief Creative Officer, in her car at the company Christmas party! That drove home that grit is the difference between good and great. 

Lastly, one of the senior writers who was like a mentor to me at the time told me to keep a folder of work I wished I had done and look at what was in there often to keep inspired and driven. 

LBB> What made you move from copywriting to strategic planning? What were some of the transferrable skills between the roles?

Maxine> I loved copywriting, but I felt there was something missing. I always appreciated the grounding of a good strategy and was drawn to the rigour and analytical aspect of the discipline. When the time came to think about my long-term career plan, I realised that strategic planning would be more fulfilling long-term. There was a lot to learn, but my ability to write has been an invaluable asset. I'm still telling a story. This time, though, that story has to craft something compelling from the very rational information that comes from consumer information, research, theory, objectives, and business problems.   

It's always my goal to give the creative team a brief I'd like to have been given as a writer, and when I'm envious of the ideas they come up with, I know I've got it right.

LBB> In your day as a strategic planner, what are some of the roles and responsibilities you take care of?

Maxine> I'm generally working on campaign strategies or brand planning. I keep a close eye on shifts in the market and consumer behaviour so that we know when and how to respond – although I'm a big believer in not changing course until the market tells you to. I'm firm on consistency and spend time with the creative teams reviewing work to achieve this while allowing room for fresh and innovative ideas. I obsessively look out for thinking and research from the likes of Mark Ritson, Les Binet, Orlando Wood and Byron Sharp and his team at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, drawing as much of their work into my own as I can.  

LBB> You recently worked on the Savanna Premium Cider campaign. Can you tell us a little about the strategy and planning that went into it?

Maxine> We needed to launch the new Savanna Chilled Chilli cider into a tough market that was shaken by a rocky local economy. I joined the team on the brand after the initial communication strategy was developed by my colleague Christel Raubenhaimer, and picked up on it as we got ready to go to market. As mentioned, I'm a stickler for consistency, so we had to stay true to the brand's positioning, but we could have some fun with this campaign because it was a new launch. The flavour profile was so different from the rest of the core range that we decided to make the personality different, too. We ended up lending a sense of drama to the product to grab attention.

LBB> What characterises the South African cider market, and how did the aforementioned campaign fall into this?

Maxine> It's a competitive and cluttered market. Savanna Premium Cider has always used humour in brand comms, but other brands tend to be more serious in tone. Flavour variations are also generally limited to fruit other than apples, so we had the opportunity to really stand out and challenge convention in terms of product and the promotions around it. 

LBB> You work across the Middle East and Africa but also Asia Pacific. How do the regions differ, and what are some of the ways creativity falls across all of them?

Maxine> I mostly work in South Africa, with some work in the rest of Africa. There are cultural nuances that you need to be sensitive to, but as long as you're grounded in your consumer, the same principles of communication apply.

LBB> When you tackle a campaign, where is the first place you start?

Maxine> With the consumer – always. I need to know what they're thinking and doing before I can work out how to influence those perceptions and behaviours. 

LBB> During the creative process, what is your favourite thing to do, and what is something you would prefer not to do?

Maxine> I prefer not forcing myself to put pen to paper early on — I like to spend a day or so just thinking about the task, reading related articles, listening to podcasts, and looking through Effie and Cannes archives to find some inspiration while my brain gets to work. 

LBB> Aside from work, what keeps you busy in your free time?

Maxine> I love reading, sewing and embroidery. My husband is an amazing cook, so I spend a lot of time eating delicious food and working out so I can eat more!