Team brief · Elev8 Marketing
“Home, Your Way” — a campaign for Sofa Symphony
A one-month digital marketing strategy for a South African custom-furniture brand, developed as a team at Digify Pro Online Learning. My contribution ran across audience research, competitor analysis and the campaign concept.
Client
Sofa Symphony — made-to-order furniture
Objective
Brand awareness and online sales among first-time homeowners
Duration & budget
One month · R20,000 fully allocated
The problem
Buying custom furniture online feels risky. Shoppers want quality and personalisation but hesitate to commit sight-unseen against established retailers. Sofa Symphony's real edge is affordable customisation with personal service — so the campaign had to sell trust, not just sofas.
“Furniture that fits your life — custom-made, delivered with care, without the big-store price tag.”
Who we designed for
Nomsa, 29
First-time homeowner, Johannesburg
Wants a statement sofa that looks custom without the big-retailer price tag. Finds ideas on Instagram.
Thabo & Lerato, 34 / 32
Young family, Pretoria
Furnishing a new home on a budget. Need durable, family-friendly pieces that still look modern.
Kevin, 41
Property investor & Airbnb host, Cape Town
Furnishes multiple rental units. Values speed, consistency and easy reordering across properties.
Where the big three lose trust
- CoricraftDelivery & quality controlRepeated delays and pieces needing multiple replacements before they're right.
- ZororaPost-sale supportStrong social presence, but defensive responses to warranty disputes undo the trust marketing built.
- DecofurnImpersonal serviceLow-cost factory-shop model with stock issues and no single point of contact.
The niche: reliable, personal furniture for people furnishing spaces that matter to their next chapter — first homes, growing families, and rental properties they're building income from. Delivered digitally through life-stage content, on-time made-to-order proof points, and a WhatsApp concierge for repeat buyers.
Channels & cadence
Instagram
Lead channel — Reels & room styling, 4x/week
Facebook
Ads, retargeting & investor reach, 3x/week
TikTok
Growth — reveal & transformation clips, 2x/week
WhatsApp Business
Personalised service touchpoint
Budget: R20,000, itemised
- Paid ads (Instagram + Facebook)40%R8,000
- Content production (photo & video)27.5%R5,500
- Micro-influencer partnership17.5%R3,500
- Testing & giveaway15%R3,000
- TotalR20,000
Every rand is tied to a bookable deliverable across 12 line items — paid ads carry the largest share because awareness is the month's primary goal.
How we'd measure it
- —+15% follower growth across platforms in one month
- —Engagement rate: likes, comments, shares, saves
- —Website visits driven from social
- —Customer enquiries via DM, WhatsApp and contact form
- —Cost per click / impression on paid spend
- —Return on ad spend against the R20,000 budget
Solo project · Digify Pro
MeInPixels — AI Edition
A personal-brand deck built around one idea: AI marketing that boosts efficiency by 50%. I mapped my own skill set — content creation, social media management, web design, data analysis and cybersecurity awareness — and used Meta AI to translate it into real career paths and freelance offers.
Three careers I'd crush
- —Social Media & Content Strategist
- —Digital Marketing Analyst / Growth Specialist
- —Web Designer + security-focused VA
Freelance offers I package
- —Content + Canva package
- —Website + social setup
- —Data-driven content audit
Channels I run
Facebook
@Dipuo Mohlabane
251 followers
South African soccer clubs
Instagram
@Dipuo Mohlabane
430 followers
LGBTQ+ community content
TikTok
@dipuomohlabane8
80 followers
Favourite brands & reviews
“I turn scrolls into stories and followers into fans.”
The takeaway: instead of picking one lane, I combine creativity, data and security awareness — a mix that lets me plan a campaign, build the page it lands on, and read the numbers afterwards.
Team brief · Northstar Digital
Whiskas × Checkers Sixty60 — retail-media growth strategy
An omnichannel retail-media strategy to grow Whiskas Dry Cat Food sales on Checkers Sixty60, built on the strength of the existing brand. Developed as a team at Northstar Digital — my contribution spanned the platform gap analysis, the four strategic pillars and the measurement framework.
Client
Whiskas (Mars Petcare) on Checkers Sixty60
Objective
Incremental sales & new cat-parent acquisition
Team
Dipuo Mohlabane · Demi Meyer · Nkageleng Mohlala
Why the opportunity is real
Sixty60 sales grew 34.6% in six months to R11.9bn — nearly five times Checkers' in-store growth — while the SA cat food category grows at a 13.2% CAGR. Pet humanisation is accelerating, so a science-led brand like Whiskas is well placed to win on a fast-growing platform.
The silent risk is availability: imported lines are exposed to conflict-driven shipping disruption and Transnet port strain. On Sixty60, an out-of-stock SKU loses search ranking and gifts basket share to Purina, Royal Canin and Hill's.
Where Whiskas is under-using it
- —Losing share of search to Purina, Royal Canin & Hill's
- —Import-driven stockouts suppress future search placement
- —Personalisation via Xtra Savings left on the table
- —Sampling used occasionally, not systematically
- —Media is price-led, not brand-led
- —No structured repeat-purchase engine
Four pillars, one platform
Own the Search & Shelf
Sponsored search, category takeovers & PDP optimisation.
Personalise with Xtra Savings
Segment-level offers targeting kitten, switcher & lapsed buyers.
Drive Discovery & Trial
Always-on sampling and surprise-and-delight drops.
Build Content & Loyalty
Cat-care hub plus scheduled re-order mechanics.
Budget split & how we'd measure it
- Retail media — search & sponsored placement30%
- Personalisation & CRM (Xtra Savings / Rex)22%
- Sampling & trial18%
- Content & storytelling14%
- Availability contingency buffer10%
- Measurement & optimisation6%
- —Incremental sales vs. a holdout control group
- —ROAS across search, banners & sampling
- —Share of search on 'cat food' & 'dry cat food'
- —On-shelf availability as a media metric
- —New-to-brand buyer rate
- —Repeat-purchase & subscription uptake
“Make Whiskas the most visible, available and compelling choice for cat owners — exactly when and where they're ready to buy.”