Razor

South Africa

Advertising group M&C Saatchi launched Razor as its South African PR firm in January 2020, bringing in respected industry veterans Dustin Chick and Kalay Maistry to build a new business in the midst of a recession and just as the pandemic was starting to take hold. Despite (or perhaps because of) the market conditions, Razor is the fastest growing startup in M&C Saatchi’s venerable history, with its senior-level focus and expertise in financial services, technology, public advocacy and measurement helping to develop a very 21st century reputation management firm, underpinned by a values-driven ethos. Most notably, Razor has demonstrated a world-class ability to marry high-level reputation counsel with stellar creative, in a country where multi-stakeholder engagement has never been more important.

The past 12 months, since winning our African Consultancy of the Year award of last year, have been eventful and have seen Razor progress even further. The firm finalized an exclusive graduate program in partnership with the University of Johannesburg; completed a management buyout that saw it gain its independence as a wholly-owned African agency (though it remains a Saatci affiliate); earned its fifth Global SABRE Award in five years; and partnering with Irvine Partners to expand its reach across the continent, and with Ethicore to offer public affairs expertise.

There was a host of new business, too, with assignments from AfriGIS, The Beverage Company, Pepsi, Kenvue, Benylin, Aveeno, Standard Bank Corporate Investment Bank, First for Women Insurance, Auto & General Insurance, The Core Group (Apple distributor) / iStore, Eduvos, Paycorp, Rise Mzanzi, and in the first few months of 2025 MTN Group social media, MTN Group Fintech, InDriv, and a crisis communications brief from—a total of more than R40 million.

On the creative front, highlights included the EMEA SABRE Award-winning “Bullet Proof Park” campaign for Gun Free South Africa; “From Green to Blue” for NTT Data; and “30 Years of Democracy Through Young Eyes” for Of Soul and Joy. Other creative initiatives included the launch of Encore, a content production hub, and Razor Wire, an earned first media capability.

The firm added new talent, with the addition of Sharleen James as managing director, working closely with Chick, now chief executive, to grow the business. The formation of a business advisory group brought additional consultants to the team for expertise in areas from positioning and messaging to behavioral science. Razor also launched a new groupwide employee value proposition, “To Boldly Go,” and launched new “work from anywhere” initiative. —Paul Holmes