Copywriter meets Germany

Tunohole Mungoba

Masiyaleti Mbewe, a copywriter sat down with The Zone to talk about her profession, her experiences in the industry and the wonders of Germany.

“So a copywriter is part of the creative studio in an advertising agency. Initially my core responsibility is to write the text that accompanies advertisements; this text is called ‘copy’,” says Mbewe. An example of copy would be say a tagline, radio advertisements and TV scripts. Mbewe also said to The Zone that copywriters also come up with concepts for clients. “I also have to make sure that spelling and grammar is correct before ads go to print and proofreading copy that is sent in from clients is also part of copywriting.”

According to Mbewe, she got into copywriting by accident. After completing her studies in media studies and English at the University of Namibia (UNAM), she started off at as journalist. “I entered a short story competition online and won an interview and landed a job at one of the top advertising firms in the country so it kind of snow balled from there,” she said. Mbewe says she is obsessed with trends in pop-culture, a critical thinker and she likes to write “so it is a combination of all three in a way.”

Mbewe advises those who are interested in copywriting to be able to take criticism and turn it into something positive. “I think the most important thing is to learn how to take all comments, whether negative or positive and work well under pressure. I think I tried to be perfect and come up with amazing ideas all the time but that is not really realistic. You have good days and you have bad days. I think being creative and resourceful with ideas is also super important when you are a copywriter.”

She lists seeing something she wrote on a billboard as her biggest highlight. “It is a great feeling seeing an ad come together or hearing an ad I wrote on the radio. There are lowlights too and I think the long hours working on pitches and maybe having to scrap an idea you were really pushing for can be the lowlights.”

“I studied at Unam and a lot of people in the industry study at schools outside the country especially in South Africa. However, I think it is important to know that a good copywriter can come out of anywhere. Some of these advertising schools are expensive so even if you do not get into these super prestigious schools, you can make it in the industry.”

Mbewe says her journey to Germany was very eye-opening and she has learned a lot. “When I was 23, I did a TEDX talk on afrofuturism. One of the organisers for the Afro-Tech festival watched my video and I was invited to attend to give talks and lectures. There were different speakers from all over the world who gave different interpretations about the concept and it was a really good experience,” she says. The festival invited musicians, artists from different fields, politicians and scholars.

The festival was held in Dortmund which is a city in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region that ran from the 20 to 29 October.

“The festival really opened my mind to the different elements of afrofuturism. There are so many ways one can play with it, but here in our country we are closed off in a bubble,” she says.

Afrofuturism is a cultural philosophy of science, and philosophy of history that combines elements of science fiction, historical fiction and fantasy with non-Western traditions in order to evaluate not only the present-day dilemmas of black people, but also to revise the historical events of the past. “I walked away from the festival wanting to teach afrofuturism. It made me realise that I actually need to work towards my goal and I can hopefully teach it in our universities here.”

Pull-out quote 1: “I think the most important thing is to learn how to take all comments, whether negative or positive and work well under pressure. I think I tried to be perfect and come up with amazing ideas all the time but that is not really realistic. You have good days and you have bad days.” - Masiyaleti Mbewe, a copywriter.

Fact Box: 10 facts you should know about copywriting

· Knowledge of your target audience. You will market to different audiences over the duration of your career and it is imperative you know what they seek.

· You should have a unique voice or proposition. If you add your unique spin or voice to what your target audience wants, you have caught their attention.

· Attention grabbing or compelling headlines. Make sure you always stay creative and keep your mind busy with fresh and cool ideas.

· Do your research. You will have to back up your presentation with facts, and perhaps things of note, and this is where research is very important, and the more research, the more unique your work.

· Practice and learn what questions to ask when writing. What does the audience want, why should they listen to you? And can you solve a problem they have?

· Always work on your copy. It would be terrible to write perfect copy only to lose your reader because of grammar and spelling mistakes.

· Avoid inaction words or phrases. Always keep your copy clean and concise

· Use active voice. It is much better and it is more preferable.

· Grammar is very important. Most people skim and they miss stupid mistakes.

· Know where you are going. Writing direct response copy always serves a specific purpose. You are writing to stimulate a specific behaviour. If you get that behaviour, you win. If you fail to get it, you lose.