Creativity in a virtual world
At Zeven, distributed work has always been a part of what we do – with half of our team working in Switzerland and half in Cape Town, South Africa. This approach has also been so beneficial for us because it means we’re able to tap into the artistic talent and the unique perspectives of people living in two very different, very diverse locations.
On a more practical note, this pairing works so well because we are working with native English speakers and because South Africa and Switzerland fall in the same time zone so we can easily work together without having to wait for our partners on the other side of the world. And for our clients, working in emerging markets offers an exceptional price-performance-ratio.
Cape Town as a creative hub
Back in 1580, English sea captain, naval officer and explorer, Sir Francis Drake, described Cape Town as “the most stately thing and the fairest Cape we saw in the whole circumference of the earth”.
And he’s not the only one who thinks Cape Town is pretty special.
In 2019, Time Out magazine listed Cape Town as one of the best cities in the world, beating out popular locations like Miami and Dubai. Cape Town has also earned the top spot in The Telegraph’s Travel Awards for seven years in a row.
But beyond beautiful beaches, wildlife, award winning wine farms and Table Mountain, this impressive South African city’s brain is just as impressive as its brawn. This beautiful location is also a hub for art, culture, design and creativity.
In 2017, Cape Town became the first city in Africa to be named a UNESCO City of Design. The accolade saw Cape Town joining 180 cities in 72 countries in a network committed to the promotion and development of innovation and creativity. Being named a City of Design showcases that inventiveness, imagination and culture are critical components of the city and demonstrates that Cape Town is focused on developing its creative industries.
Similarly, the Savills Tech Cities index ranks cities from around the world based on a wide range of metrics – ranging from real estate costs and the volume of inward venture capital investment to the city’s talent pool and the cost of a flat white coffee at a trendy coffee shop. The Savills Tech Cities index highlights which cities are the best homes for tech businesses and start-ups. Last year, Cape Town ranked 30th on the list, appearing alongside popular destinations like San Francisco, Paris, Barcelona and Berlin.
COVID-19 may have changed up so many aspects of our lives but this distributed, digitized world needn’t be a bad thing. In fact, this new reality opens up a world of possibilities. At zeven, we’re all about leveraging digital to tell your story, using the right channels to target the right customers. Need help telling your story? Get in touch.