By Zahn Hulme
My heartfelt congratulations on Twisted Toast’s 12 years in business! May your boundless creativity, innovation and professionalism multiply over years to come.
My journey with The Toast started in 2014 when they took on the content management of both Atterbury Property and Atterbury Trust. From day one I was blown away by their professionalism, creativity and competence. They soon became an integral part of the marketing team – with a thorough understanding of the business we are in. Commitment, professionalism and quality are evident in all they do – from the emphasis on a consistent tone of messaging that goes out into the market, scheduled weekly updates on social media, emphasis on the quality and appropriateness of pictures published on public platforms as well as the outstanding quality of writing in marketing brochures and on social media.
The Atterbury Property and Atterbury Trust websites were immediately overhauled, regular Blueprint and Omgee newsletters became the norm – with original articles written monthly by qualified brand journalists with years of experience in the content industry. New ideas are consistently generated, different angles are explored – giving insight in the latest news and developments at Atterbury.
Social media pages were created at the time and consistently maintained – regularly updated with at least three new weekly posts, keeping various audiences informed about Atterbury’s developments, Trust projects and what the Atterbury family, Atterbury Trust students and alumni were up to. People soon started noticing, enquiring and talking about Atterbury Property and Atterbury Trust’s marketing and content management. I really believe an industry standard was set at the time and to this day where Twisted Toast continues to assist with Atterbury Trust’s content management – the Trust’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn profiles continue to expand and are reaching thousands of engaged followers on a daily basis.
The consistent, properly curated messaging that went out in the market resulted in new business, both on the property and social responsibility side. Especially for Atterbury Trust, credibility and transparency are paramount in convincing potential donors to entrust their contributions to us. The exponential increase in external donors entrusting their donations to the Trust over the past nine years is testament to this.
Since 2014, Kim and Louis really became part of the team – they take every effort to ensure that they deliver work of an outstanding standard. They remain at the forefront of current developments in the field of content management and are always ready to advise us which direction to take. I value their innovative approach, always ensuring that new angles are explored and our followers are informed with the latest happenings. They are always available – I can recall instances where I called late on a Friday evening or over the weekend and no matter where Kim and Louis found themselves at the time, they attended to the crisis at hand!
Fondly and proudly, I look back to some of the wonderful marketing campaigns and initiatives that we worked on together over the years – “Laat die hare waai”, the 50th birthday book that we compiled for Atterbury Group CEO Louis van der Watt, the beautiful Versnit coffee table book, many Atterbury Trust brochures that touched hearts. For Atterbury Property, brochures such as Showcase and Space that are still in existence were brainchildren of Twisted Toast.
Twisted Toast has created some wonderful positioning statements, innovative slogans and named projects. Terugploeg • Hulp wat werk being one of the best examples I think! Blueprint News and Omgeenuus were also created by the Toast team. Fortunately, we also taught Kim a few Afrikaans words, sooispit being a prime example.
And last, but definitely not least, we also have a lot of fun whilst doing business together. A “kuier” with the Toast team is always a memorable event – wonderful conversations about life, family and especially our children that are so close to our hearts — we can always find something to laugh about or celebrate. Kim and Louis make every effort to attend events hosted by the Atterbury Trust, showing their commitment to what we do and enhancing their in-depth understanding of what the Trust is all about. They actively engage with our team and students and it is always special to spend time in their company.
I trust that this wonderful working relationship, special friendship and kinship will continue and grow in years to come.
