louiseksteen

AMASA has launched Mastering Media Planning: Where Art & Science Meet, a new textbook for South Africa’s next generation of media professionals. Louis Eksteen wrote the chapter on magazines.

A toast to 15 years of twisted thinking On 1 April 2011, two people who had spent just over a decade publishing magazines for a living launched a digital marketing agency. No investors. No business plan worth the paper it wasn’t printed on. Just a ridiculous name, a shared belief that great content could sell anything and a stubbornness that, looking back, was probably our single greatest asset.

COMING SOON We have been quietly building something we are genuinely proud of. Rostersmith is a SaaS platform purpose-built for healthcare practices that need to eliminate the pain of roster scheduling. Think pathology labs, radiology groups and multi-site medical practices - any environment where complex shift patterns, regulatory compliance and provider availability collide in ways spreadsheets were never designed to handle.

How South Africa's robot culture drives an economy Last Thursday, at the corner of Winnie Mandela and Republic in Sandton, right across from the Pick n Pay, I watched a man without a face mime for tips. Not metaphorically. Actually, without a face. Just glasses, a fedora and a long trench coat covering what I can only assume was a talented human being perched somewhere inside. His invisible head extended from the back of the coat, with a hat balanced impossibly on a thin wire, defying physics and common sense in equal measure. Oh, the nowhere head had glasses, too. The mid-morning traffic idled. Some drivers looked bemused. Others reached for change. A few filmed it on their phones.

On 1 April 2026, Twisted Toast Digital turns 15. It’s hard for me to believe. I’m not sure why but lately both our history and future have been on my mind. We’re lucky to be busy with work from a wide and diverse client roster across many different industries. This made me think about all our various clients with whom we’re sharing our journey, as well as our agency’s ebb and flow.

A recent Forbes article by an agency contributor got me thinking again about something we encounter daily at Twisted Toast. The real differentiator for modern brands isn’t better tech, slicker automation or even access to more data. It’s creative energy. Not the abstract kind, but strategic, intentional creativity that connects emotionally and builds long-term brand value.

A new search era dawns As of July 2025, 43% of consumers now use AI search tools such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini daily. Trust in these tools is substantial. Yext’s global survey (March / April 2025) reveals that 62 % of users trust AI to help them discover and evaluate brands. This marks a monumental shift from traditional search.

A lifelong friend of mine is a devout vinyl record enthusiast, listener, collector and a sometimes-trader of high-quality old-school records. Pieter’s Groovy Records side hustle has become a known brand amongst like-minded aficionados of the emotion-rich qualities of a distinctive vinyl record sound. He and his ilk are not alone.

At Twisted Toast Digital, we believe a website should be your most reliable employee, always on, always working. But too often, websites are neglected or underperforming. We change that by following seven wise steps: from smart strategy and brand-first design to UX-driven layouts, sharp GEO and SEO plus ongoing optimisation. Our approach combines thoughtful content, technical excellence and continuous refinement. The result? A high-performing site that tells your story, converts visitors and evolves with your business. Because a good-looking website isn’t enough... it must deliver results.

At Twisted Toast Digital, we’ve learnt that content without strategy is just noise. Many brands chase likes or pageviews, but overlook what matters most: Sales. The biggest pitfalls? No clear goals, inconsistent output, poor GEO and SEO and content that talks at customers instead of connecting with them. Our approach is different. We build smart, results-driven strategies aligned with your business goals, optimised for human impact and AI visibility. The result? Content that doesn’t just exist. It performs. Let’s make yours count.