Nombeko Veronica Ketelo

• Pharmacy Branding:
• Manage a branding budget exceeding R1.2 million, ensuring optimal ROI and delivering accurate, timely reports.
• Oversee interior and exterior pharmacy branding in collaboration with regional sales managers.
• Interpret contracts and briefs, acquiring the necessary elements to execute branding projects effectively.
• Coordinate with designers to develop artwork, ensuring brand consistency and compliance with guidelines.
• Liaise with Quality Assurance and Packaging teams to align pharmacy branding with regulatory standards.
• Manage relationships with suppliers across South Africa, overseeing site audits and branding rollouts.
• Print Production:
• Manage the trafficking of marketing materials through the Wrike system.
• Ensure print quality by verifying correct substrates, finishes, and information on rerun jobs.
• Organize mock-ups and samples, including promotional items (towels, watches, pens, etc.).
• Facilitate production for pharmacies, doctors, seminars, and congresses.
• Sourcing:
• Source marketing materials and promotional items from both existing and new vendors.
• Manage the process from start to finish — negotiating pricing, evaluating samples (such as a mouse pad printed on recycled felt with a rubber backing as a recycling and sustainability initiative), preparing die lines, briefing artwork to vendors, verifying new samples, and ensuring delivery is made in a timely manner either to the logistics team or directly for a launch or event.
• Finance Administration:
• Manage department financial processes, including negotiating prices for printing, verifying quotes, creating purchasing orders in SAP, ensuring goods’ delivery, uploading invoices into CIMMRA for payment, and following up on queries in MATRIX42.

As an account manager I look after 5 categories in the studio:

· Unicorn Pharmaceutical (all categories under the portfolio)

· Clicks Pharmaceutical (all categories under the portfolio from health shakes, medicine of all schedules, bandages etc.)

· Clicks confectionery (sweet, savoury, drinks (sparkling, juices, ice teas and water, and health foods and snacks

· Electrical beauty (hair dryers, curlers, massagers etc.)

· Electrical home ware (ovens, irons, air fryers, kettles, Panini pressers etc.)

I am responsible for managing and planning resources (designers, concepts, die lines, pack copies, briefs and briefing sessions)

I manage the creative flow (trafficking of jobs), my job entails me understanding the customer needs and vision in order to bring them to life. As well understand the basics of packaging ability to read and mock up a die line to assess if it is correct. I hold the responsibility of copy checking of the brief and pack copies with the help of professional copywriters before handing over the artwork to the designer.

Meeting all deadlines and deliverables is a must however, things do not always go as planned. I have to anticipate artwork being late an example if we are rolling out artwork but the concept is not completed. I approach the buying department to check on production dates if we can move them or if we will revert to the existing artwork.

I love working as a team in briefing sessions I include the designer especially if the artwork is old and complex or it needs to go out in a short period. Including key players make planning easier as we will be able to deliver the right artwork at the right time.

Managing client relationships, liaise with internal and external stakeholders is a crucial part of my job. It’s not an easy job but it is worth it, especially once you gain the trust and respect of a client by being open, honest and delivering within the timelines. It opens doors for negotiations and create a smooth and healthy working environment.

Non-adhoc jobs:

· Assisting with designing (copy updating, copy proofing, finding and packing files for designer and suppliers as well as updating existing artwork)

· Mock ups especially Christmas season or when needed

· Creating and testing die lines (this gives me an opportunity to work close with the product and packaging technologist)

• Supported packaging, product technology, marketing, and buying teams.
• Created and maintained packaging designs, ensuring cost-effective production standards.
• Worked with licensors (Disney, Hasbro, Universal) to align character artwork with brand guidelines.
• Managed product deliverables and supplier coordination for die lines and packaging specifications.
• Implemented a customer support tracker to improve product recall and rejection processes.
• Led product innovation projects, including breast pad development and baby bath safety testing.
• Served as System Administrator, managing artwork uploads and user access for internal and external teams.