Vanessa Clark

A journalist by training, I have more than 10 years experience in a variety of marketing roles spanning PR, communications, copywriting, branding and social media. As a PR freelancer, I love telling the story of interesting people and companies, and because I’ve spent the bulk of my career working for start-ups in the tech industry, I am adept at translating techno-geek speak into something interesting and accessible.

I have worked in Cape Town and London, dealing with businesses as far afield as Mumbai, Frankfurt, Sao Paulo and San Francisco, building brands in new territories. Back in South Africa, I managed the marketing, public relations and communication activities for Clickatell, the bulk SMS provider, as it grew its internet and enterprise sales activities around the world and relocated its headquarters to Silicon Valley.

I currently freelance under the Ananse Media brand, based in the Silicon Cape, offering PR, branding, content creation and strategy services to a range of companies and agencies. I am also the marketing director of Mobiflock, a child safety service for smartphones, which launched in early 2011. I am a freelance journalist for Food Review and Vomo, and also contribute to African Business Review.

For fun, I bungle my way through the South African wine industry, looking for the most quaffable deals, and try to stand up on a surfboard. (Although not at the same time.)