Mike Sharman
Mike completed high school at King Edward VII School (KES), a BA Marketing Communications at UJ and has attended two accelerator programmes – RMB’s Alpha Code and StartupBootcamp out of Singapore and Melbourne. He was also accepted for the Washington Mandela Fellowship in 2018 but had to graciously decline the invite due to the birth of his second daughter.
Mike founded Retroviral, which has made more brands go viral, globally than any other agency in Africa. It is the African Consultancy of the Year 2023 according to the international SABRE awards, as well as joint PR agency of the year as adjudged by its peers via MarkLives.com
He has developed campaigns that have been classified as ‘truly viral’ – Nando’s – Last Dictator Standing, RYOBI, RocoMamas, Douwe Egberts, Russell Hobbs, My Kreepy Teacher for Kreepy Krauly, and Sixty60 Swindler for Checkers Sixty60. He’s won every major accolade in advertising – from local Gold Loeries to an international Cannes Lion.
Mike was named one of the Mail & Guardian’s top 200 young (under 35) South Africans in 2013, he was an Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in 2018 and he is the co-founder of influencer marketing platform Webfluential.com (40,000 users) , retroactive.digital – a disruptive sports storytelling agency – and MatchKit.co – an athlete commercialisation platform.
He excels at bootstrapping startups and steering them to profitability to unlock maximum shareholder value:
Retroviral (13 years) , Webfluential.com (10 years), Retroactive (5 years), MatchKit.co (3 years)
He is the author of two bestsellers – with his most recent hit, BRANDALISM – making it to number one on Amazon new releases.
His philanthropic interests extend to his work on Put Foot Foundation where he has aided in raising funds for SADAC children in rural areas, in need of school shoes. More than 100,000 pairs of shoes have been gifted since the charity’s inception.
Award-winning, decision-maker on business strategy and key policies for a multi-million dollar creative agency, engaging the press, and organisation’s management and employees. New business lead, and charged with managing, developing, and leading the team of creatives: art directors, designers, and copywriters.
Achievement highlights:
Loeries 2022 – Gold Effective Creativity – #MyKreepyTeacher
PRISA PRISM Campaign of the Year Award 2022 for Checkers Sixty60 | Sixty60Swindler
Loeries 2021 – Gold PR, Gold Digital, Silver Social Media – #MyKreepyTeacher
PRISA PRISM Campaign of the Year Award 2021 for Kreepy Krauly | #MyKreepyTeacher
PRISA PRISM Campaign of the Year Award 2017 for RocoMamas #ElectionBurger
PRISA PRISM Gold award winning campaign 2017 for RocoMamas #ElectionBurger – social media category
PRISA PRISM Silver award – Best Small Agency Category
Bookmarks Bronze campaign 2015 for Kreep Krauly Wrangler – branded content category
PRISA PRISM Gold award winning campaign 2014 for Douwe Egberts Yawn Activated Vending Machine – social media category
PRISA PRISM Gold award winning campaign 2013 for Nando’s #25Reasons – social media category
PRISA PRISM Gold award 2013 for best small public relations consultancy
Cannes Lions Bronze campaign 2012 for Nando’s Last Dictator – best use of integrated media with Black River FC
Bookmarks Silver campaign 2012 for Nando’s Last Dictator – social media
Assegai Silver campaign 2012 for Nando’s Last Dictator – social media
PRISA PRISM Gold award winning campaign 2012 for Nando’s Last Dictator – digital media relations category
PRISA PRISM Gold award winning campaign 2012 for Put Foot Rally #ShoesOnFeet with BangersAndNash.com – NGO category
PRISA PRISM Silver award 2012 for best small public relations consultancy
PRISA PRISM Gold award winning campaign 2011 for Nando’s CEO – social media category
Loeries Silver campaign 2011 for Nando’s CEO – integrated media campaign with Black River FC
Mike is obsessed with mentorship and the stimulation of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Johannesburg. He is a formal mentor to Paralympian Puseletso Mabote – as Retroviral pays for his school fees – and the agency launched its inaugural graduate programme that has already seen the 2023 intake convert two individuals to full time employment.
Mike co-founded the Put Foot Foundation to literally ‘put shoes on feet’ and he has aided in raising funds for SADAC children in rural areas, in need of school shoes. More than 100,000 pairs of shoes have been gifted since the charity’s inception.
This is the last opportunity for Mike to receive a top 40 under 40 award, as he turns 40 at the end of September. This year alone, he’s been involved in ‘adopt an athlete’, a campaign to help potential Olympic / Paralympic hopefuls to get to Paris. This initiative has attracted more than R1.5m in sponsorship, he helped SA hockey get to Tokyo and he aided our Olympic medalists secure R450k in medal bonuses in 4 days in 2021. He is the perfect example of a conscious capitalist.