Est. 2021  ·  Pan-African

We build your
playbook. You own
the results.

A boutique communications and strategy agency. We design and deliver bespoke solutions — informed by data, shaped by real-world experience, built to perform.

Digital · Media · Events · Activations
7
Day full strategy delivery
3
Core sector verticals
Pan-African
Market footprint
100%
Black Owned & Managed
Who we are

Confident enough
not to follow
the script.

Tongue in Cheek is a boutique communications and strategy agency. We design and deliver bespoke solutions — informed by data and insights, shaped by real-world experience. We pride ourselves on designing practical solutions that translate to bottom-line outcomes.

"We question what's expected. We avoid one-size-fits-all thinking. So we build your playbook — shaped by your reality, designed to deliver."

We don't do templates. We don't recycle thinking. Every strategy is built from the ground up — informed by data and insights, grounded in context. We go beyond surface-level analysis, taking a layered approach to understanding markets, audiences, and environments so that what we build actually holds up in the real world.

Our focus isn't the strategy itself — it's what the strategy delivers.

Our Founders

The people behind the playbook.

Managing Director & Strategic Lead
Ray Nkwe
Ray brings a career built at the intersection of strategy, media, and consequence. As former Chief Executive of a leading pan-African media group, he has led organisations through some of the most complex communications environments in Sub-Saharan Africa — two FIFA World Cup campaigns, political transitions, governance crises, and large-scale institutional change programmes. His brand growth strategy work has been recognised across South Africa's most respected creative and marketing benchmarks, with multiple award-winning campaigns spanning FMCG and government communications. He doesn't just understand strategy — he understands power, how it works in African markets, and how communications can be used to serve real outcomes rather than just creative ambition.
Creative Strategist, Brand Storyteller
Refue Mofokeng
Refue has spent 17 years helping brands show up in culture — not just in media. Her background is in broadcast and radio, one of the most intimate, culturally embedded media environments that exists, and that shapes everything about how she thinks. She developed the Afropolitan brand positioning for Kaya 959 that defined the station's audience identity for over a decade. She built Standard Bank's 9-language financial literacy drama platform — a radio-to-digital content ecosystem that ran for multiple years and predated most brands' adoption of that approach. She conceived Debonairs' Friday drive-time Triple Play mechanic, which has now run continuously for six years across South African stations. Her strategic instinct is simple: don't fight the culture of the moment. Use it.
Audience & Media Strategy
Mpho Madise
Mpho brings over two decades of deep audience understanding built across South Africa's most listened-to radio stations — Kaya FM, Highveld Stereo, Radio 2000, Metro FM, and Channel Africa. That's not a career spent behind a desk. It's a career spent inside the relationship between content, community, and audience trust — understanding which voices carry weight, which moments matter, and how media actually lands with real people. He translates that knowledge directly into strategy: audience insight, media planning, and the kind of relationship-based access to stations, presenters, and platforms that only comes from having been in the room for twenty years.
Project Management
Four senior project managers with experience across complex government campaigns, national brand rollouts, and crisis communications in politically charged environments.
Creative & Copy
Award-winning copywriters working in six languages — not translated content, but original copy conceived in the communication culture of each language community.
Media Planning
Media strategists with deep, personal, relationship-based access to community radio, outdoor suppliers, and digital platforms — consistently producing media value above rate card.
Extended Network
A curated network of specialists drawn in on a project-by-project basis — every person selected for a specific reason, never to pad a team or a proposal.
How we work

Built for
execution.

Being boutique means we stay close — to the work and to our clients. Responsive, flexible, and directly accountable. High-level thinking, with hands-on involvement where it matters. We design communications and growth strategies with performance in mind, driving measurable impact across revenue, profitability, adoption, and market growth.

01
Depth over breadth
We never sacrifice quality for volume. Every client gets our best thinking, built from scratch. No recycled frameworks. No copy-paste strategy.
02
Performance over presentation
We measure success by what performs in the market — not what looks good in a slide. The strategy is only the beginning.
03
Proximity over process
We stay close to our clients and close to the work, for as long as it takes to deliver. Directly accountable. Always available.
What we offer

Seven days.
Full strategy.
Ready to execute.

Core offering
Full Communications Strategy
Our flagship engagement. Research, analysis, and strategic development — resulting in a clear, actionable playbook built for execution. Not a starting point. A springboard.
Delivered within seven days · Includes research, analysis & strategic development
Growth
Market Entry & Growth Strategy
Helping businesses position, enter, and scale with clarity in complex or competitive environments. Built for ambition. Grounded in reality.
Pan-African scope · Competitive & complex market specialists
Intelligence
Data & Audience Insights
We go beyond surface-level analysis. Layered understanding of markets, audiences, and environments — so that what we build actually holds up in the real world.
Primary & secondary research · Audience & market analysis
Advisory
Strategic Advisory & Execution Support
For clients who need a senior strategic partner beyond the initial playbook. Responsive, flexible, and directly accountable — close to the work when it matters most.
Retainer & project basis · Senior-level involvement throughout
Where we operate

We operate where
the stakes are real.

Our experience spans three of the most demanding arenas in business — different worlds, the same discipline. We bring both category understanding and strategic depth to each engagement.

01
Betting & Gaming
Where margins are thin and attention is everything. We understand the regulatory complexity, the pace, and the commercial pressure of operating in this space.
High stakes
02
Elections & Public Mobilisation
Where timing and trust are the only currencies that matter. Strategy that moves fast, lands with precision, and holds up under scrutiny.
Time-critical
03
Telecoms & Broadcasting
Where scale meets fierce competition and standing still means falling behind. We help brands find their edge and hold it.
Competitive markets
Different worlds. The same discipline.
Why boutique

Close to the work.
Close to the
client.

Being boutique isn't a limitation — it's a choice. We stay close to the work and close to our clients. You get high-level thinking with hands-on involvement where it matters. Responsive, flexible, and directly accountable.

No templates. No recycled thinking.
Every strategy is built from the ground up — shaped by your reality, not borrowed from someone else's playbook.
Senior involvement throughout.
There is no junior layer. Every person on every brief is there for a reason. You work with the people who built the strategy.
Seven-day turnaround on full strategy.
Our core offering is complete in seven days — research, analysis, and a clear, actionable playbook ready for execution.
Outcomes, not outputs.
We don't measure success by what's presented. We measure it by what performs. If it doesn't work in the market, it doesn't count.
Ready to build?

Success isn't
what's presented.
It's what performs.

We don't do templates. We don't recycle thinking. Every strategy is built from the ground up — for you.

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