[Behind the Selfie] with... Mike Sharman

Selfie fisticuffs.

1. Where do you live, work and play?

Sharman: Online; on social media, in boardrooms, in coffee shops, at marketing conferences, on location for guerrilla and staged shoots, in Jozi and at 150 Linden Street, Sandton - the Retroviral offices.

2. What's your claim to fame?

Sharman: It's officially five years since we launched Retroviral and we are proud to have worked with some of the best brands and other agencies in the world. From making Black River FC's Nando's 'Last Dictator' ad go viral, globally; to securing coverage for Joe Public's Yawn Activated Vending Machine for Douwe Egberts on Huffington Post, Time, CNN, Mashable, and Perez Hilton to name a few; we have won some awards - from Cannes to Loeries, Bookmarks and Prisms. We are a boutique team with universal ambitions.

3. Describe your career so far.

Sharman: My personal career has comprised a marketing degree, time spent in Hollywood crafting a performance passion via stand-up comedy and one-man show outlets. I worked for a traditional PR agency, Tribeca, before moving to the UK for two years to work on brands such as LinkedIn and LG. Murray Legg and I launched Retroviral in 2010 and we continued to grow organically, year on year, while producing work that we consider of the highest standard.

4. Tell us a few of your favourite things.

Sharman: "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens/
Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens/
Brown paper packages tied up with strings/
These are a few of my favourite things..."

5. What do you love about your industry?

Sharman: I love the evolution, on a daily basis. The integration between tech and communication. I love watching ideas that started out as written neon marker notes on our glass-walled boardroom transform into scripts and ultimately YouTube videos that aid sales and talkability for our clients. I love challenging the status quo.

6. What are a few pain points your industry can improve on?

Sharman: Digital is the most measurable medium. We need to utilise the stats and figures to provide more accurate KPIs to clients, as opposed to worrying if our digital tactics can achieve the same reach as TV or radio.
Size doesn't matter. We never want to be the biggest - only the best!

7. Describe your average workday (if such a thing exists).

Sharman: There is no average. The only definite is that we have a weekly status meeting at 8am on Monday mornings and I ideally like to close off the week with a drink with the team on a Friday afternoon. Brainstorms, working with designers, writers, strategists, seeing clients, conceptualising and crafting big ideas, and pitching are all ingredients in any given day.

8. What are the tools of your trade?

Sharman: Strategic communication ideology, human observations and key insights/truths, design and tech, sensational storytelling.

9. Who is getting it right in your industry?

Sharman: Ogilvy CT, Gloo, Hellocomputer, Joe Public, Black River FC and Network, to name a few.

10. What are you working on right now?

Sharman: Current jobs/going live: Microsoft Lumia, Ford Mustang, Racing, It's a Rush, SuperSport.

11. Tell us some of the buzzwords floating around in your industry at the moment, and some of the catchphrases you utter yourself.

Sharman: Buzzwords: Big data, year of mobile, Africa is a singular idea, acquisitions. The only F-word we can't say at Retroviral is 'flashmob'.

12. Where and when do you have your best ideas?

Sharman: In our creative brainstorms and then while I'm in bed, in the shower.

13. What's your secret talent/party trick?

Sharman: I entertain at parties. I deliver a series of accents. I have one joke in particular -the Pig Joke - which is performed fast and with an Irish accent and requires a LOT of concentration from the audience, but is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Ask me to tell it at your next board meeting.

14. Are you a technophobe or a technophile?

Sharman: Phile, even though I tend to complain on Twitter about selfie competitions.

15. What would we find if we scrolled through your phone?

Sharman: A handful of apps - mainly social media and work tools; thousands of telephone numbers - network is critical; more than 7,000 photos - some inspirational, some NSFW, mostly observational gems from my digital and physical universe.

16. What advice would you give to newbies hoping to crack into the industry?

Sharman: Dive in, stand out, be humble, and always learn... from Google. If you want a job, the best advice is to show off your skills by building something that accentuates your USP. We've had people build a microsite and social campaign to work for us, bake branded cookies and cupcakes to prove their worth. I don't want CVs, I want the intangible new age employee.

17. Plug your contact details, punt yourself - list all the places people can find you/your work online...

Sharman: Personal Twitter
Retroviral Twitter
Retroviral Facebook
Retroviral YouTube
Retroviral website

Read more about of Mike Sharman by clicking here and get the latest on Retroviral and Webfluential by clicking here and here.

*Interviewed by Leigh Andrews.