Global craft. Local instinct.
Sixty-plus years in one market teaches you things a network handbook can’t.
Barkers was founded in Harare in 1957 and has been working here ever since — through every version of this economy and every change in how Zimbabweans buy, watch, listen and scroll. It is the longest-surviving full-service advertising agency in the country, and it is still leading.
Today the agency runs six disciplines out of one building on Aboyne Drive: strategy, creative, digital, media, public relations, and content production. More than fifty full-time specialists. Client relationships that in many cases span more than a decade, across banking, telecoms, FMCG, media and insurance.
As part of the Ogilvy network, the work is held to a standard set well beyond this market. What the network cannot supply is the instinct — knowing which line lands in Shona, which channel actually reaches a Bulawayo audience, which idea a Zimbabwean consumer will forgive and which one they will not. That part is ours.
“We pursue knowledge like a pig pursues truffles.”David Ogilvy
The Ogilvy values.
Divine Discontent
We never settle. Can it be better? Can we go further? The relentless pursuit of remarkable over routine.
Relentless Curiosity
We dig into our clients’ brands, data and worlds. We keep asking ‘why?’ — and the question after: ‘what if?’
Pervasive Creativity
Good ideas come from anywhere. Creativity isn’t a department — it’s a respect for ideas, wherever they originate.
Eternal Craft
We care about the work and the people we make it with. Every film, every line, every design — done properly.
Who runs it.
Alistair Carlisle
An experienced chief executive with a strong background in marketing and advertising, specialising in strategic leadership, business growth and integrated marketing solutions — known for driving innovation, building client relationships and delivering results-driven campaigns.
Alexander Chishiri
A finance professional with a long history in marketing and advertising — skilled in digital strategy, negotiation, budgeting, business planning and analysis, with a Certificate in Social Media from the University of Cape Town.
Fifty-plus specialists.
Sammy Matari
Tatenda Ziyambi
Paul Danisa
Wilfred Nyamuridzo
Tapiwa Ncube
Charles Erenesto
Karen Chinomona
The rest of the building.
Twenty-seven more people make the work: designers, planners, buyers, producers, copywriters, account handlers and the studio. Same size card as everyone above, because that is what they are.
Tawanda Musodza
Martin Rimai
Luis Kanzanurwa
Pamela Chihire
Mandipa Mavhima
Cephas Gwiyo
Nyasha Maradzika
Sylvester Chitanda
Cynthia Bare
Munyaradzi Kadyuya
Wendy Kahiya
Tonderai Chivanda
Chipo Kakora
Tanaka Kawondera
Debra Matambanadzo
Nokuthula Chitopo
Vimbai Katsvere
Florence Zivira
Nash Barara
Tapiwa Muzondo
Tanaka Nyamhuka
Ernest Gwelo
Joseph Mugumba
Abraham Nyamupingidza
Donald Mlambo
Last Chimani
Trymore Muza
What clients say.
The current site runs a testimonial block, but the same sentence is attributed to every client on it — template copy, not testimony. Rather than carry that across or write praise on a client’s behalf, this section is held until real quotes are cleared.
Three or four sentences, each with a named person and their title, is all it needs. The layout is already built for them.
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