By Remy Raitt

In 2008, De Waal started the website as a repository for campaign and social media references he collected while running a research and strategy company. “Campaigns were really hard to find and I didn’t want to have to go back and re-find them every time I started a new project,” he says. So, what started out as a more self-serving resource for South African creativity, has since grown to become the local creative set’s daily online dose of art, design advertising, music and fashion.

There’s no denying De Waal has a brain for business. Since graduating from Stellenbosch University in 2007, he has worked for himself and others across the media and agency landscapes. In 2012 he quit his senior social strategist job at Trigger/Isobar to pursue his online work at Between 10 and 5.

“From there things just started steamrolling and we continued to grow,” he says. Since this move, Between 10 and 5 has doubled their traffic year on year; sufficient evidence his entrepreneurial savvy is on point.

De Waal accredits his success to his job history. “My work for places like DStv, VUZU and various agencies helped me understand content and social media,” he says. “While working with blue chip, global clients has also helped me with strategising and developing ideas from a publisher’s point of view.”

And it’s not just Between 10 and 5’s 50 000 unique monthly visitors who rate his efforts. De Waal is dripping in accolades. This year the site won a Gold Pixel at the Bookmark Awards in the Specialist Niche Publisher category and the Best Arts & Culture Blog award at the African Blogger Awards. In 2014 Between 10 and 5 was named one of Webfluential’s Top 15 Influential Blogs in South Africa and they snagged the Best Arts and Culture Blog in Africa at the African Blogger Awards. In the same year, De Waal was named the Young Creative Entrepreneur in Digital Publishing by the British Council and featured in Destiny Man’s Power of 40 list.

“Awards are a great measure, a yardstick,” says De Waal. And although the site has previously been honoured as a top ranking blog, he firmly states Between 10 and 5 is more than that. “The Bookmarks Award planted us firmly as a publisher not a blog,” he says.

The blog label is just about the only issue De Waal has with online publishing. “People don’t take you seriously online,” he says. “But there are plenty of pros; the cost of distribution is close to zero and you can carve a niche.” De Waal doubts Between 10 and 5 would ever have achieved the reach they have as a print title, the sponsored content they have worked on over the years wouldn’t have been so multi-dimensional either.

Between 10 and 5 has run a number of successful campaigns over the years. In 2012, they rolled out a 360-degree campaign for Nokia Lumia where South African photographers were showcased on the site, using the phone to take pictures. The campaign included video, articles and an exhibition, which De Waal says received great publicity. They have since done equally far-reaching work with brands like Nando’s and FNB.

As a publisher, De Waal’s only gripe with his peers is the lack of concurrence between them. “There is little cohesion among South African online publishers, which ends up driving down prices; this is not a sustainable business model. I would really like to see more collaboration among independent publishers,” he says.

As Between 10 and 5 continues to grow, De Waal foresees even more collaboration with the local creative industries. “We are hoping to move into symposiums, conferences and TV; just really branch out more into the physical world,” he reveals.

“Our status among creative has grown a lot, this is intangible but highly rewarding,” De Waal says. And it’s not just the content that their producing that is earning them lip service, clicks, likes and follows. He reckons one of the main reasons the brand continues to grow is that they have had significant involvement in promoting local creative talent. “We are helping to build the industry and the people in it,” De Waal says.

Not bad, for a ‘blog’. 

For more information, visit www.10and5.com. Alternatively connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.