Thurlow Moore, co-founder of ad agency Mbongiworks, says his job involves collaborating with amazing characters and thinkers to come up with advertising experiences that start a buzz What do you do at work each day?I collaborate with a mobile feast of diverse creative talent - industrial engineers, chefs, architects, conceptual artists, tech inventors, designers, writers and many more - to come up with experiences that will get people talking.I spend hours on conference calls or in meetings, to understand clients' needs, and with our client service, production and creative teams.story_article_left1What are the most important tasks you do at work?First, participate in our open-plan "office comedy" daily banter.We have a relaxed, fun workplace, and it's the communally produced "daily sit-com" that keeps us happy and wanting to do good work with each other for our clients.Second, keep an ear open for any "hot issues" that could damage a project or relationship.Third, develop and pitch campaigns to clients.Fourth, "big idea" wrangling. Our industry is idea driven, and my job is to land new ideas that connect brands with their audiences in memorable ways.How did you end up working in the ad industry?I graduated with English honours, having written a couple of plays while studying. I'd had a couple of minor successes and got hailed by the Mail & Guardian as the "next [Tom] Stoppard", but all I had in the fridge was a jar of mayonnaise.Having produced a couple of plays myself, I knew that if you had an idea it was possible to produce it. I didn't know how to go about looking for a job, so I started a theatre business called Shoestring with some university friends. It became an industrial theatre business and later morphed into an experiential agency and then into a full-service agency.Tell me more about your plays.I wrote Two in the Bushin my second year at university that somehow became a hit at the Grahamstown Festival and made R8000 in three days, which was like winning the Lotto back then.block_quotes_start Pop-ups are at their best when they bring a brand's world to life in 3D, so it's like stepping into a great TV advert for the brand and meeting the cast block_quotes_endIt taught me I could make money out of creative ideas. I got a bunch of writing jobs, off the success of this little play, which taught me to build networks and listen to briefs.What did you want to be when you were a child?A zoologist. When my family were building our house, we discovered a nest of baby puff adders. A crazy guy with a bandana arrived on a scrambler to catch the snakes, and he gave me a Namibian black-marked sand snake that he had up the sleeve of his leather jacket. I was about four.What do you love about your job?I get to apply a lot of the skills from my early days in theatre to make experiences that entertain people with a brand as the sponsor. Every project requires a different set of creative partners, and we get to collaborate with amazing characters and thinkers.story_article_right2Tell me about the pop-up store concept.We've been lucky to produce some great international pop-up store properties like the Make Your Magnum "pleasure stores" as well as inventing new pop-up stores from scratch like the Play with Oreo Café, Cadbury Dairy Milk "world of marvellous creations" and the Jacobs Board-Game Café.What we've learnt is that pop-ups are at their best when they bring a brand's world to life in 3D, so it's like stepping into a great TV advert for the brand and meeting the cast.They are on-trend at the moment, and they become exciting "club houses" for a brand that people really want to visit.When successful, pop-up stores become a studio for user-generated social media engagement generating incredible buzz and PR exposure for brands.Cons include that pop-ups are only as good as their location, and most of the best stores have permanent shops in them, so finding the right space requires patience and the spirit of a hustler.Also, a good pop-up requires a decent budget and a lot of conceptual development time. A thrown-together flash retail store to get rid of old stock is not a pop-up store. A pop-up is a high-design concept store...