Working in the fast-paced world of digital content
Danilo Acquisto is the CEO of Special Effects Media SA and an entrepreneur
Tell me about your work as a radio presenter on Good Hope FM.
I have the huge honour and privilege of hosting the Hit 30 on Good Hope FM, where we count down the biggest songs in the Cape every Saturday from 9am-noon.
How does your work with Special Effects Media SA fit in with your role as a presenter?
Digital video is slowly eroding the need for traditional, and our job at Special Effects Media is to build a sustainable industry for those creators who want to make a living from producing content in the internet age.
I am an entrepreneur through and through, and I never really saw my broadcast platforms as a forever career; however, they have been integral in preparing me for the digital content creation space, for which I am forever grateful.
What does your company do?
We are what would traditionally be referred to as a multichannel network.
We are an affiliate company that YouTube works alongside to aggregate YouTube content.
We are a YouTube-certified company and we manage YouTubers — connecting them with brands and helping them grow their audiences. We also help brands develop digital video strategies and optimise those strategies for organic reach.
What makes your jobs stressful?
Staff are vital to my business’s success. My relationship with investors and clients determines whether they have salaries at the end of the day, and that is pretty stressful. Our industry is so fast-paced that we cannot for a moment settle into a rhythm or become complacent — we need to be on our toes always and constantly innovating.
What did you want to be when you were a child?
I desperately wanted to be a helicopter pilot. I loved the agility, I loved the freedom and I loved that it was something so different.
Everyone else wanted to be firemen and doctors, and I didn’t want to be like everyone else.
What do you find most meaningful about the work you do?
Our company is preparing the landscape for digital video brands in SA.
We are setting industry standards, we are encouraging quality local content and we are providing sustainability to what can be quite a volatile space.
It’s exciting to know that we can pioneer the space and lead the way with good moral judgment and great focus on quality. What part of your job would you like to change or not do at all?
Like most entrepreneurs, I wish I didn’t have to do spreadsheets and staff-performance management. But it keeps me on the ground and keeps me aware of what my team needs at the various stages of the game.