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What’s next in Africa starts now

In recent years many companies have struggled with the accelerating pace of change within Africa’s dynamic landscapes and have been unable to adequately anticipate and evolve to capture the inherent growth opportunities on the continent, writes Ailsa Wingfield. Companies have been blindsided by challenges, competition and other factors that warranted reassessment within thier own businesses, pointing to a growing need to incorporate future-focused insights and planning. In the past change was more linear, the world was less connected, and companies could prosper by  understanding their consumer, their industry and their market. More recently, however, change comes from a…

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Marketers must live their brand positioning

South Africa’s banking sector is facing significant disruption from new technologies, changing consumer habits and aggressive newcomers. Perhaps innovative marketing is the answer. Mike Simpson chats to Nedbank’s Khensani Nobanda. As South Africa’s traditional ‘big four’ banks struggle to meet the challenges being posed by multiple disruptors – ranging from upstart Capitec to the digital-only branchless offering of TymeDigital and the impending launch of Discovery Bank – there is one key strategy that the bank’s marketing teams should follow. They need to live their brand positioning. Khensani Nobanda, Group Executive: Marketing and Corporate Affairs at Nedbank, believes that the…

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Interview with Pepe Marais

Co-founder and owner of South Africa’s largest independent advertising firm Joe Public, Pepe Marais’s recently published book Growing Greatness is part autobiography, part account of the rise, fall and rise of Joe Public, and part how-to guide to discovering the deeper purpose of a business. Tracey McDonald proposed I write a book about entrepreneurship. One of my firm beliefs is that you can’t close the poverty gap in SA without creating more entrepreneurs…[so] the broader intention of this book was to inspire people towards entrepreneurship. But there is a deeper reason behind the book, and that is to inspire any…

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To disrupt or not to disrupt? That is the question

We are living in times of change and unpredictability, and this social milieu translates into a drive to disrupt. Disruption is in vogue within the marketing fraternity and is frequently the go-to for almost every brand strategy. This creates hype, but how many brands actually disrupt their market landscape? More importantly, is it in every brand’s best interest to disrupt, asks Maria Petousis. If we think about how society experiences disruption, it leaves us feeling a little confused, unfocused and disengaged. Disruption brings chaos and uncertainty. It is not closely linked with trust and loyalty, yet brands want loyal consumers…

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Change is inevitable (except from a vending machine)

Boardroom Bingo relieves the tedium of those seemingly aimless and endless management meetings like nothing you’ve tried before – other than a Valium smoothie. The Boardroom version is just like regular bingo, except that instead of someone calling out random numbers printed on ping-pong balls, you mark your card whenever a piece of hideous business jargon escapes from the lips of one of the overly keen yes-men managers smugly sipping their skinny soya cappuccinos around the boardroom table. And believe you me, in this age in which superficiality is admired more than substance, it doesn’t take long for your Boardroom…

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Creating sustainable relationships with key clients

Relationships are the key differentiator in the 21st century and brands failing to respond to this will ultimately succumb, write Professors Mari Jansen van Rensburg and Angelo Nicolaides.   Gone are the days of closely guarded designs and confidential pricing structures. Today, it takes a few clicks to download and compare. Markets are global and unhappy clients no longer share their experience with eight friends; instead, they utilise social media and if there is a good story to tell, it may go viral. Transformation is not an option if companies want to evolve so as to thrive in a…

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IMM Graduate School/Nedbank Marketing the Future event: 25 Oct

In recent years many companies have struggled with the accelerating pace of change within Africa’s dynamic landscapes and have been unable to adequately anticipate and evolve to capture the inherent growth opportunities on the continent, writes Ailsa Wingfield. Companies have been blindsided by challenges, competition and other factors that warranted reassessment within thier own businesses, [...]
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Marketing Fridays

In recent years many companies have struggled with the accelerating pace of change within Africa’s dynamic landscapes and have been unable to adequately anticipate and evolve to capture the inherent growth opportunities on the continent, writes Ailsa Wingfield. Companies have been blindsided by challenges, competition and other factors that warranted reassessment within thier own businesses, [...]
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Stellenbosch and Cape Town SSCs’ Tutor get-together

In recent years many companies have struggled with the accelerating pace of change within Africa’s dynamic landscapes and have been unable to adequately anticipate and evolve to capture the inherent growth opportunities on the continent, writes Ailsa Wingfield. Companies have been blindsided by challenges, competition and other factors that warranted reassessment within thier own businesses, [...]
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