Our guest this week is MD of iProspect, Clare Trafankowska and Head of Measurement Council IAB SA. According to Clare we are at the precipice of measurement and data and if we don’t act now, businesses will not be sustainable in the future. Marketers and business needs to speak the same language if marketing is going to progress along the measurement maturity curve. More importantly, leadership, organisation structure and culture are critical enablers to drive progression in measurement maturity. Clare takes us through the changing ecosystem and some of the visible challenges being experienced in the industry and offers practical steps required to get started. Sometimes all it takes is brilliant basics, with a strong foundation to set the wheels in motion.

In this episode, we'll be tackling the subject of Augmented Reality or AR as we know it and how brands can tap into the AR space in creative immersive engaging experiences. I am talking to two leading experts Johan Walters, a Digital Marketing and Augmented Reality Professional. Johan has worked with both Agencies and Brands over the last 10 years to adopt AR into the Marketing Mix and Chris Holton, a product leader with experience working at a number of startups helping to drive product development and growth. Chris joined Zappar, a UK based technology company specialising in augmented reality and computer vision, over 6 years ago. Augmented Reality allows users to experience the real world in an enhanced 3D version wherein one can find interactive digital elements. An AR app will facilitate visual, auditory, and other sensory interactive information in real-world ecosystems to enhance the experience for users. We will be demystifying AR and some of the jargon associated with it, how it can be used to build on your Metaverse strategy and connect with customers in a more meaningful way.

Today we continue with the conversation with my next guest Nomonde Ngxola. Nomonde is a seasoned IT Executive with a career that spans across the Consulting (Accenture) , Systems Integration (Dimension Data), Telco (Vodacom) and Specialist Banking (Investec) industries. She currently assumes the role of Country Manager for MicroStrategy South Africa, is a Business Partner to Anthill Capital Private Equity Investors, sits on the board of Mamor Capital, Sapient Soweto and Isandla Senhliziyo. Digital transformation starts with leadership and we will be chatting about some of the ways leaders can drive the narrative and take their people along the journey of digital transformation.

This week we talking to two leading South African experts Wendy Case & Johan Walters from Incubeta on the topic of digital marketing maturity. Digital Marketing Maturity is a new set of marketing capabilities which is centred around tech, data, creative, analytics and measurement. The four stages of maturity are nascent, emerging, connected and multi-moment. Companies leading the way in multi-moment marketing are better able to respond to changing market dynamics and were 2X more likely to grow their market share over a 12-month period. In the midst of the changes taking place, there four specific accelerators that stand out as the principal drivers on the fast track to maturity today: • Building a virtuous cycle around first-party data • Developing a true end-to-end measurement capability across channels, using predictive models • Setting up agile performance loops based on a test-and-learn approach • Securing access to new skills and resources The starting place for organizations is do the DMT online assessment to take stock of where you are in the journey and then crafting a roadmap for the future. It’s free tool for brands: https://digitalmaturitybenchmark.withgoogle.com/en/advertisers/

In partnership with Futuretech Media, we coming to an end to our Women's series with our guest Zumi Njongwe about her journey as a leader and how she views digital transformation from a media perspective. Zumi is passionate about being a champion of the African story and leads from the Heart. She believes that self-introspection is the fundamental basis of growth. She says, "If you want to grow and innovate, push yourself to the edge of possibility, there's nothing like working across different markets. It build your character and social skills and humbles you in the process." She has been mentored by strong women and men who have shaped her leadership style, values and passions through the years. Being surrounded by like-minded and across different spectrum of the business allows one to grow exponentially. Zumi goes on to share how Nestle is transforming digitally and some of the unique capabilities they are building to be future ready.

In partnership with Futuretech Media, we are continuing our women’s month series with our next guest Shihaam Abrahams Client Lead at Carat about her journey as a leader and how she views digital transformation from a media perspective. As a digital leader, Shihaam operates in organised chaos. We have to learn to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which we operate in. She says "I have been fortunate to be mentored by some strong female leaders who have taught me about resilience and leading from the back." Shihaam plays an active role in nurturing and growing the talent pool in South Africa. She has a wealth of knowledge and wisdom to share with other leaders. To quote Sheryl Sandberg COO of Facebook, "In the future there won't be female leaders, there will just be leaders."

In celebration of Women’s month in SA, I will be chatting to some kick-ass awe-inspiring female digital leaders within the advertising industry in the coming weeks to share their incredible stories with us – their challenges, victories, & their journey to success. This series is being sponsored by Futuretech Media providing next generation technology solutions. My first digital leader is Lana Strydom Executive Head of Digital, Content and Social Marketing at Vodacom. “Digital marketing is the perfect balance between art and science. It has real business outcome.” Lana shares with us her leadership journey to date, tips on how to own your space as a female leader and tapping into her passion points. Vodacom has been 1st to test and learn when it comes to marketing automation, bringing media in-house and now with an investment in CDP. This is mainly due to Lana's relentless pursuit of digital excellence and raising the bar on digital marketing in South Africa.

Our guest in this week’s podcast is Tymon Pinto, Creative Strategist at Ad Dynamo, talking to us about the Metaverse, Web 3.0, Blockchain, AR & VR and all things digital. He also covers some of the ways brands can start to tap into this space to start building a presence and learn to understand the metaverse. Last year we saw the launch of Africa’s first metaverse called Africarare, 3D virtual reality immersive hub set in Unbuntuland . It houses a metaverse marketplace that showcases African art, and provides a platform for businesses and artists to display their offerings. 149 plots of Ubuntuland sold out in less than eight minutes after being released for sale with MTN being the biggest investor of virtual land. So it’s here on our continent, let’s try and figure this out together.

Our guest this week is Larina Glorioso Erasmus, Sales Manager for Twitter talking to us about the latest buzz around Elon Musk and the recent purpose of Twitter for a whooping R44bn and what this means for the future of Twitter. Twitter recently conducted research on Cultural trends recently and several trends which affect us globally: 1) Well-being 2) Creator Culture 3) Everyday wonder 4) One Planet and sustainability 5) Techlife 6) My identity We touch on the cancel culture, employee advocates, new product solutions and opportunities for brands to play in this space. Listen now and don’t forget to share this podcast.

Today we are talking to Nicolas Duminy, Director Digital & eCommerce: KFC South Africa at Yum! Restaurants International. KFC have ramped up on their transformation strategy that has grown more pressing due to needs driven by the coronavirus pandemic. The key focus point for Yum Brands is the continued acceleration of their digital and technology initiatives across the globe, all geared toward providing customers with new and seamless ways to access their brands. This means strengthening their ability to grow sales at a faster pace and bringing in strong diverse tech talent. Nic shares with us KFC’s e-commerce journey to date focusing on tech, data, processes and people. Take a listen and don’t forget to share.

Our guest today is Matthys Esterhuysen Co-founder of Luminate, a digital consultancy focusing on evidence-based digital strategy and creative intelligence. And we will be delving into the use of intelligent data to drive brand goals. The approach to strategically manage brands has changed significantly in the last five years as online consumer behaviour, social media interactions and platform usage have increased ten-fold. The term big data refers to the volume, velocity and variety of data that puts it beyond the scope of the traditional enterprise data analysis tools. Organizations need to be able to access and effectively analyze this data in order to manage their brands. In this growing space, an organization must not only be able to successfully assess its brand against corporate and business objectives, but must also be able to design and implement the correct campaigns and initiatives that produce measurable value and results. Tune in now….

There is a perception that that elderly people and technology do not mix well. However, rising life expectancy, delaying retirement age, and active aging are redefining this demographic and their role in an increasingly digitalized society. My two guests on the podcast today is Marilyn Hallet Social entrepreneur and Founder/Director of You’ve Earned It/YEI, a digital media platform for South African 60-plussers. The major focus of You’ve Earned It/YEI is to tackle the biggest challenges and opportunities that come with ageing. YEI serves the large community of digital-savvy South African over-60s by providing relevant, informative, educational, and on-point content. YEI also connects influential brands and service providers to older South Africans. My next guest is Lynda Smith MD of 50+ Skills. Lynda’s 50-Plus Skills provides a forum for soon-to-be retired or retired individuals to plan their future lives, upskill, engage with like-minded individuals or contribute in terms of voluntary mentoring programmes or hands-on involvement with NPOs. 50-Plus Skills also consults with organisations to prepare their employees for their next life chapter. And you have guessed right, today we will be looking at the trends and insights surrounding the Silver Tech Revolution and the opportunities this segment of the market presents to brands.

Our guest today is Precious Nduli Marketing Executive for Discovery Insure, a challenger brand in South Africa and she is going to be talking us about their digital transformation journey, and the progress made to date. One of the core values within Discovery is Innovation coupled with a fast innovation cycle. Build. Test. Iterate. The true test of a challenger brand is the traction that we get and we have gained significant traction with a unique, differentiated model. Discovery Insure is in the top 5 within 10 years, 6bn in premium income covering nearly 300k vehicles. The role of analytics in marketing has grown. Every decision in marketing needs to be data driven. We adopt an insurgent mindset by removing barriers & bureaucracy as much as possible. Listen in and find out the rest of the conversation with Precious. Don’t forget to share and follow our channels.

Our guest today is Sadika Fakir, Integrated Media & Digital Director at Tiger Brands sharing her experience and thoughts around Integrated Marketing within Digital Transformation. According to AC Nielsen and the Interactive Advertising Bureau, total adspend for SA in 2020 was just over R41bn, with a 18% y/y growth in digital media. Due to COVID and shifting consumer behavior, we have seen a decline in spend in TV, radio, OOH, print and cinema but a huge increase in digital spend, especially in streaming digital video and audio channels. As marketers, we still use the “traditional” and “digital” terminology in large part because the market still talks in this lexicon. But the reality is that we have moved on to thinking about channels in terms of the strategies and messaging we are planning. We have also begun using the term “tradigital” when referring to traditional media that now offers digital components. Today we will explore this new integrated marketing space and delve into what the future looks like…. Tune in now.

On today’s podcast we are talking to Daniel Courtenay, Executive Head of Group Digital Marketing at MultiChoice. He started working in digital when ad networks was still a thing, with extensive experience across programmatic and media platforms. He joined Multichoice in 2020 and has been leading the DMT journey ever since. Today we are going to look at DMT from an organizational maturity point of view with the understanding that success cannot be achieved if the organization is not prepared to evolve. MultiChoice started their Digital Maturity Journey 18 months ago with the aim to consolidate, drive efficiencies, get closer to partners, get better at measurement and reporting and positive ROI. Listen to get the inside scoop on how they achieved this in a short space of time.

My guest today is Nivasha Pillay, Head of Digital & Systems Acceleration Mediacom South Africa and we are talking about digital transformation within Media Agencies. Nivasha gives us the inside scoop of Mediacom. The relationship between brands and agencies is ever changing. Throw in a pandemic, seismic disruptions in marketing strategy, plus urgent digital transformation plans, and that partnership becomes even more complex, adding both stress and opportunities for agencies as they prioritize their own success while still meeting and exceeding client demands. The rules of business have changed. In every industry, the spread of new digital technologies and the rise of new disruptive threats are transforming business models and processes. The digital revolution has turned the old business playbook upside down The big question to ask now is How can agencies best serve their clients in 2022 and beyond? Digital has completely upended the marketing and advertising world, fundamentally changing the industry as we know it. Now it’s less about campaign-building and more about the convergence of marketing and technology to guide digital transformation.

Our guest today is Kelvin Jonck, CEO of YOUKNOW Digital and our topic for conversation is The Data Revolution. We are all on a data maturity journey and brands need to be thinking about the transaction value exchange with customers. What is the value of data? How can data be unified to drive intelligent decision making and what technology is being used to collect, unify and action the different data points. Why is it important now in 2022? (customer journey orchestration, messy middle, non-linear, transparency) Know Your Customer Journey. Take a listen now!

Marketers face a landscape disrupted by a pandemic, new business models, new applications of tech, and the fallout of regulatory changes. As we prepare for 2022, we need to lead with insights and have a proper plan of action to drive growth and enhanced customer experience which is the ultimate end goal. Today we will talking to Musa Kalenga, Chief Future Officer of the House of Brave. Musa is an author of Ladders and Trampolines, marketer, brand communication specialist, writer and entrepreneur. He is the former Head of Digital Marketing for Nedbank and Client Partner for Facebook Africa. His passion is changing the communities we live in, African emerging markets and inspiring the youth through technology.

The changing nature of relationship between brands and agency partners, the increased scrutiny of marketing budgets, and the rise of digital media in a COVID-19 world has meant a wave of in-housing as the inevitable consequence. The benefits of in-housing which include speed, efficiency, quality, transparency and a better approach to data; what to in-house and how to manage staff recruitment and retention and the tools and technology required. Key principle considerations that need to be assessed and how in-housing fits in with the goals and strategies of the business. My guests this week is Caitlin Gevers, Marketing Manager at Jellyfish and she started off her career in the ed-tech start up space which sparked her interest in the smart solutions that digital can provide. Caitlin sits in the global marketing team with a specific focus on sales enablement within this large and expanding multi-national organisation. Our next guest is Craige Dixon Sales and Partnership Manager at Jellyfish. He has worked within the digital and partnership space, managing clients’ technology expectations and digital marketing needs across many verticals for the past 6 years.

Our guest today is Ryan Sauer MD of King James Group in JHB and the topic for conversation is: The convergence of creative and media. We are seeing the rise of Adtech, Martech and possibly MADtech and a backward integration into creative. The disruption we focus on is how creative agencies are going to integrate into Adtech looking at automation, new process, capabilities and pricing models. Tune in now for more.