Let's Talk Digital: Recent Episodes
Echocast Radio
Our mission is to close the gap of digital knowledge in South Africa with real conversations. We are passionate about all things and want to reach as many people as possible to spread the word. As you embark on your digital transformation journey, you need to be equipped with the right information to make the right decisions for your business as well as your clients. This podcast should enable you find the answers you have been seeking. Follow our Instagram (https://bit.ly/2LIhxez) and LinkedIn page (https://bit.ly/2Xcjc1g) for the latest updates and trending engagements.
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. Webpage · Instagram Page
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.
Today’s guest is Alexander Leibner, Futures Strategist & Media Entrepreneur.
We are excited to be talking about the Top 6 Consumer SHFTS he has identified in the last 18 months and how this has impacts the way we will have to market to consumers in the future.
The future is not written on stone tablets but there is a clear indication of what’s to come. Tune in now.
As digital advertising shifts from third-party identifiers toward a privacy-driven approach, investing in first-party data is a strategy that can help marketers easily adapt.
My guest this week is Nicholas Leighton, Account Executive at Adobe South Africa, and we will be talking about how brands can operationalise first-party data.
Adopting a first-party data strategy requires a more staged approach. It should form part of your digital marketing maturity journey in addressing the four accelerators to change. In this episode we get to explore the different options available to marketers and discuss a more practical approach for brands to consider.
Start listening now.
The digital maturity race belongs to the swift — and many companies need to accelerate their efforts to catch up. Digitally mature advertisers are better able to respond to changing market dynamics.
Our guests this week - Lorraine Landon Specialist Lead for SSA at Google and Bridget Ngcobo, Banking Industry Manager. Our host Audrey chats to these wonderfully smart humans about the state of digital marketing maturity in South Africa and they cover some of the challenges brands are being faced with digging into the findings from the latest BCG/Google Report.
All brands have access to a free online DMM Assessment Tool which can determine your level of maturity starting from Nascent to Multi-moment. https://digitalmaturitybenchmark.withgoogle.com/en/advertisers/
Get mature, get listening now!
Our guest this week is none other than Mike Follett, Managing Director at Lumen Research, experts in measuring consumer attention in digital advertising. The topic up for discussion is the challenge of attention in modern marketing.
What is the scarcest resource? In today’s “attention economy”, our very own attention has become a scarce commodity. We are bombarded with countless pieces of information, from social media to news articles, making it very difficult for any one source to truly captivate and maintain our attention.
This week Mike and Audrey unpack this and give us great tips and insight into how we can better manage our audiences attention. Tune in now.
This week we have two experts from BlueRobot - a marketing tech provider in South Africa. Our guests are Daniel ‘O Brien Head of Global Sales and Kyle Oosthuizen, Chief Operating Officer.
Whilst "Conversational Commerce" aka c-commerce is not a new concept, the phenomenon is gaining momentum, driving innovation, and customer experience in an ever-changing eCommerce landscape.
The way today’s consumers choose to communicate with brands is fundamentally shifting. Gone are the days of infuriating calls, jumping through multiple hoops to get to the right department, and confusing out-of-date websites – customers now expect to be able to engage in seamless, conversational experiences with businesses, similar to how they communicate with their friends and family.
Our guest this week is the one and only Kat de Sarigny (we just love French last names), who has quite the lovely bio.
Kat is a Household’s CEO, a Spotify Guru with a passion for audio innovation, and has been in the media industry for over 5 million minutes. She is an all-round energetic animal lover who believes in kindness-always and the power of great music.
We get to talk about the power of audio and opportunities for brands to tap into the future. The power of audio enhances everyday life… listen now!
Our guest this week is Donovan Neale-May , Executive Director of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and Business Performance Innovation Network and we get to explore the role of marketing in digital transformation, and how the marketing function & CMO should change to support a digital-first organization.
Marketing has never been more complex than right now. Sweeping advances in technology and digital has revolutionized and fragmented the discipline, while societal issues such as the Covid-19 pandemic has certainly raised expectations for marketers.
As someone once said “Resistance is futile!” Like it or not, technology & data will continue to be an increasingly important aspect of running a modern marketing function. Tune in now.
Marketing needs to show ROI to shift from being an expenditure line item to a revenue generator. The biggest challenge a CMO faces is measuring the efficacy of their marketing.
Today we get to speak to Neil Pursey, Marketing Data Consultant at Measurebyte, with +15 years’ experience in analytics, data-driven marketing, and strategic leadership. Neil specialises in creating best-in-class analytics strategy, capabilities, teams, and measurement solutions. Measurement is a journey with small marginal wins.
Start with measuring paid, owned and earned media. Listen now.
Over the past five years, funding in Agritech start-ups across the African continent has been rising consistently. The sector stands in fifth position when it comes to the amount of capital raised by start-ups in Africa.
Khula! is a digital ecosystem of platforms that connect & enable role players in the agricultural and food value chain to grow their businesses: through an e-commerce marketplace, trade platform and digital support service for funders & farmers. The organisation envisions a connected & inclusive food system that can support the growing need for sustainably and responsibly sourced and produced food around the world;
Khula! Inputs Marketplace is built to support farmers (of all sizes and anywhere in the country) to easily & efficiently access certified agricultural inputs and services from leading industry players.
Our guest today is Karidas Tshintsholo, founder and CEO of Khula!, who will be talking to us about just this.
The powerful convergence of marketing and technology in today’s marketplace means that brands are no longer built through advertising, but through experiences. We have observed seismic consumer behavior shifts in the last 12 months which are likely to stay with us permanently.
Right now, an experience renaissance is afoot – one that is galvanizing companies to push beyond the CX philosophy and organize the whole business around the delivery of exceptional experiences. These experiences must respond to customers’ new, often unmet and frequently changing needs to enable them to achieve their desired outcomes.
This is the Business of Experience aka BX. BX is very much a new category of leadership that savvy CEOs and their leadership teams will embrace as we move deeper into the coming decade.
Our guest today is Haydn Townsend Managing Director at Accenture Interactive who will be talking to us about this new concept of BX and how businesses need to adapt to the new playing field.
In this podcast we chat to Sebastian Patel Chief Operating Officer & Co-founder of Franc which is a Fintech Start-up in South Africa.
Franc was born in 2018 when an engineer, actuary, investment guru and tech wiz shared a common idea of making investing affordable, accessible and social. It is a digital first, app based solution…Sebastian takes us through the details, so download the podcast and find out the story behind this successful Fintech start-up now.
Franc.app/invest.
Check out this week’s podcast where We get to speak to Daniele Joubert who is the Eater Growth Lead, for Uber Eats South Africa.
Creating the future of food delivery takes empathy, innovation, and an appetite for complex logistical challenges. Uber Eats taps into the phygital space of taking the restaurant seamlessly into homes with the use of technology.
We will delve into some of the local insights and stories surrounding Uber Eats and why this business model is gaining traction in SA.
Check out this week’s episode with our guest Nunu Ntshingila, Head of Facebook Africa, talking about the Next Frontier from a Facebook perspective on what is driving humanity today. One is the idea of a much more connected world and the second is the technologies that are enabling change.
Nunu gives us insights into the top three trends which she believes will have a huge impact on how brands will operate both within a public and private space in the future.
You cannot afford to miss out on this conversation. Tune in now!
The growing importance of data is being accused of stifling creativity, as more decisions are made on the basis of numbers and insight rather than allowing original ideas to flow freely. In this episode our guest, Antonio Petra who has been in the digital and marketing environment for over 20 years, and is a specialist in strategy, marketing, analytics, and measurement will cover whether data stifles creativity or enhances it. . Don’t miss out, tune in to the conversation now.
In this episode we chat to Garth Rhoda, Managing Director at Detonator Media SSA & UK, Director at Africa Media Alliance SSA and AMA Digital Media UK (TAPTAP Digital), about how brands are slowly becoming immersed into gaming.
Did you know, South Africa is one of the largest video game markets in Africa. Gaming has overtaken the market in movies and music in the country in the last 12-18 months.
We are going to smash some stereotypes around gaming and bring you a fresh approach on how to fully leverage this platform.
In this week's podcast we host two leading industry experts; Chris Roper, deputy CEO for Code for Africa, and director for the African Network of Centres for Investigative Reporting as well as Nevo Hadas, partner at dY/dX with over 20 years of digital industry experience.
Chris and Nevo chat to us about the importance of digital ad fraud and how much underlying weight it really holds. Its an iceberg and we only just scratch the surface. Ad fraud is destabilising media while brands fund fake news. We learn that brands should be more demanding and investigate the quality and value within their media buying ecosystems.
Don't miss out, tune in now.
Check out this week’s podcast with Greg Bailie where he talks to us about how brands are embracing TikTok as a marketing channel. There is no denying the splash TikTok is making by creating a new world of online sharing. The platform allows users to fully express themselves by creating and curating something unique in a matter of seconds. According to the 2020 Social Media Landscape, there are about 6mil users on TikTok fast catching up with other social media platforms. Tune in now and find out how brands are jumping in and being part of user generated content trough TikTok in South Africa.
In this week’s podcast we have Jacqui Maroun, Chief Experience Office at VMLY&R, talking about customer experience and the future of marketing.
Jacqui believes that great customer experience is the most important ingredient for a brand. Deep empathy and design thinking can be used to rewire your organisation and your customer touchpoints in transformative ways, with positive results for customers and the bottom line.
She shares her views on the challenges being experienced by consumers and how brands can create more meaningful experiences. Don’t miss out, tune in now!
Check out this week’s podcast with Sam Tomlinson Partner at PWC leading the Marketing and Media Assurance Teams in the UK and has been working with brands across the world including SA - assessing the impact and providing workable solutions around this issue.
The impending death of the third-party cookie is already raising widespread concerns. Industry leaders have speculated what it means for the future of advertising while technology companies must adapt to new products and solutions.
The advertising ecosystem relies on the consumer, the publisher and the marketer. Whilst all must adapt to the changing environment, the marketer is a key investor now faced with finding a solution to this challenge. The four major challenges for marketers is going to be reach, personalisation, campaign optimisation and performance measurement.
So, how should marketers navigate? Tune in to find out!
Check out this week’s podcast with Marcel Matodes, Google Marketing Platform Lead for Sub-Saharan Africa, talking about media consolidation and tech.
He is well known as the expert in ad tech, media buying, data and analytics. Marcel shares his views on the current media landscape in South Africa, the need for brands to consolidate media and value derived. Marcel mentions digital transformation and the readiness for brands to own the license, data privacy, tech and ownership – creative automation, audience, measurement, attribution.
Don’t miss out on this conversation.
Happy New Year! I hope you all had an amazing break and ready to tackle 2021. 🎊 To start off the year, our first guest is Shelley Walters, Top SA Sales Keynote Speaker, and founder of The Sales Counsel (Pty) Ltd. 😱😬 We chat about the art of virtual B2B selling and how salespeople can be more effective in the way they sell, covering all the do’s and don’ts. The COVID-19 pandemic forced B2B buyers and sellers to go digital in a massive way. What started out as a crisis response has now become the next normal, with big implications for how buyers and sellers will do business in the future. Navigating the crisis requires an entirely new playbook. Shelley shares with us her insights and recommendations. 🤙🏻🔥
Find out more https://thesalescounsel.co.za/
Hey everyone, we are taking a break as we close off 2020. If you've missed out on some of our episodes, here is your chance to catch-up on the main trends, insights and recommendations as we summarise 20 episodes into one.
Thank you for all the support through these hard times, and we look forward to 2021 expecting to do some awesome things together. Be lekker South Africa! See you all on the flip side.
In this episode our guest is Riaan Wolmarans, Head of Digital Media at Arena Holdings, overseeing the group’s digital news platforms, including TimesLIVE, SowetanLIVE, BusinessLIVE, HeraldLIVE, DispatchLIVE and Vrye Weekblad. The conversation centres around brands partnering with local publishers on native content.
Native advertising is paid advertising where the ad matches the form, feel and function of the content of the media on which it appears. That being said, native advertising can and often should be a part of a content marketing strategy. Native advertising is yet another way of reaching a highly targeted audience through great content.
Studies show that people look at in-feed native ads up to 53% more than standard banner ads. Add to this the fact that people share native ads more frequently than they share traditional ads, and that when asked, 70% want to learn about products through content, rather than traditional advertising.
In this episode we talk to Enrico Ferigolli, co-founder of Bottles, about an incredible story of resilience, tenacity and success. It was 2016 when Vincent Viviers and Enrico Ferigolli forever altered South Africa's alcohol retail landscape by launching the first on-demand alcohol delivery app and service. In mid 2018, Bottles partnered with Pick ‘n Pay Liquor to scale their beverage delivery business and cement their place as the leading on-demand alcohol delivery servicer in the country.
Fast track to 2020, e-commerce has grown by 10% in SA, making an on-demand delivery service even more appealing. Bottles has more than doubled its reach and trebled its volume of orders this year. The company is consistently ranked as the number one app in the food and drink category and rated within the top 50 apps overall, in South Africa. To top it all off (see what we did here), Pick ‘n Pay made an announcement in November 2020 to buy them out.
If you are thinking of starting a business, already have a business, don’t miss out on this conversation.
In this episode we talk to Casey Saran, CEO of Spaceback, and Danny Greeff, Managing Partner at RebelRebel, two leading experts in social display advertising. It is said that 86% of consumers suffer from banner-blindness, we can all relate to this. Think about it - the average person gets bombarded with over 1,700 banner ads per month. Roughly only 8% of users will be able to recall a company, product, or service after viewing an ad. Ad-fatigue and banner-blindness are common problems associated with display advertising. We delve into how tech and data are propelling disruption in the creative space exploring how local brands are innovating within social media display advertising.
In this episode we talk to Jan Gildemeister, Partner and Managing Director at BCG Johannesburg office. He leads the BCG’s digital hub for Southern Africa and has extensively worked with incumbent companies to define and implement digital disruption in their respective industries.
Digital Marketing is the advent of something fundamentally new and has a profound impact within organisations. Digital Marketing is a completely different beast as happens in millions of small events. In Digital marketing you can change things, test things, refine things to increase the effect of what you’re doing. You’re moving from a pure creative function to a more scientific, quantitative function. Companies need to acknowledge that Digital Marketing and traditional marketing need to sit side by side.
In this episode we talk to Andreas Schwab, Lead Expert Marketing Transformation in CEMA at BCG, all the way from Munich about... you guessed it marketing transformation in a digital age.
We uncover how to embrace tech and data, embed it into our everyday culture by thinking digital first, making use of AB and multivariate testing and making continuous improvements to our marketing approaches. Don't miss out on this mind changing conversation.
In this episode we talk to "one of the most innovative and award-winning heads in digital for the financial industry." Ya’eesh Cader, co-founder of Getlaw an online start-up legal services platform. Ya’eesh is also the head of digital & e-commerce at Sanlam Investments. Getlaw - the Uber for lawyers was designed by digital natives built for a mobile first market. GetLaw offers free legal advice to those who were most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. We get a double whammy as Ya’eesh talks about digital disruption and innovation from both a start-up and corporate perspective. Digital is disrupting product innovation, pricing models, business processes and the way people design for digital. Don’t miss out, download this episode, subscribe and tune in now.
In this week’s podcast we have Ryan Eberlin, Media24 Programmatic Specialist, unravelling programmatic’s “black box” and how brands can leverage off more advanced buys. The way we buy and sell media has changed. Programmatic buying has graduated from being an experimental technology to becoming a must-have for both media buyers' and advertisers. Marketing is most effective when you’ve achieved the three R’s - the right message, to the right person, at the right time, but doing this at scale, and in real time, can be challenging. Programmatic buying is changing that by delivering higher levels of targeting, relevance, efficiency and impact.
In this week’s podcast, with Bradley Hall, Digital Director at PHD JHB, we are tackling the “Social Media Conundrum” - how has social media evolved to an advanced state but is still being put on a pedestal?
We look at both the challenges and opportunities for brands to play in this space. Is YouTube a social media channel or a digital channel? There is a skills shortage both within brands and agencies suffering from “laziness syndrome”. How do brands show up to be more relevant, more agile and more brave? We are in the age of “new social media” but with old habits.
In this episode, we talk to Shaneel Singh, Managing Partner at MediaCom and Julian Mountain, Digital Director GroupM, about a hot topic, which is both contentious, and in a state of transition within the advertising industry.
The traditional FTE commercial model is no longer sustainable to guarantee the survival of agencies now and in the near future. This is due to a number of factors: COVID-19 and the reduction in media budgets, pressure to deliver on objectives, the trend towards in-housing models and a lack of skill-sets and talent to keep up with the ever-changing pressures. We delve into why agencies are being recycled, the need to evolve and define a new operating model.
Don't miss out on this head-turning conversation.
In this week’s podcast, we chat to Brett StClair about AI transformation in SA, talking about some of the challenges he is seeing in the market in terms of adoption rate as well as roadblocks to implementation within organisations. With new tech, comes new challenges within organisations: do brands have the right skillset and human capital to sustain this? What is the solve for this? What are you observing as an external partner? And how sustainable is this going forward. . In order for AI to work, organisations need to place it at the heart of their strategy, ensuring their enterprises harness three factors: technology, data and people. You don’t want to miss this conversation.
In this episode we chat with Stevan Randjelovic, Director, Brand Safety & Digital Risk Management at GroupM, about the transitioning of brand safety within 3 pillars: brand reputation, financial risk and legal risk. Brand safety is fast evolving as consumers and market shifts force brands to review their brand purpose & values and how they show up in the public. It is now a collective effort between brands and their agency partners to drive quality media. Stevan takes us through the highlights of the GroupM brand safety paper and provides a view of what brands should consider going forward.
In this episode we fire it up with Doug Place, Nando’s CMO & Darren Hampton, GM of Digital Marketing & eCommerce. We talk about Nando’s keeping their fans warm online and discuss some of the challenges in running a restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic – what happened in March during Level-5 lock-down, Nando's pivot to digital, eCommerce and Nando's approach to Social Media. Don’t miss out and tune into this sizzling hot treat.
In this week's episode, we have Emma Odendaal, a passionate digital marketer, content creator, strategist and team leader with 15 years experience communicating with customers using branded content, talking about brands becoming publishers, in the content marketing space. Content marketing has depth of meaning, can change behaviours, forge passions, develop interests and drive affinities. Make sure your content is amplified through paid media. She shares some insights into the world on content marketing and tips on how brands can get this right.
As the world moves towards a new normal amidst COVID-19, marketers are also shifting their focus to adapt. We are seeing the pivot to digital platforms as marketers shift their budgets from physical to virtual events. This can be daunting for some marketers to venture into unchartered territories. At the same time, it does presents a new set of opportunities for marketers to innovate and be more creative. Neo Matsau, a “polymath who believes in the power of innovation for growth", talks to us about the recent shifts in event marketing in SA, how is technology shaping and influencing these shifts and opportunities for marketers to build 360 experiences.
Neo’s contact details: neo@bamboo.johannesburg
In this weeks episode Pieter Groenewald, CEO of the Influencer Marketing Division at Nfinity Group, with over 18 years experience in the marketing and advertising industry, talks to us about the value of influencer marketing to brands - is it worth the investment? Pieter smashes some of the myths and negative perceptions around influencer marketing and provides brands with recommendations on how to approach influencer marketing as part of their marketing strategy. He unpacks the 3 different types of influencers - nano, micro and macro and provides us with key insights around the South African influencer market.
Episode 20 of 2020 has been a journey, a time to look back and reflect on the last 19 episodes and everything we have learned about digital transformation along the way. It was also time to re-invent, shift and change our narrative to tell our own story. Don't miss out on listening to our mash-up taking it the next level.
Jaco Lintvelt, Managing Director of DDL, with 10 years experience in Digital talk to us about the next wave of Media Agencies and about the creation of Dentsu Data Lab in South Africa, the reasons propelling the change and the role media agencies will be playing in the future. The new narrative is built around data, content, creative and media. From an agency perspective, one has to adapt and go with clients on a journey.
Jaco on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaco-lintvelt-55162218/ DDL: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dentsu-data-labs-ssa/
Paula Hulley, CEO of IAB SA, with 20 years’ experience in brand building and engaging consumer experiences, shares with us the role of IAB in South Africa, it’s make-up and purpose for brands, agencies and marketers in the industry. The IAB helps drive the interactive advertising and marketing industry forward through the efforts of committees and councils in various industry segments. Tapping into the brightest minds in the industry.
She gives us a sneak peak into her world and unpacks some of the big projects that her and the team are working on for 2020 and beyond.
Get more information: https://www.iabsa.net/home/ Get involved: hello@iabsa.net
Alysia Silberg, Founder & General Partner of Street Global Venture Capital, a seed-stage firm based in San Francisco, self-made multi-industry entrepreneur & techpreneur, will be talking to us about her journey to Silicon Valley and her advice to South African entrepreneurs in surviving and thriving during this economic downtime.
Nichole Shub from Pineapple, talks to us about the fintech start-up navigating through change as a digital first brand. Who is Pineapple as an insure-tech, what is their value proposition and how do they operate in a digital world? We unpack the Pineapple community and look at the concept of a connected community as a lucrative business model.
In this week’s remote podcast we talk to Itumeleng Lethoko & Mark Botha from MediaMark about the transition of radio from a traditional platform to a multi-dimensional one, moving into the digital audio space. How is radio evolving to remain relevant and growing within the digital sphere?
In this weeks podcast we talk to Marius Greeff, Founder and Director of Turn Left Media (partners of LinkedIn), about the many faces of LinkedIn and what this means in South Africa.
Beth Casey, Marketing Cloud Lead – Enterprise Accounts in Africa and Paul Islam, Account Executive in Data & Identity Solutions across EMEA, talk about the evolution of DMPs (Data Management Platforms) within the new marketing era and how we can leverage it’s power to deliver intelligent data to drive future business growth.
Roan Mackintosh, Managing Director of IncuBeta, talks about how COVID-19 impacts digital transformation projects in South Africa and gives practical advice for brands.
Check our this week’s remote podcast with David Wingfield, Marketing Executive at Absa, talking about COVID-19 from a brand and marketing perspective. Listen now and keep engaged.
Check out this week’s podcast with Kirsty Dugmore, Chief Growth Officer at Sugaspice, talking about how behavioural economics could potentially be a secret weapon for marketing?
Monique Claassen, Head Client Service Director at Kantar SA talks about how brands are navigating through COVID-19 in in South Africa and gives great tips and perspectives on what our next approach should be.
Donald Mokgale, MD of Carat Possibilities, talks to us about the Attention Economy and it’s impact on Media. Robust discussion around how we are still fighting for the consumer’s attention in the last 10 years and how we are evolving in the future. SA is still TV led but we are starting to see the attention increase in mobile and digital. Always follow the consumer.
Chaz, Group Account Executive at Verizon Media, talks to us about Women in digital. In this episode she talks to us about the active role women are playing with the digital environment. There is no reason why women can’t upskill themselves and adopt a more curious mind. As a collective, women need to support each other to be successful in the digital space.
Wayne Bishop, MD of PHD Media talks to us about the missing ingredient in performance marketing. In this episode he defines Performance Marketing in its current state, the role of brand and creative in performance supported with learnings and interesting concepts like “short-termism” and “cultural imprinting.” But to get this right, he tackles the 4 key components of increasing media skill-set in SA. How do we build a more sustainable performance business?
Dean Joffe, Account Executive Snapchat SA – part of the AdDynamo team, breaks the perceptions of Snapchat and provides us with some compelling reasons why Snapchat is a super-engagement platform. He starts by providing a view of What is Snapchat? How does Snapchat support the industry with creative production? And finally how Snapchat functions with an ecosystem… Don’t miss out on this one.
Clare Trafankowska-Neal, Head of Digital Dentsu-Aegis talks to us about the state of Digital Transformation within Agencies. In this episode she talks to us about the digital skills gap within agencies and unpacks the 4 key pillars that are transforming agencies to become more digital. Should there be an improvement in agency models and culture to a more sustainable future?
The state of Digital Transformation in SA. Kerri Prissman Agency Business Manager at Google talks to us about the state of #Digital Transformation in South Africa. In this episode she shares some insights from Google’s research in EMEA (in partnership with BCG), the brands who are getting digital right and common attributes they share as well as brands who are lagging behind. Get access to the free Google Digital Maturity Assessment Tools and much more.
Check out this week’s podcast with Andrew Kramer – MD of Adcolony talking about #digitaltrends shaping and impacting our local market in 2020! The value chain is being disrupted in the digital media space. In this episode we are talking about the shift from Impressions to Attention, Data Privacy and controversy around viewability. Advertisers need to demand for value for their investment.