If the Daily Maverick calls it “Africa’s most prestigious marketing conference”, it's a given that V5 Digital would be in attendance, ready to immerse ourselves in unparalleled insights and inspirations at the 2023 Nedbank IMC Conference.
The Integrated Marketing Council (IMC), a platform championing the progression and upliftment of the marketing industry, advocates for this industry’s rightful place at the boardroom table, nurturing the concept that the heartbeat of any business lies in marketing.
Upliftment of the youth is also a priority of the event which V5 Digital as a Pledge 1% participant appreciate greatly! A bursary programme, in exclusive partnership with Red & Yellow Creative School of Business and the IMC YOUTH1000 initiative (in partnership with MASA), are two ways the IMC help our rising young stars.
With humour and charm, the host with the most Donovan Goliath started the event by engaging with the virtual host Celestia, once again showing that AI is here to stay! The rhythmic beats from Lucky and the Afro Drums amplified the lively atmosphere and provided literal drumrolls for all the esteemed local and global speakers.
The conference kicked off with the celebrated Pearl Thusi taking centre stage, a vision in a Thebe Magugu dress. In a presentation titled “It’s Personal: How to build your own brand,” she laid down the blueprint of personal branding, dissecting it into three pivotal components.
Inner Brand Sanctum: She highlighted the foundational spiritual enthusiasm that defines the core of a brand, emphasizing the importance of surrounding oneself with supportive individuals who can help avert imposter syndrome and nurture the authentic heartbeat of the brand.
External Brand Projection: She underscored the necessity of genuine representation in the public sphere, championing authenticity and the courage to be oneself even in the face of potential backlash, anchored in the belief that “If the brand is real, nobody can fault that”.
Digital Presence on Social Media: Pearl guided us through the intricate world of social media, urging individuals to create spaces that foster feelings of love, value, and acknowledgement through sincere and meaningful interactions.
Up next was a brand voted most admired and mentioned so many times they could get a co-hosting credit the always innovative Nando's. Doug Place the CMO of Nando’s Africa, Middle East, and South Asia and whose business card could be A4 size asked the C-Suite:
Do we Contribute: Run your business better! As the economy goes up we lift people out of poverty.
Embrace Chaos: Marketing works best at the edge of chaos. Have your feet on the present but your eyes on the horizon.
Collaborate: It’s not enough to win…you need to win-win with the industry as a whole!
Next Roanna Williams reminded us that creativity can change the world and Dustin Chick, Arun Sudhaman, and Shayoni Lynn discussed the future of reputation telling us that corporations are being held to a higher standard and should always be B2Everyone!
" Standing for nothing is very risky, and saying nothing on big issues is another form of statement" - Arun Sudhaman
As the conference moved forward, we delved deeper into the cornerstone of successful business operations and people-centric leadership. Mteto Nyati, the chairman of Wazo Investments, asked the audience to introspect on their leadership styles and qualities, presenting a pivotal question that resonated with many: "If you know all you know about yourself, would you apply for a job under you?"
The spotlight was then seized by the international speaker and Chief Innovation Officer at System1, Orlando Wood. In a persuasive narrative grounded in extensive research, Wood unravelled the dichotomy of "narrow-beam" and "broad-beam" attention in the context of the advertising industry.
Wood painted a portrait of a society losing its vibrant touch to the rigid adherence to analytics, leaving creativity in its wake. He challenges the industry to rethink the current approach that heavily leans on "narrow-beam" attention — a path fraught with detachment and rigidity.
In contrast, he advocates for a shift towards "broad-beam" attention which cherishes human connection, character dynamism, humor, and music to foster trust and build a long-lasting brand.
After a quick break Zoe Scaman, founder of Bodacious and former global head of strategy for Ridley Scott, dissected the evolution of User Generated Content (UGC) in her presentation "The Multi-Player Brand". Scaman delineated the progression of UGC into three phases:
UGC - Phase 1: The early text-based internet era birthed platforms for bloggers and forums, fostering new voices and ideas, with Google facilitating access to an array of information sources.
USC - Phase 2: In the past two decades, platforms like Instagram and YouTube spearheaded new entertainment formats and creator economies, giving rise to the influencer culture in the Web 2.0 era.
USC - Phase 3: The internet is evolving with platforms like Roblox and tools like generative AI fostering unprecedented democratization and decentralization in content creation. This shift, emblematic of Web 3.0, allows individuals to create without traditional gatekeepers, pointing to a future with collaborative ownership and dynamic brand definitions.
In her talk, Scaman also introduced the concept of the "cosy web", a reaction to the divisiveness cultivated by major social platforms, fostering smaller, safe spaces of like-minded individuals on the internet.
Everything in this video is generated using AI
She foresees a future of collective creativity with generative AI facilitating a democratization of creativity. Emphasizing the untapped potential of evolving technologies, Scaman urged brands to transition from a passive approach to a collaborative, open-source strategy, embracing the reciprocal value generated through cooperative brand-fan relationships, paving the way for a cooperative, mutually beneficial future in branding.
Luca Gallarelli, Group CEO of TBWA\South Africa delivered a dynamic and impactful presentation titled "Living on the Right Side of Chaos: The Art of Effective Integration that Delivers Magic." He told the audience that, “Misfits aren’t misfits amongst other misfits,” urging them to embrace chaos and tension, the true foundations of creativity.
After an insightful 15-minute talk by Shukri Toefy the executive creative director of Woolworths took to the stage.
Brian Mtongana had everyone chuckling with his insightful presentation titled: Inside the Difference. He showcased the deep-rooted presence of Woolies in the everyday language of South Africans, humorously suggesting that phrases like “today is as cold as a Woolies store” and “Xhosa men are the Woolies of men” have become commonplace in our vernacular.