Marketers take a lead at Leaderex

The Marketing Association of South Africa ( MASA) will be taking part in this year’s Leaderex at the Sandton Convention Centre on 4 September 2018. MASA will host two sessions (essentially two masterclasses), aimed at a senior level audience. The Masterclasses are designed to challenge conventional thinking about marketing in a digital world.

MASA is leading the conversations on digital disruption and pioneering the approach on digital strategy.  There is a cost to attend, but well worth the spend –  R750 for both masterclasses or R400 for one. Booking is essential on the website –  click here to access the MASA booking platform

“Digital platforms offer marketers exciting new ways to extend their marketing programs” says Greg Garden, CEO of MASA, and adds that “too many companies are creating digital silos rather than engineering their entire business for digital success that speaks to their business architecture and strategy”.  Integrating the new platforms into their mainstream marketing efforts is essential.”

Today’s consumers value meaningful engagement, which can’t be copied or faked. They crave authenticity and social awareness. They are attracted to ethical, responsible, and sustainable businesses. In other words, they’re seeking more of a relationship from the brands they choose to support.

The new approach is about building relationships, catering for the needs of customers and offering customers a branded experience, but most importantly, engagement and proactiveness. In today’s world, digital media is so pervasive that it’s no longer considered unique (or a nice to have); it’s a way of life. But while advertisers continue to pour money into digital media, consumers are empowering themselves to avoid being overwhelmed- they’ve begun ignoring ads or actively avoiding them. To connect with consumers today, marketers need to re-think their strategy and focus on creating quality brand experiences, rather than high-volume advertising exposure.

“Breaking through the noise and being heard has become more difficult and complicated. Fragmentation is a big concern for many brands and businesses. It’s time to recalibrate brand strategy for the digital age. Our fantastic speakers will share insights on how to do this. They will bust some of the myths that have been built up around digital marketing and give cutting-edge advice on how to engineer for digital and do the key things better,” says Garden.

 MASA MASTERCLASS #6: Smarter thinking for Marketing in a Digital World (09:30 – 12:00)

• Dave Carruthers, Past International Marketing Director, SAB Miller and Distell: Recalibrating brand strategy for the digital age
• Mosidi Seretlo, Digital marketing’ myths and what to do about them
• Wayne Nelson, Digital Advisor, Microsoft. The real trends you need to understand and why
• Panel discussion: Presenters, Subject matter experts, and audience.

MASA MASTERCLASS #7: Smarter execution for Marketing in a Digital World. (13:30 – 16:00)

• Sarina Viljoen, CEO Customer Centric Digital Partners: Engineering for Digital
  • Strategizing and executing a road map
  • Articulating customer value
  • The hidden pitfalls
  • Inside-out and outside-in: are we there yet?
• David Perrott, Founding Partner Gravity Ideas: Doing the key things better: how marketers can improve their digital execution and performance.
• Panel discussion: Presenters, Subject matter experts, and audience.