Get ready to ‘Market the Future’ with a world class line-up of speakers

The IMM Graduate School is partnering with Nedbank to present Marketing the Future, a half day conference focusing on the latest trends and challenges confronting the marketing space.

Trend analyst, Dion Chang and leaders from South Africa’s marketing industry, Pepe Marais and Jay Badza will talk at the event, which takes place on Thursday 25 October in Johannesburg.

Prepare for the second wave of disruption

Keynote speaker Dion Chang will address the “Second Wave of Disruption, and the skills and mindset required to pivot”. Chang is one of South Africa’s most highly regarded trends analysts, having gained a wealth of insight into the relationship between brands, consumers and communication channels during his 20 years plus in the world of media. His mantra, which he promotes both personally and through his trends analysis company, Flux Trends, is “trends as business strategy”.  By drawing on global perspectives and local knowledge to establish and track developing trends, Chang and Flux Trends provide insight into how best to stay ahead of the curve amidst the disruption confronting businesses and individuals today.

Grow greatness through creative communication

Pepe Marais will present a talk entitled “Breakthrough creative advertising and communication”, drawing in part on his recently published book, Growing Greatness.  The book emphasises the importance of discovering a business’s deeper purpose – i.e. one beyond simply making money – and using this as the company’s lodestar. Marais argues that this has made a critical difference to the success of Joe Public, a leading brand and communications group of which he is co-founder and Group Chief Creative Officer. Both Marais and Joe Public have won a host of industry awards. Since 2004, Marais has served on judging panels for the Loerie Awards annually; as a judge at the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival twice; and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Creative Circle since 2007. He “lives for creativity that deeply connects with people”, and is committed to co-creating an environment and culture that fosters the growth of Joe Public’s clients, people and South Africa as a whole.

Influencer marketing is on the rise

Finally, Jay Badza is the founder and “Head Honcho” of boutique brand marketing communications consultancy, Orchard On 25. His presentation tackles “The death of the brand ambassador and rise of influencer marketing,” a subject currently at the centre of many debates. Badza has more than 12 years of experience in marketing (the last two spent running his own consultancy), and has worked with top local and international brands developing and implementing communication strategies targeting the black middle class, youth and the affluent market. He is also a World Economic Forum Global Shaper representing the Soweto Hub in South Africa, and has twice participated in the Shape Africa Summits for the World Economic Forum. He was recently appointed as a member of the Advisory Committee for Tshwane University of Technology’s Department of Integrated Communications.

Marketing the Future is a means through which the IMM Graduate School reconnects with past and present students. Moreover, it provides a platform to stimulate thought and discussion around some of the critical challenges and opportunities emerging from the marketing industry today. The event takes place on Thursday 25 October from 9:00 to 13:00 at the Nedbank Auditorium, Rivonia Campus, 135 Rivonia Road, Sandown, Johannesburg