The upcoming African Cristal Festival, taking place 10 – 12 May, will bring together media, creative and marketing industry leaders and experts to explore the interaction between brands and African cultures, trends, and society.
Under the theme of ‘Build the future, connect cultures!’ attendees will be treated to two days of keynote addresses and panel discussions exploring all aspects of this.
The programme kicks off with an opening address by Majid El Ghazouani, president of UACC Morocco, and co-organiser of the Festival. The morning session will then proceed under the theme ‘The state of society’ with a keynote on ‘Preserving cultural diversity in Africa’. This will explore why Africa cannot be viewed as a single market as it is made up of multiple markets, each having its own unique characteristics and cultural elements.
A panel discussion, moderated by Isabelle Musnik, founder and editor in chief of Influencia, will then explore whether brands and cultural diversity is a threat or reality to brands. The panellists will be Udeme Ufot, group managing director of SO&U Nigeria, and Souleymane KHOL, VP of sales marketing distribution and revenue management for Accor Africa and Indian Ocean.
The discussion will then delve deeper into exploring the consumers in Africa with Florence De Bigault, director for Africa at Ipsos AFRICAP giving a talk entitled ‘Portrait of the African consumers’. The morning session will conclude with what should be a fascinating conversation as a panel discussion will explore whether media reinforces or destroys cultural identities.
Meeting the people that matter
Aside from the insights from the industry experts another major benefit of attending the Festival are the networking opportunities available. These will take place after each session as well as after proceedings have been wrapped for the day. You never know who you may meet or what business opportunities will reveal themselves to you.
The impact of digital in Africa
The afternoon session of the first day will revolve around a very pertinent, the impact of digital in Africa. It is no secret that mobile is a dominant player on the continent and this session will be dedicated to unpacking its impact, role and opportunities.
The first keynote will look at how Nollywood is moving from the big screen to the small screen. The Nigerian film industry is a major success story on its own and its move to mobile viewing only serves to increase its reach and success. Valéry Martin, group account director at Millward Brown/Kantar Côte D’Ivoire, will then present with a focus on how connectivity is changing the world of African consumers.
The afternoon’s first panel discussion, consisting of Gilles Babinet, digital champion at Comission Européenne, and Ahmed Lasheen, director of strategy and corporate excellence at Etisalat Egypte, will explore how mobile is transforming African society. The day’s final discussion will be another panel discussion (the panellists are Christian Kamayou, founder of My African Startup, and Samir Abdelkrim, founder and CEO of StartupBRICS.com) will touch on the very interesting concept of speed pitching, how the future of Africa could be shaped by start-ups who are focused on mobile.
Another day of fascinating insights
The insightful conversations continue on the second day with the theme for the morning session being ‘Afro-optimism: Brands and growth’. There is a lot to be positive about when looking at African society and its markets and that is the spirit that the Cristal Festival is encapsulating. Lionel Zinsou, Président of PAI Partners and former Prime Minister of Bénin, will be the first presenter and he will explain why we should be and how we can be Afro-optimistic.
Arnaud Annebicque, directeur du développement of Médiamétrie Afrique and Europe will then take to the stage to give his thoughts on the future of media audience measurement and how it could assist a dynamic advertising market. Xavier Dordor, managing director of CBNEWS, will then lead a group discussion on the new language that is being created through new African media and digital expression. The final thoughts of the morning session will be dedicated to ‘Mobility and media coverage: how to end the isolation’.
The afternoon session of the second day will commence with the theme ‘Transformation in the African society’. Vangsy Goma, CEO of Africab Côte D’Ivoire, will start with a presentation titled ‘Can the collaborative economy restructure the African economy?’ The final panel discussion of the Festival will look explore a topic that is very prominent in today’s world, ‘Brands, gender issues and women freedom’. A session will then look at African culture in advertising before two keynote addresses from Bertrand Tiotsop, CEO & founder of Publicity and Design and Dr Elie Nkamgueu, President of Club Efficience will touch on ‘African brands, globalisation and good practices’ and ‘Yes, We African’ respectively.
Recognising the top achievers
Aside from these compelling discussions the Festival plays host to the Cristal Awards, which recognise the top creative work which has been created and broadcast across the African continent. Aside from finding out who this top creative has come from, attendees can learn new techniques and gain insights from those winners for their own work.
This year’s Festival offers discussions around really relevant topics which will help any brand improve its presence and strategy in African markets. Those who don’t attend will regret it and will be missing out on valuable insights from industry leaders. Travel packages are still available for those interested in attending. For more, click here.
To find out more information about the programme for the 2017 African Cristal Festival click here.
