“But what you (brands) always do, which is a mistake, is you call us at the tail end! When you guys are done with strategy, then you call us to activate.” ~ Zakes Bantwini
Grammy award winner Zakes Bantwini surprised guests at The Homecoming Centre during Loeries Creative Week when he joined Deshnie Govender on stage to share his frustrations about culture and brand collaborations.
Marketing leader in tech and founder of the Hype and Happening podcast, Deshnie Govender, rallied some of the best minds in marketing and culture for the Loeries Creative Week Masterclass to unpack the burning question: What is culture?
The sold-out masterclass sourced questions from key voices in culture that the panel tackled. The panel, made up of marketing leaders from brands such as Heineken, FNB, Spotify, Pernod Ricard, Nedbank and FMCG discussed these questions with real-life examples and provided tips for the audience.
CEO & Partner at Grid Worldwide, Adam Byars, reinforced the importance of the discussion: “This conversation today is bigger than just a masterclass. There is a shift in our industry that is happening, and the people here understand it, and the clients on the panel get it.”
Katleho Mahloane, a senior marketing executive in the banking industry, encouraged everyone to challenge the idea that culture cannot be used to drive business objectives and marketing metrics.
Setting up the culture for success
He provided examples of how he has incorporated culture into his strategies in banking, telecoms and fast-moving consumer goods sectors and how whilst at Coca-Cola they utilised culture to create billion-dollar brands.
He stressed the importance of consistently prioritising culture throughout one’s career, not just for a single brand or industry but as a strategic integration.
Source: © Gallo Images Gallo Images
The masterclass also provided creatives and artists an opportunity to better understand what brands are looking for when it comes to collaboration.
“Understanding the purpose of the brand and then understanding what that purpose does to fit into culture,” said Mongezi Sokanyile, senior marketing manager: brand strategy, Nedbank.
Traditional agencies need to adapt
The panel discussed the role agencies play in shifting culture and how they need to adapt to be future-fit.
“Brands and agencies can relate authentically to their consumers only when they truly understand who their consumer is and what culture associations are relevant to both consumer and the brand,” said Devashni Ganess, brand manager at a global FMCG company.
Marcel Swain, known for his bold moves in culture through past brand campaigns, spoke passionately about taking traditional agencies on a journey.
“We need to challenge the bigger agencies to look at how they show up or partner with those leading the culture conversation to better serve brands. Traditional agencies need to take the culture conversation more seriously as it becomes a more important topic in our brand strategies,” said Heineken’s head of marketing premium.
A robust cheatsheet with actionable insights will be made available online on 17 October and drops from the panel will be made available on YouTube and Spotify.
Deshnie’s hype and happening
Deshnie has spent the past 10 years working in marketing, pivoting from being one of the first female DJs and producers in Africa to leading digital and marketing for global brands across the continent.
Her career spans across agency, consultancy, brand, and now tech. The idea for “Hype and Happening” came from seeing how her LinkedIn posts garnered thousands of views. From a monthly podcast to cheat sheets, a marketing and culture community was created, which also led to Gary Vee’s first interview on the continent with Deshnie.
“Hype & Happening gives you the drop when you need it, keeping you informed. It’s more than a podcast or resource – it’s a community to empower you. The rules in marketing are shifting. The way we show up at work has shifted. We seek community and connection,” said Govender.
Panel Included:
- Moderator: Desh Govender, Founder of Hype & Happening | Global Marketing & Culture Leader
- Adam Byars – CEO & Partner at Grid Worldwide
- Marcel Swain – Head of marketing premium, Heineken
- Thirashan Naidoo – Marketing manager Jameson, Pernod Ricard
- Sithabile Kachisa – Head of marketing SSA, Spotify
- Katleho Mahloane – Marketing executive head: commercial, FNB
- Anwar Jappie – Head of industry, Google
- Devashni Ganess – Brand manager at a global FMCG company
- Mongezi Sokanyile – Senior marketing manager brand strategy, Nedbank
- Davin Phillips – Executive director & partner, CSA.Global
- Bianca Sibiya – Founder & COO, The Fixer Coalition
https://www.linkedin.com/in/deshniegovender/
