What does being honoured with this award mean to you personally and professionally?
I am honestly humbled to be recognised in this way. This discipline called marketing has a lot of talented and successful people across the continent. I honour the many teams, colleagues and bosses who supported me and gave me the space to make a contribution to the book of knowledge, hopefully others can take a leg from.
Africa has many banks, many with powerful campaigns and innovative products. How has your marketing worked your brand into the powerful position it holds despite so much competition?
Be yourself always as a brand and carve a space that is commercially compelling, yet authentic to your root strength and stretch opportunities to solve customer pain points or opportunities for growth. Put yourself in a position of distinction as best as you can and then spend time (which we are doing now) to make sure that a promise made is a promise delivered.
Our positioning has human-centred empathy, yet inspires us to deliver seamless, intuitive and integrated customer experiences. We call that relevant and resonance in marketing. For ordinary people and business, it is ‘a brand for me and that understands me’.
What is the secret to staying fresh and also tapping into the nation’s zeitgeist? After all, we’re a diverse nation and change is almost constant!
Continuous sense-making, live-action pulse and obsession with understanding customers and stakeholders. Listen intently and triangulate data and information with purpose.
How do you define ‘cultural authenticity’ in marketing? It’s a phrase used so much in many ways, but what does it mean when applied to how your drive ABSA’s positioning and messaging?
We do not serve robots. We serve real humans, who have needs, aspirations, habits and beliefs. They live in a dynamic ecosystem, that evolves based on fads, trends and orchestrated phenomenas on an on-going basis. Knowing when and how to tap into that or leverage it as a brand is important, without losing your personality or trying to be something else. Fitting into that without repulsion and rebellion, and being accepted for who you are and the value you bring is priceless.
As chief marketing officer, what is your process for keeping up with South Africans? Of understanding what we’re thinking and what we need from our financial institutions?
Stay open, about everything, everywhere. Listen, look, smell, hear and touch. Whether it’s Tik Tok, a commissioned research project, excursion to spend time in a Disoufeng Lounge, an uncontrolled discussion with Gen Z colleagues at work, or organised immersions with customers. All of it. #Konke!
What does the reading matter on your bedside table look like right now?
A bit slow this year or so. It’s been hectic. But ‘Shoe Dog’ on the what, and ’48 Laws of Power’ on the how, have been my latest reads.
And your TV/streaming habits?
More sports. And more sports. Soccer, Rugby, Tennis, Basketball and lately Golf.
What started you on your marketing journey? Was it something you always aspired to?
I collided with Marketing by chance. I started my career in Sales. I did very well. And while at Gilbeys (now Diageo) I used to ask many questions to marketing guys and at times suggest what kind of customer marketing activations/promos we needed to run…and the Marketing Director decided to offer me a Brand Manager role…incidentally of the biggest brand at the time in South Africa. And that was Smirnoff.
I see you have continued studying throughout your career. Is that par for the course for marketers in this competitive environment?
A big ‘Yes’…and a small ‘No’. It depends on our journey and what we want to achieve. We must run our own race. And those races or lanes may be different. Most important is for you to know where you are going or want to go, then be clear what the building blocks are to get there. I think I got that right. Maybe for some, it is experiences and not necessarily studies. Just be clear though of the levers you need for your journey. And follow through on that relentlessly.
You mentor both young marketers and boys through your Mentor a Boy Child NGO, so clearly mentoring is important to you. In your opinion, does big business do enough of it?
The right answer is that no, big business does not do enough of it. But I do understand…we are living in a pressured environment with high demands on performance. Often time is not enough or budget not enough. Therefore, whether it is organisations or individuals, we need to do it with intention, and pass it forward. I love it, and feel so fulfilled when I have been able to share a little bit of my journey, or that someone finds an unlock from my journey experiences and lessons that can help them.
What are your thoughts about the marketing of South Africa itself right now? Our nation brand has taken a hit. What should we be doing to take control of our narrative?
Bring all the notable CMOs and Advertising executives onto one table. Maybe 10 of them. Create an external advisory board for the either SA Tourism or Brand South Africa (or both). Let them solve the country’s marketability pro-bono and advise both organisations. We don’t tap enough into the right and experienced brains. It’s there. Waiting.
