Simply Black Côte d’Ivoire Wins Award For Back To School Campaign

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March 12, 2025

Simply Black Cote d'Ivoire Wins Pikasso d’Or Award For Back To School Campaign

Simply Black Côte d’Ivoire has been awarded Bronze in the Digital Campaign category at the 2024 Pikasso d’Or Awards for its work on French multinational Bel’s Back to School campaign. The campaign was designed to connect with parents and students through targeted digital placements, ensuring strong visibility and interaction.

The Simply Black team – led by Marieme Faye – focused on precision targeting, data-driven content, and optimised ad placements to maximise reach and impact. Their work helped Bel, known for its cheese brands like The Laughing Cow, strengthen its brand presence at a crucial moment in the year for consumers.

‘This recognition reflects the strength of our digital strategy and the hard work of our team,’ said Issa Bamba, Managing Partner at Simply Black Côte d’Ivoire. ‘We focused on delivering a campaign that was not just creative but also strategically positioned to achieve clear business objectives. Winning Bronze at the Pikasso d’Or Awards reinforces our commitment to delivering results for our clients.’

The Pikasso d’Or Awards celebrate the most effective Out-of-Home (OOH) and Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) campaigns across multiple regions, including West Africa, North Africa, the Levant, and Italy. The awards are a benchmark for excellence in media placement, creative execution, and campaign impact.

SIMPLY BLACK MEDIA
www.simplyblackmedia.com

Nedbank IMC Announces Its Latest International Alliance

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Modern Marketing

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March 11, 2025

Nedbank IMC Conference Announces Its Latest International Alliance — Dr Gillian Hammah, WiM Africa associate.

Africa’s biggest marketing conference has announced its latest international alliance – a strategic partnership with WiM Africa. WiM Africa is part of Women in Marketing (WiM) CIC, a global not-for-profit network that seeks to recognise, connect, educate and celebrate women in the marketing, advertising and communications sectors. Female owned and managed, the Nedbank IMC resonates strongly with WiM Africa and is committed to engaging with female thought leaders throughout the continent.

‘This is a perfect fit for us,’ said IMC CEO, Dale Hefer. Modern Marketing is a proud media partner of the Nedbank IMC Conference.

WiM Africa’s mission is simple: to champion gender equality at the highest levels of this sector, showcasing the continent’s creative talent on the global stage and empowering future generations of African women to lead.

As Andrea Djan-Krofa, Director of WiM Africa explained, ‘We’re dedicated to making the business case for women in marketing – to showcase creative work that drives tangible results and bottom-line impact. By working with the Nedbank IMC we can expand our reach, amplify diverse voices, and build a more innovative, balanced industry in Africa.’

As part of this partnership, top WiM Africa associate, Dr Gillian Hammah will be presenting a keynote presentation at the Nedbank IMC 2025 taking place in Johannesburg and virtually on the 18 September.

Hammah has delivered award-winning campaigns across Canada and Ghana. Recognized as one of Ghana’s 50 most influential CMOs, Gillian exemplifies unwavering commitment to leadership, strategy and continuous learning in the marketing realm. As CMO of Aya Data, she is committed to the organisation’s mission to transform Ghanaian businesses through AI innovation.

In keeping with the conference theme of Marketing is Business®, Hammah’s topic is one that CMO’s are grappling with worldwide: ‘People or AI? The Business Decision Facing Marketers Today.’

CMOs recognise the value and potential of AI in driving efficiency through automated processes, uncovering data-driven insights and rapidly generating content at scale. But they also know that marketing, at its core, is about connection, relationships and empathy – something innately human. The art of brand storytelling, which captures hearts, minds, and ultimately wallets, is rooted in peoples’ abilities to understand cultural nuances, their emotional intelligence and their creative genius.

So, what’s the best investment fit here? Perhaps the key to success lies in striking a balance – CMOs’ developing investment strategies that leverage AI’s capabilities while upskilling their marketing teams to harness AI’s full potential. As Hammah aptly put it, ‘AI is here to enhance, not replace, human creativity and expertise.’

Attend in-person or online. Venue: Mosaiek Teatro. 1 Danielle Street, Fairland, 2030. In-person tickets are priced at R3500 (excl. VAT). Limited seats available. Virtual tickets are priced at R950 (excl. VAT). Book now.

NEDBANK IMC CONFERENCE
www.imcconference.com

Top Supply Chain And Marketing Specialists Announced At IMM Institute Awards

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Modern Marketing

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March 11, 2025

Corporate Marketing Team Of The Year: Proudly SA.

South Africa’s top marketing and supply chain talent were unveiled at the IMM Institute Gala Dinner on 7 March at The Maslow. The awards, adjudicated by professionals across the depth of the marketing and supply chain sector, were selected from 57 entries spanning students, entrepreneurs, teams, as well as emerging talent. Modern Marketing is a proud media partner of the IMM Institute.

‘The most coveted awards, however, were that of lifetime achievers. We can proudly say that Robin Brozin, was awarded the Marketing Lifetime Achievement Award and Lebogang Letsoalo the Supply Chain Lifetime Achievement Award. Each of these people have demonstrated unwavering commitment to their respected sectors, going the extra mile to advance the relevant industries as well as helping create new leaders,’ said Irene Gregory, CEO of the IMM Institute.

The winners in each category were:

Marketing Student Of The Year:

Sria Roopchand and Angela Bruwer, IMM Institute.

Sria Roopchand has moved up within Securadoor from working in sales to being a marketing assistant and is also a professional actor. She completed a Bachelor of Business Science degree at the IMM Graduate School last year.

Supply Chain Student Of The Year:

Gugu Nkala and Angela Bruwer, IMM Institute..

Gugu Nkala is a Customs Compliance Consultant who has been working in this industry since January 2016. Nkala is set to finish a Diploma in Export Management, Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management at the IMM Graduate School next year.

Emerging Marketer Of The Year:

Liat Madinane and Irene Gregory, IMM Institute.

Liat Madinane successfully ran her own company before joining Sauce Advertising as Chief Integration Officer.

Marketer Of The Year:

Happy Ngidi has been Chief Marketing Officer at Proudly SA for almost a decade and a graduate in PR and Communications. A budding author, she is also a motivational speaker.

Supply Chain Professional Of The Year:

Lethlohonolo Mpshe and Ronald Mlalazi, IMM Institute.

Lethlohonolo Mpshe is the Managing Director of SME company, Atarah Solutions, which provides automation systems to the transport sector.

Corporate Marketing Team Of The Year:

Proudly SA – a campaign that encourages South Africans to buy local products and services.

Entrepreneur Of The Year:

Mitheel Ramdaw is a data explorer who is passionate about artificial intelligence (AI). He recently led a project to design and implement AI and machine learning models to predict student performance.

In the Supply Chain Corporate Team of the Year category, an honourable mention went to Chery SA, the local subsidiary of a Chinese car manufacturer that has been exporting vehicles globally since 1997,

‘We were impressed with the quality of entries this year and it is clear that South African professionals are advancing the supply chain,’ said Judge Ronald Mlalazi, a procurement professional and Supply UK Fellow.

Lethabo Sekhu, Co-founder and COO at Credipple and one of the Judges added, ‘South Africa’s marketing talent is world class, and this was clearly evidenced through the quality of nominations we received. It wasn’t an easy task selecting the winners.’

‘The evening was a success in terms of bringing together professionals who were able to mingle and learn about each other’s respective industries at a time when they are converging,’ said Gregory.

Gregory explained that speed-to-market requires not only a solid understanding of a brand’s target audience, and a marketing plan based on that, but also an efficient supply chain. ‘We believe that lasting relationships were formed, and best practices discussed during the lively event,’ she added.

IMM INSTITUTE
www.imminstitute.co.za

Businesses Must Align Their Social Media Strategy With Their Business Goals

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Modern Marketing

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March 6, 2025

For businesses, a solid social media presence is no longer a nice to have, it is an imperative. In just a few years, we’ve seen how social media has become a crucial component of business strategies, opening up a powerful avenue for reaching and engaging with current and potential customers.

‘Despite the immense opportunities good social media can afford businesses, many operate their platforms and profiles in isolation, often putting out content that they think their target audience will like but that doesn’t necessarily make sense to their business goals, ethos or offering,’ said Emma-Jane Truter, Founder and Head Social Media Strategist at Emma Is Social.

Truter said that in order to leverage social media’s full potential, a business must align their social media strategy with their business goals.

But Where Do You Start?

‘The first step is to define your business goals and outline your top priorities,’ said Truter. ‘For some, this could be acquiring new customers, for others it’s ensuring the success of a new product line or increasing market share. Whatever your goals are, it’s critical that you define them up front and only then start looking at how these can be supported by your social media strategy.’

Most businesses can easily outline their business goals. But what do social media goals look like and how can they be linked up with business ones?

The most common social media goals include increasing brand awareness, driving sales and improving customer experience.

Increasing Brand Awareness

‘If your business goal is to increase the level of familiarity and recognition of your brand among its target audience, then a good social media goal alignment would be to increase brand awareness,’ explained Truter.

For brand awareness, your social media strategy will need to focus on building a large but targeted following and this would require the creation of content that draws attention to your brand’s story and its values. Suitable content would then need to be accompanied by a targeted advertising or boosting strategy on several social media channels that is designed to drive reach.

Driving Sales

‘If your business goal is to increase profitability, a great way social media can help is to drive sales,’ said Truter. ‘Social commerce is currently booming on most social platforms and is a powerful way to not only move product but to boost conversations too.’

However, driving sales through social media requires a lot more work than just detailing your offering and prompting people to purchase. A strong sales-driven social media strategy must also be able to generate leads and boost website traffic to ensure all of your sales-orientated opportunities are covered.

From a sales perspective, it’s also important to focus on the platform where your target audience is most active. You’ll need to be consistent in your posting by making sure you share content regularly, as this assists greatly with all social media algorithms. As important are the kinds of content you post. While focusing on your flash sales, for example, is great, it’s also advisable to mix it up with user generated content that focuses on product reviews or even test things out with an influencer-led campaign that is aimed at driving trial of your product or service.

Improving Customer Experience

‘If your business goal is to increase customer satisfaction, social media can assist considerably by helping to improve your customer’s online experience,’ said Truter. ‘With most modern consumers now engaging with social media before anywhere else, you have an amazing opportunity to ensure your customers feel seen, appreciated and receive a high level of service off the bat.’

Social media has a leg up on other customer interactions because it enhances experience and satisfaction almost instantly by providing a direct channel for communication and support. Customers no longer have to wait for an email response or phone call, they can be assisted by a brand representative quickly and have their issues resolved far faster than on other channels.

‘But exceptional customer satisfaction doesn’t come easy. As a business, you need to have a dedicated person or team that is willing to answer and deal with any question, query or complaint that comes their way. The beauty of this is that if done right, this personal support can raise the respect and appreciation of your business immeasurably, and that is invaluable,’ concluded Truter.

EMMA IS SOCIAL
https://emmaissocial.com

Modular And Reusable Stands Are A More Sustainable Solution For The Exhibition Industry

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Modern Marketing

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March 6, 2025

Modular And Reusable Stands Are A More Sustainable Solution For The Exhibition Industry

ExpoGuys is a strong advocate for modular stands over once off constructed stands, a preference rooted in sustainability. While other products may seem eco-friendly at first glance, their life cycle paints a completely different picture.

As sustainability takes centre stage in the exhibition industry, the debate over sustainable stand construction continues. Many believe that using biodegradable materials in one-off stand construction is the gold standard for eco-conscious exhibiting. However, industry experts argue that modular, reusable stands offer a far more sustainable and cost-effective solution in the long run.

Georg Feldberg, ExpoGuys Operations Manager, explained: ‘The idea that biodegradable equals sustainable is a common misconception. While biodegradable materials break down over time, their environmental footprint is often higher than anticipated. Many of these materials require deforestation, energy-intensive processing, and cannot be reused. In contrast, modular stands can be used repeatedly, reducing waste and overall environmental impact.’

Feldberg added: ‘Modular exhibition stands are designed for long-term use. A single stand can be reused between 30 to 200 times, making it a far more eco-friendly option compared to a custom-built stand, which is often discarded after just one event. This approach aligns with global sustainability goals by reducing landfill waste, limiting carbon emissions, and promoting circular economy principles within the events sector.”

Environmental Impact Of Modular Exhibition Stands

Graph illustrating the environmental impact of modular exhibition stands over their lifecycle. The impact is highest during manufacturing and decreases significantly as the stand is reused multiple times:

Graph illustrating the sustainability of modular exhibition stands over their lifecycle. As the stand progresses from manufacturing to repeated uses, its sustainability percentage increases significantly, reflecting the benefits of reusability:

As the industry moves towards more sustainable exhibiting, the question remains: Is your stand truly as eco-friendly as it seems?

EXPOGUYS
www.expoguys.co.za

LePub Strengthens Presence In SA With New Leadership In Johannesburg

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Modern Marketing

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March 6, 2025

LePub Strengthens Presence In SA With New Leadership In Johannesburg — Graeme Jenner and Harry MacKenzie, LePub.

Creative agency LePub is strengthening its presence in South Africa with the appointment of Graeme Jenner and Harry MacKenzie to lead its Johannesburg office, focused on advancing creative excellence and innovation. These new appointments mark a significant milestone for the agency, solidifying its commitment to developing innovative, locally relevant solutions in South Africa and the broader African region.

With their rich history of crafting iconic campaigns and a relentless passion for creativity, Jenner’s appointment as Executive Creative Director and MacKenzie’s as Creative Director bring unmatched expertise to LePub’s South African chapter.

LePub’s Johannesburg office, strategically located in one of the city’s key business districts, is designed to engage with new audiences and capitalise on the thriving cultural diversity and dynamic business environment that South Africa offers. This hub will serve as a creative powerhouse, harnessing emerging trends in marketing and advertising to deliver impactful solutions that resonate with consumers. While pushing to deliver exceptional work and set new standards of excellence, LePub will also enhance the presence of LeGarage, its tech-driven collective. LeGarage merges creativity, innovation, and culture to reshape how brands engage with audiences by blending cutting-edge technology with creative ingenuity, fostering a space where innovation thrives, and brand engagement is redefined.

‘We are thrilled to have Jenner and MacKenzie to lead our team in Johannesburg. This is an exciting chapter for us, as it opens new opportunities for brands to engage with Africa’s diverse and rapidly evolving markets. With their experience and leadership, they will drive innovative work that connects brands with audiences in meaningful ways,’ said Bruno Bertelli, Global CEO and CCO of LePub Worldwide.

Jenner and MacKenzie bring a wealth of industry experience to LePub’s Johannesburg operations. Both are seasoned professionals with a proven track record of creating exceptional campaigns for renowned global and local brands. Under their leadership, the agency is poised to make an indelible mark on the African creative landscape.

Speaking about his new role, Jenner said: ‘LePub’s obsession with merging cultural resonance and creativity excites me. I look forward to building ideas that truly live in culture and drive tangible impact for brands in South Africa.’

MacKenzie added, ‘LePub is all about pushing boundaries, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to join a team that prioritises creativity and cultural connection. This is an exciting moment for South African advertising, and I’m eager to contribute to LePub’s vision.’

LEPUB
https://www.le.pub/johannesburg/

Showcase Your Strategic And Creative Marketing Prowess In The 2025 Effie Awards

By

Meggan McCarthy, Modern Marketing

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March 5, 2025

Effie South Africa has announced the formal call for entries for the Effie Awards 2025 programme. Entries will be accepted from 3 April to 28 May 2025, with a ‘How to Write a Winning Effie Entry’ Workshop to be held on Wednesday, 19 March 2025. Modern Marketing is a proud media partner.

Effie South Africa invites agencies, clients, media partners, and start-ups to showcase their strategic and creative marketing prowess. The programme, part of the global Effie community, stands as a testament to the local industry’s commitment to delivering effective campaigns. Effie is a global forum that exists to lead, inspire, and champion both the practice and practitioners of marketing effectiveness.

Campaigns that ran from 1 February 2024 to 31 January 2025 are eligible to enter, with the submission of cases via the entry portal taking place from 3 April to 28 May 2025. Entrants will need to demonstrate the impact of their marketing initiatives, providing evidence of how their campaigns delivered measurable business results.

To be considered for an Effie, cases must state clear objectives and offer proof of having met or exceeded them. Judging procedures are based on objective evidence of performance against goals. Winning or becoming a finalist in the Effie Awards South Africa 2025 is a mark of distinction, recognising marketing effectiveness and the ability to create work that truly delivers. Winners and finalists also earn points towards the globally recognised Effie Index, reinforcing the impact of South African campaigns on the international stage and highlighting the country’s position as a force in marketing effectiveness.

Entry Dates and Deadlines:

– Early Bird Entries: 3 – 30 April 2025 (Deadline by 00:00).
– On-Time Entries: 1 – 14 May 2025 (Deadline by 00:00).
– Last Minute Entries: 15 – 28 May 2025 (Deadline by 00:00).

Agency and Client partner teams are encouraged to take advantage of the Early Bird period and submit their entries promptly. Acceptance of entries via the Effie Awards South Africa online entry portal will close strictly at midnight on Wednesday, 28 May 2025.

Gillian Rightford, ACA Executive Director, remarked, ‘Following the great success and growth of the 2024 Effie Awards programme, we are excited to build on this momentum in 2025. Last year, we saw a record number of entries, a broadening of the industry’s participation, and a growing recognition of the value that effectiveness brings to marketing. This year, we look forward to further strengthening this platform, showcasing the very best in marketing effectiveness and celebrating those who drive real impact.’

As has been the case in the past, entrants can anticipate over 70 categories across two groups, namely Products and Services and Specialty Categories, providing a comprehensive range to showcase various aspects of marketing effectiveness. For detailed information on entry categories, submission guidelines, and to initiate the entry process, visit the ‘How to Enter‘ tab on the Effie South Africa website.

Effie Entry Workshop: How to Write a Winning Effie Entry

The ‘How to Write a Winning Effie Entry’ Workshop will provide invaluable insights into what makes a winning Effie case, covering best practices, key judging criteria, and expert tips to strengthen entries. Attendees will gain a clear understanding of how to articulate marketing effectiveness and demonstrate tangible business impact – critical components of an Effie-winning case. In addition, the session will guide entrants through the necessary entry documents to ensure a smooth submission process.

Presented by Gillian Rightford, the workshop will take place online on Wednesday, 19 March 2025, from 13:00 – 14:00. To register your interest, please email melanie@acasa.co.za.

Rightford concluded, ‘Now is the time to step forward and demonstrate marketing that delivers real results. The Effie Awards provide a unique platform to showcase effectiveness, and we encourage all agencies and clients to put their best work forward. Moreover, we are excited about new developments coming from Effie South Africa that will further strengthen and extend the programme. These initiatives will not only elevate the standard of marketing effectiveness but also provide even greater value to the industry.’

EFFIE AWARDS SOUTH AFRICA
www.effieawards.co.za

Enter The 2025 Loeries Awards

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Modern Marketing

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March 5, 2025

As the only award that covers all of Africa and The Middle East that informs the global WARC rankings, The Loeries has a diverse range of categories including film, radio and print as well as areas such as digital, design, media innovation, B2B creativity, PR and media communications, social impact campaign and service design. The Loeries, the premiere awards for brand communications and creativity in Africa and the Middle East, has opened entries for 2025. Modern Marketing is a proud media partner.

Brands, agencies, creative professionals, and production companies, are invited to submit their work across a wide range of categories that recognise excellence in advertising, marketing, design, and digital innovation.

New categories have been introduced to reflect the evolving landscape of the brand communications industry, including Comedic Impact, and New Launch Campaign. The Marketing Impact Award is also a new special award that has been launched to recognise the partnership between a an individual marketer and their agency partners.

‘The Loeries exists to recognise, reward, inspire and foster creative excellence in the brand communications industry,’ explained Loeries CEO, Preetesh Sewraj. ‘The awards are the process that we use to show the industry who are the people and companies that are truly impacting nearly two- billion consumers across Africa and the Middle East with the information that they need to navigate a complex purchasing environment.’

The Loeries continues its mission to highlight and reward outstanding work from across the brand communications industry. Entries will be evaluated by a diverse panel of jurors from across Africa and The Middle East led by International Jury Presidents, who will assess submissions based on innovation, execution and relevance.

The closing date for early bird entries is April 25 with standard entries closing on June 1. Work that was commercially flighted or published to a substantial audience from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025 is eligible to enter. Participants can submit their entries via the official Loeries entry portal. Detailed guidelines, entry forms, and category descriptions are available here.

THE LOERIES
https://www.loeries.com

Using Agentic AI To Enhance Marketing Effectiveness

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Modern Marketing

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March 5, 2025

Using Agentic AI To Enhance Marketing Effectiveness

Junaid Kleinschmidt, Intelligence Lead (Data and AI) at Accenture Song, South Africa, says that unlike common AI tools that assist with one task at a time, or human teams that take months to create and run brand campaigns, Agentic AI can build, launch, deploy and iteratively adapt entire campaigns virtually flawlessly, very quickly.

We are at the forefront of this transformation to help brands integrate ethical Agentic AI to gain a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving digital economy. But to harness this power, businesses must first fully embrace digital transformation and build a digital core. By integrating the work of the data, IT, legal, C-suite, operational, marketing and sales teams, brands have a solid foundation from which they can deploy meaningful AI to get to their market faster, with better solutions, to create better customer experiences.

What Is Agentic AI And Why Does It Matter?

Agentic AI is a network of ‘AI agents’ that work together much like a hive of bees – each virtual ‘agent’ being tasked with specific roles and responsibilities, while communicating and learning from one another to coordinate complex marketing jobs with minimal human intervention. What is quite remarkable is that Agentic AI has human-like reasoning capabilities, meaning it can break down complex problems into smaller
steps, iterate and learn as it goes.

This hive of agents – what we call The AI RefineryÔ in our world – can execute entire workflows with utility agents (worker bees) at the bottom doing the detailed work, super agents in the middle who align strategy, and master agents on top who finally coordinate and ship the work. Within the refinery, brands can conduct deep consumer insights analysis, deploys their corporate identity, language and imagery to craft personalised content at scale, hone their Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and automate media buying in alignment with their strategy and insights. While the campaign is live, it can also continuously refine and pivot consumer engagement strategies based on real-time data. No more spray-and-pray – targeting is where it is at. Powered by lightning-fast Nvidia chips, brands can spin up their hive quickly and scale their AI efforts by tenfold.

But remember, keep humans in the loop.

While technology can do amazing things, AI-enabled marketing departments should always have humans in the loop as well. 2025 should be the year in which Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) leverage Agentic AI to augment and boost their teams, not replace them. If the power of AI is wielded with care by thoughtful and skilled human marketers, brands can unlock profound levels of efficiency, quality control, and even bolder creativity than they’ve ever been capable of before, without compromising on ethics and human sensitivity. For South African brands and marketers, this presents an enormous opportunity to revolutionise how marketing campaigns are developed, executed, and optimised in record time – while always keeping their customer’s interests at heart.

How South African Marketers Can Prepare For Agentic AI

Global brands are already using Agentic AI to enhance marketing effectiveness. Accenture’s AI-driven campaigns around the world have reduced content production by 50% while increasing brand value by 25%. In South Africa, adoption is still in its infancy, but a handful of forward-thinking brands are already claiming their first-mover advantage.

To successfully integrate Agentic AI, brands must undertake a total digital reinvention. This involves rethinking how marketing is structured, moving away from manual, siloed processes towards AI-enabled collaboration and automation of the most laborious, error-prone tasks, to free up the humans on the team to do their best strategic and creative thinking.

To give marketers advice on how to get started, I recommend five important steps:

Step 1: Lead With Value

Before we take our brands on the AI journey, we need to look at how and where we can reinvent the marketing value-chain from a process and capability perspective. It’s helpful to workshop an organisation’s ambitions for reinvention and the critical must-do’s to unlock the most value for the brand. Brands must get clear on their unique positioning, opportunities, and the value they want to unlock for their customers, people and business, before launching any campaigns with or without AI.

Step 2: Establish A Digital Core

Before implementing Agentic AI, organisations need to build a strong digital core. Hopefully, by 2025, most leading companies in South Africa will have this down pat. It means companies are able to integrate customer and product or service data, have fully cloud-based and digital operations, and cyber security is in place. Without this basis, AI adoption will be difficult.

Step 3: Upskill Marketing Teams

While Agentic AI automates many tasks, it doesn’t replace human creativity – it enables and enhances it. It also can’t be deployed without prompts, frameworks and insights from real marketers. To wield it to its full potential, however, marketers must develop new skills to work with AI, focusing on strategic oversight, creative direction, and Responsible AI. Enrolling your people in workshops and academies can be
very helpful.

Step 4: Leverage Solutions For Scalable AI Deployment

Solutions like Accenture’s AI Refinery enables brands to deploy Agentic AI effectively, transforming raw AI capabilities into enterprise-level solutions. This ensures seamless AI integration across marketing functions, driving efficiency and ROI. Brands that use this approach are 35-55% faster to market with their new campaigns.

Step 5: Pilot AI-Driven Campaigns

Start small and build from there. We’re all still learning. Rather than going full-tilt overnight, brands should start with pilot projects, where they can play, learn and experiment, for instance with AI-powered content creation, tight budgets, and automated media buying. Doing it this way can deliver quick wins, while building the team’s confidence and honing new ways of working before full adoption.

It’s Not A Solo Exercise

Agentic AI is new for everyone. This is why brand teams can benefit from learning from the early adopters who understand Agentic AI before embarking on this transformation themselves. Get advice from others who have done it before, look to the international marketing community for inspiration and guidance, be curious and open to learning, and try out the tools that can do the job. Whether you’re still exploring AI’s potential as a rookie, or you’re fully digital and ready to transition to the future of marketing, automated workflows are now within your reach.

The brands that will master it to their competitive advantage over the next few years will be the ones that start experimenting and learning in 2025. From there, they can ensure a smooth transition and scale to reach their fully addressable market with their new, nimble campaigns. If you’re a marketer or brand leader looking to unlock AI-driven growth, 2025 is the year to look beyond just Gen AI and start exploring the full potential of Agentic AI. It’s time for a new marketing operating model.

ACCENTURE SONG
https://www.accenture.com/za-en/

IMM Institute Excellence Awards 2025 Finalists Revealed

By

Modern Marketing

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March 5, 2025

IMM Institute Excellence Awards 2025 Finalists Revealed

Experts across their relevant fields of marketing and supply chain management had a difficult task selecting finalists for this year’s IMM Excellence Awards. The awards are set to be presented at the IMM Institute’s Annual Gala Dinner on 7 March, which will be held at the Maslow in Sandton. Modern Marketing is a proud media partner of the IMM Institute.

‘For our awards this year, we received 57 entries from marketing and supply chain professionals across various industries, with people from those who are just starting out in their careers to those who have been in the industry for a lifetime being nominated,’ said Irene Gregory, CEO of the IMM Institute.

She explained that the panel of expert judges, specialising in marketing, advertising, supply chain management, and business development, thoroughly evaluated the candidates, recognising the exceptional talent displayed by South African professionals in these fields.

‘My entire team and I are looking forward, along with our guests at the dinner, to the announcement of the independently adjudicated winners,’ noted Gregory.

The following professionals and teams have been shortlisted in their respective categories:

Marketing Student Of The Year

– Syon Roopchand.
– Deidré Summers.
– Sria Roopchand.

Supply Chain Student Of The Year

– Rutendo Gwese.
– Gugu Nkala.

Emerging Marketer Of The Year

– Amy Cowell.
– Liat Madinane.
– Vusumuzi Radebe.

Marketer Of The Year

– Erné Ankiewicz.
– Happy Ngidi.

Supply Chain Professional Of The Year

– Phumzile Sokhela.
– Lethlohonolo Mpshe.
– Sinethemba Mbelu.

Corporate Marketing Team Of The Year

– JSE.
– ISB Optimus.
– Proudly SA.

Entrepreneur Of The Year

– Alisha Lalbeharie.
– Liziwe Nompumza.
– Mitheel Ramdaw.

‘We have a wonderful selection of talent in our country, and I look forward to seeing who will scoop honours in each category at our dinner, which offers professionals in their fields the opportunity to mingle with an array of talented people in both marketing and supply chain,’ said Gregory.

In addition to the awards, the dinner offers an excellent opportunity to network, while being entertained by Simply For Entertainment. Carte Blanche’s Govan Whittles will MC the event. Award-winning marketing and media entrepreneur, Pat Mahlangu, will deliver the keynote address.

IMM INSTITUTE
www.imminstitute.co.za