WesBank was recently announced as the Platinum Headline Naming Sponsor of this year’s New Generation Awards. The awards are recognised as the largest independent, performance-based accolades in social-first marketing, digital media, AI, creativity, integrated marketing, and online technology.
As a media partner of the WesBank New Generation Awards, Modern Marketing interviewed Lebogang Gaoaketse, WesBank Head of Marketing and Communication. Gaoaketse gives insight into WesBank’s strategic partnership with the New Generation Awards; what it takes to create a successful marketing campaign; as well as the marketing trends that are making an impact in 2025.
Why did WesBank get involved as Platinum Headline Naming Sponsor of this year’s New Generation Awards?
The New Generation Awards recognises and celebrates innovation that is geared towards advancing South Africa into the new age. This aligns perfectly with WesBank’s brand ethos of moving with our customers and empowering progressive growth by supporting innovation and excellence across diverse industries.
What value will WesBank bring to the awards?
The partnership leverages WesBank’s more than 50 years of experience and heritage as an innovator in the financial services sector – innovation that has catapulted WesBank to the very pinnacle of the industry. Beyond the awards, WesBank aims to be an active partner to the individuals and organisations that are represented in the New Generation Awards to help them grow in their respective fields.
WesBank has proudly sponsored a number of award categories. Which are you most excited about, and are there any particular categories that resonate with WesBank’s marketing strategies?
We are excited to be associated with the New Generation Awards across the entire spectrum of categories. However, in our maiden year as a sponsor, we have placed a special focus on, and sponsored most of the digital campaign awards because we are particularly excited about how this landscape has evolved over the past few years.
It is a great platform to engage customers while creating access to multiple products and solutions as well as allowing them to have fun through things like gamification and AI. The category has a cross-cutting appeal across different demographics, customer segments and even income groups, which is what our campaigns are also about. They are hinged on access to information that enables our customers to make wise financial decisions now and into the future as we move with them through their life stages.
The New Gen Awards aim to ignite a spirit of excellence and challenge participants to push the boundaries of innovation. How is WesBank doing this for both their marketing, and company?
In an era that’s characterised by short attention spans and the ability to skip advertising messages, the best marketing campaigns are the ones that can retain customer interest by clearly demonstrating product benefits without coming across as just another sales pitch.
WesBank’s consumer education campaign is one such programme that prioritises the liberalisation of financial education to enable customers to make informed decisions when buying a vehicle, while at the same time demonstrating how WesBank cares for its customers and South African car buyers in general. A big part of the campaign, and a first for the industry, is WesBank’s African Language consumer education campaign, executed across various African language radio stations and social media platforms to deliver financial education in a language that the South African masses can easily understand.
In addition to this, WesBank has several other groundbreaking and evergreen campaigns, such as our scam awareness campaign, that not only serve our customers but are for the greater good of society. We also started our podcast channel, WesBank Talks Finance, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic so people could have access to information even during dire times.
What does it take to create not only an award-winning marketing campaign, but one that truly resonates with consumers?
Solving real world consumer challenges should be the main focus for any marketing campaign, before thought is given to the prospect of winning an award. The aim should always be to develop a tailored campaign that resonates with the intended audience by either addressing an existing challenge or creating new demand and finding solutions for it. If well executed along these parameters, the chances of winning an award become exponential for any campaign.
What are the top three marketing trends for 2025?
The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) has been felt across multiple sectors, and marketing has not been spared. While the numerous AI-powered tools have drawn criticism among some industry pundits, their impact on productivity cannot be ignored. Integrating AI in the marketing mix is therefore imperative to remain agile and responsive to fast-evolving market needs.
On the media front, podcasts have proven to be more than just a passing craze. They have cemented their role as a media platform to a point where traditional players are seeking ways to leverage the appeal of podcasts across all demographic groups.
Data-driven marketing has enabled personalisation at an unprecedented level. The ability to tailor marketing campaigns for specific audiences has resulted in more impactful campaigns, with minimal wastage.
WesBank New Generation Awards Ceremony
This year’s awards gala ceremony will dazzle on Tuesday, September 23rd, at the luxurious NH Sandton. It will be hosted by the brilliant Lebo Mokoena (The Mood Engineer), and is powered by Monster Productions. Save the date, because this is set to be the highlight of the SA awards calendar. For more information about tickets, please email: stephen@newgenawards.co.za
WESBANK NEW GENERATION AWARDS 2025
https://www.newgenawards.co.za/pages/awards
WESBANK
https://www.wesbank.co.za/home/
