The event was born out of a co-creative partnership between Boo-Yah! and the University of Johannesburg department of marketing management to create a memorable and innovative learning experience for the audience.
The event theme was 'solving tomorrow's problems today'. The speaker line-up was hand-picked and organised by Carmen Murray and the topics discussed aimed to push the limits of the business ecosystem.
The event commenced with everyone singing the South African National anthem as a call to unite and stand together to effectively deal with the issues that South African society and businesses are faced with.
The space created strove to be conducive for honest conversation and to drive change. Instead of focusing on trends, the event allowed speakers to shed light on some of the most pressing issues currently affecting not only the marketing industry but the business environment as a whole. Speakers also spoke about how marketers and business professionals have a responsibility to be aware and engage with these problems in their organisations.
The event also saw the University of Johannesburg arts students act out sketches related to the speakers' talks and perform a surprise dance routine during the lunch session. There was also entertainment provided by performing artists Mo Malele and Nontokoza Mokoena.
Carmen Murray opened the programme, saying, "The moment that you join a company, you no longer represent the voice of the customer. You represent the voice of the stakeholders and your KPIs. You have to be politically correct; there is a lot of politics happening around you and the fact is, once you have lost your voice, you can no longer be the voice of the customer.''
The speaker line-up featured prominent figures in the business sphere — from CMOs to Entrepreneurs — who challenged, provoked and disrupted the conventional way of thinking. The line-up included:
Hers & His, a company striving to bring to light how culture influences how businesses operate in the modern world, and how it can be positively framed to bring change in the workplace. The duo (Ingrid Lotze and Gavin Moffat) delivered a talk titled 'Culture dilemma of the 21st Century *The good, the bad and ugly shaping the future of the business.'
Pepe Marais, a keynote speaker, author, co-founder and chief executive officer of Joe Public United, took the audience on an inward journey to explore their purpose. The title of his talk was 'The bolster strategy for ''purposeless'' business' was a reflective presentation that empowered and inspired a new level of seeing business, and emphasised how having a clear purpose can take you to new heights.
Dr Melanie van Rooy, former group marketing director for DisChem, offered an informed discussion on 'The data conundrum of the 21st century: standing in the way of creative business models'.
John Vlismas, former comedian, business professional and disruptive thinker, as well as Mike Sharman, CEO of Retroviral Digital Communications, stood out with their eccentric talks offering an enlightened perspective on the business environment. The duo talked about pushing the boundaries and even presenting paradigm shifts in the way we view business success.
Daisy Thlapane, head of segment mass market for Nedbank, gave a grounded outlook on 'trust' as the currency of the 21st century.
Her talk was in the form of three questions:
- What tools are you using to define your customer?
- Are you authentic toward fulfilling your brand promise?
- Is your perception of their reality?
Musa Kalenga, the founder and CEO of Bridge Labs and The House of Brave Group gave an informative talk on creative strategies to reach the woke reluctant consumer. Some of the trends he discussed included:
- The shift from desktop to mobile device (and what he calls the micro-computer constant companion)
- The shift from one mobile device to more than one
- The shift from text to visual
- The shift from attention-seeking to attention-demanding
Kimberleigh Stark, chairman of SAFTAs, founder of Stark Raving, actress, casting director and judge: Oscars and Emmys, gave a talk on how to fuel creativity and inspire innovation, while she prompted the audience on different case studies. Stark said, "We're all so busy trying to be woke, hip and happening, that we are so sensitive about everything ...'' Stark posed the question, "How do you draw that line, how do you play, have fun and be entertaining and not get into trouble?''
Herman Singh, CEO and professor, shared some of the major changes happening in the industry, including the death of advertising, how marketers need to rethink their strategies and the changing marketing landscape.
The marketing management department of the University of Johannesburg spoke about the relationship between academia and the working world and how they can work effectively together to create a better world for the customer.
"Marketing is an evolving discipline. The consumer is more finicky. This event is a means where we can learn best practices from each other." — Marius Wait, University of Johannesburg
The '#UJMarketingFit' will be releasing bonus material in the form of podcasts and white papers. This material will be addressing pressing marketing and business challenges and was developed through a collaboration with
The Carmen Murray Show and The University of Johannesburg department of marketing management.
A total of six podcasts and white papers will be released over the coming weeks, including:
- Spotting Pop Futurist vs Professional Futurist (already released prior to event)
- AI
- Data
- EQ
- Culture
- Customer Experiences
To access
The Carmen Murray Show podcast and upcoming whitepapers, subscribe
here. "The event exceeded my expectations, enriched and stimulated my experience and the way I perceive my role as a future leader in the communication industry," says Refiloe Khumalo, third-year PR and communications student at the University of Johannesburg. "I am honoured to have been a part of the change."
For more information,
visit www.uj.ac.za. You can also follow the University of Johannesburg on
Facebook,
Twitter or on
Instagram.