Demographica-Stein IAS partnership ushers in new growth in African B2B market

Stein IAS has operations in Europe, Asia and North America, and Demographica will now work jointly with Stein IAS' global account-handling teams to deploy campaigns from local offices in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria.

Warren Moss, CEO at Demographica and Tom Stein, chairman and chief client officer at Stein IAS.

I asked Warren Moss, CEO at Demographica, how exactly this alliance will aid Stein IAS as they expand into the African market and what benefits the partnership will afford Demographica. Moss also elaborates on the ‘post-modern marketing’ term, something Stein IAS has mastered. Moss in turn asks Tom Stein, chairman and chief client officer at Stein IAS, his thoughts on what value anthropology adds in terms of post-modern marketing and why Stein IAS is looking towards Africa.

How did the alliance between Stein IAS and Demographica come about?
Moss: In 2016 I attended the Masters of B2B Marketing – a B2B marketing conference in Chicago. At the conference, Stein IAS won global B2B Agency of the Year. When I got back to SA I reached out to them and they responded favourably. That was the beginning of the journey.

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[Behind the Selfie] with... Warren Moss

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How will Demographica aid Stein IAS with its expansion into the African market?
Moss: Africa is a real opportunity for multinationals based in Europe and the USA to expand into. When it comes to marketing and communication, Africa often lags behind your more mature marketing industries like Europe and the USA. When Stein IAS clients (specifically European and USA multinationals) start to expand into Africa, Demographica would be Stein IAS’ agency alliance partner on the continent.

Subsequently, when African businesses seek international growth into Europe and the USA, Demographica can help them expand using Stein IAS in those territories.

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Moss asked Tom Stein, chairman and chief client officer at Stein IAS to weigh in:

Why is Stein IAS looking to Africa? And in what way is Demographica the right partner for you on the African continent?
Stein: Stein IAS works for the most part with large global enterprises, cutting across B2B industries and sectors. Many are increasingly interested in opportunities in South Africa, Nigeria and Angola, but really all of sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Mail, Tanzania and other countries that have demonstrated considerable resilience. I think it’s important to note that GDP growth is higher in the African economies unpinned by sustained infrastructure investments, strong services sectors and agricultural production. These are all core B2B sectors – hence the interest.

Markets in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific are still growing, but they also are highly developed and highly competitive with finite growth ahead. For many sectors – pharma, technology, financial technology, industrial and others – our clients are exploring and establishing beachheads in African markets from which they can grow. Africa has plenty of challenges for western B2B businesses, not least of which is a specialist agency ecosystem.

Demographica has stolen a march with its focus on B2B in Africa, and is benefitting from significant growth as a result. Working with Demographica, Stein IAS and our clients stand to benefit immensely from Demograhica’s knowledge, connections, cultural insights and pan-African perspective.

What are some of the benefits that this partnership will afford Demographica?
Moss: Short term: resource, IP and case study sharing; training; and client engagement.

Long term: the global reach from both sides (in that there is direct access to Europe, North America and Africa).

What's your first point of business in collaboration with Stein IAS?
Moss: We are currently in the process of two big marketing automation deployments, where Stein IAS is supporting us in deployment of that tech. The partnership between us is already tangible, which is great.

You mentioned in a press release that Stein IAS has mastered post-modern marketing and that together with Demographica's human science expertise this will be the start of something exciting for both. Please elaborate on this statement and the term, post-modern marketing?
Moss: In order to elaborate on post-modern marketing, it’s important to start with pre-modern marketing and modern marketing.

Pre-modern marketing was all focused around big idea creativity and creating campaigns that evoked emotion. The biggest brands of the world were created during this time. Think Apple and Kodak Carousel.

Modern marketing is technology-driven with a big focus on data and analytics. It’s all about measurement, behavioural tracking and return on investment. Globally, a large portion of the marketing budget is spent on tracking and reportability. The retargeting banner, while not the most pleasant experience, is a great example of modern marketing.

As is evident, technology has provided us with the ability to successfully track and measure almost anything. Technology is also used to talk to people; people think and feel, and they have emotion. This then takes us to post-modern marketing where deep creativity is combined with modern technology, with human behaviour at the heart of it all.

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Demographica’s key differentiator is our anthropological approach which speaks directly to the human side of communication, which is what creates a connection, and resonates with people. This influence on the creative, on top of what technology enables you to do, amplifies post-modern marketing.

In the press release you note: “Demographica is the only B2B agency in the region, a creative thoroughbred and highly innovative in its use of anthropology to determine buyers’ wants and needs.” What value does anthropology add, particularly within the context of post-modern marketing?
Stein: Anthropology is the study of human societies and cultures – the norms and values of people and society. It involves understanding behaviours and motivations, needs and wants, at an incredibly deep level. In Stein IAS’ view of post-modern marketing, the deeper the insight into the emotional and psychological underpinnings of individuals and audiences – even and especially in B2B – the more inspiring the creative, content and go-to-market approaches we can develop and, thus, the more effective.

These ideas can then become drivers of digital interactions and experiences powered by advanced technologies – from marketing automation to data-driven segmentation and personalisation to programmatic to artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Demographica’s anthropological approach to insight is special and it’s unique. It aligns perfectly with Stein IAS’ post-modern approaches. We are very excited to learn from each other. In fact, our top marketing technologist is spending considerable time with Moss and Demographica to share our expertise and frameworks; and we’ve begun to enhance our insights discipline with Demographica’s anthropological magic.

Going forward, what do you hope this partnership will achieve in the long run?
Moss: B2B in Africa is a very under developed and immature category, whereas in the European and North American markets it is very mature and developed. From a truly global B2B competency level – I hope this partnership cements B2B as an established category of marketing and communication in Africa.

For more information, visit Demographica and Stein IAS.