Katherine McInnes, head of marketing Africa at Meltwater

The Nedbank IMC, in collaboration with Meltwater, the global leader in social, media and consumer intelligence, has released this year’s conference White Paper - prepared by the industry for the industry.

In her introduction, head of marketing Africa at Meltwater, Katherine McInnes writes: “This year’s discussions were all about challenging the familiar and exploring the new, something that we at Meltwater see as fundamental to the industry’s success.”

Authors Louise Burgers and Tendai Mbumbwa, respected thought leaders and academics from Red & Yellow Creative School of Business, expertly identify the common threads running through the various presentations, and outline the main take outs and teachings under five user-friendly themed categories.

Louise Burgers

Tendai Mbumbwa

These include the importance of embracing AI (and generative AI) in all its opportunities and complexities, across all marketing functions. At the same time, although AI may be redefining our world we can’t forget the unique ‘human’ in all of us – hence a call for both authenticity and humanised growth as indispensable to business development and customer loyalty. As Katherine notes: “Today, brands must go beyond transactional relationships to create genuine, people-centered interactions. This means accessing meaningful, data-driven insights and understanding consumer sentiment and psyche.”

The White Paper also highlights the need for marketers to dream big, be inspirational, take risks, and embrace the chaos in creativity. And in a world in need of positive social impact, recognising marketing’s storytelling and influence can be integral to driving social change.

To read the full report, the Nedbank IMC 2024 White Paper is freely accessible here.