Emotion drives travel decisions, and people choose places that resonate before they’ve even visited.
In this episode of The Lead Creative, Thembisile Sehloho, CMO of South African Tourism, delves into the role of human truth in destination marketing and how it compares to marketing consumer goods.
Drawing from her time at Tiger Brands, where she led the iconic Tastic x MaXhosa campaign, Thembi explains how powerful insights make campaigns cut through. We discuss what it takes to make a brand part of culture, not just conversation, and how that thinking transfers into positioning a country.
She shares how brand health is tracked in tourism, why trust between clients and agencies fuels creativity, and how influencer marketing only works when both parties stand for something meaningful.
— Thembisile Sehloho, CMO of South African Tourism
“Influencer advocacy is a partnership between two brands. If your values don’t align, it’s just noise that can drown your brand.”
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Our podcast audio editing and audio production are done by: Maishe Rakgoale.