Brands are losing ground by using AI to accelerate output instead of seeking clarity, while producing more marketing without a strong anchor.
That tension is at the heart of the first episode of Marketers’ Brief, a new series by The Lead Creative in collaboration with Bizcommunity, where Abey Mokgwatsane, CMO of Investec, and Jessica Wheeler, Chief Brand and Customer Officer at Nando’s, reflect on what it takes to build brands that endure.
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We explore how growth and complexity can sometimes erode distinctiveness if they are not actively managed. Wheeler describes the need to reset the Nando’s brand as a process of returning to its core, after layers of activity and expansion began to dilute what made the brand recognisable in the first place.
Mokgwatsane frames the same challenge through a principle that resists the industry’s obsession with constant novelty.
“Be freshly consistent, not consistently fresh,” says Abey Mokgwatsane, CMO of Investec.
It’s a useful provocation at a time when the pressure to produce can easily outweigh the discipline required to repeat, refine and measure what works.
AI, in this context, is not positioned as the answer, but as a tool that can either reinforce or blur that discipline. Used well, it removes friction and creates space for better thinking. Used poorly, it accelerates the production of work that lacks coherence.
The brands that will win are not those that move fastest, but those that are most deliberate about what they choose to consistently build over time.
Marketing trends and insights to look out for:
- Consistency is shifting from repetition of assets to repetition of meaning
- AI is scaling output, but not necessarily improving thinking or judgement
- Brands that live culture internally show up more credibly externally
- Long-term brand equity is increasingly tied to how a business behaves, not just what it says
- Brands that live their values need fewer explanations in market
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This conversation is hosted by Mongezi Mtati of The Lead Creative and Danette Breitenbach, Managing Editor of Bizcommunity, and sponsored by the award-winning digital agency Rogerwilco.
Thanks to our production partners, Soweto Media.
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