Marketing is evolving rapidly as new technologies change how brands communicate and grow, AI accelerates production and personalisation, and consumer expectations continue to change. Marketing leaders face the challenge of staying ahead while deciding what should change and what must remain constant.
In the first episode of Marketers’ Brief, a new quarterly series by The Lead Creative in collaboration with Bizcommunity, Abey Mokgwatsane, CMO of Investec, and Jessica Wheeler, Chief Brand and Customer Officer at Nando’s, reflect on how they are navigating these pressures in two fundamentally different categories.
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What becomes clear is that, despite the pace of change, the discipline of brand building remains anchored in fundamentals. Jessica describes Nando’s recent creative agency reset as a return to the principles that made the brand distinctive in the first place.
“It’s a homecoming,” she says.
Abey Mokgwatsane, on the other hand, frames a similar idea through a principle he applies within Investec.
“Be freshly consistent, not consistently fresh,” says Abey Mokgwatsane, CMO of Investec.
This is consistent with our previous conversation, where he unpacked the art of brand resilience and the role of leadership in brand building.
The conversation also highlights the extent to which the brand is inseparable from organisational culture. At Nando’s, cultural relevance is not treated as a communications device, but as an outcome of how the business operates and invests in the communities it serves. She had unpacked this theme in a previous conversation, as well as how Nando’s shows up in culture.
“Culture for us is not a marketing hook. It’s in the bones of the business,” says Jessica Wheeler, Chief Brand and Customer Officer at Nando’s.
While AI helps reduce operational friction and offers scale benefits, both leaders distinguish efficiency from effectiveness. The opportunity lies in creating the space for better thinking and more considered work, rather than increasing output for its own sake.
Marketing trends and insights to look out for:
- Layering on more activity can mask, rather than fix, a lack of clarity
- Repetition, when done well, builds memory rather than fatigue
- Constant change weakens recognition and long-term equity
- The discipline to stay the course is becoming a leadership decision
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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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