With endless travel options and digital distractions competing for attention, how do you make a country brand stand out as a destination and mean something to someone who hasn’t visited?
In this episode of The Lead Creative, Thembisile Sehloho, Chief Marketing Officer of South African Tourism, shares thoughts on how to create a deep emotional connection with audiences through brand storytelling and cultural insight.
Drawing from her FMCG background on brands like Tastic, Thembi shares how the principles of fast-moving consumer goods apply just as powerfully to destination marketing, if not more so. We explore how campaigns move beyond functionality to become emotionally resonant and memorable.
One such campaign is the celebrated Tastic and MaXhosa collaboration, which took a staple food brand and turned it into a limited-edition cultural artefact. This campaign gave South Africans something to be proud of and emotionally connected to.
“Great campaigns start with a true consumer insight, that’s what makes them land.”
— Thembisile Sehloho, Chief Marketing Officer of South African Tourism
Insights unpacked in this episode:
- What it means to build a country brand that people care about
- The emotional power of culturally relevant campaigns
- Why true influencer marketing starts with values alignment
- How mindshare shapes perception and travel decisions
Click below to listen to this conversation:
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Our podcast audio editing and audio production are done by: Maishe Rakgoale.