{"id":420,"date":"2020-07-06T14:50:53","date_gmt":"2020-07-06T12:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arenaevents.africa\/events\/future-of-media\/?p=420"},"modified":"2020-07-06T14:50:53","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T12:50:53","slug":"future-of-media-the-power-of-content-connections-and-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arenaevents.africa\/events\/future-of-media\/future-of-media-the-power-of-content-connections-and-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Future of Media: The power of content, connections and culture"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Brands often define their character through the stories that they tell. They\u2019re the stories that either appeal or are ignored. They shape the connection between the brand and the consumer. So, how do agencies account for all the differences, to build successful campaigns that unite consumers through their similarities?<\/p>\n

During a recent Future of Media digitized event, in collaboration with Vodacom, Ezi Ads, Everlytic, Proudly SA and The MediaShop, moderated by Kenzy Mohapi, media personality at Jacaranda FM, the focus was on where content and culture intersect through content creation, and how they should interweave to deliver an effective brand experience.<\/p>\n

In opening, Mohapi asked the participants what good content means to them.<\/p>\n

The panel agreed that the most important thing for good content is that it\u2019s memorable, consistently different and compelling. It\u2019s important to know who your audience is and how you are speaking to them. Using data to really understand the consumer will help personalise a brands visual alignment, language and tone to suite that of the desired audience. Meaningful content is universal and needs to be purposeful in its articulation.<\/p>\n

Nicola Cooper, a Trend Researcher, Analyst and Cultural Strategist said \u201cthere is a universal golden thread that ties consumers together but in our context, the focus needs to be interpreted locally. There is no copy and paste approach, brands need to tailor their approach to the diversities and intricacies that we have in South Africa. In order for brands to succeed, they are being forced to alter the narrative effectively to relate to cultures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cathy Nolan, a Copywriter at King Price Insurance spoke from her experience in the insurance industry and mentioned that the financial services industry has historically relied on very serious advertising. \u201cYou must remember that people would rather be putting those extra Rands into a holiday fund and not into an insurance grudge purchase.\u201d So when King Price launched into a cluttered market, they needed to stand out and chose humour to do so. \u201cWe have been successful because we combined humour with respect and ensured that we added that relatable South African twist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside of the content, we need to take into consideration the channels that we are advertising on.\u00a0 \u201cOne size does not fit all! What works in print may not work on a billboard,\u201d said Sadika Fakir, Integrated Media and Digital Director at Tiger Brands.\u00a0 \u201cContent agility puts the lenses of the landscape in play. Brands need to understand where the consumer is in heart and mind and play into that content space.\u201d<\/p>\n

To carve, create and curate content, one would need to bridge the gap between the consumers wants and needs, the psychographics information and the agency content. However, to truly succeed at this you almost need to work backwards with the end in mind. \u201cYou can create the most beautiful content but without focusing on the distribution channels, it could fall flat,\u201d added JD Engelbrecht, Managing Director at Everlytic.<\/p>\n

Another point that came through during the conversation is that the importance of building an emotional or aspirational connection with your audience, is vital. As Cooper states, \u201cit shouldn\u2019t be a shot gun approach. Understanding who your consumer is and what makes them tick is what will make the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

An authentic human connection is the best way to connect with your audience. It\u2019s important to collaborate with the right kind of people to represent your brand. Fakir goes on to say that thought needs to be given to how you would like to utilise an influencer, and ensure that they are representing the brand authentically. She further mentions that she feels that influencers who are already embedded in culture tend to be more authentic and have higher levels of audience engagement.<\/p>\n

Engelbrecht summed it up by saying \u201ccollaboration is only successful when all parties understand what the brand stands for and what they want to achieve and of course to trust each component of your value chain with the task at hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mohapi closed off by talking about the \u201cShare a Coke\u201d campaign. This was probably one of the most effective authentic personal brand experiences to date. \u201cThat\u2019s the kind of influence you want to have. That\u2019s where organic content creation comes in\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n

When it comes to content; people want to feel seen, heard and represented. People want to feel like they are a part of the movement and that will add to the longevity of a brand.<\/p>\n

The big takeout: <\/strong>When it comes to content; people want to feel seen, heard and represented. People want to feel like they are a part of the movement and that will add to the longevity of a brand.<\/p>\n

The next digitized event, \u2018Energising our Biggest Brand \u2013 South Africa\u201d <\/strong>will be taking place on 09 July 2020 at 10h00. For more information, or to register, click here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

If you would like to partner and be involved in driving these insightful sessions, contact Cortney Hoyland on Hoylandc@arena.africa<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brands often define their character through the stories that they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arenaevents.africa\/events\/future-of-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arenaevents.africa\/events\/future-of-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arenaevents.africa\/events\/future-of-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arenaevents.africa\/events\/future-of-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arenaevents.africa\/events\/future-of-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arenaevents.africa\/events\/future-of-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":421,"href":"https:\/\/arenaevents.africa\/events\/future-of-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420\/revisions\/421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arenaevents.africa\/events\/future-of-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arenaevents.africa\/events\/future-of-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arenaevents.africa\/events\/future-of-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}