By Izabela Hamilton
Is it possible for one event to make you feel exceptional and more creative; realise that brand equity equals greater ROI; re-evaluate the way you communicate with your clients; and learn how to harness the power of modern PR?
The 8th edition of Brand Magic 2023, which took place on 18 May, did exactly that.
And so much more.
The event gathered a couple of hundred creative minds under one roof, awarded the best local brands, and left the audience with plenty to think about.
The beaming smile of the organiser, Ravin Lama, MD at Mind Initiatives Ltd, said it all. “People were more receptive this year, especially after the three years of pandemic. For the first time ever, we had nearly 100 bookings in the first week, which is unprecedented. It basically showed the eagerness of people to learn how to bounce back and what strategies to use to rebuild their brands again.”
The opening remarks from Vinay Guddye, Director Financial Services and Africa Desk, Economic Development Board, resonated with Lama. Guddye highlighted the need for innovation, reinvention and adaptability as the necessary drivers for any brands to survive, maintain their visibility and stay relevant.
Securing an impressive line-up of speakers, flying in from England, Nigeria, Norway, South Africa and the UAE, contributed to the success of the summit.
Loek Berendsen, Founder at BoldRethink360.com and former Global Strategic Advisor at IKEA, also known as ‘Mr Omnichannel’, had a lot to say about the importance of helping audiences identify and connect with the brand. “Change in CX (customer experience) is the perfect storm, hence adaptability is the key, culture is the king and omnichannel-centricity is a must. Think of your business like a beehive – everything should connect in your business to serve your customer. Be open to learn, understand the local needs and tell your real story.”
The theme of authenticity was also interwoven into the talk by Michelle Cavé, Founder and Managing Director of Brandfundi (Pty) Ltd. Being genuine, leveraging emerging technologies and partnering with micro-infliencers were just some of the ideas she shared that could help build brand equity. “The role of Comms and PR is at the heart of brand equity. If you want to harness the power of PR, you have to act fast, be adaptable, embrace social media and use data to drive your decisions”.
Speaking of data, the Director of Insights & Analytics at Landor & Fitch, Chris Pick, hit the nail on the head. Pick talked about the need to break silos to enable effectiveness; the power of measurement to unlock competitive advantage and the importance of playing the long game. “It’s all about treating a brand as a tangible and valuable business asset, not like a “fluffy” marketing initiative, but as something that adds real value that supports your business ambitions.”
Having data gives you a competitive advantage, and so does creativity, according to Ali Rez, the Chief Creative Officer at IMPACT BBDO, ranked among the Top 10 creative leaders globally.
Ali and his team know very well how to utilise the power of persuasion that Cialdini described in his renowned book Influence – The Power of Persuasion. He talked the audience through the six principles of persuasion, showcasing some impressive examples of his agency’s work.
“When you pair persuasion with creativity, you have a winning formula. If you want to be more creative, ask yourself these three questions: 1) are we creating content that is persuasive enough?; 2) does it have enough creativity in it to help it differentiate it?; and 3) can it become a meme?”.
“What’s the secret sauce? It’s the team, I am just very lucky to be working with some great and creative people”.
So it seems that exceptional people are at the heart of it all. The good news is that according to Uche Ogbonna, Senior Manager, Social Impact Strategy, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability (PACS) at The Coca-Cola Company, everyone is exceptional.
Uche believes in the power of community, quoting a famous African proverb: “If you want to go fast, you go alone. If you want to go far, you go together. Therefore aligning business goals with sustainability goals, integration of ESG principles in branding, messaging and communication, plus employees’ and stakeholders’ engagement are the pillars of building a sustainable business strategy”.
Streamlining and digitisation of processes, plus data protection were some of the topics discussed in the panel session on the impact of emerging technologies on business growth, moderated by Rakesh Niraj, Associate Professor of Marketing, Case Western Reserve University, USA. The speakers included Jessica Naga – Group CEO at MINDEX, Stephanie Serret – Senior Marketing and Sustainability Manager at Winner’s, Sandeep Mohapatra – Head of Digital Transformation and Technology at Absa Bank (Mauritius) Limited and Avinash Meetoo – Founder at Director of Knowledge7.
The event ended on a high note with the presentation of the results of the Kantar Study 2023 by Soondaram N. Lutchmanen, Research Director at Kantar Mauritius, followed by the Mauritian Meaningful Brands awards ceremony presented by the chief guest – His Excellency, Henry V. Jardine the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Mauritius and the Republic of Seychelles.
The overall winners in each category were:
Apollo – Preferred Local/Mauritian Brand
Phoenix Bev – Best Employer Brand
MCB – Brand Purpose
MCB – Sustainable Brand
As summarised by Darlene Lam Po Tang, CEO, Galvanising Co Ltd and CoFounder, Quadis Ltd, there is a lot to unpack and digest on the back of the event. We have been given some tools and ingredients to bring some magic to our brands, it is now time to put them to use.
