The CMO Corner

Merissa Himraj joins me for a chat about the media agency landscape, how South Africa's are consuming media and the technicalities of what media agencies do in supporting clients and creating the best work out as CEO of a top 5 media agency in the world! Merissa is a strategic thinker who loves to solve problems and deliver effective solutions, she lives to drive impactful communication and meaningful difference for her team, and her clients together with her Wavemaker network. Merissa is  proud to be part of the best media agency group in the world ! Forging collaboration across the continent using Media, Content and Technology as well as true partnership that delivers operational excellence

My guest is Nkgabiseng Motau, Chief Creative Office at Think Creative Africa and its co-founder. Motau has worked on local and global campaigns for some of the world's most loved brands at the helm of Africa’s top multinational agencies, Nkgabiseng Motau co-founded Think Creative Africa where she is currently Chief Creative Officer.

Think is a through-the-line creative agency that combines truly African creativity and data-led insights to generate ideas that solve business problems and impact society.

With over a decade of experience in the communications industry, Nkgabiseng has collected many creative accolades including a gold Pendoring Award for the branding design of the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital in Johannesburg and a Gold Loerie Award in the category of Effective Creativity on behalf of Coca-Cola. During her time working on the Coca-Cola account, she created one of the only campaigns to come out of Africa and be adopted in over 95 countries around the world.

Under her creative leadership at Think, the agency has worked in service of bluechip companies such as Multichoice, Vodacom and Metropolitan Life to name a few. Nkgabiseng is a member of the Creative Circle SA EXCO Board and has served as a juror for organizations such as ADC, One Show, Ad Stars and Cannes Lions. Locally, she has been a recurring judge for Loeries, Pendorings, Creative Circle, Cannes Young Lions and is a member of the ABInbev Braintrust.

Possibly one of the most decorated marketers. My next guest on the CMO Corner Shorts edition brought to you by the IMC (Integrated Marketing Council) is Zayd Abrahams - Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer at Tiger Brands - The biggest South African and African FMCG company. I got to engaged with Zayd on client/agency relationship at the back of his panel discussion on the very same topic. Take some time to hear his thoughts on how agencies and clients can better partner

His passion for creative excellence is also evident in the numerous awards won throughout his career at both local and international awards festivals, including Cannes, D&AD, One Show, Loeries and more – earning him recognition as South Africa’s joint No. 1 creative leader in 2018 and number 2 in 2020 and 2021. Last year, Xolisa was recognized as one of Adweek’s Creative 100 – an annual global honour that has become one of the most respected accomplishments in the creative industry.

My guest today is Andisa Ntsubane, a Chartered Marketer CM (SA) and certified Customer Experience Professional FCXP (CX-I). Ntsubane is the Managing Executive for Brand, Marketing and Communications for Africa at Vodacom Group. Andisa Ntsubane was nominated by 100 Global Chief Marketing Officers and Growth Leaders as the Institute for Real Growth (IRG) 100, Global Humanized Growth Champion for 2021 and was also announced by Marketing Edge as the 2021 Africa Marketing Leader of the Year.

In the corner on this episode is Qhawekazi Mdikane, a seasoned marketer, brand strategist and PR and social media maestro, who carries 18 years of marketing skills and experience. She leads brand teams and partner agencies that build some of the most iconic local and global brands in the South African market. Her dedication, quality of skill, leadership and creative mindset has placed her at the helm of Momentum Corporate as the Chief Marketing Officer. She has a strong and keen eye for finding intersections that create unexpected, relevant, and bottom-driven strategies in marketing making her a sought after thinker in the industry. Her knowledge, aptitudes and skills towards marketing and communications are spread across an array of expertise which she gained in her various roles within the marketing discipline: insight management, innovations, strategic communications, brand building, risk, reputational management and leadership to name but a few.  Notably, Qhawe, as she is affectionately known, is celebrated in the industry for some of the most iconic and biggest marketing campaigns: Introducing South Africans to their first and now widely enjoyed flavoured beer Flying Fish during her time as Marketing Manager at South African Breweries, launching to market the biggest hip hop asset in African pop culture – Castle Lite Unlocks and leading the social media and public relations team as the culture champion on the legendary KFC Proposal, a viral campaign that won the hearts of South Africans and the world in 2019, creating positive sentiment and over 100 million rands worth of earned media coverage.  Qhawe’s achievements to date have not gone unnoticed, she is a recipient of several awards in the industry. Having bagged the SABRE award - Food and Beverage, New Generation Social Media & Digital award – a gold for Most Viral Campaign and a gold for Best Community Engagement Award, a silver for Best Low Budget Campaign, a silver for Best Social Media Reach from an event for KFC Proposal and AMASA award for delivering a breakthrough KFC T20 Cricket Campaign, a Marketing Excellence Award for the Flying Fish Launch and a Gold PRISM Award for Castle Lite Unlocks.  This nonconformist, uber-thinker and dynamite of a leader takes pride in opening the door and keeping it open for upcoming marketers and colleagues within the industry. Powered by her motto, “life is tricky baby, stay in your magic”, Qhawe applies this in her everyday life to keep her head up. Her magic outside her career is in her active life as a runner, photography, and family life. In all her power is also a mother to her daughter, Khanya and wife to her entrepreneur husband Sakhe Mdikane.