Digital is now and it's time to focus on women in leadership - 31 Jul 2017

Last week's #DigitalMarketing special report, curated by Louise Marsland, featured the likes of Facebook's Nunu Ntshingila, who explains how to turn mobile video into a marketing star for your business and Platinum Seed's recently appointed design director, Ally Behr, who explains how artificial intelligence is dominating conversations.

On the subject of digital marketing, our top news story was that of Liquorice winning the Avon account. Following an extensive and competitive pitch, it was appointed Avon South Africa's digital and social media agency of record. Founder and CEO Miles Murphy looks forward to growing the brand's direct sales model.

There's a lot going on in terms of events, with the wrap of our Cannes Lions Case Studies 2017 in Cape Town last week. Leigh Andrews sums up the South African experience and unmissable key learnings from this year's Festival, with tips to create work with a better shot of taking home a Lion next year. Put simply, "make sure it has a clear brief and purpose, is innovative, and doesn't mistake the tech for the idea." For more, watch some of this year's winning campaigns and learn from the best!

Then, as far as upcoming events go, we're looking forward to the Standard Bank Top Women Conference taking place on 16-17 August, which will have a special focus on digital, based on the notion that digital prowess is no longer the domain of men in that the so-called ‘glass ceiling' has been replaced by a digital stratosphere. The conference ties in well with the bank's latest campaign, ‘What's your next?', which is about utilising data, technology and service excellence to reconnect with its customers in a way that acknowledges that they're unique individuals, regardless of gender, with their own unique aspirations and ambitions, in an effort to partner with them on their journey to achieve their ‘next' whatever it may be. Follow our #NewCampaign feed for more.

And of course, on the back of this, it's just a couple of weeks until the Loeries. Leigh Andrews rounds off her jury president interviews with Keith Cartwright, executive creative director at BSSP (the largest independent advertising agency in California), which is fitting as gender equality comes under the spotlight this Women's Month as he's known for his work on Lego's stereotype-breaking #KeepBuilding campaign.

“The work we did for Lego was a reminder that gender has nothing to do with one's ability to grow and learn. When we celebrate any segment in our society, it's a constant reminder that those segments are generally forgotten,” he said. Something to ponder as we enter into Women's Month...