Having caught up to international standards and modern market development - accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, South Africa is aggressively investing in perfecting the intersection of marketing and technology to deliver unparalleled results.
With the need for expert marketing and advertising technology firmly embedded in South African business, Joe Steyn-Begley, co-founder of Mark1, a member of the Duke Group, has responded to this need by successfully spearheading the launch of Carbon1 MarTech advisory, where a formidable team of SA’s most experienced and successful marketers and leaders from the industry and around the world combine to create a 'collective intelligence advisory’, including industry heavyweight and ex-director of Deloitte Digital, Tim Bishop as well as key figures within the broader Duke Group, for unrivalled digital transformation capability.
The need to understand marketing and advertising technology
“As marketers shift from siloed, product-centric approaches to more consumer centric approaches, the need to efficiently reach these consumers through executable strategies (inclusive of real-time cross channel activation) is higher now than it’s ever been - especially considering that a cookieless digital world is slowly but surely becoming a reality in 2021.
As local pioneers and proven experts in the technology and data-driven space, combined with senior industry figureheads, we are perfectly positioned to not only provide the best possible independent advice on martech and adtech but also guide businesses through their entire Digital Transformation journey.
The key differentiator between Carbon1 and existing consultancies is that we provide comprehensive end-to-end strategies, ensuring that all projects are seen all the way through implementation, activation and ongoing management, alongside client teams - often where most consultancies fall short,” explains Steyn-Begley.
Beyond the standard efforts to ‘futureproof’ businesses, the increased need to fully leverage available data within organisations has given rise to martech and Adtech, establishing themselves as a top priority with Marketers, Corporates and Enterprises alike. A robust, tailored solution is now available for every organisation that will enable the consolidation and analysis of key data which will yield intelligent insights to accurately inform scalable, sustainable, and clearly measurable strategies unique to each organisation, ultimately optimising ROI.
Directly answerable to C-Suite and other high-level marketing executives, Carbon1 prides itself in guiding SA’s most reputable brands through bespoke methodologies to understand, build, implement and run a fully integrated data and technology architecture by leveraging cutting-edge marketing and advertising solutions alongside global best practice methodologies.
Focus areas
Key focus areas for the Carbon1 advisory include: In-depth technology audits and deployment – specifically focusing on Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools that centralise and activate customer data, as well as increase personalisation and customer engagement across the board. Programmatic Media advisory and activation service, as well as advanced Media Measurement, to accurately optimise marketing spend on a macro and micro level.
Strong focus is also placed on in-housing and training to equip client teams with the necessary skills and expertise to manage each component as well as e-commerce and retail media management to unify and centralise monetisation strategies.
“Carbon1’s unique ability to roll-on unrivalled IQ and transformational know-how from the best in the industry, coupled with unbiased tech selection and implementation makes ‘long term and sustainable success’ Carbon1’s single client deliverable. That is game-changing, and we are all relishing playing a critical part in client success,” says Bishop.
