ABInBev Africa appoints The Story Lab as the entertainment marketing partner

Willem Jiskoot, Consumer Connections Marketing Director for ABInBev Africa

Jeremy Bouwer, Head of The Story Lab SSA commented: "We are very excited to work with two great brands as we develop and roll out their entertainment strategies. After two very insightful entertainment marketing summits in SA and Nigeria with the ABInBev’s Consumer Connections team we are looking forward to tapping into the creative potential Africa has to offer in the entertainment marketing space for these brands."

Audiences are becoming more elusive and therefore harder to reach. Consumer habits are changing faster than ever. They are avoiding advertising by using technology such as ad-blockers or are shifting to ad-free media platforms such as Netflix and Spotify. In addition, there is an abundance of choice in entertainment and media and new distributors and content creators are disrupting the traditional model. With the power shifting to consumers, the need for understanding and developing branded entertainment is becoming increasingly important for brands to engage with audiences.

"Entertainment is ‘always-on’. And especially millennials, who soon represent the biggest market, are binge watching. Yet, brands are, for the most part, trying to interrupt their experience? It is therefore key for us to partner with an agency that understands how to win in the entertainment marketing space through developing a clear actionable strategy and combining it with access to talent and data. We believe that this partnership will help grow our key brands in the entertainment marketing space and ensure they remain relevant to our consumers," stated Willem Jiskoot, Consumer Connections Marketing Director for ABInBev Africa.

"Budweiser is a seasoned player in the global entertainment landscape and Castle Lite has recently started to enter this space. We believe that with the right strategic partners we can lead in this space," Willem continues, who has written about branded entertainment on Linkedin, click here.