DMMA includes brands in the digital mix

Musa Kalenga

The Digital Media and Marketing Association (DMMA) is adding a brand portfolio to its current member base, which up until now has consisted predominantly of agency and publisher members. Anchor members of this new portfolio include Woolworths, Nedbank, Private Property, OLX and Renault.

Musa Kalenga, head of group digital marketing at Nedbank, has been appointed head of the DMMA's Brand portfolio. A "brand" refers to a business that is neither a publisher nor creative agency, with a local digital presence.

When discussing his role, Kalenga says: "This new portfolio will support brands to benefit from digital marketing by indentifying areas of growth and improvement. We want to get brands, publishers and agencies into one conversation and drive one digital agenda."

"By establishing a dedicated brands portfolio, we now have full representation of the South African digital ecosystem and can offer added value to our complete member base," says Jarred Cinman, chair of the DMMA.

"The benefit to brands is that they will be able to engage with publishers and agencies, driving the agenda in terms of what they require to meet their digital media and marketing objectives. The value for our agency and publisher members is that the brand portfolio will play an integral role in helping them understand how they can improve their service offering to clients."

"Musa is an excellent addition to the steering committee and we are excited to have him on board. With his experience and passion for the industry he will ensure that the needs of our brand members remain top of mind for the association, and this inclusion of brands in the overall conversation can only benefit the industry as a whole."

"We would also like to urge brands to engage with the DMMA with a view to understanding where we can support you in the growth and development of your digital activities," concludes Cinman.

Kalenga obtained his undergraduate Bachelor of Commerce with double majors in Marketing and Advanced Management at WITS University, and qualified as the youngest Chartered Marketer (SA) in Africa - of which there are only 200. He is currently in the process of completing his MBA through GIBS. In 2005, Kalenga became the first Chairman of the Youth Advertising Board of South Africa, enabling him to further advance his dedication to the youth empowerment cause by initiating a number of youth-related topical debates and discussions. Kalenga headed up several marketing consultancies before joining Nedbank in 2012.

For more information on how to join the DMMA, please visit www.dmma.co.za.