'Investing in brands and sense' - theme for second Top Brands Conference

Trevor Ormerod, GM: Group Sales & Marketing at Times Media Limited says, "Brands play an important role in the media industry, so it is mutually beneficial for us to engage in these discussions, share best practices and seek out opportunities that can help the growth of the respective industries."

Speakers

• Dr Carla Enslin from Vega School of Brand Leadership will unpack the concept of 'Borderless brands' by interrogating how some destinations brand themselves so well that they build a sense of longing in the minds of the public and how consumer brands can learn from this.

• Some things you want to have and some things you just have to have; Jade Kirkel - Marketing Manager, Sorbet and Nthabiseng Makgatho - Corporate Brand Manager, Santam are set to discuss desire vs grudge purchases, by taking an intrinsic look into the challenges of building brand affiliation.

• Nishan Singh, Partner at Adams & Adams will present on IP protection - what it means and why it is important in the branding world.

• Ivan Moroke - Chairman, Brand Council SA, Lisa Mallett - Marketing Communications Director SA and Sub-Saharan Africa, Land Rover; Doug Mattheus - Executive Head: Marketing, Cell C and Odile Hufkie - Brand Marketing Manager, Cape Union Mart and K-Way tackle the risks and rewards of aligning your brand to an ambassador.

• Chairman of Yellowwood and advertising commentator, Andy Rice is set to share some of his insights from Cannes and further elaborate on the advertising phenomenon of H2H - Humour to Heart strings and how emotions drive brands.

• What creates a successful brand? Is it heritage, consistency and longevity or innovation? Can every brand move into the brand extension of merchandising? - Dr Sean McCoy, CEO of HKLM and Doug de Villiers, Group CEO of Interbrand Sampson de Villiers weigh in to decide if the icon, image or name of a brand is something that conjures up a perception, and can be used to alter the image of the merchandising it is placed on; does that create more brand value?

Student interaction

In addition to the speaker line-up, delegates can look forward to interacting with students from Vega School of Brand Leadership, who will be hosting their talent showcase on the day. In addition, one lucky attendee will stand a chance to win a Certificate Short Course of his or her choosing at any Vega campus and all eligible delegates qualify for a 20% discount off an Honours Programme at Vega with it next intake in January 2016 (full time and part time) or July 2016 (part time).