Full house for the Johannesburg edition of the 2014 Integrated Marketing Communication Conference

Delegates who attended the Integrated Marketing Communication Conference on 6 and 7 October at the luxurious Maslow Hotel in Sandton Johannesburg were taken on an exciting journey of how to build a truly integrated marketing ecosystem through effective internal communications, external delivery and strategic partnerships.

This theme was powerfully executed through inspiring keynote presentations by the likes of Heidi Brauer (Hollard), Mike Stopworth (Cerebra), Jonty Fisher (Bletchley Park), Sizakele Marutlulle (We are Bob), Lani Carstens (John Brown Media), Mike Silver (Stretch Experiential), Andy Gilder (Machine) and Avukile Mabombo (Brandhouse).

Workshop topics delved into the crux of re-branding, aligning client-agency relationships that solve problems and not just briefs, out of the box thinking that deliver effective campaigns that meet the demanding levels of engagement audiences have come to expect, and much more. Workshop hosts included Clockwork Media, Everlytic, Halo, John Brown Media, NXT Digital, Phat, Bletchley Park, Dentsu Aegis Network, Platinum Seed, SAS, Stretch Experiential and Vserv.

Lead sponsor Vserv, a leading mobile marketing platform that delivers smart data-led results to marketers, app developers, telecom operators and data partners, shared their wealth of knowledge and played a big role in the success of the conference.

"Definitely an event all marketers should attend. I gained some deep and thought-provoking insight. Well done to the IMC team!" - Neo Radise, Digital Marketing Manager, Momentum.

Here are a few highlights from some of the speakers and workshop hosts:

- "Re-activating a brand in an organisation begins internally. Get internal buy-in first and collaborate from the inside-out." - Heidi Brauer (Hollard)

- "Four key differentiators that have fundamentally changed the way organisations engage are: Conversations, Authenticity, Trust and Sharing." - Mike Stopforth (Cerebra)

- "Strategy is about choice and purpose - Not about being thinly sliced and doing 'a bit of everything' i.e. Distraction." - Jonty Fisher (Bletchley Park)

- "Creativity is the ability to come up with an idea to solve a problem. Problems are what empower and fuel creativity" - Dean Oelschig (Halo)

- "Studies say we'll be 44 times busier in 2020 than we are now. Your content needs to be of incredible standard to grab consumers' limited attention." - Lani Carstens (John Brown Media)

- "Focus on the 1% that consistently engage with your brand. This is how you grow that 1% to an army of influencers." - Su Little (Platinum Seed)

- "People trust their experiences. They've done so since birth. Don't underestimate the power of experiential marketing." - Mike Silver (Stretch Experiential)

- "The only way to know how people consume your brand is by being present in their natural environment." - Avukile Mabombo (Brandhouse)

- "Digital in isolation WILL fail. When digital and traditional work together, they make more compelling work." - Andy Gilder (Machine)

- "Look for three things in a person: intelligence, energy and integrity. If they don't have the last one, don't bother with the first two." - Sizakele Marutlulle (MOONCHILD) quoting Warren Buffet

"...My take out is that I need to have a continuously inquiring mind as I work on brands in order to get fresh insights. What I need to focus on is getting an understanding of the brand problem so as to address it instead of the brief. This means that I need to collaborate with my clients to deliver truly integrated campaigns that are brave." - Enoch Vanderpuye, Account Director, InnovaDDB - Ghana

A range of competitions with awesome spot prizes from the likes of Rayban, Friends of Design and Dentsu Aegis Network kept delegates entertained and engaged throughout the conference. Oude Meester also came to the party with their signature Franklin cocktails while Scheckter's Organic and ReVite ensured that delegates were powered up over two days of learning.

Daniel Marcus, CEO of Living Your Brand and brainchild behind the IMC Conference brand added: "The turn-out and positive response from all who attended this year's conference is tantamount to the brief we created for our team when we started on this venture. We are so pleased that the IMC Conference is seen (and being used) as a platform by marketers, for marketers, and we will continue to pull out all the stops to benefit this dynamic industry."

A big thanks to our silver sponsors Everlytic and Phat, our technical partner Kilowatt, travel partner Kulula.com, as well as all our media partners for contributing to the successful running of the IMC Conference.

We would also like to thank our sponsor ZAdotCities, SA's newest cTLDs (city Top Level Domains) namely, dotCapetown, dotJoburg and dotDurban which were launched on 1 July 2014 and will offer golden opportunities for brands and businesses who have a particular affinity for South Africa's three best-known cities. For more information, visit www.zacities.org.za.

Then lastly, we are also proud to announce that the IMC Conference will be heading to Durban. The event will be held on the 23 and 24 March 2015 at the Southern Sun Elangeni Hotel. For more information on this event, please contact us on 021 180 4111 or connect to www.imcconference.com/durban/.