What you missed if you weren't at #BizTrends2015

Attendees mingled on the balcony where lollies helped us defeat the heat before moving inside. Warren Harding of the Biz Takeouts Marketing and Media Radio show kicked off by saying the industry should get together to discuss trends more often and spoke of the far reaching impacts of Bizcommunity's recent #BizTrends2015 special report in association with TrendAfrica. When asked why we need to look at trends, Harding said it's important to do so to ensure you're prepared for what's coming and give your business the best chance of success. He then introduced Louise Marsland, the curator and brain behind BizTrends.

Warren Harding, Diane Charton, Wayne Naidoo, Paula Raubenheimer, Gustav Goosen, Louise Marsland and Ann Nurock on the roof of Inner City Ideas Cartel, after the #BizTrends2015 event

Marsland thanked attendees for braving the road closures due to SONA. She started looking at trends a decade ago so felt it fitting to step it up a level this year. She explained: "The world is chaotic and things are changing, so trends have never been as important as they are now. Who better to ask than the experts, who are behind the change?"

Ann Nurock on higher brand purpose

Harding then introduced Ann Nurock, former CEO of Grey South Africa and President/CEO of Grey Canada, now Africa senior partner of Relationship Audits and Management. She spoke of why brands need a higher purpose, and how to add value to brands and reward consumers. The world today is chaotic, consumers are looking for meaning, and they've developed a buying conscience, going beyond regular products and service to vindicate their purchase decisions. Brands with a higher purpose and ideal often go on to win awards for them, so this form of creativity really works. Top of mind for Nurock is Coca-Cola, because "All it promotes is moments of happiness, as opposed to its ingredients".

Added to this, Coca-Cola has a specific strategy for each city in which it 'goes big', such as when it created a rainbow in downtown Johannesburg to celebrate 20 years of democracy, thereby creating relevance in the market...

So, what is a higher brand purpose? Nurock said it recruits, unites and inspires people, truly improving their lives. She says Dove truly embraced this with 'true beauty campaign', as did the Superbowl commercial that hit home about the harmful impact of phrases about doing things "like a girl" by Always - click here to view the commercial.

Key takeout? You don't have to mention the absorption qualities to get girls to identify with your brand. All you need to do is reflect the dreams and aspirations of ordinary people in whatever you're selling. That's why Elon Musk one of Nurock's favourite examples, based on his spirit of generosity and sharing openly, tying back to higher brand benefit. As Musk says: "Putting in long hours for a business is hard, putting in long hours for a cause is easy."

Wayne Naidoo on the future: real-time engagement, crowdsourcing, video and eyeballs

Next, Harding introduced Wayne Naidoo, founder and managing director of one of SA's newest agencies, Duke. Naidoo said the future's not what it used to be. He asked the audience what's the current future, and was told it's real-time engagement, crowdsourcing, video and eyeballs. He then told the audience three stories based on his experience in Africa markets. The first was about empowering the unbanked sellers at markets in Accra, Ghana by taking a chance on them and giving them access to money through loans, which in turn simplified their lives by educating them, saving them lots of time each day and affording them the opportunity to buy in bulk, so they no longer had to leave home at 3.30am to make their initial purchases for the day. This model proved so successful it was rolled out into other markets across the continent. Naidoo said: "Don't be afraid to give power to the have-nots."

His second story was about solving a problem in Nairobi, where people often get into taxis hauling huge, pricy kerosene bottles along with them. This became an opportunity to offer smaller, pay-as-you go solar generators instead, which greatly reduced the risk of fire.

Lastly, Naidoo said innovation in the markets is largely being accelerated by mobile, which helps everyone and anyone connect. Tying back to his first example, he pointed out that you don't need credit cards for smaller purchases (up to R1k) in Africa, all you need is mobile. The loans given were enabled through M-Pesa, and within seven seconds the money was transferred to the virtual wallets, which Naidoo notes as a significant change, because "You can do anything if have money and use it responsibly." He's learned that as an industry, we need to get closer to the real players at the top, like the CEO and exco, about product innovation and development. If you don't, you lose your way. After all, "If you can change society and behaviour for the better, you're in a good place."

Diane Charton on why we need a new definition for advertising

Next, Harding introduced Di Charton, the most recent MD of the Red and Yellow School and now senior lecturer in advertising. She asked whether we need a new definition for advertising and how to best prepare the students. Her presentation took the form of a discussion, kicking off with the point that as far back as 2011, a Forrester report said we live in age where there can't be smoke and mirrors - consumers know if it's not an authentic message, so it's naive for advertisers to think the definition of advertising would stay the same in a changing environment.

Charton letting Naidoo explain...

"You can't lie about your backstory, but can advertising really be about truth?" This was an interjection from Marsland, who says successful ads are the ones you want to share and believe in. Charton agreed that lots of change is needed in how advertisers approach things, they can't simply stick to the old rules. Especially as Dean Paarman of Incorpor8 added from the audience that you have to be truthful - the prevalence of internet trolls means bad publicity spreads just as far and fast - if not faster - than the good news, and anything can be unearthed. "Industry leaders need to be more involved with their clients and consumers because they're quite frankly not doing a good job of this," said Naidoo. It's a case of too much time being spent looking at end result and not how to get there, Charton summarised.

Paula Raubenheimer on the jargon of programmatic media buying

Harding then introduced next speaker Paula Raubenheimer, Managing Director of SouthernX, who explained the concept of Programmatic media buying, which is about using software to buy advertising, at its simplest. She also explained all aspects of the topic or trend and just how big it is, then explained how it works in this market, especially with publishers who are concerned about not making their inventory too cheap as it's a race to the bottom. "Look at how media has been bought in the past and how it's being bought in future markets to get an idea of how it's progressing in the current market," Raubenheimer suggested.

She then mentioned four major things we need to prevent it becoming a 'race to bottom'. The first of these is to see programmatic as a way for publishers to "engage with and own what you own", and not let others take advantage of this. The second is the concept of safety in numbers, which involves publishers working together and forming coalitions, thereby sharing information with each other and passing that on to advertisers, making it easier for publishers to enter the programmatic space. The next is that publishers are now setting the rules of engagement, and last but most important tip is that if you're going to engage in programmatic, you need to make sure you have the skills to do so. Programmatic is still so new that many agencies and publishers are still trying to get their heads around it. Raubenheimer suggests Googling 'WTF programmatic buying' to find out more, and spending a few months finding out more. Raubenheimer concluded that programmatic is by no means a new concept, it's simply a tech solution for something we've been doing a long time - it's simply about buying media, but you need to get past the jargon.

Gustav Goosen on taking digital engagement beyond banners and buttons

The last speaker at the podium was Gustav Goosen, CEO of The SpaceStation digital media sales company. He digressed slightly from what he'd submitted for his trends article. He said the internet of things has broken conventional structure and truly morphed things, causing a reshuffle in every aspect of the industry. Goosen pointed out that advertisers now have access to the purchasing process thanks to the internet, but there's more pressure on them as they need to remain relevant and competitive in the market by producing solutions that actually allow consumer and brand to engage meaningfully - that's no small feat.

Goosen clarified that he's not talking banners and buttons, but about using native advertising to engage with the audience in the best possible manner and not just reaching for the low-hanging fruit. There's no prescription or best practice to do so - you need to find ways to describe what success means for you as one size does not fit all. Digital is fragmenting at such a rapid rate that budgets simply can't keep up. The onus rests on the agencies to look at the elephant in the room, which is the bottom line. It's up to you to find the sweet spot.

The #BizTrends2015 speakers

Click through to each speaker's #BizTrends2015 article below, and click here to access the special #BizTrends2015 section on Bizcommunity.

• Ann Nurock: Brands need a higher purpose
• Wayne Naidoo: Power to the have-nots
• Diane Charton: Don't be scared of advertising
• Paula Raubenheimer: Brand safe programmatic environment grows in SA
• Gustav Goosen: The big online advertising trends