Hulley expands on the vision:

For the shared strategic objectives of empowering the media and marketing industry to thrive in a digital economy, through increased collaboration and partnership, we are proud to partner with the Marketing Association of South Africa in endorsing the Nedbank IMC Conference, which will take place on 19 March 2020 at the Galleria in Sandton and to be hosting the 12th Annual IAB Bookmark Awards that evening at the same venue. We are especially excited about the many IAB SA members included in the speaker line-up and the focus on Marketing Works, including the power of digital to do just that. The Nedbank IMC conference along with our monthly IAB Insight Series now replace the IAB SA annual Summit.

Hulley went on to say that the organisations, representing so many common industry interests, were thrilled to be collaborating on a key industry event.

Khensani Nobanda, group executive marketing and corporate affairs, Nedbank commented on the collaboration and said:

We are very happy with the alignment of the Nedbank IMC and the IAB SA. One of our key objectives within partnering with the IMC is to generate top thought leadership. The consolidation of these two respected industry players entrenches this.

About the IMC

Since its inception in Cape Town in 2010, the agenda of IMC (Integrated Marketing Conference) has been to promote the interests and benefits of marketing disciplines to business. In 2018 the conference was purchased by advertising executive, author and former Businesswoman of the Year, Dale Hefer, who relaunched it as the Nedbank IMC Conference.

Under Hefer's leadership, the March 2019 launch themed Marketing Gets Naked, sold out a month in advance, doubling the size of any previous IMC event, attracting over 650 delegates from across all sectors with a vested interest in marketing.

As the new IMC CEO, Hefer is proud and delighted that the IAB is endorsing the Nedbank IMC to replace the Digital Summit. She says:

The partnership reflects my determination to make the Nedbank IMC the leading marketing conference in Africa. Since purchasing the conference in 2018, my mission has been to promote the business case for marketing, to uplift the youth in the industry and to become a neutral industry event reflecting the standards and aspirations of all industry bodies and associations.

The partnerships with both MASA and the IAB reflect this.

With the payoff line Marketing is Business, the brand promises to promote the business value of marketing and grow the industry base, and, as such, she has launched the IMC Bursaries. The first two were awarded at the 2019 conference and will be followed by the announcement of a further two at next year’s conference.

Streaming the entire 2019 Nedbank IMC Conference on Facebook, making the event’s thought capital available to those who could not afford entry, resulted in over 19,000 viewing minutes. Live streaming will be offered again for the 2020 events, in addition to R100,000 worth of value being made available for student attendance to both the 2019 and 2020 conferences.

More about Nedbank IMC Conference and bookings:

• Date: 19 March 2020 at the Galleria, Sandton
• Theme: Marketing works. Work it.

Keynote international speakers:

• Fernando Machado, Global CMO for Burger King
• Patrick Collister, Author/Speaker
• 20 speakers. One day.