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Debunking the great misconceptions of marketing

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2 years ago

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Marketing

For long, marketing has been narrowly misunderstood with numerous other terms. And the sole responsibility for this lies in the hand of marketers such as ourselves. This is because we haven’t really taken a bigger stance on putting our efforts in advocating or addressing the many false ideologies or misconceptions held by various stakeholders as well as the society at large. And too often, we find ourselves cooped up in the comfort of our own paradigm. At the outset, though the definition of marketing may vary from one person to another, I can confidently say that it will read something very similar or close enough to this – Marketing is the art and science of creating, managing and sustaining stakeholder value. In other words, it’s all about understanding human connections.

Marketers can be viewed as those who are responsible for; strengthening relationships and brand intimacy not just among consumers but with all stakeholders, challenging the status quo and leading meaningful entrepreneurial change, communicating and sustaining the organization’s beliefs and values, enriching value creation with a win-win mindset, creating a well-balanced autonomous environment, enabling creativity and innovation through knowledge leadership, and increasing responsiveness and resilience even during the most unprecedented times. Simply put, marketers are growth enablers, change makers and people leaders.

Whilst a majority of the efforts and time go into canvassing relevant segments and personas and establishing meaningful relationships with the brand and the consumer and everything that goes in between, marketers are also heavily engaged and responsible for creating value for all other stakeholders. For instance, managing and improving employee or internal communications, aligning and directing inter-organizational units, or instilling and strengthening the founding passion and values across all organizational relationships. Naturally with close and frequent interactions, this puts marketers at an advantage to know the depth and breadth of existing and future position of these relationships.

Many often confuse that marketing is just advertising. Rather advertising is a very minor part of the former though when done right, it often comes out stronger, appealing to the masses with a high cognitive impact that spurs eidetic memory. And adding to this is the numerous unethical and irresponsible approaches and messaging that often translates as lies in the eye of the beholder. Marketers are far beyond this, with a natural force to be responsible and strategic in their conduct. For instance, marketers are the torchbearers and ambassadors responsible for enriching and sustaining corporate image and identity that ultimately makes up the corporate reputation, and constantly manage the various elements and relationships between them through reputational frameworks and wisdom to succeed in its strategic direction.

The ability to distinct between marketing and sales is a great concern. Arguably one could safely say that marketing is an umbrella term of the latter. Sales often tend to focus greatly on behavioral economics specifically on consumer purchasing and decision making and analytics, aided by various automation and intelligence. The weightage of an organization’s leadership giving one more prominence over the other depends on factors that are seemingly unknown.

Gender inequality has been another surprising concern, specifically among leadership positions. The misconception that marketing requires a great deal of effort, often having to compromise work-life balance is just something one cannot agree at all. Women have much greater skills and competencies in not just making impactful and results driven strategies but also to empathize and champion all relationships across an organization. Great marketing comes about when marketing starts working for you, not the other way. Men undoubtedly have a lot to learn from the women in marketing, in developing the required abilities and level of patience to see the world through the eyes of others, breaking away from the long association of their own paradigm.

Many more things to say on this topic however words are insufficient. We as marketers have to draw inspiration from many aspects of our lives and be spontaneous in our approach than just routine planning. And I believe that marketers truly have the gift of this trait as naturally they are all about looking towards the future where much of is uncertain. Marketers should lead marketing, and not just do marketing. Various global surveys confirms that the former outperforms the latter. Leadership should be a marketing strategy and take a central role in the way we conduct ourselves; and most importantly to practice what is preached in a world where lust, materialism, deception, and speed dominates everything.

(Thanzyl Thajudeen MCIM CMktr MSLIM MCPM is a senior marketing and design consultant. He can be reached via thanzyl.thajudeen@gmail.com)

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Ministers among hundreds of energy-sector leaders to attend AOW event

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1 day ago

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October 4, 2024

By

Sinclair

The event kicks off with an invitation-only ministerial symposium focused on the theme of “Fostering innovation, attracting investment, and promoting sustainable growth in the oil, gas, and energy sectors”

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 4, 2024/APO Group/ — 

AOW: Investing in African Energy (https://AOWEnergy.com) – Africa’s leading oil, gas and energy event – has confirmed attendance for more than 80 ministers and senior officials, representing African governments, energy departments and regulators at next month’s event.

These influential stakeholders will be among the more than 1 600 senior delegates and industry leaders who will be attending the event to develop policy, share discoveries, secure investment, and shape Africa’s energy future.

The event kicks off with an invitation-only ministerial symposium focused on the theme of “Fostering innovation, attracting investment, and promoting sustainable growth in the oil, gas, and energy sectors.”

Given the recent major oil-and-gas discoveries across Africa, the energy transition and major geopolitical events, it is clear that the energy sector needs positive intervention

Among the officials and government ministers attending will be energy leaders from South Africa, Nigeria, Namibia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique, DRC, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Eswatini, Uganda, CAR, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Gabon, Malawi, Morocco, Zanzibar, Liberia, Senegal, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone.

In addition, the event will feature high-level delegations from numerous national oil companies, as well as multilateral bodies including the African Union, (AU), African Energy Commission (AFREC), African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

AOW will see these energy leaders networking with C-suite executives and decision-makers from more than 760 top energy companies at daily networking events, to discuss insights, forge new relationships, and negotiate major energy deals.

“We are so excited to see the calibre of delegates at this year’s AOW event,” says Chief Executive Officer of Sankofa Events, Paul Sinclair. “Given the recent major oil-and-gas discoveries across Africa, the energy transition and major geopolitical events, it is clear that the energy sector needs positive intervention. The high-powered attendance proves AOW is a key platform to enable this intervention.”

Key themes to be discussed at this year’s AOW will be sustainable upstream development; expanding gas value chains; renewables and new energies; adoption of best-in-class technologies; and access to finance.

AOW: Investing in African Energy will culminate in a special anniversary party at Groot Constantia Vineyard to celebrate 30 years of the AOW event.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of AOW: Investing in African Energy.

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Afreximbank approves US$20.8 million for Starlink Global’s cashew factory project in Lagos

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1 day ago

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October 4, 2024

By

PAPSS

The facility is expected to promote value addition which will guarantee increased earnings to the company while also fostering the creation of about 400 new jobs

CAIRO, Egypt, October 4, 2024/APO Group/ — 

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) has approved a US$20.8 million financing facility for Nigeria-based Starlink Global & Ideal Limited to enable the company construct and operate a 30,000-metric tonne per annum cashew processing factory in Lagos.

We are delighted at this partnership which promises to deliver significant impact on employment in Nigeria

According to the facility agreement signed in on July 22, 2024, Afreximbank will provide the funds in two tranches with the first tranche of US$7.48M going toward capital expenditure for the construction of the factory and the second, totalling US$13.25M to be deployed as working capital for the operations of the factory.

The facility is expected to promote value addition which will guarantee increased earnings to the company while also fostering the creation of about 400 new jobs once the factory becomes operational. It is also expected to support about 40 small and medium-sized enterprises.

Commenting on the transaction, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra Africa Trade and Export Development, Afreximbank, said that by supporting Starlink Global to establish a modern processing facility, Afreximbank is making it possible for Africa to add value to its agro-commodities, thereby facilitating exports and subsequent inflow of much-needed foreign exchange into the continent.

“We are delighted at this partnership which promises to deliver significant impact on employment in Nigeria. It will contribute to value creation and to the development of the local community while also improving the lots of smallholder farmers and small business suppliers that will work with Starlink across the value chain,” Mrs. Awani added.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

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Sonangol to Lead Decarbonized Oil & Gas (O&G) Development, Says Angolan National Oil Company (NOC) Head

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1 day ago

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October 4, 2024

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Sonangol

Participating in an on-stage interview at Angola Oil & Gas 2024, Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins emphasized that oil and gas remains a core focus for the national oil company

LUANDA, Angola, October 3, 2024/APO Group/ — 

Angola’s national oil company Sonangol reiterated its commitment to driving sustainable hydrocarbon development during the Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) conference this week. Speaking during an “In-Conversation with” session, Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins stated that the company will not abandon oil and gas, but rather advance decarbonized oil and gas development.

We are looking at opportunities in the gas sector and have identified the right partner to develop non-associated gas

By investing in upstream oil and gas production while prioritizing low-carbon projects, Sonangol aims to boost national crude output, while diversifying and decarbonizing the industry. The NOC is focusing efforts on non-associated gas development, as well as alternative energy sources such as solar.

“We are looking at opportunities in the gas sector and have identified the right partner to develop non-associated gas. Gas produced from Angola LNG will be used for the production of fertilizer and we are evaluating the utilization of gas in the south of the country, linking gas with steel industries. We also have a blue carbon project, linked to the reduction of carbon through the plantation of mangroves. We have one area in Luanda and have identified four additional areas for this,” stated Gaspar Martins.

Sonangol has undergone transformation in recent years: following the creation of the National Oil, Gas & Biofuels Agency (ANPG) in 2019, Sonangol transferred its role as national concessionaire and regulator. This transformation has aimed to make Sonangol more competitive and strengthen its capacity as an upstream operator. Concurrently, the government is partially privatizing the NOC, with privatization set to be complete in 2026. This process will enhance financial capacity, allowing Sonangol to drive new upstream projects forward.

“The transformation of Sonangol started several years ago, when we passed the regulatory, concessionaire role to the ANPG. At the time, we transferred almost 600 employees to the ANPG. After that, Sonangol underwent a restructuring program where we created five core business units from 36 different entities – starting with exploration and production. We want to go public, but we want to do it properly. So, we are currently going through all the processes to do this,” stated Gaspar Martins.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

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