24-7 Communication partners Zinto marketing of South Africa

An integrated marketing communication agency in Nigeria, 24-7 imc has entered into business collaboration with South African experiential marketing agency, Zinto SA to deepen experiential marketing offering.

This is a time when some players in both countries are looking towards Europe and the West for partnership. According to the managing director of 24-7, Segun Adewale, the partnership with African organisation is necessary, as the continent has become the new frontier.

According to Adewale, whose company marked 10 years in operation and plans to expand to other West African markets, “we need to draw experiences from all over the world.”

Justifying the importance of experiential marketing medium, Adewale, who spoke at a lecture as part of activities marking his anniversary, said it had become apparent that the fragmentation and saturation of conventional media hah led to the reduced effectiveness of traditional, promotional and advertising methods.

‘The Nigerian consumers are literally becoming immune to electronic and classical advertising. Everybody is on the road and there is little time to listen how beautiful the commercials on TV are or how good the voice on the radio sounds,” he said.

Experiential marketing is a dialogue that consumers cannot ignore, he said, saying “they are carried along because it engages with them personally. It is interactive and creates emotional connection with brands.”

Also speaking at the lecture, Michelle Combrinck, the CEO of Zinto SA, who has been in business for 14 years, said “what is important in experiential marketing is the goal as it has the tendency to increase consumer engagement.”

Describing brand as a psychological entity, she explained that experiential marketing was well captured in a Chinese proverb, “which says tell me and I will forget, show me and I may remember, but involve me and I will understand. That is the underline principle of what we call brand activation.”

In activation, it involves culture to create a meaningful connection, she said, advising players in the industry to always locate touch points and locations that would assist to create impact on consumers.

“You cannot execute experiential marketing sitting in the office, you have to be out there, studying the landscape of the country and knowing the touch points for product launch, where people are accessible and receptive to the brand.”

She also advised that in marketing communication “it is not that you are my client and I am your agency. I am your partner. Your success is my success and my success is your success. The old way of thinking the agency versus the client is gone if you want to stay viable in the business.”