Itua tasks MARKETING EDGE on technology utilisation
By Felicia Nwosu
Exploring pathways that can help organisations deliver maximum value across all its customers touchpoints through efficient use of technology, Aihezi Itua, experiential marketing expert, and Head of Brand Marketing Communication & Digital Experiential Business at Connect Marketing Services, a leading experiential agency, has tasked MARKETING EDGE to leverage technology in enhancing its operational models. This, he said, will enable unique offerings that will sustain its pride of place and relevance in the brand and marketing journalism niche market, while redefining and expanding its frontiers.
The multifaceted experiential marketer gave this charge during his presentation at MARKETING EDGE 2023 Fireside Chat, with the theme: Business Strategy, and Building Cutting-Edge & Competitive Strategies: Keeping Up with the Latest Trends in a Fast-Paced World.
The Fireside Chat was aimed at refreshing, recharging and refueling the capacity of the brand-centric magazine’s workforce for better service delivery in the course of the year. The programme was held at the company’s corporate office in Ikeja, Lagos.
The seasoned brand and marketing professional reiterated that brands must pay close attention to the response of customers and competitors. This, he said,, will also enable brands sustain their market and consumer base.
“Two ways to stand out with a business model that cannot be easily copied is through technology. There are two ways to stand out with your business model. Understanding your market and how you play in it, and understanding what your competitors are doing. This is very key. Your primary, that is your direct competitor, as well as substitute. For instance, if I am not consuming MARKETING EDGE information, how do I get the information that MARKETING EDGE provides? I am talking about the substitute for you, and what that means is that if that substitute mistakenly comes to your space, he already owns the heart of the consumer. It is easy for that person to imitate what you are doing because he has already known your consumer, so there is a need for you to look at your niche and understand your space clearly. One other thing you should look out for aside the insight, is foresight which is very important.
He noted that consumers are speaking to convenience and urged brand to repurpose the marketing mix to stay ahead of the curve. The founder of Aimone Creative Agency said for the leading marketing journalism platform to successfully negotiate the waves of change, it must harness its competitive edge using new technology in a new way.
“Another beat is trend spotting, your ability to spot trends, current and future opportunities, know what to look out for and where the money is coming from is necessary to stay sustainable. How can we make this industry better as journalist, as a media, because you are a strong voice in this space. Even in our report, how we want to be perceived is important. Agenda setting is one theory that we do not joke with, who determines the discourse; you amplify who needs to be amplified”.
” If you have foresight, it is like knowing the weather. So your ability to know that it will rain tomorrow, based on historical data that you have analysed and intelligence you have gained over time will help you know what to do.”
He pointed out further the need for brands to be more people-centric by owning and nurturing its community through various platforms to interact and get feedbacks. Itua encouraged the men of the fourth estate of the realm to embrace proprietary innovation in their offerings by giving their audience exclusive and timely content, which he noted, is the brands news DNA. He advised that the company should improve its products’ aesthetics by going heavy on production quality, focusing on few exclusives content to create distinct and well balanced analytics as well as creating new business models that will generate revenues aside from advertising.
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