MMA SA shares key insights into the impact of mobile on businessSagren Pather, Standard Bank's executive head: digital, direct marketing and marketing analytics, was one of four industry thought leaders who offered key insights at the recent Mobile Marketing Association's (MMA SA) first Thought Leadership Breakfast series event of 2018. "We've been having the 'year of the mobile' every year, for some time now, he says. "This year and those in the future will be no different as the industry continues to rapidly evolve," says Pather, who is directly involved in Standard Bank's "Mobile Everything" strategy. Sagren Pather, Standard Bank’s executive head: digital, direct marketing and marketing analytics. Pather was joined by Uber’s head of marketing, sub-Saharan Africa Lindsey Elkin, KFC’s digital manager, Benjamin Schoderer and World Wide Worx’s MD Arthur Goldstuck, who gave the keynote talk. Voice-enabled everything and 5GAlways armed with the most up-to-date mobile stats, Goldstuck shared highlights from visits to three international mobile conferences. He said there weren’t one or two main themes this year, but eight. All of which is imminent for general consumer uptake. Among them are voice-enabled everything and 5G. He also surprised guests with stats on the take-up of futuristic tech among corporates. 60% are using IoT, and of those who don’t, 84% intend to soon. Robotics, however, is favoured by only 6%, with among those who don’t, 47% say that they plan to use it in the future, the cost is the primary hurdle. Goldstuck also gave the humble email a plug. According to his Mobile Corporation South Africa 2018 Report, 82% of enterprises see email on the go as a vital use of mobile technology – this despite the under-25s using IM more often than email. Impact and effectiveness of mobile developmentLuisa Mazinter, CMO for Tyme Digital and MMA SA chair later convened a panel between Pather and Elkin, debating the “impact and effectiveness” of mobile in developing and growing businesses. Key highlights from the discussion follow:
There’s no doubt that mobile innovation is enabling huge waves of change, across the world, in different sectors, in counties and among their very users. Pather’s analogy is a case in point. “What once used to take and make calls, is now used as an alarm clock, wallet and payments, navigator, library, to use to FaceTime or WhatsApp, to take photographs or videos and connect and share with the world in real-time.” If only Alexander Graham Bell could see what his telephonic invention has become…. In closing, Sarah Utermark, MMA SA’s country director said that it was encouraging to hear such personal insights from leading industry voices. “By encouraging brands to speak out and be able to openly share their key learnings, it allows industry peers to remain on track and in line with the demands marketers face, helping them to solve problems and strive together to achieve common goals together, while collectively advancing the mobile industry.” To attend the next MMA SA Breakfast, click here or follow on @MobileInSA. |