Tulip Media, Harold Pupkewitz Business school host marketing renaissance conference

Industry leaders, students from various institutions and marketing professionals gathered at the Namibia Annual Renaissance Conference in Windhoek on Wednesday and Thursday.

The two-day conference, held under the theme ‘Automate, Innovate, Captivate: Harnessing Technology to Drive Modern Marketing’, was hosted by Tulip Media Consultancy and Harold Pupkewitz Graduate School of Business under the Namibia University of Science and Technology.

Harold Pupkewitz Graduate School of Business executive director Hylton Villet spoke on marketing no longer being merely a function.

“Today marketing is no longer just function, it is a force of storytelling, social impact and sustainable growth,” said Villet.

The conference also featured various presentations from those in the marketing industry.

While presenting on the topic ‘Harnessing Technology to Refine Modern Marketing for the 21st Century’, Bank Windhoek marketing and corporate communications executive Jacquiline Pack emphasised that technology is merely a tool and can never replace creativity.

“Technology can scale ideas but cannot create them. So we believe that creativity, empathy and storytelling is still leading,” said Pack.

Godwin Kaisara, a research fellow at the Harold Pupkewitz Graduate School of Business, spoke on technology presenting opportunities.

“Inasmuch as you are able to advertise outside the country, there are people from outside who are also able to advertise and market their products in Namibia,” said Kaisara.

University of Namibia Business School project management lecturer Joshua Mario spoke on the importance of ethical behaviour in marketing.

“Ethical behaviour builds trust with consumers and protects a brand’s reputation,” said Mario.

Speaking at the conference, the brand manager of local maize meal brand Top Score, Diego Taya, highlighted that brand love has evolved to personalisation and real time support.

“Brands usually struggle to have price, convenience, authenticity and relatability, so they try and get a famous person like you, put you on their platform and you become their advocate for relatability, authenticity and the convenience that they don’t have,” said Tayala.

Tulip Media Consultancy founder Albertina Malwa spoke about the purpose of the conference as an event designed to share key insights into the world of digital marketing.

“Our goal was to educate and raise awareness about the tools and strategies industries can adopt to remain competitive in a digital-first era.

“Over the two days, the conference proved to be insightful and thought-provoking, with powerful discussions around storytelling, building meaningful brands and the ethical dimensions of emerging technologies like artificialintelligence,” said Malwa.

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