by Masingita Mazibuko. Change, the unfamiliar, the unknown — these are circumstances that human beings naturally avoid. Yet, marketers are duty-bound to be brave if they are to contribute positively to their brands’ success and, on a far larger scale, their economy’s growth.
Tag archives: Masingita Mazibuko
Africa Style: Why marketers can’t just delegate the Big Idea
by Masingita Mazibuko. It’s as easy to confuse the romance of the wedding day with the realities of marriage as it is to think that, once you’ve hit upon a communication idea that excites you, the job is done.
Africa Style: Inspiration from an unlikely contender
by Masingita Mazibuko. So, I’m stuck in slow-moving traffic when a minibus taxi tears past, missing my car by the smallest of margins, then screeches to a halt … before calmly and remarkably sedately reversing around me to pick up a customer hailing it down. It is not appropriate to pen down the thoughts that engulfed my mind at that specific moment. Relating this near-collision experience to a friend later, the discussion about the taxi industry took an unlikely turn.
One could argue that the minibus taxi is an evil necessity in South Africa, given our scarcity of public transportation. However, when one considers the yellow cabs in New York, the black cabbies in London or the mutatas in Kenya, it is obvious that the taxi as a form of transportation has endured for years, regardless of undulating economic conditions.
In fact, taxis feature in our songs and movies – there was Zola Budd in the 1980s by Brenda Fassie, and the iconic movie Taxi with Robert De Niro in the 1970s was remade in the 1990s, starring Queen Lafitah.
Africa Style: Encouraging individualism sells many cans of soda
by Masingita Mazibuko. ‘Just when you think you know hip hop, it surprises you and reminds you why you fell in love with it in the first place’ is a line from one of my all-time favourite movies, Brown Sugar, from the early 2000s.
And not because of Taye Diggs, but rather it takes me back to my younger days, and the likes of Chronic and NWA by way of the influence of younger brother and friends.
It took me back to the heart and soul of hip hop. Now I was never what you would call a ‘Hip Hop Head’, but the words that were uttered by emcees and unexpected accompanying beats seems to evoke and draw me in.
What is it about hip hop? Is it a sense of pride about what it is about and who it is targeting? That sense of clarity that taps into commonalities and sharpness in being in tune with the social environment that evokes emotions?
Hip hop has managed to transverse the boundaries of origins in the US and appeal to many across the globe, without compromising its essence, evoking shared desire in many, pulling them into its world. It is through this power of focus that ensures that it never dies and continues to rear its head.
Shift to present day, and hip hop is rearing its head again in an unexpected way via a brand, Sprite.