Thursday, May 8, 2025
8:00 – 9:00
Registration
9:00 – 9:15
Opening Remarks
MMA Welcoming Remarks
9:15 – 9:30
NEXT! for Today
9:30 – 10:00
NEXT! in Brand Leadership
The Gift of Gut in The Age of Data
Brand expert Heidi Brauer challenges marketers to embrace intuitive decision-making alongside data-driven insights, addressing the critical question of when and how intuition adds value in strategic brand decisions, and how to bring it to life in the real life leadership context.
10:00 – 10:25
NEXT! in: Real Stories, Real Impact
Why Should I Listen To Your Story?
TikTok has flipped the script on storytelling. It's no longer about polished ads, but raw, real, and relatable content. Stories are now personal, authentic, and layered with meaning. So the question is: In today's world with heightened expectations from brands, how can they tell stories that are worth listening to and provide real value?
10:25 – 10:45
NEXT! in Digital Connection
How to convert Users to Customers: The Power of Product + Marketing Unification
During this keynote Kelvin Jonck and Maxime Calot will explore how most successful businesses build delightful, frictionless user experiences along the whole digital journey, from initial acquisition to long term retention
10:45 – 11:30
NEXT! in AI Strategies
Beyond the Click: How AI Summaries Are Reshaping Publisher and Brand Strategies
11:30 – 11:45
Coffee Break
11:45 – 11:55
NEXT! in MMA Insights
Shell Case Study: CAPS AI Personalisation
11:55 – 12:15
NEXT! in Marketing Impact
From Brand Building to Smart Conversations: Reengineering Growth in a Performance-Driven World
In today’s hyperconnected landscape, the most successful marketers aren’t choosing between brand and performance—they’re integrating both, powered by personalised, AI-driven conversations that resonate with customers in real time.
This panel explores how brands can create emotional resonance while driving measurable results through messaging, media, and intelligent execution. We’ll dive into how brand equity fuels conversion, how conversational commerce reshapes the funnel, and why the future of marketing lies in treating every customer interaction with heart, data, and dialogue.
12:15 – 12:45
Next! in Martech Mastery
Play Bold. Learn Fast: The Brave CMO’s Guide to Martech Mastery
Marketing leaders today face relentless pressure to deliver immediate value from their tech investments. Khensani Nobanda explores her successful approach to selecting, integrating, and maximizing marketing technology stacks through strategic testing and experimentation. She'll unpack how CMOs can confidently navigate the complexities of Martech and AI, turn experimentation into measurable success, and drive impactful commercial outcomes by continuously adapting, innovating, and triumphing over uncertainty.
12:45 – 13:10
NEXT! in AI in Marketing
How Telcos Are Hanging The Mobile Advertising Game
In the era of signal loss, privacy-first marketing, and fragmented consumer attention, telcos are uniquely positioned to transform the mobile advertising landscape. Jason Probert, General Manager: Digital Services at MTN South Africa, explores how mobile network operators are redefining targeting, engagement, and ROI in advertising through AI-driven innovations and proprietary network insights
13:10 – 13:30
NEXT! in Creativity & Innovation
GO FUN YOURSELF
A call to marketers to have fun again, to experiment again, to really inspire people out there with our brands & how we shape their marketing.
This AI focus only calls on marketers to really push the boundaries creatively with AI vs just letting it pick headlines & imagers for us on Meta or Google
13:30 – 13:40
Closing Remarks
Become an MMA SA NEXT! CONFERENCE 2025 partner today.
Fill out the form below to request more information:
or, contact:
Mpho Dlamini Dlamini
MMA SA Country Manager
MMA South Africa
E: [email protected]