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A.M.C. MASTERCLASS
AMC kicks off its Virtual Masterclasses with top UK marketing guru
By our News Team | 2022
“Change can be an opportunity … never let a good crisis go to waste,” respected academic and business author tells attendees.
The African Marketing Confederation yesterday (Tuesday) presented its first Virtual Masterclass aimed at upskilling marketers on the continent who are, through membership of their respective national marketing associations, also members of the AMC.
This inaugural class, themed ‘Building the Perfect Blueprint for Digital and Strategic Marketing’ was facilitated by Professor Adrian Palmer, Professor of Marketing and Head of the Department of Marketing and Reputation at Henley Business School in the UK.
He is also a respected business author and his book, Principles of Services Marketing, is now in its seventh edition and widely used throughout the world to provide a grounding in the challenges and opportunities of marketing services.
Professor Adrian Palmer during the first AMC Virtual Masterclass. Photo by OlivePink Photography
In his presentation to attendees, Professor Palmer emphasised that now is an exciting time to be in marketing, with the world going through a number of fundamental changes in the way we live, work and focus our priorities. Rapid digitisation and the impacts of the pandemic were central to these changes, he said.
Focus on solutions, don’t dwell on problems
As marketers rushed to adapt to these changes, it was vital that their concentration was on finding solutions rather than dwelling on the problems.
“Be resilient,” Prof. Palmer urged. “Resilience is about adapting and coming back in another form. Remember that change can be an opportunity … never let a good crisis go to waste.”
It was also important to avoid the trap of looking only at short-term challenges and tactical marketing solutions, while neglecting the bigger, long-term, picture. In seeking longer-term opportunities, professionals needed to utilise their intuition and common sense, in addition to analysing the data.
He highlighted the danger of basing market predictions purely on conventional wisdom. “Some trends are simply not predictable,” he observed. “Five months prior to Covid, the biggest global health threats were perceived to be chronic diseases such as cancer, obesity and diabetes (32% of people). Nobody foresaw respiratory disease – of which Covid is one.”
Among the fundamental changes brought about by the pandemic is the approach to supply chain strategy. Whereas ‘just-in-time’ was the pre-Covid mantra, businesses were now embracing a ‘just-in-case’ approach and were warehousing more stock. This was an example of ‘resilience’ and the realisation that not all market threats could be anticipated.
The African Marketing Confederation will advise of future Virtual Masterclass with industry experts. Check the AMC website, Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
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