Pre-conference masterclass discusses taking African brands to the world
Participants challenged to identify, articulate and commercialise the cultural assets that make their brand ready for a global audience.
MARKETING MAGAZINES
Our latest issue brings insights and trends to Africa’s marketers
By our African Marketing Confederation News Team | 2025
Strategic Marketing for Africa, magazine of the African Marketing Confederation, is for deep-thinking industry professionals.
Strategic Marketing for Africa, the quarterly magazine of the African Marketing Confederation (AMC), is available online via the AMC website or in print through our member associations.
Issue 3 2025 is packed with marketing-related news, in-depth features and thought-leadership content from across Africa. This thought-provoking 72-page issue takes in Africa’s bigger picture, examining some of the macro- and micro-environments in which Africa’s marketers must operate. Here’s a selection of content highlights.
Report back on the AMC 2025 Conference held in Ghana
Marketing is the bridge between innovation and technology in Africa, various high-level speakers emphasised at the AMC’s annual conference held in Accra, Ghana. Delegates also heard that the marketing profession must help to drive ‘intellectual connectivity’ on the continent and assist in breaking down silos that are hampering the repositioning of Africa.
Issue 3 2025 of Strategic Marketing for Africa
Among the milestones announced at the conference was the launch of a dedicated Tourism Chapter within the African Marketing Confederation. This will work with UN Tourism, local tourism marketers and other stakeholders to maximise Africa’s potential as a destination for business and leisure travellers.
Successful supply chain collaboration requires trust and agility
Trust and agility are vital components of Africa’s supply chains, which must evolve and increasingly collaborate with marketing and technology as customers demand faster, smarter and more sustainable solutions.
No trust and no collaboration equals no customer and no transaction. Trust is what makes the synergy real. You can’t do without it, says supply chain expert Thobekile Nxumalo. Equally, agility is vital if supply chain strategists are to successfully respond to the emerging trends and customer requirements identified by marketing insights.
Authentic connections are all-important to African consumers
For years, local marketing experts have been emphasising that brands should not treat Africa as a single, homogenous region. Rather, it’s 54 countries that are each unique in terms of culture and consumers. In 2025, those distinctions remain crucially important.
The 2025 Africa Life report by global market research company Kantar continues to add layers of complexity and understanding to the unfolding appreciation for Africa’s nuanced consumer experience.
Why FMCG brands must tailor strategy, not just translate it
Pan-African marketer Tamer Farag Ayoub explains the key differences between the marketing strategies required to target consumers in East Africa versus those in West Africa.
East African countries like Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania tend to show more gradual consumer adoption. Products may take longer to catch on, but once they do, the loyalty is often deep and lasting.
In contrast, West African markets such as Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso are often led by fast-paced, hype-driven consumption. Youth culture, nightlife and music are powerful influencers.
You will find these stories, and many more, in the current issue of Strategic Marketing for Africa – the voice of African marketing and the official publication of the African Marketing Confederation (AMC). Read Issue 3 2025 online here. A Print Edition is also available.
Africa’s first Sports Direct retail store opens its doors in Nairobi
Second outlet planned for Nairobi before year end, with Nigeria, South Africa and Morocco said to be future target markets.
Search is fragmenting – credibility and trust create the new visibility
Online search behaviour has changed significantly with the rise of AI. How can African brands adapt to this new marketing landscape?
The move toward future-ready food packaging where materials meet AI
Researchers propose a framework for packaging that senses, learns and acts – making packaging an active, AI-powered tool against food waste.
Malawi’s marketers urged to put trust at the heart of the profession
Country needs marketers to build recognition and consumer trust around Malawian products and national brand, says Deputy Minister.
Lingerie brand creates street-stopping advertising in Manhattan
Fashion brand suspends giant lingerie high above the city’s streets, using shadows to create a moving billboard for pedestrians and motorists.
We know AI influencers aren’t real – so why do we trust them?
Researchers describe AI influencers as having a ‘dual identity’. Consumers evaluate both ‘person’ and ‘technology’ identities at once.
Why trust has become a critical asset for hotel industry marketers
Reputation and trust, once modest influences on hotel choice, have become some of the strongest predictors of patronage, study finds.
FNB bank’s eBucks programme dominates the 2026 SA loyalty awards
South African brands are increasingly setting the global benchmark for customer loyalty strategies, organisers say.
Zambia’s strongest creative ideas are emerging from local truths
Global influences among younger consumers are still present, but they are being filtered through a distinctly Zambian lens.
Consumers have doubts about products when they’re designed by AI
Researchers find that lack of perceived ‘genuine care’ is the mechanism connecting AI involvement to lower trust ratings.