Innholdsfortegnelse for Mar/Apr 2025- Issue 66 i Fast Company South Africa

WESLEY DIPHOKO FAST COMPANY (SOUTH AFRICA) @WESLEYDIPHOKO There was once a time when companies could hide behind a brand and assume everyone would be happy. They could make changes—in terms of quality—secure in the knowledge that customers would continue to buy the product based on their belief in the brand. Some manufacturers went so far as to promise one thing in their marketing material, while delivering something very different. Now, however, smart consumers no longer accept the facade that some companies shelter behind. In this issue, we focus on what makes a brand great and how “brands that matter” conduct their business. The companies that are getting this right are certainly going beyond pretty pictures, as our cover star—Nedbank senior executive Khensani Nobanda—makes clear. From her, we get a sense…

We speak of brands “launching” as if they are rockets—fuelled by quippy one-liners and rainbow-gradient TikTok videos, hurling themselves through the stratosphere. Some, however, pick a more patient pace. LoveFrom, the design firm founded by Jony Ive and Marc Newson, after the former left his position as chief design officer at Apple in 2019, didn't even have a website when it formed that year. Only two years later would the firm launch its public-facing site and mission statement, which includes the phrase “Love & Fury” set in a custom revitalisation of the typeface Baskerville. Only two years after that, would LoveFrom consider the typeface formalised enough to share publicly. Now, more than five years later, are we meeting the LoveFrom mascot, a bear called Montgomery. The name pays homage to…

While political reporting often treats the subject as a horse race, C-SPAN's coverage is comparatively dry. Promising “your unfiltered view of government”, as its longtime slogan goes, the 45-year-old network gives viewers a raw look at the process of governance without talking heads or pundits, and viewers can still call in to share their opinions live on air. Peter Kiley, C-SPAN VP of affiliate relations and communications, says the network's main product hasn't changed, but he's noticed that people of various political beliefs “value C-SPAN differently than they used to. As other media has bifurcated in the consumer's mind, C-SPAN is seen as the place that's most down the middle.” Recently, C-SPAN has been adjusting its approach to make its reportage resonate with a new generation. The changes were prompted…

When a brand has been around for as long as legacy fashion house Loewe, founded in 1846, it can be vulnerable to picking up some decidedly unfashionable descriptors: conservative, austere, or even staid. But under Jonathan Anderson—the wunderkind designer who has served as the Spanish label's creative director since 2013—Loewe hasn't just warded off any whiff of staleness. After 178 years, it is fresher than ever. The fashion house spent the past year building upon preexisting partnerships and launching buzzworthy new ones. The fifth Loewe x On Running drop featured sneakers, outerwear, technical apparel, and a new joint logo. Loewe also took Anderson's wardrobe work on Luca Guadagnino's steamy tennis romp, Challengers, as an opportunity to release a capsule collection inspired by the film. Most recently, Anderson outfitted Guadagnino's film…

Use of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic has become so widespread that an estimated one in eight US adults has tried one. But as pharma giant Eli Lilly and Co.—maker of obesity drug Zepbound—has been emphasising, widespread use for cosmetic weight loss has limited access for people with type 2 diabetes or obesity who need these treatments. Ahead of the 2024 Academy Awards, Lilly debuted its ad “Big Night”, which condemned using GLP-1s for quick results by contrasting images of a fleeting, one-night award show with an everyday scene of a person with obesity riding the bus. “People whose health is affected by obesity is the reason we work on these medications,” a narrator says. “It matters who gets them.” It was bold of Lilly to run the ad before a…

CMO OF THE YEAR BY MANY CRITICAL ACCOUNTS, Disney's Marvel Studios had been in a skid since 2019's Avengers: Endgame. So the assignment to market a new Deadpool film—six years after its last installment was released by a different studio—wasn't an easy one. But Disney chief brand officer Asad Ayaz's approach for Deadpool & Wolverine succeeded by leaning into what lifers at family-friendly Disney might see as its biggest liability: the profane main character's distinct lack of a filter. “Our strategy was all about being true to the essence of the Deadpool character and embracing the R-rated nature of the film from the beginning,” Ayaz says. To be sure, Deadpool & Wolverine's inside jokes about Marvel's challenges and what studio head Kevin Feige might think about cocaine and certain sex…

BEHR PAINT'S 1947 origins may date to the dawn of the television era, but the company has stayed on the cutting edge with media channels in its quest to reach new DIY-focused homeowners. Recently, Behr began harnessing TikTok with a DIY home-improvement competition series that was a first for the social media platform. Called To DIY For, the series pits contestants against each other to compete for the title of “Behr's Ultimate DIYer”. Contestants use Behr paint to refurbish furniture or decorate rooms, with fans voting for winners via TikTok comments. Season 3, which debuted in July, has garnered more than 37 million views and 23,500 new followers. “‘Social first’ has definitely been part of our evolution,” says Behr's marketing chief Andy Lopez, noting that the show's TikTok success has…

CMOS OF THE YEAR ANDREA BRIMMER, ALLY FINANCIAL TIM ELLIS, NFL KORY MARCHISOTTO, E.L.F. BEAUTY MICHAEL MOSES, UNIVERSAL PICTURES JULIE NOLLET, HENNESSY NICOLE PARLAPIANO, TUBI RAJA RAJAMANNAR, MASTERCARD GENERAL EXCELLENCE APPLEBEE'S NEIGHBORHOOD GRILL + BAR BEACHWAVER CERAVE SALT & STRAW HATABURGER GLOBAL BRANDS THAT MATTER CANVA FEELD FELICIA FLUTTERWAVE MACPAW OCTOPUS ENERGY UNITED STATES BRANDS THAT MATTER BIG FIG CLARINS DUTCH EXIGER HOMEBASE TIMBERTECH ON THE RISE: 0-4 YEARS IN BUSINESS 818 TEQUILA LITTLE SESAME MODERN ANIMAL VISORY HEALTH WOMANESS ESTABLISHED EXCELLENCE: 5-14 YEARS IN BUSINESS CAPTIV8 FIGS LOVE WELLNESS REPURPOSE SIMPLE MILLS ENDURING IMPACT: 15+ YEARS IN BUSINESS ALLAGASH BREWING CO. ANCESTRY CARE ELECTRONIC ARTS KENDRA SCOTT NORA FLEMING OPENTABLE PFIZER THRIVENT ZIPCAR FAMILY OF BRANDS ALBERTSONS COMPANIES COLGATE HASBRO THE J.M. SMUCKER CO. MARS RHODES PET SCIENCE HERITAGE…

BIPOC BEAUTY Sephora was the first company to sign the 15 Percent Pledge in 2020, committing 15% of its shelf space to black-owned brands. As it works toward that goal, Sephora has put its muscle behind companies such as Ami Colé, Danessa Myricks, and Pattern Beauty. CLEAN BEAUTY After pioneering brands such as Beautycounter and Osea started creating products free of toxins, Sephora created its own “clean” standards and organised products in the store around them. CONTOURING After the trend was made famous by the Kardashians, Sephora worked to help Mario Dedivanovic (Kim's makeup artist) launch his own brand. BLURRED LOOK Marketed as “the matte renaissance,” Sephora has lately been pushing foundations from brands such as Kosas and Huda Beauty that deliver a soft, blurred-skin look. LUXURY HAIRCARE Sephora's shelves…

Written by New York Times technology reporters Kate Conger and Ryan Mac, Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter reveals much of what happened both before and after the controversial business mogul and billionaire took over the networking service and renamed it X. The book takes you behind the scenes to a time when Elon Musk reached out to various investors and executives in his quest to gain control over one of the most important social media platforms in the world. According to the authors, one key figure during the takeover was Twitter co-founder (and its former CEO) Jack Dorsey. Although little was known at the time about Dorsey's involvement, he was no longer an executive at Twitter. The book unveils important details behind the decision by Dorsey to support…

AFRICA AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY FAIR MAY 6-8 GALLAGHER CONVENTION CENTRE, JOHANNESBURG The African Automation Technology Fair (AATF) attracts visitors and international exhibitors from around the world. Over the past 25 years, it has earned a reputation for being one of the most comprehensive and focused automation technology platforms in Africa. This 13th edition of the fair identifies and examines the latest developments, inventions and trends in automation technology, and includes additional product categories and new show innovations, ensuring the event remains relevant for an ever-changing industry. www.africaautomationtechnologyfair.com IDC CIO SUMMIT MAY 13 SANDTON CONVENTION CENTRE, JOHANNESBURG The 2025 edition of the IDC CIO Summit will feature a stellar lineup of C-suite executives, influential analysts, industry thought leaders, international speakers and market-leading solution providers. With CTOs and CIOs in attendance, the event…

MOST LAPEL PINS ARE ORNAMENTAL. SOME are used to signal political or social affiliations. This one was going to change the world. When AI hardware startup Humane let me into its San Francisco headquarters in November 2023 to show off its new AI Pin, the hype had been building for months. Companies across the tech ecosystem had been hinting at plans to unveil new AI-driven gadgets in the coming year, but none was more prominent than Humane. Led by former Apple executive Imran Chaudhri, the company had raised $230 million at an $850 million valuation. As I studied the candy-coloured Pins, arranged across tables like the product array at an Apple Store, the team described the capabilities of the new wearable, a post-iPhone device that could beam lasers onto your…

MINNETONKA HAS BEEN SELLING ITS ICONIC moccasins for 78 years. For most of that time, the shoe company operated without input from the indigenous cultures where the shoe style originated. It was “something that we grappled with internally”, says Minnetonka president Jori Miller Sherer. In 2021, the Minnesota-based brand hired a Native American reconciliation adviser and issued a public apology for appropriating Native American designs. The company's work to establish a relationship with indigenous groups led to the 2024 redesign of the brand's best-selling Thunderbird moccasin, in partnership with the Ojibwe designer Lucie Skjefte. Skjefte reimagined the beadwork for the moccasin, which debuted under the name Animikii, the Ojibwe word for “thunderbird”. The updated design's copyright belongs to Skjefte, who will earn lifetime royalties. Minnetonka says the Animikii's 2024 sales…

The traditional movie-marketing machine doesn't work like it used to. In the past, trailers and posters were enough to get people to theatres. Now, theatrical releases are competing with high-budget, streamer-exclusive original movies, which many consumers find both cheaper and more convenient to watch. But in the past year, Universal Pictures’ blockbuster marketing has balanced online fan culture, celebrity-driven moments, and resonant partnerships that reach viewers where they already are, like concerts or sports. Take Despicable Me 4. During the NBA Playoffs, fans lit up NBA socials talking about Denver Nuggets star and league MVP Nikola Jokic's resemblance to the film's protagonist, Gru. To capitalise on the conversation, the studio debuted a new ad for Despicable Me 4 during a playoff game against the LA Lakers. In it, a frustrated…

WHEN HERMAN MILLER TURNED 100 LAST YEAR, IT WANTED TO CELebrate its design legacy and promote the enduring nature of its products. At the world's largest furniture fair, in Milan, in March 2023, Herman Miller highlighted its historical proximity to the art world with a gallery show featuring 100 years of graphic design by artists who also created work for Herman Miller. Then, on social media, Herman Miller released a series of behind-the-scenes construction videos, demonstrating how objects such as its signature Eames Lounger are made, by hand, in America. The campaign engaged with longtime Miller-heads as well as a new “wide audience out there who might see an Aeron chair or an Eames lounge chair and not know its origins”, says Jenelle Kelsch, senior director of Herman Miller brand…

Decades before the first personal computer hit the shelves, American industrial designer Brooks Stevens popularised the phrase “planned obsolescence”, defining it as “instilling in the buyer the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, a little sooner than is necessary”, ushering in an epoch of products made to be disposable. In the early 20th century, craftspeople made products to last and repair culture was a way of life. Later, lightbulb and automotive manufacturers began intentionally shortening product lifespans to sell more inventory in the face of highly-saturated markets. This shift toward designing for disposability marked a cultural and economic transformation, turning durable products into replaceable commodities. While manufacturers were limiting product longevity, brands used design and marketing to position products as symbols of status and style—favouring novelty,…

A BRANDS MOST LIKELY TO TAKE YOU ON A WELLNESS RETREAT Calm AllTrails Osprey Packs B MOST ALLITERATIVE BRANDS DoorDash Misfits Market Better Business Bureau C BRANDS MARKED “MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED” IN THEIR HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOKS Nora Fleming Herman Miller Kendra Scott Johnnie Walker Lilly D BRANDS THAT WANT YOU TO FIX YOUR HOUSE Behr Paint TimberTech E MOST EMPHATIC BRANDS CARE C-SPAN F BEST BRANDS TO ENSURE YOUR TAILGATE GUESTS MAKE IT TO THE FOURTH QUARTER Ghia Vita Coco G BRANDS THAT MAY INVITE YOU TO A FARMERS MARKET Cloverdale Vital Farms Organic Valley Simple Mills H BEST-DRESSED BRANDS Cider Reformation Gap Loewe Arc'teryx Figs I BRANDS THAT MAKE YOUR MOUTH WATER Tony's Chocolonely Impossible Foods 818 Tequila J BRAND THAT ACTUALLY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MICHAEL…

CMO OF THE YEAR THE SUPER BOWL IS KNOWN for its ambitious ads, which represent the most enterprising work of America's chief marketing officers. Even in that context, DoorDash CMO Kofi Amoo-Gottfried's concept for the 2024 telecast stood out. The commercial took the brand's longtime business proposition that you can DoorDash just about anything and offered fans a chance to win every single other product advertised during the Super Bowl—delivered via DoorDash, of course. Working with the agency Wieden+Kennedy, Amoo-Gottfried and his team somehow made it happen. Getting fans excited about a giveaway is easy, but coordinating agreements with 76 other Super Bowl advertisers isn't. The sheer logistics of the stunt made it a groundbreaking achievement in the field and DoorDash's riskiest branding work thus far. But Amoo-Gottfried sees these…

CMO OF THE YEAR GEN Z EXPECT A LOT OF THEIR credit cards. Racking up points and getting cash back simply doesn't cut it anymore. Companies are trying to entice young consumers by tacking on card benefits such as access to airport lounges and presale tickets to concerts, but they can often feel, well, tacked on. Under CMO Elizabeth Rutledge, however, American Express has been going further: positioning the credit card as a passport to a richer cultural life—and younger consumers are buying in. Amex's sponsorship of major music festivals (Coachella, Austin City Limits) and sporting events (the golf and tennis US Opens, Formula 1 racing) gives cardholders access to priority lines, exclusive swag, and even lounges in some cases. For foodies, certain cards grant access to hard-to-snag restaurant reservations…

Many brands work overtime wooing high-income consumers. That's never been a problem for 259-year-old Hennessy. Cory Soutar, VP of global marketing for the Hennessy premium range, says cognac's historical stuffiness puts Hennessy “in a challenging situation because it's seen as something that's quite status oriented and serious”. Enter the “Made for More” brand campaign. Starring Teyana Taylor and Snowfall actor Damson Idris, its five videos showcase elaborate methods for mixing Hennessy cocktails—from a simple Hennessy ginger to the Henny-rita, in which cognac replaces tequila—to reinforce its versatility. The Henny-rita got a modification this fall when LeBron James shared his recipe (he adds a splash of orange juice) to promote his limited-edition Hennessy bottles. Soutar knows purists may always prefer to drink cognac neat but says Hennessy's eighth-generation master blender, Renaud…

IT'S NEVER BEEN EASY CREATING A BRAND THAT authentically connects with consumers. Establishing that connection gets even harder when constant messaging makes audiences want to tune out. This year, Brands That Matter is recognising 130 honourees that have cut through the din to deliver their message while establishing broader cultural relevance. New in 2024, Brands That Matter is also honouring its inaugural CMOs of the Year—10 marketing professionals whose work has helped cement their brand as cultural forces. Benchmark Brands 1Password The password manager surpassed 1 million passkeys created as it generated buzz with its “Stopping Bad Actors” ad featuring iconically bad The Room actor Tommy Wiseau. Aflac The insurance company's Hispanic-focused “Remission With a Mission” campaign garnered big engagement from its target audience, helping its Instagram following grow by…

ONE OF ATLANTA'S HOTTEST PARTIES TOOK PLACE IN LATE SEPTEMBER at an old chemical-manufacturing plant on the city's east side. It didn't seem to matter that an epic storm was heading right toward it. As Hurricane Helene barreled across Florida and up Georgia, some 8,000 people—who'd each spent between $135 and $445 on a ticket—flew and drove through wind and rain to get to the sold-out venue. Once there, they were instructed to fit their personal belongings in a small clear plastic bag and were handed a tote. Then, as a DJ played bubbly pop music, they began loading it full of beauty products. The partygoers—makeup junkies, beauty influencers, and industry insiders—were attending Sephoria, the annual festival from one of the world's most powerful retailers, and they were there to…