The inaugural Pat on Brands (POB) Dialogues were hosted at the Tshimologong Precinct in Braamfontien on the 6th of June 2019. The dialogues are intended to provide a platform for various experienced people to share their branding and marketing stories with young professionals and entrepreneurs.

The POB Dialogues does not have speakers but storytellers who have journeyed through the ever evolving marketing landscape. Storytelling is one of the oldest and trusted forms of passing on knowledge and information. The theme for the first dialogue was “The Journey of Branding”.

The POB dialogue started on a high note featuring two highly experienced branding storytellers. Musa Kalenga who is the Chief Future Officer of the Brave Group and CEO of Bridge Labs and Thabang Ramogase who is the newly appointed CMO of LIberty were the storytellers whilst Thokozani Mahlangu (Founder and Director of PatonBrands) facilitated the stories.

Notably, the two storytellers represented two generations of brand managers, each with a unique story to tell. As different as the stories were, the lessons from their stories were similar. Firstly, both of the story tellers had no intentions of working in marketing and yet they have grown to become industry leaders. For example Musa wanted to be an actuary whilst Thabang wanted to be a medical doctor when first enrolled in university. This speaks to the non-linearity of life and how one can be good in anything they commit to. Secondly the two story tellers have always been up for a challenge and that has led to their continual growth. They have worked with different local and international brands and have successfully executed brilliant campaigns.

As the dialogue progressed, the conversations got deeper and dealt with the evolution of the consumer, decolonization, diversity and the changing social culture. In all this, the main message was that brands should continually be readapted to match the target consumer at that particular time. The comfort zone is the devil and brands need to anticipate the future and shift towards it

The POB Dialogues is also a networking platform, after the storytelling the attendees got a chance to interact among themselves and with the storytellers of the day. Like any great gathering, this was done over some light snacks and drinks. Netflorist sponsored awesome gifts for the storytellers

A huge Pat on the POB Dialogues partners:

The next POB Dialogues will be on 1 August 2019. Follow @PatonBrands on social media for further details.