Bizcommunity: Sound-bite-size business news >>TO GO

At the moment, the Apple Vision Pro is probably the hottest topic in tech. Full disclosure, I hate VR. Actually, let me qualify: I don't like the idea of putting screens very close to your eyeballs in a headset or a pair of goggles that blocks humans off from the rest of the world. I don't see it as a value for society right now, but then I spoke to Mithum Singh, chief services officer at CCI and the MD of CareerBox, Lizelle Strydom. “Personalisation is becoming a big thing around AI trends. So to give you an example, if you take the Nike business, you can buy sneakers today that are fully customised,” explains Singh. “You can customize it to your colours. You can put the tick in a specific, is a colour that you want.” “You can put laces in that are specific to yourself. So very, very personalised. And I'll bring it into the contact centre is, and link that with VR just for a minute…” “You've got a VR headset. And that kind of agent that we've got that Lizellel would recruit for us in the business would be an entry level individual that has never set on an aircraft, but has got to sell a business class seat to a American sitting in in Chicago. And all of a sudden, the customer says, ‘what does that business class seat look like on the A380? I've never sat on an A380’.” “Perfect. Here it goes on this VR headset, and this agent is able to navigate through this and able to give you real life kind of view on it. You know, the fact that you can do VR glasses these days could be, you know and is a trend that needs to be looked at into it. We will then utilise some of those aspects to do training.” BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

The PC market is going through a time. They're losing market share to the Mac. Losing mind share because of a technology gap that is growing because they are relying on 3rd party suppliers like Intel and AMD. Who better than Yesh Sujedin, MD for HP South Africa to explain what the future of the PC looks like. “I think that during the pandemic era, we had a lot of demand for devices that allowed people to be online, to socialize, to communicate, and to be in touch. So I think it's the right time for people to relook at their options available and to understand that the refresh cycle that's coming may include, a very informed decision.” “The fact that you're having a product means that you're gonna dive into a lot more of the digital environment. Firstly, you're gonna be using a lot more applications. You're gonna be communicating far more effectively in the digital world. It was inevitable that we needed to have that digitization and that service level support. We accelerated having better options in terms of how you support it.” “As an IT manager, you just don't wanna respond to the changes, you want to understand what is going on in your environment and be able to address problems before they happen.” BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

There’s a line in Redemption Song that goes “have no fear for atomic energy” and it speaks to a post-World War II mistrust of science. We’re in the moment right now with AI. GhostDraft has been automating customer communications since 1984 and the current CEO Wayne Toms thinks that 2024 is the year that AI gets elevated above the hype cycle as an integral communications tool. "CCM is essentially the software that automates the production and delivery of all types of written documents, but especially these complex legal or contractual agreements." "It differs from the document automation of the past in several ways, but perhaps most especially in how it can apply quite sophisticated business logic to generate documents on the fly with the appropriate clauses, words, pictures, and so on, in line with the specific customer requirements. And, you know, you might say that in some ways, CCM is becoming the glue between the digital customer And the digital business for these complex financial transactions." BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

You may think that emissions in mining are a problem and you'd be right because mining uses stupid amounts of energy. But curbing those emissions starts with the blasting process. So Nishan Hariparsad, general manager for technology and marketing at BME knows a little something about blasting and how the blasting industry is driving down emissions across the entire value chain. “We acknowledge that the money industry is under pressure to not just prevent injuries, but also to deliver environmentally friendly solutions. So the technology that we have developed allows us to not just improve on toxic emissions generated on every blast, but also improve the mechanism of blasting and deliver on the customer's performance benefits.” “We use renewable sources to power up our boilers. We have energy harvesting through some of our, equipment; and all of these talk to the decarbonisation journey.” “Used oil initiatives in the industry consumes about 20% of the used oil in South Africa. This is a direct contribution to the circular economy of mineral oil in this country, and that alone provides a decarbonisation, benefit.” BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

Technoptimism, not Accelerationism - How to make friends with Machines BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

Threads of Gold, Finding Sustainable Growth in a High Potential Continent BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

This exclusive #BizTrends2023 interview is with the CEO and co-founder of The Culture Foundry Company, Dali Tembo. Tembo chats to Bizcommunity Marketing & Media editor, Danette Breitenbach on the shifting African narrative, the role of culture and how culture is proving to be a powerful tool for brands to connect with these audiences on a deeper level. #BizTrends2024: Dali Tembo – Culture: redefining the African narrative · BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

This exclusive #BizTrends2023 interview is with Mike Saunders, CEO of Digitlab. In this interview with Bizcommunity Marketing & Media editor, Danette Breitenbach, Saunders shares insights from his latest publication, Human Centric, a framework for building a Business that will thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. #BizTrends2024: Mike Saunders - The tension between technology and humanity · BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

This exclusive #BizTrends2023 interview is with the award-winning strategic forecaster, Nicole Cooper. In this interview with Bizcommunity Marketing & Media editor, Danette Breitenbach, Cooper shares trends on the future of fashion, society, and technology as well as retail from her new exclusive insights report. #BizTrends2024: Nicola Cooper – The rise of African music and fashion globally continues · BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

The first of our exclusive #BizTrends2024 interviews is with Retroviral founder and chief creative officer, Mike Sharman. In this interview, Sharman chats to Bizcommunity Marketing & Media editor, Danette Breitenbach on the trends he sees will be relevant in 2024, from earned virality to purposeful purpose. #BizTrends2024: Mike Sharman - From earned virality to purposeful purpose · BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

Special guests: Camilla Clerke, Executive Creative Director of Ogilvy South Africa, Cape Town; Deshnie Govender, Head of Marketing Sub-Saharan Africa, TikTok; Gaby de Abreu, Group Executive Creative Director, Switch and Fumani Khumalo, Senior Art Director at VMLY&R South Africa. In this episode, we speak to three leading creatives and one brand custodian who have had multiple finalists in the running at this year’s Loeries. Fumani Khumalo tells us more about Vodacom, a campaign that turned a TikTok challenge into a hearing test for the youth. It’s an example of how purpose-led work can be both impactful and fun. Camilla Clerke takes us through the makings of her Grand Prix team's work on VW. This incredible out-of-home campaign magically illustrated the blindspot hazards that drivers typically miss on the road. Deshnie Govender takes us through her Loeries experience as a judge, the key trends in the influencer category, and the value of collaboration with her agency partners. BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

Special guests: Luca Gallarelli, Group CEO, TBWA\ South Africa; Suhana Gordhan, Independent Creative Leader; and Kabelo Moshapalo, CCO, Ogilvy South AfricaLuca Gallarelli is CEO of TBWA\ South Africa. BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

Special guests: Greg Edwards, President & CEO, UniWorld Group, USA; Mike Sharman, Chief Creative Officer, Retroviral; Luca Gallarelli, Group CEO TBWA\South Africa and Khensani Nobanda, Group Executive For Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Nedbank. BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

Special guests: Neo Mashigo, CCO, M&C Saatchi Group and Nhlanhla Ngcobo, ECD, VMLY&R. BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

Bird Watching at the Loeries is the official podcast of this year's event, in partnership with VMLY&R South Africa and Bizcommunity. Hosted by Marlon Mosadi, who heads up VMLY&R’s agency podcast Native Radio, the show takes you behind the scenes of SA’s biggest celebration of brand communications creativity. Bird Watching Episode 1: State of the Nation · BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

#BizTrends2023: BIGIMPACT! Welcome to another exclusive BizTrends interview. Listen now to with Dali Tembo, CEO and co-founder The Culture Foundry, in conversation with host Rutendo Nyamuda on The Status of GenZ in Africa. BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

#BizTrends2023: BIGIMPACT! Episode three of our exclusive BizTrends interviews. Listen now to Ndeye Diagne, MD the West African Insights Division at Kantar, in conversation with host Rutendo Nyamuda on The Great Focus. BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

#BizTrends2023: BIGIMPACT! The second of our exclusive BizTrends interviews. Listen now to Bronwyn in conversation with host Rutendo Nyamuda on the impact of social contracts - home, work and state. BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

#BizTrends2023: BIGIMPACT! The first of our exclusive BizTrends interviews. Dion Chang on the impact of trends from the Flux Trends State We’re In briefing. Listen now to Dion in conversation with host Rutendo Nyamuda on the impact of ‘polycrisis, 'permacrisis', 'the great unravelling’ and ‘the rise of the machines’! BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO

Meenal Abdulla, Marketing Lead for Hunter's & Edge at Distell, Anita Mubangizi, Marketing Manager for Hunter's at Distell and Felix Kessel Magic Steam Turbine Driver, Grey WPP Liquid. In conversation with Rutendo Nyamuda on ‘Hold my Hunters’, a recent campaign for Distell’s Hunters Cider brand, which was voted one of Kantar’s Best Liked ads of 2020. BizTakeouts: Soundbyte-size business news >>TO GO