This week on the Doc and Guru podcast we chat with Arabang Makaza - Senior Manager Media Strategy, Planning & Buying at MTN - about her journey across the South African media landscape since the first dawn of democracy in South Africa.

The launch of Pepsi in the early 90s was a defining moment for the local marketing and media industry. Centred on an unswerving commitment to grass roots empowerment, from informal trade distribution to advertising messaging, and even the structure of the agency team, Pepsi laid down a marker for their brand vision in the New South Africa.

And Arabang was part of the Pepsi vision from Day 1.

In this episode you can find out just how we have fared with respect to empowerment over the past 3 decades. Much is being made in the industry about the need to for people to “pass the baton” of media skills but is enough being done to ensure that the next generation is actually ready to run the next leg of the media relay without dropping baton? As Alice in Wonderland said to the MAC Charter

"It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"

Or was that the Mad Hatter?

Where does the baton change take place for media in a Full-Funnel media landscape? If you can’t do digital in a traditional way, is it equally fair to say you can’t do traditional in a digital way? Indeed, when it comes to the Metaverse things get curiouser and curiouser said Arabang.

Stay grounded. Stay curious. Arabang Makaza talks about the importance of doing media with passion and setting out to learn something new about your craft every day.

Join us this week on the Doc and Guru Podcast. Available #free on all major listening platforms.