media update’s Nakedi Phala spoke to Stephan Czypionka, marketing director for Coca-Cola Southern and East Africa, to find out where the future of advertising is headed as well as what the impact is of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) on this industry. 

Advertising is vital if you want to draw consumers’ attention to your brand or service. However, with revamps in the industry constantly on the rise, one has to wonder: How is this field changing? And, how are these changes affecting your brand? Are they swaying from traditional advertising to full-on digital, or not?

The answers to these questions are closer than you think ...

Eager to learn more about the future of advertising? Then read on!

1. How does the emergence of the 4IR add value to advertising?

There’s no doubt that 4IR is pushing advertisers to think creatively and that they have far more resources at their disposal than ever before. One such resource is digital, which offers advertisers access to social media platforms to place their content on their own channels, or even in somebody else’s (think content marketing!). 

According to Czypionka,  “the shift has come with the rise of social media, which means people are no longer passive recipients of the advertising process but are instead true participants, interacting with a brand at many levels.”

This shift, he says increases two-way conversations between consumers and brands, allowing audiences to play a more integral role in building and shaping the brands themselves. Digital platforms “allow marketers and advertisers to keep the conversation flowing about brands in ways that weren’t previously possible.” 

Further, Cyzpionka adds that technology has facilitated transactions for brands. “With the help of e-commerce, consumers are now just ‘one click away’ from purchasing products.” 

It’s clear that for brands to keep up and stay ahead of their competitors in the advertising space, they need to jump on the 4IR train, continuously learning and adapting to the digital sphere. 

2. Does traditional advertising still have the same impact that it had a decade ago?

The war between traditional and digital advertising is one that has shown just how creative some advertising agencies really are. Instead of closing the curtains on methods such as billboard advertising —  they digitise their billboards! However, it’s important to note that not all agencies are interested in holding onto traditional, old methods, but prefer to run with digital forms of advertising. 

Czypionka says that the “traditional advertising approach is no longer the most prevalent player in the market as there are so many more channels to reach consumers,”

He adds, “This has had an impact on the way [marketers] go about creating a campaign. With so many different mediums, one can tell different aspects of the campaign story to ensure relevance for each segmented audience group.” 


It seems that there’s more to the story about the convenience that digital delivers as opposed to traditional advertising. 

“Delivering a message to families while they are sitting together watching TV or in the car listening to the radio, can create an emotional connection to a brand in ways that digital simply cannot,” Czypionka says.

“On the other hand, people engage in other ways with digital advertising and are likely to share and endorse brands [that] they love, which isn’t possible with traditional media,” he continues. 

“It’s definitely a matter of knowing your audience for a particular brand and understanding how and where they consume their media.” 

So, is digital the priority alternative when it comes to running ad campaigns? Only time, statistics and audiences will tell … 

3.What elements go into a successful advertising campaign? 

Marketers don’t all run campaigns in the same way, as brands are all different; what works for one might not work for another. But, you can certainly learn a thing or two from analysing these initiatives and comparing them to your own businesses. 

So, how important are stat reports and the obtaining of raw data from your campaign’s team and service providers? Czypionka maintains that high-quality data, insights and an emotional connection are all elements that contribute to a great ad campaign. 

“When you think of the most successful advertising campaigns, they are the ones that make you feel something. However, you need the right research and insight to understand what is relevant to your consumer and what tension the product can solve. Then, you layer the emotional connection.”

He says that top-class campaigns are the ones that can strike a perfect balance between reaching the emotional and rational side of the audience’s brains. 

To some, traditional advertising is a thing of the past, while others strive to keep the balance between traditional and digital advertising. What are your thoughts on this matter? Let us know in the comment section below. 

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As a marketer, you need to grow tough skin in order to really make it in this industry. Want to know how? Check out our article that explains exactly What it takes to succeed in marketing: A Q&A with Silke Bucker.
*Image courtesy of Coca-Cola