Keeping an eye on what’s cool
Hayden Manuel is a social media strategist at Pernod Ricard by day; at night he is a consultant for some of SA’s top brands. He tells Margaret Harris marketing communication is more than ‘Buy this’ or ‘Do that’
How would you describe a culture consultant?
It involves understanding the consumer and what influences them and then taking the information and turning it into business insights. We live in a time when the young people of South Africa are hyper-enlightened and understand what brands are trying to do. The key is to create communication that is relevant and more meaningful than the usual “Buy this” and “Do that”. What are the four most important things you do at work?
1. I monitor social media accounts to see how well the content has been performing, look at any conversations around the brand and also just to a general feel of the mood of South Africa on that particular day.
2. I create content. It’s important to create content that is visually amazing and relevant to the audience. The content is competing with thousands of other content pieces in the audience’s newsfeeds and timelines, so yours has to be relevant.
3. I find consumer insights. You can’t improve and move forward if you don’t know how the audience responds to your content or if you don’t know what’s important to them outside of what you’re trying to sell. You have to respect them.
4. I share inspiration. Often people you work with are superbusy and have no time to relax and look for cool things that are happening in the world, which is really important when playing in the creative space. I like to take a few minutes whenever I can and put together a “cool things” list and share it with people. What are some of the issues you have to address when helping big brands come up with good campaigns?
I think the main thing would be relevance to the target audience. The youth of South Africa is a super-special generation that is different to the rest of the world. Often people and agencies who have to create campaigns and communications for the youth are not really in touch with mass
audiences. They’ve never been on the “streets”, so they have a completely warped perception of what’s really happening. My role is to show them what is really happening out there in terms of what kind of music, publications and brands are being consumed. Tell me more about your sneaker collection and what you find appealing about them.
I’ve always been fascinated by nice sneakers. I guess it’s a Cape Town thing. I like being “fresh”, and that always starts with the kicks. What do you love most about your work?
The digital space is always changing so you never feel like it’s a routine. I don’t need to be in an office or at a desk to do my job; I literally can work from anywhere on the planet. Also, it gives me access to some of South Africa’s biggest music acts and other influential people. It’s really nice to feel you’re contributing to
something that will live in the real world. What do you like least?
Honestly, nothing. It’s just hard to switch off sometimes as you’ve got to know what’s happening in the world 24/7. What did you want to be when you were a child?
A professional footballer. When I was growing up, the best footballers were always held in high regard. As I got older, I started getting more and more into music and fashion, and I realised that is where I’d probably end up, which I kind of did. What advice do you have for young people eager to follow in your footsteps?
Be curious. Always try to learn more about the world and try to relate it back to your environment. You have to have a passion for finding and understanding new things. Read as much as you can about the world and how it works.