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ZINZI: MEDIA, MARKETING MOGUL IN THE MAKING!

21/07/2019 00:00:00 BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA

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Once again, it has been proven that we now live in an era where age is nothing but a number! Honestly!
And Zinzi, a beautiful bubbly soul from Mbabane, has proven that by just going straight for what she wants.
At just the age of 27, she has attained an Honours Degree in Media Management after dropping everything for it and she is looking into venturing into business in that field.
Such traits have portrayed the womandla (powerful woman) in her and she is determined to do even more! Know Zinzi and get inspired!

Who is Zindzi?

Zinzi Angela Dlamini, born and raised at Mhlambanyatsi but currently living in Mbabane with my family. I completed my degree in Strategic Communications at the University of Johannesburg and recently graduated in an honours qualification in Media Management at Rhodes University. I am a media and marketing consultant.

What do you think of the media and marketing landscape in the country?
I think it’s exciting times for media in the country. We seeing an extraordinary growth and exposure for local talent and content creators. New and non-restrictive platforms are emerging allowing local media/ content creatives to share their content, creativity and ideas. We are seeing interactive online radio coming to life, digital marketing taking shape and social media platforms like Facebook live and YouTube being used for sharing ideas and specified content.
I also think local industries need to look on how they can collaborate and explore new ways of marketing and media dissemination with aspiring local media content creators and ride on this creative explosion happening in the country.

When, how did you fall in love with marketing?
My first love was initially economics, and when I ended up enrolling for Strategic Communications which was a holistic view on corporate branding from communications and reputation management to marketing. So, I fell in love with the whole concept of how even though marketing is a supporting function to core business, it’s flexible to be part of product creation and brand image adaption and sales.

local value of digital marketing?

There’s a huge amount of value in digital marketing for individuals, small businesses and even large corporates.
Its value hasn’t fully been unearthed yet in the country and some don’t even understand it.

We have never been in a time better positioned to reach and engage with people and consumers than during this surge in digital and technological advancements.

When done right, digital marketing can shape and grow personal and business brand’s reach and get feedback from consumers for easier product creation that suits the specified needs of your target market.

It is an affordable form of marketing in comparison to traditional marketing and contrary to popular belief, it can be formalised and reported on to have a clear understanding of the value even to bottom line of a business, for example. Sadly, the local market still isn’t putting monetary investment into the local content creators but hopefully, soon this will change when there is an understanding of what goes into concept development, creating new and interactive engagement channels as well as the technical aspects, for example, graphic design/ photography/ production.

The media, how did that come

about in your life?
I have always been an avid fan of radio and radio production from a very young age and during my undergraduate studies at the University of Johannesburg, I ended up being trained and later becoming a radio DJ with my own show on UJFM. I was later approached by the UJ Observer and we created first time content for a news and entertainment channel on YouTube. I love people and creating media content for different media platforms helps you learn and interact with an array of personalities, so that’s how media stuck with me.

When did you eventually decide TO DO that Honours. what inspired it?

From my experience and with technology changing so rapidly, almost everyone in every field is being affected by the fourth industrial revolution. It’s very daunting leaving your comfort zone to learn new things but it’s almost vital to learn and adapt in order to survive or better yet, be a subject matter expert in your field. In my last professional working environment, I wasn’t acquiring the growth and exposure I needed as a professional so the opportunity to advance my learning came at a great time. In addition, the media management course I did is the only one of its calibre in Africa so that was also a push towards me resigning and furthering my studies.

Any advice for local content creators
Take your work seriously! Be professional. It’s so hard for young content creators, from photography to radio content producers, to infiltrate the market if we don’t take high regard for the work we do, from presentation to implementation.

Large corporates and media establishments have a high regard for professionalism even for creatives. In order to increase inclusion and collaboration in the industry, you always need to find ways to perfect your craft and raise your work standards. Small things like attention to the detail of your work, showing up on time for presentations/meetings and comparing your work with international standards so that you constantly growing and evolving.

What projects are you aspiring to work on?

At the moment, I’m so excited to be working with a few SMEs in creating content for their marketing collateral and social media platforms. In consulting, I like approaching and introducing solutions and platforms that businesses didn’t even know they needed. I’m also building a personal brand and will soon be launching a YouTube channel, so look out for that. I’m also looking to go back in working in corporate to shake things up a bit there. But right now, I’m enjoying the authenticity of working with people and brands that are looking for relatable and innovative solutions to communicating across the board.