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34 • Destinyman • November December 2011

Marketingmaverick ThebeIkalafeng is aglobetrottingexecutive whohops from onecontinent toanother, buthis passion forAfrica is a forcethat keeps himfirmly grounded

He’s been voted by a fewpublications as one of thebest-dressed men in sa, yethe arrives for our interviewin an understated red golf

shirt, faded jeans and white sneakers. minutesafter exchanging pleasantries, brand guru andmD of the Brand Leadership Group ikalafengpops open the boot of his car to show us hiswardrobe for the post-interview shoot: there area few suits, a number of shirts, an assortmentof ties and a dozen pairs of shoes – all high-endinternational and local brands.“For me, looking your best means dressing

appropriately for the occasion you’re attending,respecting the people who’ve invited you andbeing comfortable. it’s not about followingtrends or making a statement,”he explains.But there’s far more to this man than his

fine threads. ikalafeng’s also renowned asone of africa’s foremost brand authoritiesand influential thinkers in marketing. He’smost notable for his six-year tenure asexecutive Director of nike africa, during whichnike accumulated more than 75 local andinternational marketing and communicationsawards with the Jupiter Drawing Room,including 10 cannes Lions and the immorganisation of the year Roll of Honour.you’d expect someone with such credentials

to measure his words carefully, but ikalafengtalks so fast that it’s as if he’s struggling tokeep up with a rapid flow of ideas. yet, while

he comes across as self-assured, he’salso personable – an attribute that’scontributed to his acclaim as aninternational speaker, academicand successful entrepreneur.

BEGINNING OFWISDOMBorn and raised in Kimberley in thenorthern cape, ikalafeng and his threesiblings were brought up by a“very devoted”grandmother, while their mother, a professionalnurse, worked in Bloemfontein. Both instilledenduring values of hard work, humilityand excellence in the children.one of his most vivid childhoodmemories

was working at a furniture shop in order to buya camera when he was 14. “it was a physicallytaxing job for one so young. one afternoon iwent to take a nap in the storeroom and i onlywoke up after 6pm. the shop was closed! iknocked hard on the doors and the shopowner, who – luckily – was still there,opened them for me and told menever to sleep at work!”soon after finishing

school, ikalafeng went toJohannesburg to studya B com in accountingatWits University.“it was during theyears of political

November December 2011 • www.Destinyman.com • 35

unrest in the country. i came from a generation ofstatus quo challengers. that’s how the country gotto where it is,”he says. Having failed some of his firstyear courses, he repeated them and passed, butthen dropped out in second year to go to the Usa,after winning an institute of internationaleducation scholarship.

“i was hoping to finish my B com there, but wheni arrived, a friend of mine who knew my charactervery well advised me to study marketing. so istarted doing that at marquette University, a Jesuitinstitution located in milwaukee.”

ikalafeng finally graduated with a Bsc Businessadministration cum laude and mBa degrees andreceived the american marketing association awardfor being the best marketing student before cuttinghis teeth at colgate in the Usa.

TAKING THE LEADWhen ikalafeng returned to sa in 1994, the ceoof a leading recruitment agency told him that heshould be working for himself, rather than lookingfor a job. “He told me i operated best on my own.But i thought he didn’t have my best interests atheart. i wanted to drive a BmW like my friendsdid, have a credit card and live the good life.How was i going to do all that with the littleexperience i had?”

eight years later, after having reachedthe highest echelons in the local marketingindustry and having won almost everyaward, he felt he’d reached thecorporate ceiling.

“i asked myself: ‘Where to next?’ it hitme that sa needed entrepreneurs who

wouldn’t recycle existing ideas, but comeup with original ones. i realised that one of

the biggest weaknesses in our economy is thatpeople are offered single-digit percentages in Beestakes and think they’ve arrived. i think Bee, doneright, is an important vehicle to redress economicgaps and to fast track black skills development. Buti wanted to create a legacy. that’s why i didn’t wantto join an existing company, but start up on my own.so i founded the Brand Leadership Group, togetherwith four marketing Directors, in 2002. many peoplethought i was crazy and predicted that the companywould fold in three years.”

the naysayers were proved spectacularly wrong.almost a decade later, the brand consultingcompany is still going strong. What’s more, it wonthe 2008 Finweekmarketing services company of theyear, as well as the 2011 Rebrand 100 Global awardfor effective brand transformations.

However, ikalafeng admits it hasn’t all beensmooth sailing. “When we started, the first companywe approached said they’d only offer us business ifwe were affiliated to a more established companythat could handle big jobs, while we did smaller

coveR FeatURe • UpfroNtwrit teN by mzo WitBooi

ones. i said: ‘Hell, no! We’re not feeding onscraps!’ i didn’t want us to be a subsidiary ofany company. my partners were upset, thinkingi was short-sighted, but it wasn’t long beforethings started looking up. We eventually beatan international company for the contract todo strategy for standard Bank worldwide. that’show i wanted us to be recognised – by doingthe big jobs.”

one of the more serious hurdles toovercome in the company’s start-up phasewas in its operations: ikalafeng realisedthat all the founding members had similarbackgrounds and there was no skillsdiversity. Within 10 months of operation, theorganisation’s ownership was dissolved andhe teamed up with two new partners fromdifferent backgrounds.

“i learnt that you should partner with peoplewho want the same thing you want, but theyneed to bring a diversity of skills and ideas tothe table. one of my partnerswas a 60-something professorat Wits University; the other wasan international intellectualproperty lawyer. that immediatelypositioned us asthought leaders tobe reckoned with.”

to date, the BrandLeadership Group’s donework throughout the continent,including Ghana, where ithelped the national Democratic congressinto power in the 2009 elections. its otherclients have included sa express airways,transnet, University of the Free state and sars.

PERSONAL BRANDINGikalafeng says everything he does is a “reflectionand extension”of who he is.

He recalls a time in his life when he feltmisunderstood and realised that the image hewas projecting wasn’t consistent with his brand.

“Perhaps people recognised me more forthe fact that i dressed well and got invitedeverywhere than for my other attributes. so itook a step back and repositioned myself.the thebe who needed to be in theforefront was a thought leader, acreator and an influencer, ratherthan being fashionable.consistency and clarity arewhat set great brandsapart. Up until thisday, i’ve been veryconsistent. i’m notfamous for beingfamous. i don’t

November December 2011 • www.Destinyman.com • 37

pursue fame – i pursue great work. i want todo great things that will outlast me.”Whenwe do commendable deeds, he insists, theworld notices.But what about the run-of-the-mill guy? is he

also a brand?“everyone’s a brand, but some ofus cultivate, nurture, manage and deliver on ourbrands, while others don’t. in order to succeed,you have to be self-aware in terms of whatdrives you or excites you. Find out how otherpeople perceive you and whether youmakea difference in the world. if people perceiveyou differently fromwhat you stand for, then itmight be time for you to reposition yourself.”ikalafeng adds that everyone has a“default

brand”, but some fortunate people’s defaultbrands work for them automatically, so theydon’t need to examine their lives. it’s crucialnever to shape your life to suit other people, hecautions: just affirm yourself andmake peoplesee you as you truly want to be seen.While his achievements in marketing

speak for themselves, he’s also a sought-afterinternational speaker and has published severalbooks, including Felicia: Dare to Dream (ZebraPress, co-authored with Felicia mabuza-suttle),the audiobook Personal Branding: 7 Steps toBuild a Distinct Personal Brand Aligned to YourWorld,Work and Passions and Conquer the JobMarket (Waterman). His next book, he believes,

will be on africa as the new global inspirationfor culture, design and branding.

THE AFRICACONNECTIONikalafeng’s passion for africa is evident in almostevery aspect of his life – including his company,which he envisages building great brands onthis continent.What also sets the Brand Leadership Group

apart is its “african inside”– a philosophy basedon thinking locally and acting globally. Headds that this viewpoint is the contrary of whatstudents are taught at business school, whichis to think globally and act locally. “currentacademic theory encourages people to adjustinternational trends to work in africa, but we’reinspired by the local market and we want totake it to the world.”this has also culminated in the organisation

being markedly discerning in the clients itaccepts. “We only focus on brands that inspireus, like mtn, sars, Prasa and transnet.”it was also the desire to contribute to africa’s

growth and revival that ikalafeng foundedBrand africa – a pan-african, brand-centricinitiative for african leaders, decision-makers,citizens and influencers to converge in a singleforum in 2009.

“my passions are continentaland wherever i travel inthe world, i want people torecognise that i’m african – notjust south african. sa isn’t anisland. Brand africa is aboutbringing african leaders fromdifferent fields to one forumto share ideas on how to drivethe image of the continentforward,”he says.this year’s forum, held in

sandton, Johannesburg inseptember, featured leaderssuch as Dr Dambisa moyo,author of the best-selling HowtheWestWas Lost: 50 Years ofEconomic Folly – and the StarkChoices Ahead (Penguin), DrVijay mahajan, author of AfricaRising: How 900Million AfricanConsumers OfferMore ThanYou Think (Pearson PrenticeHall) and RakeshWahi, Vice-chairman and co-founderof cnBc africa and Forbesafrica. ikalafeng also launchedthe Public sector excellenceawards in 2009 in order tocommend and promotepublic and parastatal serviceswhich are on a par with theprivate sector.

ON THE COOLthe world may be his oyster,but ikalafeng considershimself an easygoing guy. “idon’t have favourite holidaydestinations and restaurants,but my inclinations are usuallyinfluenced by mymoods. i’mas comfortable at a restaurantin soweto as i’d be in sandton.”However, he concedes that

if you asked his colleaguesabout his personality, they’dprobably say he’s a slave driverand a perfectionist who getsfar too involved. “they maybe right – i don’t think i’d havereached where i am if i weredifferent,”he smiles.He adds that he prefers to

mentor people who share hisdrive. “For me, mentoring isabout surrounding yourselfwith people who have thesame passion as you do. When

“Everyone’s a brand, but some of us cultivate,nurture, manage and deliver on our brands,while others don’t.”

coVeR FeatuRe • UpfroNt

38 • Destinyman • November December 2011

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i look at some of them, i think: ‘i was exactlylike you when i was younger.’ it’s an honour tospendmy saturdays and evenings with thesepeople, sharing ideas and offering guidance.”although ikalafeng doesn’t have a role

model, he says his “identity’s been informed”by a number of experiences and people –including history, travels, friends and employers.“i travel extensively because it widens my

horizons. i also buy books constantly, although

i don’t get to read all ofthem. reading also helpsme keep abreast with mostdevelopments in the industry,while consulting forces me toread. everything we do startswith insights.”When he’s not hard at work

dissecting complex concepts,he’s relaxing at home playingwith his gadgets. “i have aniPod, an iPad, a samsunggalaxy tablet and a tv set inevery room. how else are yousupposed to keep up with theworld? i don’t knowwhy i’vegot them all, because mostof them do the same thing. iguess it’s from thinking thatsome have better buttonsthan others!“i don’t drink, smoke or do

lines, but we all have our vicesandmine’s my credit card!”ikalafeng says his personal

barometer for achievementwas always to see his signatureon brands and their billboardads on highways. now thathe sees them all the time, hecould be said to have arrived –but he’s still going strong.

“I’m notfamous for

being famous.I don’t pursuefame – I

pursue greatwork. I

want to dogreat thingsthat will

outlast me.”

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Watch exclusive behind-the-scenes footage ofour cover shoot withthebe ikalafeng at:

www.destinyman.com

UpfroNt • cover Feature

DM