-Urges marketing executives to embrace geopolitical awareness, policy fluency, and AI governance
As Africa enters a new year marked by geopolitical shifts, regional integration, and rapid technological advancement, marketing leaders on the continent face unprecedented demands, according to Dennis Mambure, Head of Marketing and Corporate Affairs at Absa Bank Botswana.
In a thought-provoking commentary, Mambure argues that the traditional role of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) – focused on brand building, campaigns, and demand generation – is no longer enough. Instead, African CMOs must evolve into enterprise strategists who navigate complex forces, such as geopolitical realignments, assertive public policies, and artificial intelligence, to drive sustainable growth and maintain trust.
“The CMO can no longer function merely as a steward of logos and campaigns,” Mambure writes. “Marketing has become a proxy for how organisations understand power, policy, and society.”
He highlights seven critical shifts for marketing leadership in 2026:
From brand custodian to enterprise strategist: With initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and rising economic nationalism, brand narratives are viewed through national and continental lenses. CMOs must influence investor confidence, regulatory trust, and public legitimacy.
From customer-centric to policy-aware: Regulations on financial inclusion, data protection, ESG obligations, and localisation now act as “silent stakeholders.” Campaigns must align with national priorities to avoid becoming liabilities.
From awareness metrics to reputation capital: In an era of economic pressures and trust deficits, consumers judge brands on fairness and consistency. Success will be measured by long-term resilience rather than short-term reach.
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From digital transformation to AI governance: While AI enables hyper-personalisation, in Africa’s fragmented data landscapes, poorly managed algorithms risk reinforcing exclusion and bias. CMOs must prioritise transparency and ethical deployment as trust imperatives.
From passive consumers to citizen-customer engagement: Economically aware customers expect brands to address lived realities. Authentic dialogue, rather than broadcast messaging, builds trust amid social media activism.
From campaign cycles to always-on narrative management: Constant scrutiny demands continuous, values-driven narratives, with executive visibility reinforcing brand strategy.
From imported benchmarks to contextual intelligence: African markets require understanding of informality, communal decisions, and cultural plurality over Global North assumptions.
Mambure, who brings over 23 years of experience in marketing and communications to his role at Absa Bank Botswana, emphasises that successful CMOs will be those who position marketing at the convergence of power, policy, and people.
“In Africa’s next chapter, marketing is where these forces meet,” he concludes. “It is not about growth at all costs, but growth with credibility and legitimacy.”
His insights come at a pivotal time for African businesses, as they balance innovation with regulatory and societal expectations in an interconnected continent
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