As the competition in the industry intensifies and customers increasingly become specific about their preferences, brands and industry players are going back to the drawing board to stay on top in an ever-evolving marketplace while trying to meet the customers’ needs. This has seen them launch innovative solutions and campaigns.

Ogilvy South Africa has unveiled the latest highly anticipated upgrades to its Innovation Labs, based in both the Johannesburg and Cape Town campuses.

New levels of machine learning, integrated virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence sit at the centre of the innovation labs wider cutting-edge facilities. Other technology includes interactive handsets, headsets, and screen technology – alongside proprietary UX testing facilities. All aimed to help propel brands towards unprecedented heights of success.

At the same time, Nigerian premier marketing communications agency Ingenium Communications, has unveiled Xcellerate, a bespoke marketing suite designed for start-ups and businesses of diverse scales.

This innovative initiative is aimed at equipping start-ups and MSMEs with the essential tools and expertise to propel their growth trajectory.

New digi-kids on the block Arora Online successfully conceptualised and executed a multinational influencer marketing campaign with a paid media element for Africa's Business Heroes - a philanthropic initiative to support African businesses by the Jack Ma Foundation in partnership with Alibaba Philanthropy.

As the pre-eminent platform for creative freedom, Sony Corporation has announced its new "For The Music" brand platform and campaign for its premier audio products and services.

Sony Music Entertainment and Grammy Award-winning artist Miguel will be the first artist "For The Music" will support with a brand spot and campaigns for the WF-1000XM5 headphones and X-Series wireless speakers.

At the same time, Instagram has introduced a new music feature that enables users to add a song as a soundtrack to their photo carousel posts to show off their musical taste and is expanding its collaborative publishing feature.

Instagram is introducing new features to provide “fun ways to join in with friends and creators through music, photos and reels”.

Elsewhere, Creative Advertising company, SO&U, has announced the appointments of new staff across its various departments to further boost business growth and innovation.

The appointments are a part of a greater transformation of the company’s operating structure to best serve client’s evolving needs and drive exponential business growth.

Nestlé (brand value up 8% to USD22.4 billion) once again earns the title of the world’s most valuable food brand, according to a new report from brand valuation consultancy, Brand Finance.

Nestlé's brand value has steadily increased this year due to strong sales growth across its extensive and varied brand portfolio.

And Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company has announced the launch of AWS Build, a new global programme designed to support entrepreneurs early in their cloud journey to build, refine, and launch their innovative applications.

Over the course of 10 weeks, a cohort of up to 500 startup founders from around the world will receive business and technical guidance to best leverage the flexibility and scalability of AWS's tech stack to launch their Minimum Viable Products (MVP).

Bob Koigi is an editor at Marketing Report Africa

www.marketingreport.africa