Ifeoma Jibunoh is a force to be reckoned with. With a background spanning consumer goods giants like Heineken and MasterCard, she brings a unique blend of creativity, strategic thinking, and adaptability to her role as CMO of Cassava Technologies. Her journey, as she puts it, is a testament to the transferable skills of a marketer and the power of continuous learning.
Cassava has a complex history with many different pieces. How do you craft a single narrative that resonates with both advanced European audiences and the emerging African market?
It’s about understanding that brands, like people, evolve through their experiences. The key is to stay focused on meeting customer needs, and that’s where marketing comes in – communicating our value proposition effectively.
Cassava Technologies is an ecosystem of brands, offering a portfolio that covers everything from connectivity to AI. Our narrative is simple: we provide solutions for various tech needs.
We prioritise understanding our audience and tailor our communication accordingly.
With new acquisitions and products like Cassava AI, how do you integrate their story into the broader company narrative?
Marketing plays a crucial role in ensuring we remain customer centric. We’re involved early on, working closely with new acquisitions to test their value proposition, understand their target audience, and assess the competitive landscape. This helps us determine where to play and how to win.
You have a background in consumer goods. How have you adapted your skills to the tech industry?
The principles of marketing are transferable across industries. Whether you’re selling beer or broadband, it’s about understanding the customer and communicating value.
The key is agility, curiosity, and a willingness to learn. The tech landscape is constantly evolving, so continuous learning is essential.
What’s your decision-making process when onboarding a new customer or taking a solution to market?
It starts with insight generation and a robust innovation model. We analyse insights, look for foresights, and develop a strategic framework.
The exciting part is execution and iteration – testing, learning, and adapting. We measure results and ensure our efforts align with business goals.
How are you using AI in your marketing work?
AI is a fantastic tool, and we’re using it across various areas, including ideation, content creation, personalization, and research. For example, in ideation, AI can help us explore contrasting ideas and visualise concepts, sparking creativity in new ways.
It’s like having AI brainstorm with you, pulling data from diverse sources at incredible speed.
But how do you ensure the human element remains central in your AI-driven marketing approach?
AI is a powerful tool, but it’s only as good as the humans guiding it. We use AI to augment our creativity and efficiency, not replace it.
The human element is crucial in areas like prompting, interpretation, and addressing potential biases in AI models.
