#WomensMonth: How Iviwe Poti became a top digital marketing specialist at Isuzu SA

Iviwe Poti

"I needed to know more than just being a youngster at the time who knew social media, so I took on a short course out of curiosity. It helped because that very same year we were under lockdown with Covid and we needed to alter our communication strategy to be digital and keep employees engaged," says Poti.

Here, she unpacks more about herself and the challenges she faced thus far in the industry...

What challenges did you face in reaching your current role as one of the youngest specialists at Isuzu SA?

Well, look, to be honest, I didn’t have any challenges. The general culture at Isuzu is to help and educate one another, I think most times people see an ageing workforce as a disadvantage, but we have learnt so much from the people who have been in the automotive sector for many years, and marketing too.

I joined marketing and the likes of Tim Hendon who has been a marketing guru for years took me under their wing but allowed me to do my own thing, we were all just learning from each other I had just come on board to add to the marketing metric.

Can you share a specific project or campaign that you’ve worked on at Isuzu SA that you’re particularly proud of?

I think everything my team and I have come up with I have been proud of, but if I must – top of mind would be the execution of the Isuzu 1 Tank challenge, as the brand we knew our products were capable but once everyone started following the challenge it made me nervous – however you know what they say whenever in doubt trust an Isuzu will get you to your destination.

Who has been the most influential person in your career, and how have they helped shape your professional journey?

In my career, there are many but top of mind now, I think from the early days. My former regional editor at the SABC Diedre Uren must be one of the managers who had the raw deal with me, but she saw potential and helped me find my feet.

Coming into her newsroom as a green journalist, young and wild at heart she worked hard to mould my fire into a star – it was tough, I don’t know for whom more though but her work ethic and dedication to the SABC brand taught me the importance of loving what you do and making sure every day you put your best foot forward.

In every meeting, she would remind us: “You are only as good as your last story.” I’ve carried this to this day, I’m only as good as my last campaign, execution and go-to-market strategy – so guess what every day I’ll bring the best version of me and that’s what I’ll be serving my employer.

I have always felt that people previously felt that they needed to conform, no – I say find a job that makes you smile, find a company and environment that motivates you to thrive, until such a time keep it moving keep applying and also when the fire in you burns out for a specific passion don’t fear change, you only have one life.

Walk us through a typical day in your role as a marketing manager at Isuzu SA?

Well, depending on which hat demands my attention more on that day, brand communications sort of come to me the easiest looking at my history, respecting and understanding motoring journalists.

Finding our press release stories, ensuring that we are held accountable to our brand truth and also sharing knowledge on our product lineup.

Advertising, - I secretly think I could have been a creative but alas – here I am, a marketing manager, it’s tough because you need to understand the market, and the brand and also as all marketing managers know you get married to the sales team.

Every day is a mix of something, but I have an amazing team, who run the relay race with me, I am here to also ensure that they find their motivation and passion, that their projects bring life to their eyes and that we deliver as best as we can for the brand.

So lots of coffee, a scheduled lunch hour and millions of emails.

As we celebrate Women’s Month, how do you reflect on your experiences as a young woman in a leadership role within the automotive industry?

In celebration of women, I actually enjoy reading up on all the amazing roles women are doing and just letting it sink in that we are amazing and capable – we all are.

My experience thus far has been refreshing, I’ve been doing a lot of learning and also emotional adjustments, understanding the dynamics of leading people older than you, various cultures and understandings and also the big responsibility, understanding the brand culture and how to navigate taking it forward without breaking what has been built over all these years.

Isuzu this year celebrates 45 years of bakkie and 60 years of trucks, that’s a long time, and my role has been to take that on and to showcase the longevity of the reliability of the brand and commitment to South Africa.

Isuzu is built by South Africans for Africa and I always view it in a manner that the big responsibility is to ensure that all Africans understand that our vehicles are for them, each and every one of our trucks is a business solution and a trusted business partner!

With that being said, that’s some part of what I may say has been one of my challenges, taking something older than me and making sure it remains relevant for coming generations and we communicate who we are as a brand and our continued efforts to remain trusted by our customers.

What advice would you give to other young women aspiring to enter the automotive or digital marketing fields?

It’s not a joke, it’s a solid career and you will add value.

Digital marketing is very interesting, scary because of all the data and research but it is interesting, I learnt so much last year in the digital marketing specialist role, the understanding of customer and consumer behaviour, people's understanding of the brand and so many more elements of which every company should use in the marketing mix.

Lastly, don’t fear the digital world, it’s exciting, and interesting and also allows for a better relationship with customers.