Building upon the success of its first edition, MarkHack 2.0 is set to revolutionize the future of marketing and media by fostering innovation and collaboration among professionals, students, and entrepreneurs. This hackathon aims to generate groundbreaking media and tech solutions capable of disrupting the marketing landscape. It will focus on key areas such as enhancing consumer experience, transforming media consumption, improving consumer interaction, optimizing trade and retail engagement, advancing analytics and metrics, innovating events marketing, exploring media monetization strategies, and revolutionizing content creation.
MarkHack 2.0 represents an exciting opportunity for participants to showcase their creativity, problem-solving skills, and entrepreneurial spirit while driving positive change in the marketing industry.
The creative industry stands as Nigeria’s second-largest employer, with the potential to generate 7 million jobs by 2025. Recognizing this immense opportunity, Victor Afolabi, the Founder of Eko Innovation Centre and Convener of MarkHack 2.0, highlighted the crucial role of innovation in driving the industry’s growth.
Afolabi emphasized, “With the rapid emergence of digital media, social platforms, and technological advancements, the creative industries have become one of the most dynamic sectors globally. MarkHack 2.0 serves as a platform for collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking to disrupt the creative market. It provides a valuable opportunity for participants to showcase their innovative ideas to potential investors.”
By fostering an environment of collaboration and encouraging disruptive thinking, MarkHack 2.0 aims to propel the creative industry forward, enabling individuals to unleash their creativity and contribute to the sector’s development. The event serves as a launchpad for participants to present their ideas and attract potential investors who can help turn their concepts into reality.
The call for participation garnered an overwhelming response, with 1,365 participants from 92 locations across Europe, Asia, and Africa submitting their entries. From the registered participants, 230 teams were formed to brainstorm innovative ideas, concepts, and prototypes in three focus areas: Immersive Experience (XR) -57 teams, Content Creation- 119 Teams , and Robo Marketing- 54 Teams.
The MarkHack 2.0 pitch event will be judged by 22 industry experts, who will select the top ten teams to advance to the finals. The final winners, chosen by a panel of seven esteemed jurors, will share a prize pool of $10,000 and gain the opportunity to join the Eko Innovation Centre accelerator programme with up to $50,000 equity investment.
The launch event featured a keynote address by Hannah Oyebanjo, Managing Director of Redwood Consulting, titled “Marketing and Media in the Creative Economy: Trends and Innovative Solutions for a Future Ready Industry.”
Oyebanjo highlighted the digital evolution of marketing and the potential of technologies such as AI, AR, VR, and gamification in creating new opportunities for engaging consumers.
“The age-old dichotomy between traditional and new marketing are telltale signs of the fluid nature of Marketing. Marketing evolved from the 5ps to 8Ps (with Service based offerings). But the future is a revolution when even what we call ‘New Marketing’ today, will become ‘Old Skool’!”
She added that from the 5Ps of traditional marketing to the Fusion, Hybrids, Ad-ons, Content, Experiential of new Marketing, the industry is headed for a more disruptive world of Web 3.0, AI, AR, VR, Gamification, etc.
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