By Marisa Jansen van Vuuren, Chief Marketing Officer, Altron

This is a story about a best-kept secret, a milestone birthday, and a bold commitment to the city we call home. It’s Altron’s story - one that began over 60 years ago in Boksburg and continues to evolve, fueled by purpose and resilience. On 1 April this year, we launched a new chapter of this story not just for our brand, but for Johannesburg. This wasn’t just a celebration of our past. It was an opportunity to inspire others by showcasing what’s possible when technology and people come together to solve real-world problems.

This milestone gave us a rare opportunity to reflect, recommit, and reimagine. We wanted to honour our legacy while sparking new energy around our brand. I knew it had to be meaningful, emotionally resonant, and above all, authentic to who we are as Altron.

Honouring the spirit of Johannesburg

Over the past year, the conversation around Johannesburg has grown increasingly polarised. The city’s challenges are real - but so is its resilience. That spirit of resilience and renewal mirrors our own journey at Altron. We’re kindred spirits with this city – a meeting place for opportunity and optimism.

I didn’t want our 60th to be a once-off celebration. I wanted it to be a storytelling platform - one that honoured the generations of entrepreneurs, businesses, and communities who built Johannesburg and continue to shape it. Some of them are Altron’s founders. Others are our customers and partners. All are part of the city’s 138-year journey.

That’s why we partnered with historian Michael Charton to craft a bespoke narrative that brought Joburg’s story to life. His live performances in April were more than a history lesson, it was a tribute to the city’s vibrancy, industry, and determination. It reminded us of the foundation on which this city was built: resilience, optimism, and opportunity. And it set the stage for something bigger - a united effort to reimagine Joburg as Africa’s innovation hub.

Building our brand, one real-world problem at a time

Why Joburg? Because it’s where our roots are. But more importantly, because our collective success as business leaders is tied to the health of this city. When Bill Venter founded Altron in 1965, on April Fools’ Day, he joked that if it failed, he could laugh it off. But it didn’t fail. From a small start-up in Boksburg to a tech powerhouse, his legacy lives on in our business today.

When I joined Altron in 2023, I was surprised by how little I knew about the brand, despite nearly two decades in tech. Altron was South Africa’s best-kept secret. Since then, we’ve built a marketing engine that brings our purpose to life and aligns brand strategy with business outcomes. We’re not just building awareness - we’re driving impact.

Today, that strategy is delivering. We’re solving real-world problems across fintech, healthtech, cybersecurity, IoT, and AI. From secure payments to connected vehicles, digital health platforms to intelligent infrastructure, we’re not just keeping up with the digital revolution - we’re helping lead it. Marketing has become a strategic growth lever, translating complex technologies into accessible, relevant solutions.

Storytelling with substance

Every strong brand strategy needs a creative hook, a human truth, and measurable outcomes. Our 60th birthday celebrations had all three.

• Creative hook: We didn’t just mark an anniversary - we launched a purpose. By telling stories about how data, tech, and human ingenuity can solve real-world problems in Joburg, we created emotional resonance and civic engagement at a time when pride in the city was waning.

• Human truth: Like Altron, Joburg was built on resilience, hustle, and optimism. This parallel became the heart of our campaign and the backbone of our partnership with Jozi My Jozi - a people-powered movement to channel passion for the Joburg into meaningful change.

• Business outcomes: The results speak for themselves. Employee engagement soared, with over a thousand blankets donated to the homeless through Jozi My Jozi. We hosted 20 captains of industry at the inaugural Michael Charton performance. Website traffic rose by 13%, contact submissions jumped 75%, and social media impressions doubled. But the most powerful feedback? An employee saying, “That made me proud to work for Altron.” A customer asking, “How can we collaborate to rebuild the city?”

The Next 60 (or 60 weeks)

What began as a birthday celebration has become a blueprint for a long-term storytelling platform that ties marketing to business growth, community upliftment, and tech-led impact. We’re building on this momentum by:

• Aligning employee giving and volunteering with Jozi My Jozi projects.
• Supporting beautification efforts to instill civic pride.
• Accelerating investment in education to equip youth with ICT skills.
• Creating tech-enabled solutions through our Transformative Growth Forum and customer-led initiatives.

This is marketing that does more than sell. It’s rooted in purpose, built on partnerships, and focused on real impact. For 60 years, Altron has solved real-world problems- from the everyday to the epic. And as we look ahead, our commitment remains: to use the best of our data, our technology, and our people’s ingenuity to build a simpler, safer, and smarter tomorrow. Starting with Johannesburg.

Because solving real-world problems isn’t just good business. It’s the only kind of business that matters.

To find out more, click here: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0krQBl0