Women In Marketing 2024 Edition ft. Imke Dannhauser from Google
Imke Dannhauser is the Marketing Manager at Google and a trailblazer in the marketing world. Imke’s impressive educational background and pursuit of a PhD demonstrate her passion for lifelong learning. Her unconventional career path, pivoting from Informatics to Marketing, reveals her adaptability and curiosity. Imke credits marketing’s interdisciplinary nature for her love of the field, citing its connections to psychology, economics, and technology. Her unique skillset, forged at the intersection of theory and practice, enables her to drive innovative marketing strategies and inspire others. Welcome to Women In Marketing
Personal Background:
Thanks for taking the time to participate in our ‘Women In Marketing’ feature. Where were you born, and what childhood memories stand out for you?
I was born in Durban, but my family relocated to Pretoria just before I started school. I’m what can politely be referred to as a Xennial, and every reel you’ve ever seen about being home by the time the streetlights came on is true! My most vivid childhood memories are of running around with a pack of 8 or so neighbourhood kids, riding our bikes, playing tag in the pool, building forts and dollhouses with equal fervour, and generally causing a ruckus!
Describe your high school and college years. You were the coolest one, right?
There is no alternate reality in which I am cool!
Bookworm, Star Wars fan, newspaper editor, old school PC gamer of the city build variety — absolutely. Cool? Lol!
What’s your favourite meal that you wouldn’t share with anyone?
I’m an unapologetic foodie and have been known to suffer from hanger, so not sharing food is my default state, but you risk losing a hand if you get between me and a rare ribeye with a crispy baked potato and some charred broccoli.
What would be your plans for a sudden $10 million windfall if you were to receive it tomorrow?
Instant retirement! I’ll do some marketing lecturing and consulting on the side, finally attempt to write a book or two, and tick off the next 20 countries on my travel list.
Can you share an interesting fact or hidden talent not found on your LinkedIn profile? Previous Women in Marketing candidate Anastasia Hamel says that she can breathe fire!
My fire breathing is more metaphoric in nature, does Anastasia give lessons? Once a year I cook a 10–15-course dinner for a few friends, with a theme, wine pairings, fancy plating and the whole nine yards.
Career and Work:
How do you typically start your day, and are you #TeamCoffee, #TeamTea, or both?
I am team coffee in bed, and this is a public service on Spouse’s part, cause I’m not society-friendly until I’m caffeinated.
It’s a real conundrum when I’m home alone! Once I’m systems-online and my Yorkie is sufficiently cuddled (it’s a subjective measure), I pack in a quick French lesson on Duolingo, do my first batch of emails and admin and get the day started.
What inspired you to pursue a career in marketing? Didn’t the “I want to become a doctor” bug bite you?
Who says I don’t want to be a doctor? I’m steadily working my way towards a PhD in marketing, and am wrapping up my 7th degree mid-next year, hopefully.
But, to answer your question, marketing seems to have chosen me: I started out studying Informatics during undergrad (the only degree I’ve not finished!), with marketing as an elective only because it fitted into my schedule. Within weeks I was hooked! I love the way that marketing as a discipline sits at the intersection between business, creativity, humanities and macro-environmental disciplines like economics, which means there’s so much variety in what you get to do.
You hold a BCOM Honours in Marketing Management from the University of Pretoria (You Go, Girl!!). Considering the rise of online educational platforms like Coursera and Google Skillshop, how do you foresee the future of tertiary-based education?
I think there’s a role for both! As the pace of change in the working world accelerates, continuous education will grow in importance, and online platforms can help make that accessible to so many more people, with more variety in pacing, delivery formats, learning approaches and more, to complement the basis that an in-depth tertiary education provides.
Many industries had to create systems overnight that would enable their respective workforces to work from home due to the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. What’s your perspective on remote and hybrid work, and how have you dealt with its challenges? Do you have a preference?
My core team is distributed across Lagos and Nairobi, which is probably not something we’d have thought would be possible pre-pandemic. Not being restricted by geographic practicalities means more diversity of perspective, and ultimately better work, so I’m a fan of remote work!
That said, I’m also a firm believer in managing for output: work where it makes sense for the deliverable you’re focused on; whether you are co-locating a team for a week to workshop the annual plan, or getting your head down at home for some distraction-free concentration time.
AI is the hot topic of the day, most specifically, generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini. How do you address the challenges you face in your day-to-day responsibilities? Any specific tools you’d like to plug us with?
GenAI tools, such as Gemini, are extremely helpful in enhancing your productivity, be it providing you with inspiration for an outfit or meal, or kick-starting or refining something you’re writing! As for a tool I’d like to plug… well… the giveaway is in my job title!
According to the WEF, the pandemic caused a 4.2% reduction in women’s employment compared to 3% of men (from 2019 to 2020). How can organisations better support women and mothers, especially in light of the pandemic’s impact on women in the workplace?
My only motherhood role is as a mother of a very spoiled Yorkie (who’s about to get a little furry brother!), so I can’t speak to what support mothers would want. I do think all of us can do with a good dose of flexibility to get the job done whilst meeting our other obligations, though: we all wear more than one hat!
How can organisations ensure equal opportunities for women to advance into executive positions?
Within the workplace, we know that women tend to be over-mentored and under-sponsored (see this article from HBR): putting in place more formal sponsorship programmes, and encouraging and measuring senior sponsorship of women in the organisation will go a long way to helping women to progress their careers.
2024 and Beyond:
If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self?
Gosh, there’s a lot! Can we negotiate for my top 3?
- Your reputation is your most valuable asset at work: nurture it, and remember — the small interactions count!
- Learn how to seek out, respond to, and provide constructive feedback.
- Just be you! Showing up authentically is a superpower.
What are your personal or professional goals and aspirations for the future? We hope to see you on Forbes’ Most Influential CMOs list. No pressure!
Well, I’ve recently added ‘making Forbes’ Most Influential CMO list… ;)’.
Professionally, I am working towards three goals: I would like to be a CMO in charge of some of South Africa’s most iconic brands and contribute to building that legacy, I’d like to eventually transition my career to full-time academia, focused on brand building and consumer behaviour, and I’d love to write (“finish” feels very premature, given how little progress I’ve made!) a book on brand building principles.
Who are some of your sheroes?
My mom’s about to have a milestone birthday (I’d say which, but then I can’t share this with her), and I think she’d be surprised at how much of a feminist icon I think she is!
She’s taught me so much about believing in myself, never giving in to gender stereotypes, and conquering the world! That’s also translated into my other female icons: I have a very soft spot for women who live life on their own terms, and challenge convention: from Michelle Obama to Coco Chanel, I admire that grit, self-belief and can-do attitude!
What are you currently reading, and how do you consume your content?
When I was 12, the local library had to have a meeting with my parents to get special permission for me to get access to the adult section, because I’d torn through the young adult section twice already… Books and travel are my happy places!
I’m a big fan of fantasy, and finally gave up and adopted an e-reader after I ran out of books halfway through a holiday in Namibia, far away from any bookstores. I’ve just started reading ‘Fate Breaker’, the concluding book in a trilogy by Victoria Aveyard, which she describes as a homage to Lord of the Rings.
What are you currently streaming that you’d recommend?
I watch Bridgerton and The Boys with equal enthusiasm! My guilty pleasure is the Australian renovation show The Block, which has just started streaming a new season, but when Beloved starts getting nervous about me whipping out a paintbrush I switch to Kaos, or Industry: wildly different, but very engrossing! And if you haven’t yet watched Daisy and the Six, I’d give that a strong recommendation too.
You wake up one day, and before you know it, you are nearing retirement. What would you like your professional legacy to be? Furthermore, what do your colleagues and superiors admire about you the most?
Ha, I have just recently had a milestone birthday as well — so this isn’t as much of a hypothetical as you’d imagine! I’d love to be remembered as someone who elevated marketing’s strategic importance in the organisations that I worked in, and as someone who lived her life true to her values, and inspired others to do the same.
We are always looking for amazing Women In Marketing to profile. Who would you like us to get in touch with?
Yes! More! A South African doing all the things in Dubai: Tammy Ho. Nigerian conquering London: Jola Aderemi Makinde. And Google colleague, Kristy Grant, head of Ads Marketing for Google SSA.
Share a unique message for young professionals in the marketing industry.
Be broadly and deeply curious! Understand how other functions within your organisation intersect with marketing, and where the opportunities for shared value lie.
Learn as much about marketing — campaigns, techniques, other brands, other markets, other categories — as you can! Learn how to articulate what works, and what doesn’t, and why.
Immerse yourself in your target audience: know how they live, how your brand fits into their world, what makes them tick and what keeps them up at night.
The best marketers I know combine a broad base of knowledge with deep functional skills, and curiosity is the way to get there!
Thank you for your time, Imke. We hope this interview will inspire future leaders and other Women in Marketing. How can people follow you and your company on social media?
You can find me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/imkedannhauser, and Google across all social media as @Google, and Google Africa at our blog, and @GoogleAfrica on X.
