All set for the Uganda Marketing Excellence Awards at the Kampala Serena Hotel this Friday

Evolve Group Africa is set to host the third instalment of the annual Uganda Marketing Excellence Awards (UMEAS) tomorrow, Friday, December 1, 2023, at a red carpet and black-tie gala slated for the Kampala Serena Hotel.

The UMEAS provides a unique opportunity to recognize and celebrate the remarkable efforts made by marketers and brands in Uganda.

Come tomorrow, outstanding performers in the marketing industry will be awarded at the event that is running under the theme; “Celebrating Ideas That Work.“

This year’s UMEAs edition promises to be even more exciting, with the highest number of submissions, as well as introduction of new critical categories.

Evolve Africa, the UMEAS organisers, have orchestrated these awards to cover every facet of the marketing profession including sustainability, communications, digital, advertising and public relations, and have been running for the last three years.

According to Shafique Ssemakula, the co-founder of Evolve Africa, the UMEAS this year have explored how well brands, marketers and their agency partners have leveraged different media channels, digital and traditional, to create campaigns that have made a powerful impact on their target audiences and businesses.

Tomorrow’s event will see winners pick awards from twelve (12) different categories, with three new categories that were introduced this year.

The three new categories include; Best ESG Campaign award, Best Not-for-profit / Social Good award, and Rising Agency of the year award.

Winners will be selected by a six-member jury of renowned competent industry professionals that was selected based on leadership, contribution towards the profession, experience and academic qualification, who oversaw the nomination and critical-award winner selection.

The jury determined all nominations, but the public voted transparently on the UMEAS website for six of the twelve categories of the UMEAS.

However, the winners of the six critical-award categories strictly rested on the decision and choice of the judges.

According to Ssemakula, the goal of establishing this jury was to ensure professionalism through the entire course of the process, credibility, transparency and fairness.

The distinguished jury included Dr. Benedict Mugerwa, the Head of Professional Courses at the Uganda Management Institute (UMI), Ngulumi Immaculate Nabatte, CMO at Centenary Bank, John Paul Okwi, Senior Manager Events and Sponsorships at MTN Uganda, Rogers Anguzu, Commercial Director at Crown Beverages Limited, Barbara Arimi, Head of Marketing and Communications at NSSF and Jackie Namara, CEO of Iguru Consultants Limited.

According to John Paul Okwi, the President of the Jury, this year, the focus has been centred on Return on Marketing Investment as they looked at campaigns and projects that made good use of resources that have been entrusted to marketers.

The jury will be publishing a detailed report to explain their methodology for all stakeholders to review and understand why their brands will have performed the way they will.

The award categories and nominees for the UMEAS 2023 are;

1. Advertising campaign of the year

• Kikole For Less-Stanbic Bank
• Bell lager CEO-Bell Lager
• Now You Can-NSSF
• Royco All in One-Unilever Uganda
• Whiskey Desire- Johnnie Walker
• Mirinda Rebrand Campaign-Crown Beverages Ltd
• The Voice Africa-Airtel Uganda
• UEFA Champions League Campaign- Crown Beverages Ltd
• This will be good- Singleton Uganda

2. Best use of partnership marketing

• Whiskey Desire- Johnnie Walker
• Now You Can campaign-NSSF Uganda.
• Cente Shopping Fest-Centenary Bank/Jumia
• This will be good- Singleton Uganda
• Hospital Sente-Airtel Mobile Commerce/Prudential Uganda
• Stanbic Bank Black Pirates sponsorship-Stanbic Bank
• UEFA Champions League Campaign- Crown Beverages Ltd
• Roast & Rhyme Wild Edition Part 2- Swangz Avenue

3. Best use of digital marketing 

• Lead generation campaign-UAP Old Mutual
• Royco All in One-Unilever Uganda
• Miranda Rebrand Campaign-Crown Beverages Ltd
• Drive Brand New, Zero Mileage-CFAO Motors
• Cente Shopping Fest-Centenary Bank Uganda
• UEFA Champions League Campaign-Crown Beverages Ltd
• UG Comedy Campaign-Uganda Waragi
• The Voice Africa-Airtel Uganda
• Black Shines Brightest- Guinness Uganda
• Leave Eat to KFC-KFC Uganda
• More Flavour More Edge-Smirnoff
• Ayute Africa Challenge- Heifer International

4. PR Campaign of the year

• A better Uganda Campaign -Uganda Development Bank
• Rotary Cancer Run 2023- Submitted by Centenary Bank
• KCB-GIZ Twekozese Program-KCB Bank Uganda
• Now You Can campaign-NSSF Uganda

5. Best innovation-new product/service/process 

• Eazzy stock Financing-Equity Bank Uganda
• Mirinda Rebrand-Crown Beverages Ltd
• Drive Brand New, Zero Mileage-CFAO Motors
• Kikole for less- Stanbic Bank Uganda
• Hospital Sente- Airtel Mobile Commerce
• Royco All in One-Unilever Uganda

6. Experiential marketing Campaign of the year

• Smirnoff Fiestas- Smirnoff
• C-Care Brand relaunch- C-Care Uganda
• Bell Lager CEO- Bell Lager
• Digital Economy Showcase- Innovations Village
• This will be good- Singleton Uganda

SPECIAL CATEFORIES-To be decided by the Jury.

7. Best Not for profit/Social good campaign- For entry but not for public vote

• Ayute Africa Challenge- Heifer International
• Rotary Cancer Run 2023- Submitted by Centenary Bank
• Growing together through Inclusive tree planting-Treescape Planet Organization
• One Life One Tree- C-Care Uganda
• Talent Factory- Multichoice Uganda

8. Best ESG campaign-For entry but not for public vote

• Wefugge- Road Safety Campaign-TOTAL Energies EP
• One million Trees campaign- Absa Bank Uganda
• Tusker Lite Rwenzori Marathon- Submitted by Tusker Lite
• Tree Planting Initiative- FINCA (U) MDI
• Action For Sustainability-TOTAL Energies EP
• Growing Together- Treescape Planet Organization

9. Rising Agency of the year- For entry but not for public vote

• Capital One Group
• Volcanic Creative
• Lime Media
• Zeus The Agency

10. Agency of the year-For Entry not for public vote

• Fireworks Advertising Ltd
• Buzz Events
• Metropolitan Republic
• Zeus The Agency

11. Marketing Campaign of the year-For entry but not for public vote

• This will Be Good- Singleton Uganda
• Drive Brand New, Zero Mileage- CFAO Motors
• Whiskey Desire- Johnnie Walker Uganda
• Now you Can Campaign-NSSF Uganda
• Smirnoff Fiestas- Smirnoff
• Kikole For Less- Stanbic bank Uganda
• Bell Lager CEO-Bell Lager
• Be Fraud Alert- Centenary Bank

12. UMEAS Marketing Pioneer Award

• To be announced on awards gala

Tickets to the event are going for Shs 100k (per individual), and Shs 2m for a corporate table. CIM students can access the event at a subsidized rate of Sh 75k.

Tickets to this event can be booked on 0703115242/ 0772358291.

The UMEAS 2023 are sponsored by I&M Bank Uganda, Uganda Breweries Ltd, Matooke Republic, Centenary Bank, NSSF, Uganda Development Bank, Wango App, Pepsi, Kadanke Brand House, RadioCity, Equity Bank, and NTV Uganda.