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Kampala, Uganda | Patricia Akankwatsa | Evolve Africa, on Friday, September 27th , announced the fourth edition of the Uganda Marketing Excellence Awards (UMEAs) 2024.
This year’s awards will be held under the theme ‘Promoting Sustainable Marketing.
The awards aim to inspire and motivate marketers to create campaigns that drive business success and contribute positively to society and the environment. By recognising excellence in sustainable marketing, Evolve Africa seeks to foster a culture of responsible business practices and promote a more sustainable future for Uganda.
According to Evolve Africa Co-Founder Shafique Ssemakula, the awards span every aspect of Marketing, Communications and Digital right from ideation to creation and execution.
“The UMEAs will explore 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 for the projects/campaigns executed from November 2023 to October 2024,” said Ssemakula.
Ssemakula said entries for participation in the UMEAs 2024 are open via www.umeawards.org but highlighted that participation is free and open to any organization that will have engaged in a marketing campaign with the potential to win them an award.
Evolve Africa also presented a five-member Marketing Council of renowned industry professionals that was selected based on leadership, contribution towards the profession, experience, and academic qualifications.
The council will oversee the nomination and critical awards winner selection for the UMEAS 2024.
Ssemakula noted that the council shall determine all nominations and hold a 60% take on all public vote categories while the public shall carry 40% of the final decision for the considered for six (6) of the eleven (12) categories of the awards.
The major aim of establishing a council is to ensure professionalization, credibility, transparency, and fairness, of the entire process” Ssemakula noted.
John Paul Okwi Evolve Marketing Council Chairman said that these Awards stand as a testament to the power of marketing to drive both business growth and positive societal change.
“This event continues to recognize and celebrate outstanding marketing campaigns and initiatives that not only demonstrate exceptional creativity and effectiveness but also a deep commitment to environmental responsibility, social impact, and ethical business practices,”
“By honouring such initiatives, we inspire marketers to go beyond traditional metrics and consider the broader implications of their work, fostering a culture of innovation, sustainability, and positive impact,”
The Uganda Marketing Excellence Awards 2024 will honour organizations and individuals in various marketing disciplines, including brand strategy, digital marketing, public relations, customer experience, and sustainable marketing. A panel of industry experts will judge entries based on creativity, effectiveness, and alignment with the award’s theme.
Ssemakula said that the nomination criteria and eventual winners for the Uganda Marketing Excellence Awards 2024 shall be based on five major aspects: challenge/problem,
Originality/creativity of the idea, strategy implementation, integration of the communication across different platforms, Impact & return on investment.
Caroline Ampaire, Head of Media and Digital at UBL also reaffirmed the brewery’s commitment to sustainability in all its marketing efforts.
“As a business, we have always made deliberate efforts towards promoting sustainability. From integrating eco-friendly packaging to reducing our carbon footprint in production, we are continually evolving to meet the needs of both our consumers and the planet,”
“Our goal is to ensure that every initiative we undertake not only drives brand growth but also contributes to a more sustainable future for us all,” she said.
Entries are open now and the submission deadline is October 31st, 2024.
The winners of the UMEAS 2024 will be announced on Friday, 13th December 2024, at the Aan awards gala at the Kampala Serena Hotel.
2024 UMEAS categories
- Advertising Campaign of the Year
- Best Use of Partnership Marketing
- Best Use of Digital Marketing
- PR Campaign of the Year
- Best Innovation- New Product/Service
- Experiential Marketing Campaign of the Year Best Not-for-Profit/Social Good campaign
- Best ESG campaign
- Rising Agency of the Year
- Agency of the Year,
- Marketing Campaign of the Year
- UMEAs Marketing Pioneer Award.
