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Ugandan marketers converged on Friday last week at Protea Skyz Hotel in Kampala for the Annual Marketers’ Fireplace, their most significant event of the year, to discuss marketing excellence and driving business growth.
The Marketers’ Fireplace is organised by the Uganda Marketers Society, an umbrella body which brings together marketers and business leaders in Uganda.
With this year’s theme, ‘Marketing Excellence’, the Society hosted Joanita Menya Mukasa, the Managing Director at Vivo Energy Uganda, as the keynote speaker, who emphasised the need for marketers to elevate their place in the marketplace.
In her keynote speech, titled: “How Marketers Elevate Their Place in the Market Place,” Mukasa talked about the importance of clarity in leadership and encouraged attendees to reflect on their career journeys, whether at entry, mid, or expert levels. She urged marketers to focus on building meaningful relationships at every stage.
‘Knowing your purpose helps you decide when to start and when to stop. There are three things that drive your purpose: your faith that pushes you beyond boundaries, your personality, which is your character (your true you), and your experience that drives your pattern in your career,” Mukasa said.
Mukasa, while expounding on the three stages, explained that the first stage is the lower management segment, where one can explore as much as one can; the second stage is middle management, which requires self-discovery, gaining expertise in a specific sector, choice making, and the quality of people around in one’s professional life determines the depth of skills and career path.
“The third stage, which is the expert level, is what markets you and helps you in leading others,” she said.
The event also attracted seasoned practitioners within the marketing and finance sector, who called for increased reliance on research, creativity, and collaboration within their respective industries and professions to achieve a shared vision that enhances the effectiveness of marketing campaigns for the brand. Nonetheless, it was an opportune time to Network and learn about the current trends.
While discussing the topic, “How can Marketing teams align with finance for bigger budgets?” CPA Michael Segwaya, Executive Director at ABSA Bank Uganda, noted that marketing has long-term and short-term goals, of which marketing and finance are key partners to drive a shared value for the business.
“The critical question revolves around the tangible and intangible returns generated from each marketing investment. Whether these returns manifest as enhanced brand equity, increased market visibility, improved trust, or ratings, they must translate into either revenue growth/ cost optimisation,” Segwaya said.
“This provides a clear framework for evaluating marketing initiatives, regardless of complexity. “The real story isn’t marketing vs finance; it’s about both teams working hand in hand to build something bigger than ourselves.”
Mr Segwaya explained that the CFO and the CMO, together with their teams, must constantly think about sustainability and resilience for the company.
“It’s no longer about how much but about communicating the value,” he emphasised.
Catherine W. Ndungu, Director of Marketing and Innovation Uganda Breweries Limited, highlighted how marketers can sharpen their competencies and stay ahead of the curve.
“Know what to say and when you say it. Life is no longer about traditional marketing but storytelling—the WHY, not the WHAT.
“Why did people buy papers back then? They were entertaining. They had puzzles, music lyrics, plots, TV schedules and premium gossip nobody knew. And yes, print is still relevant today but are you going to wait a day, when you can get all this online?”
Ndungu said marketing is “evolving faster than a cheetah” with innovations such as TikTok, which never existed 15 years ago.
“Marketing is an evolution which never stops. The future of marketing isn’t something you wait for but something you create,” she reiterated.
Ndungu emphasised the need to fall in love with the changing world of marketing since consumers are the new CEOs of their experience, which requires a shift from traditional campaigns to impressive storytelling.
Integrating Pre & Post-Campaign Research for marketing excellence
Charity Winnie Kamusiime, President of the Uganda Marketers Society and Marketing Manager dfcu Bank, praised participants’ commitment to empowering the next generation in marketing, noting the shared mission of building a robust industry.
“We are together in the journey of perfecting our craft and advancing marketing as a discipline,” she said. “Our role is to empower communities, further personal growth, and represent brands with integrity.”
In her key takeaways, Kamusiime highlighted the “invest to harvest” approach, understanding and serving customers, embracing technology and trends and maintaining integrity in marketing.
ACCA Conrad Mbaziira, Financial Controller at the National Social Security Fund, shared how, as accountants, they are now required to report on community impact and brand perception, not just numbers.
“Which validates what they have been saying all along, that marketing impact goes beyond immediate sales figures. They also consider sales to marketing costs ratio, opportunity cost analysis and competitor spending analysis.”
Nanzala Mwaura, Chief Growth Officer at Ipsos, highlighted the need to address gaps in audience data and urged stakeholders to adopt innovative, data-driven strategies in a rapidly evolving media landscape.
“Decisions must hinge on return on investment (ROI). Without a measurable impact, campaign budgets are wasted,” she said, emphasising the critical role of pre-and post-campaign research in achieving marketing success.
She spotlighted significant changes in Uganda’s media consumption patterns, driven by COVID-19, which increased internet penetration and reshaped how Ugandans interact with traditional and digital media.
The country’s last major audience survey, conducted in 2019, no longer reflects current trends, creating challenges for advertisers trying to target audiences effectively.
In her presentation, she noted, “In a fragmented media environment with many regional outlets, we lack updated, comprehensive data. COVID-19 brought a paradigm shift. Work-from-home culture and digital engagement have altered how audiences interact with media, yet our data has not kept pace.”
She stressed the role of creativity in capturing consumer attention. She noted that campaigns that incorporate empathy and reflect consumer needs and aspirations are the most successful.
“Creativity plus empathy can increase campaign effectiveness by 20%. It’s not just about flashy ads; it’s about understanding the consumer.”
“Creativity is not just about inspiration—it’s 99% effort and collaboration. Empathy, differentiation, and clear messaging are the pillars of successful campaigns,” stated Nanzala, adding: “Analysing the data after your campaign is just as important as planning it. Without understanding your results, you’re flying blind.”
She called upon industry leaders and urged stakeholders to fund and support research initiatives to improve the quality of advertising in Uganda. She further stressed the importance of post-campaign evaluations, which analyse metrics such as reach, frequency, and share of voice.
Other experts who spoke at the event include Jackie Namara, the CEO of Iguru Consults; Nesta Katende, the CEO of Otic Foundation; Francis Wandera, the Head of Customer Value Management at Multichoice Uganda; and Isaac Odongo of ROAS Digital. Rebecca Mutike from the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC); Dr Innocent Nahabwe, the Chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB); Sheila Aboth, the Head of Marketing and Communications at C-CARE Uganda as well as Kin Kalisa, the CEO of Next Media and Gitahi Wangechi, the Head Consumer and Trade Marketing at Unilever Uganda also spoke.