Marketers Nite Out (April 2007)

Creating Value through Brands: Has marketing really fainted?

The first Marketing Africa Marketers’ Nite Out 2007 was a thought provoking debate in Nairobi’s Safari Park Hotel on Friday 9 March. The key note speech delivered by George Waititu, Steadman Group’s Managing Director, entitled “Marketing is Clinically Dead” left the participants asking ‘Do marketers use strategies which only bring short term gains to their companies?’

Meanwhile, Friday 27 April 2007 was the first Marketers Night Out in Kampala,Uganda at Hotel Africana’s Nile Conference Hall; a refreshing forum with the theme “Creating Value through Brands” supported by Hotel Africana, Tusker Malt Lager (Only Nature can improve on Perfection…Enjoy perfection today, brewed from Equatorial Barley and the Choicest of hops), Celtel (Making Life Better), the East African newspaper, Business in Africa, Radio One, plus Marketing Africa Limited and other corporate partners. Participants listened to Baker Magunda’s introduction shown on different projector screens set up by a Kenyan Company called Projector Solutions.

The Marketing Africa event, held on special Fridays, is quarterly in Nairobi (the next will be on 15 June and 7 September at Intercontinental Hotel, plus 7 December at Safari Park Hotel again); three times in Kampala (27 July at Sheraton Hotel, 26 October at Hotel Africana again) and twice in Dar es Salaam (1 June and 23 November at Royal Palm Hotel). Uganda’s marketing industry is not yet so big but it is growing at an accelerated pace compared to other countries in the region. The main speech for the night was a sensible and intellectual presentation by UBL (Uganda Breweries Limited) Managing Director Baker Magunda, one of the richest CEOs in Uganda (Listed at www.encyclopedia.com)

“The most powerful asset that a company owns is a brand. We at UBL do not have many assets but we produce brands that sell
like Guinness and Tusker…” Brands are not just about advertising but real facets of
marketing. Baker’s defi nition of marketing was based on the inspiration derived from
consumer satisfaction. Without segmentation of the market, brands fail. Therefore, initial
research is necessary. Brand image and salience (noticability or importance) need to be scertained. You have to know how consumers will feel when they are seen consuming your products.

Marketers need to make companies aware of the value brought by brands. Sometimes,
creative brands should not be changed so quickly but allowed to flourish. Nevertheless,
UBL is currently using sensory communication to reinvent the Bell Lager Brand in order not
to become obsolete since some customers think it needs re-branding… “The difference
between success and failure…” is not only entrepreneurship but also creativity. The Guest Speaker, UBL Managing Director Baker Magunda, explained his points using a very insightful presentation… The always mouthful plus entertaining, tall, dark and handsome Mitch Egwang, was the Master of Ceremony at the occasion.

Confident about his understanding of Baker Magunda’s presentation, the current host of M-Net’s Deal or No Deal Game Show challenged the attention rate and cleverness of the audience by proclaiming that he is also a valuable brand. One marketer in the audience opposed the
MC and reasoned that his claim to being a brand was like a joke but Mitch fired back
that he does not care what people say; as long as there is a dollar cheque at the end
of his name every day. In fact, some might even consider him a role model. That is the
value attached to a brand… Baker, the key note speaker meanwhile observed that in
Psychology, Mitch’s elaboration of having a personal brand image reflects how much
he thinks about his reputation and not just character. Mitch called this fantastic forum
‘the Best Night’ marketers have ever had in years. He compelled the marketers
to his vibe.


2007 Courtesy of Aiko