adminTHE Marketers’ Association of Zimbabwe hosted the much anticipated 5th Annual Marketers’ Convention from October 10- 12, 2013 at the Golden Peacock Villa in Mutare. The convention always creates a high level of expectation as many await a celebration of innovative brands through the Exceptional Marketing Awards which have been revamped from the previous Marketing Efforts Awards. These prestigious and professional awards seek to recognise excellence and innovativeness within organisations and marketers while celebrating organisations and individuals who have pushed their brands towards measuring success through effective running of their marketing plans.
The selection process entailed the listing of five final nominees by the adjudication team but that there be one winner for each award. The nominees were based on the results derived from questionnaires handed out to consumers, marketers and various stakeholders who interact with brands on a consistent basis.
The nomination period ran from May 31-July 31 2013. These nominees were informed and given ample time to prepare their justifications. The voting period ran from August-September 2013. Voting took place online and via the website as well.
The most sought after and envied award of the night was that of the Marketer of the Year. Sponsored by The Financial Gazette, the award sought to reward an innovative marketer who has put forward a successful innovative idea. It also recognised a marketer at senior executive level with a positive attitude, is hard working and demonstrates the highest level of customer relationship management skills and can work with limited resources.
This award was scooped by Octivius Kahiya, the Marketing Director of Telecel Zimbabwe. Kahiya is the brains behind the turnaround of the Telecel brand. He is an all-round marketing professional with 15 years’ experience and is recognised for designing and implementing market-led growth strategies in developing markets. He is a passionate marketer with advanced analytical skills, business modelling and fluency in finance.
Another award which represented the growth of the Zimbabwean economy was the Exceptional Product or Service Launch. This is an award that was given to a product or service that is a totally new idea in Zimbabwe. This new product should have had market dominance compared to other new products launched in the same period. This award was won by Telecel Zimbabwe for their Telecel Red Campaign.
Other brands that were nominated include Nicoz- Diamond for the Christiansure innovation, Printworks for having launched the Printworks Express Shop and Delta Beverages for launching Chibuku Super.
The next award presented was the award for the Exceptional Promotional Campaign which was scooped by Air Zimbabwe for their campaign, “Cruising with the Altitude”. This campaign has demystified flying. The runner-up for this category was Unilever for their Omo Fly to Dubai campaign.
For those organisations who have demonstrated sustainable programmes that have benefited the society, there was an award for Exceptional Corporate Social Responsibility. In this category the award was given to the Joshua Nkomo Scholarship initiative which runs under the motto “Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Inspiration”. Proudly referred to as “Joshualites”, students under this scholarship initiative are assisted financially in order to fulfil their school fees obligations.
This is applicable to those in primary education right up to tertiary level. Other nominees for this award were Mbada Dimaonds, Tetrad Bank and Nyaradzo Funeral Assurance. This award was sponsored by Moonlight Provident Associates.
Another award that was presented was the Customer Engagement Excellence Awards which recognises companies that have established ways in which customers share brand experiences. Its programmes should have a customer orientation with effective loyalty programmes being implemented as well as staged live branded events. This award was handed to Econet Wireless while the runner-up was Telecel Zimbabwe.
The EMAs also recognised team efforts and brand collaboration by including an award for Exceptional Product Combo. This particular award was sponsored by Mbada Diamonds. The product combo should be relevant and convenient to consumers. The winner for this was EcoCash and DStv. This partnership has made life easier for DStv subscribers when they make payments using EcoCash. This avoids the queueing hassles at MultiChoice offices. Other product combos nominated for this award were Revive and Chicken Inn.
A major award in the recognition of marketers is the Exceptional Contribution to Marketing award. This award sought to award an individual/corporate which has made a major contribution to the promotion and marketing of the brand Zimbabwe. This award, which was sponsored by CBZ Bank Limited, was presented to the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Honourable Engineer Walter Mzembi.
He has managed to turn around brand Zimbabwe though tourism. This was mostly reflected when Zimbabwe won the bid to host the UNWTO General Assembly in August 2013 and also hosted the inaugural Zimbabwe International Carnival in May. Minister Mzembi accentuated to the world the value of investing in Zimbabwe at a global scale. This award was handed to him at a separate Press conference at his offices on October 15.
Online Reporter