NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 8 – East African Breweries Limited (EABL) emerged the overall winner and won in 10 individual categories at this year’s Marketing Society of Kenya (MSK) awards.
The alcohol beverage company was also feted for its project at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic to aid the manufacture and distribution of hand sanitizer to key hospitals and the most vulnerable.
EABL also emerged as winners of the Best Promotion Experimental Marketing Campaign and Best Brand Building category during the awards.
Speaking after the awards at Sarit Centre, Graham Villiers Tuthill, the Group Marketing & Innovation Director said: “We are delighted to receive these recognitions. At EABL, we are very deliberate in the efforts we put in our campaigns to ensure that our message to our audiences, be it our customers or the general public, reflect the true nature of who we are. These recognitions presented to us today will act as a boost to us, to continue creating value to the communities we serve.”
EABL was the main title sponsors of the MSK awards which were themed, “Seeing through the mask: Perfect strategies for an imperfect world”. The awards are held each year to honor exceptional brands and teams that have excelled in marketing and this year was exceptional because of the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Covid-19 has meant that you are meeting your future consumer now, today, sooner than otherwise be the case. And, because we are meeting our future consumer now, those companies and marketers that were future-focused and not constantly fire-fighting are the ones that are winning today. Those brands that have a clear and distinctive positioning, are able to be in culture with consumers and lead conversations today,” said Tuthill.
As a manufacturer that has been part of the Kenyan heritage for close to 100 years, EABL has made significant contributions to the growth of the advertising industry, most notably, helping the industry set marketing codes to protect both brands and consumers.
“Marketing and advertising has great potential to shape the future and create change, as they reflect how we view society. It is essential that as we develop our different campaigns, we ensure that our businesses are conducted with good conduct, especially because of the influence they have on society,” said Tuthill.
EABL received several other recognitions during the award ceremony. They emerged first runners up in the best shoppers experience category, best distribution strategy and implementation category, promotion, experiential marketing campaign, best launch and product re-launch campaign and best public health response category for their effort in distributing alcohol-based sanitizers to the community.
Their winning campaigns were for Tusker Malt, Tusker Oktoberfest, Guinness Smooth, Guinness Night Football, Gordon’s Gin, Dial-a-delivery, and the KBL Sanitizer project.
Additionally, they emerged second runners up for best disruptive marketing – unconventional marketing campaign due to their effort in creating a sustainable environment for the communities.