By Our Reporter
Uganda Advertising Association’s (UAA) – Young Silverback Competition, the Digital category has received a UGX 5 million boost from KCB Bank Uganda for the initial Young Silverback competition.
The Young Silverback Competition is an initiative by UAA that aims to create a platform for young creatives to showcase their skills, identify and nurture talent in the advertising industry by bridging the gap between brands and young creatives.
Commenting about the Bank’s support, Sylvia Nashuha, Marketing Manager, Corporate & Business at KCB Bank Uganda said, “We are pleased to collaborate with UAA to foster an environment that mentors and encourages the growth of the creative industry through engagements like the symposiums, the Young Silverback Competitions, and the various initiatives that the association champions.”
“We were impressed with the well-thought presentations from all the teams, including that of the digital category which pitch was done by the Pen & Ink team comprising of Rhoda Musiima and Manzi Mugisa who were tasked to create an integrated digitally-led campaign in 24 hours. Participants did not disappoint when they showcased how brands can utilize technology to provide creative solutions that align with the technological evolution and digital communications.”
Nashuha further remarked, “Hosting such engagements requires a lot of financial backing, hence as a Bank that enables individuals and businesses to go ahead, we extended UGX. 5 million to UAA, which support will not only enable the association to grow but also create opportunities to identify talent like the team that will be representing Uganda at the Cannes Lions next year.”
Other individuals who will compete in the Cannes Lions include; Martha Aheebwa, Lynn Nasirumbi of the Matriarch team and Ivan Sekatawa, and Nalukwago Gwonyoma from the I&E team.
According to Frank Muthusi Group CEO of fireworks Adverting Uganda and UAA Chairman, the association has taken positive strides and invested in professionalizing the advertising industry through joint efforts with industry experts in Uganda and across the region. These have shared industry knowledge through webinars and various events organized by UAA with the intention of growing the industry to offer value to the various stakeholders who are part of the industry’s value chain.
He further revealed, “We are pleased to organize the inaugural Silverback Awards, which are designed to recognize agencies that have executed creative and award-winning campaigns for and on behalf of the clients they serve.”
We have extended the same concept to the young creatives in the industry through the Young Silverbacks Competitions. From these competitions, we are able to identify six individuals who excelled from seven categories comprising of the PR, Design, Film, Marketers, Media, Print, and Digital concepts. The six will represent Uganda at the 2022 Cannes Lions competition in France.
“On behalf of UAA, I congratulate the young people who were bold enough to participate in the Young Silverbacks competition and, I want to thank partners like KCB Bank Uganda among others, who supported this vision, which I believe will greatly boost the association’s performance today and in time to come,” Muthusi concluded.
