Marketing Africa magazine crew had an insightful conversation with Daniel Ogong , Executive Head of Marketing and Communication , Stanbic Bank Uganda . Ogong recently won the prestigious 2023 African Marketing Professional of the year Award at the end of the 2nd Annual AMC Conference held at Imperial Botanical Beach Hotel in Entebbe in September .
Here-in are excerpts as captured by the team from the interview .
Who is Daniel Ogong the person , divorced from your career ? Give us an abridged version of your career ?
Thank you for inviting me for this session and to be part of Marketing Africa and your magazine which I have a lot of respect for . Daniel Ogong is 100 % Ugandan Luo , born 48 years ago , in Lira , a business and trading hub in Northern Uganda renowned for cereals such as millet , sorghum and maize . Growing up in this trading hub could have , subconsciously influenced by career in sales then progressing to brand management and ending up as Marketing Director at Stanbic Bank .
Interestingly and may be ironically to some , I studied Accounting at the University of Delhi but have never practiced it . I started as a Sales Representative at Nile Breweries , which at that time was the number two brewer in Uganda , the leader being Uganda Breweries . This was a perfect career beginning , for a young fresh wet behind the years University graduate , a new company car and with all the travelling around the country to visit customers . Selling proved a good foundation for what really is my passion ; creating , nurturing , and growing brands .
Sales , which I enjoyed was for me just a foot in the door , a stepping stone , to marketing and more building . And so , when the opportunity arose , I moved to brand management , trade marketing to be precise , in the same company , Nile Breweries . Moving to Brand Management was the beginning of what was to be an exciting journey and I ended up Heading Marketing at Nile Breweries , after doing a stint at South African Breweries ( SAB ) Headquarters in Johannesburg . As you are aware SAB was the mother company of Nile Breweries .
What Lessons Did You Carry From Nile Breweries that have shaped your marketing career ?
I will begin by saying that I was very lucky to begin my career in an organization that is brand led even as it is a hard-nosed commercial entity . Nile Breweries believes in building enduring brands and does not just focus on short term numbers , as some organizations fall into the trap of doing . This is the first lesson that I carry with me . That is , taking the time and putting resources to nurture and grow strong brands brings in the numbers eventually . Focus on short term financial results will not do . Brands are built over time . The numbers will eventually come and they will do so for a long , long time .
Following this and this is the second lesson ; it ’ s important to build a team of firstclass marketers by investing in training and exposure to the best in class within the company . Mentoring and coaching to keep their interest high and hone their skill is very vital . In short to build strong brands continuously invest in building your marketing team . Brands are built by teams of dedicated , resourced and focused teams .
The third lesson comes from working in the FMCG arena and sales in particular . It is imperative to continuously and relentlessly focus on the market one is operating in , especially on the consumer and competition . Listening to what the market is saying , for it speaks , and one must pick the vibes as the beauty of marketing is the arena and more so the consumers are ever evolving and so the tune is ever changing . One must respond appropriately may it be product innovation or new ways of engaging and communicating to the consumer . In short the centre of marketing is the market and the consumer . These have proved useful personally and to those I have worked with as my career progressed .
Why then did you leave such an exciting industry to join the banking sector which to some may seem less vibrant ?
By the time of leaving , I was at that point of my life when I was thinking I was done with the Corporate World and needed a new challenge without exactly knowing what and where . So , I did not leave to join Stanbic as it were but to take a break and look yonder to what the World had to offer . But to add onto this and , what might have in a way contributed to my decision was that at the same time , SAB was bought by Anheuser-Busch InBev ( AB InBev ) and the new sheriff in town as it were came with a different ‘ modus operandi , of running the show , as we say .
As an organization , AB In Bev , have a more centralized model where the centre has a tight leash on the way things are done , a template-like scenario , ensuring a kind of uniformity across markets . Though it has worked for them , being the biggest brewer in the world , I felt this change was vastly different to the way I was used to working with more freedom and say in running the department .
Why do I say this ? For me I believe that to be relevant one must pay close attention to the market to get direct insights and respond accordingly and each market is unique . In other words , growing brands is a kind of a blank canvas and one chooses which picture to paint and there really is no rule book . Though it is important to operate within certain guard rails these should be broad otherwise if they are tight they constrict the marketer and indeed other departments within the organization . One cannot replicate to the ‘ T ’ what has worked in one market onto another . It ’ s not cut and paste but picking the relevant learnings from one market and adapting as the need be in the other .
When we began you spoke about creativity ‘ moving you ’. Kindly elaborate on this .
I am drawn and moved by things that are different and unique , whether its music or art , looking for patterns that are uncommon . Marketing is about joining and connecting dots . This has been useful in my career when it comes to for example sponsoring a programme or an event . Only by being creative can ones brand stand out in this very competitive business and marketing arena .
Let ’ s talk about the African Marketing Professional of The Year Award .
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