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Marketing Africa limited P . O . Box 36481- 00200 Nairobi , Kenya Cell : + 254 - 717 - 529 052 Email : Info @ marketingafrica . co . ke
Marketing Africa Team
William Kalombo , Mutua Mutua , Peter Mugai , Fred Ombati
Editorial Contributors Mutua Mutua Herman Githinji Frida Owinga Soyinka Witness Irene Mbonge Dr . Maureen Owiti Dr . Wale Akinyemi Diana Obath Michael Nzule Rose Odengo Innocent Tibayeita Catherine Awuor Jane Ndungo Thrity Engineer-Mbuthia Dr . Clifford Ferguson Nicholas Parsamakis Priscah Motogwa Joan Vida Geoffrey Sirumba Dr . Mary Mugo Maureen Jagona Okore Poppy Lydia Sello Tomide Akinyemi Carolyne Gathuru Caroline Mwazi Anne Joyce Wambui Dr . Kellen Kiambati Marion Wakahe Katya Nyangi Corazon Sefu Wandimi Ernestilla Bahati Joseph Kimotho Robert Wamai Anthony Taiti Alice Ngatia Kevin Mofokeng Murithi Magiri Wasilwa Miriongi Jan Okonji Joseph Lunani Christine Nyandat Kepha Nyanumba Walter Chabala Monica Chege
Marketing Africa Magazine is published by Marketing Africa Limited . Views expressed in the articles and contributions are not neccessarily those of the publisher . The Publisher reserves all rights .
Material may only be reproduced with prior arrangement and due acknowledgement to Marketing Africa Magazine .
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@ 02MarketingAfrica MAL61 / 24 ISSUE Marketing Africa
Marketing Africa 20 Years On
This year Marketing Africa celebrates twenty years as a publication ! The downside of such celebrations is that they often recognize the chronological passage of time rather than a measure of real milestones achieved in the period under review .
The raison d ’ etre of the publication had been and still is to provide marketing professionals and academicians an open forum where they can share personal experiences and opine on current and future business trends thereby recording and shaping theory in practice .
It was also hoped that young marketing aspirants , either studying for the profession or as young entrants in business would find a local road map to bridge the gap between foreign text books used in teaching and the hard reality on the ground .
Over the years the tally of columnists has grown and many have carved out an area of specialty in various business areas and have shared regular , well researched and written pieces that can by now form complete text books if collated .
These are the people we celebrate and toast their dedication to professionalism and are the best examples of a culture of life-long learning that is the cornerstone of excellence . They dare to question the status quo and contribute to the body of business knowledge .
A very special enabler for the publication is the corporate advertisers that have supported us over the years . The publication is free with a limited subscription base of mainly hardcopy recipients who display the magazine in their foyers and waiting rooms .
We believe that the content , quality and reach of the magazine has added quantifiable value to the many corporates for they have and continue to support the publication . We celebrate the support that sustains the publication as a service to the profession and the public .
Every business has a product or service to market hence marketing is integral to all businesses . The basis of entrepreneurship is creativity backed by marketing acumen since even a brilliant idea still has to be marketed .
It is this centrality of marketing in a business which is regularly ignored but is the main cause of many business failures . The publication ’ s mission is to plug this omission especially to SMEs and ascertain that a bright idea minus marketing is a stillborn proposition .
It is no coincidence that the most popular drink in the world , Coca- Cola is still so heavily promoted . A coke without the marketing support it gets is just another thirst quencher like any other liquid claiming to do the same .
The publication has acquired recognition beyond the region and we take this to mean that our vision of ‘ Marketing Sans Frontiers ’ is a reality that is gradually but surely going to leave an ever-growing footprint in Africa . This we certainly celebrate .
Over time the publication has spawned various offshoots in research , consultancy , workshops , in-house and open training and the everpopular networking events - Marketer ’ s Niteouts and Quiznites across the region .