Stanbic IBTC Wins AMC Brand of the Year

𝐁𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫

𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐄, 𝐙𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐚 – 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐛𝐢𝐜 𝐈𝐁𝐓𝐂 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐀𝐌𝐂) 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝟒𝐀𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐛 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞-𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧.

The awards, held as part of the AMC Conference, recognise marketing campaigns, agencies and organisations from across the continent, with finalists coming from 11 countries. They span sectors from tourism and consumer brands to the non-profit and public sectors, honouring creativity, strategic thinking, effectiveness and impact.

The ceremony took place on 24 September at the Radisson Blu Mosi-Oa-Tunya Livingstone Resort. The conference, themed Africa Rising Through Marketing Leadership, Brand Power and Value Creation, focused on how African brands can compete and grow in a rapidly changing global market.

𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭

Since its launch in 2015, Together4ALimb has supported 250 children living with limb loss across Nigeria, providing prosthetics and healthcare alongside longer-term educational support. Stanbic IBTC has invested more than ₦1 billion in the programme, including ₦375 million committed to education trusts. It is delivered with healthcare partners including Total Health Trust and Ifean Health, and has extended its reach through the Steps by Stanbic IBTC app, which lets people join the annual awareness walks virtually.

AMC president Matongo Matamwandi, who is also chairman of the Minerals Regulation Commission of Zambia, said the initiative stood out for pairing immediate support with sustained investment.

“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳4𝘈𝘓𝘪𝘮𝘣 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘐𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨-𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺,” said Matamwandi.

He added that this multi-layered approach shows how marketing and corporate social investment can work together to deliver measurable impact and advance inclusion.

Airtel Malawi placed second in the Best Cause-Related Campaign category for Nzeru Connect, which provides free internet connectivity and ICT facilities to schools across Malawi and zero-rates selected educational platforms. Third place went to Ethiopia’s Velocity Marketing for The Hangout, a networking series for business leaders, founders, professionals and creatives.

𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬

• 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧: Nigeria’s Zuri Seasoning, a UAC Foods brand, for its 30 Days of Ramadan Cooking series featuring chefs Uwani and Fatima.

• 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: Tunisia’s Muse Agency for 12 Million Voices, a Carrefour Tunisia campaign that used artificial intelligence to turn supporters’ messages and chants into an original song for the national football team.

• 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧: Angola’s mademarketing for Mercury – Beyond Connection, built around MSTelcom’s transition to the Mercury brand.

• 𝐍𝐨𝐭-𝐟𝐨𝐫-𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭 / 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫: NASENI and AfriLabs for InnovateNaija, a nationwide challenge with a ₦250 million prize pool to identify and support home-grown Nigerian innovations.

• 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦 & 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: Mozambique’s StandUp MÍDIA for Inhambane: A Destination of Excellence, A Future of Opportunities.

AMC Executive Secretary General Irene Gregory said the judging was exceptionally competitive. “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴,” she said.

𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝

The awards formed part of the Africa Commerce Convergence Summit (ACCS), the annual pan-African gathering under which the AMC holds its flagship conference.

Ethiopia was announced as host of the 2027 ACCS in Addis Ababa, expected to attract around 1,200 delegates. The summit will be jointly led by the Ethiopian Marketing Professionals Association, ICT Association Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Logistics and Supply Chain Management Professionals Association. It will also incorporate the Federation of African Creative Economies (FACE), a newly established pan-African body for creative practitioners and businesses.

“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐𝘊𝘛 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺,” said Matamwandi.

Rwanda was announced as host of the 2028 summit, with the AMC’s Committee of Presidents now awarding hosting rights two years in advance to give host countries more time to prepare.

“𝘞𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢,” Matamwandi said.

𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Founded in 2011, the AMC is a pan-African body of marketing professionals working to raise marketing standards across the continent. A collaboration between African national marketing bodies and associations, it fosters the exchange of expertise and promotes the marketing profession.

Ends…