Kampala — Marketing leaders at the 1st Annual Digital Marketers Roundtable in Kampala have called for a major shift from siloed campaign planning to fully integrated, customer-centric marketing strategies that align digital and traditional channels around business outcomes.
The discussion, held at The Bight of Benin in Nakasero, brought together key industry figures including John Ssenkeezi, President of the Uganda Digital Society, Charity Kamusiime Asiimwe, President of the Uganda Marketers Society, and Rommel Jasi, Chairperson of the Uganda Advertising Association.
A central concern raised across the panel was that many organisations are still failing to apply integrated marketing thinking when developing briefs and executing campaigns.
Rommel Jasi said that while agencies increasingly receive briefs from different departments, true integration remains rare.
“Speaking honestly, many briefs are still not reflecting integrated marketing thinking… Very few truly reflect integrated thinking,” he said.
He explained that the industry is still structured in silos, with separate teams handling digital, traditional media, and creative functions — often without a shared business objective.
“A good integrated marketing brief should start with a clear business outcome… then a clear customer journey map… and finally measurable KPIs,” Jasi noted.
He added that the strongest performing organisations are those that bring cross-functional teams together early, often including CEOs and CFOs in the briefing process.
“When leadership is involved early, it becomes easier for marketers to propose integrated solutions that get support,” he said.
Shift from channels to customer journeys
John Ssenkeezi emphasized that the real transformation challenge is not with customers, but with organisations that still plan campaigns around channels instead of consumer behaviour.
“The digital gap is now more on the organisational side than on the customer side,” Ssenkeezi said.
He stressed that modern marketing must be built around non-linear customer journeys rather than traditional funnels or isolated media plans.
“We design a customer journey that is integrated… The marketing funnel has evolved into a customer experience loop,” he said.
Ssenkeezi warned that many campaigns fail not because they lack visibility, but because the customer journey breaks down after initial engagement.
“A billboard may create awareness, but if there is no relevant landing page, the journey ends there. You lose the customer.”
He also pushed for stronger focus on owned media and first-party data.
“In conclusion, shared media is rented space, while owned media is your asset,” he said.
“Digital is not just social media”
Kamusiime Asiimwe challenged the growing assumption that digital marketing is synonymous with social media marketing, warning that many brands are adopting digital tools without clear strategy.
“My concern is that brands are choosing digital over strategy and over understanding their audiences,” she said.
She added that many organisations fail to define what success looks like before investing in digital platforms.
“Strategy must come before budget allocation… Do we know what we want to achieve? Do we know who we are targeting?”
Kamusiime also highlighted the importance of combining digital efforts with offline realities, especially in a market where many consumers still rely heavily on traditional media and physical access points.
“Radio may deliver awareness, digital may deliver engagement, but success is only real when it converts into business impact,” she said.
Industry consensus: integration is the future
Despite different perspectives, the panel agreed on one central theme: effective marketing in Uganda requires integration across channels, data systems, and organisational structures.
Rommel Jasi summed up the shift by stressing that marketing is no longer about isolated campaigns but long-term brand and business impact.
“Integrated marketing is not a trend — it is a discipline,” he said.
The discussion also underscored the growing importance of data science, attribution modelling, and experimentation in proving marketing effectiveness, with speakers urging brands to move beyond vanity metrics toward measurable business outcomes.
