Tag Archives: Institute of Marketing in Malawi (IMM)

Business

MAGLA supports IMM annual conference with MK20 million

MaraviPost

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The Malawi Gaming and Lotteries Authority (MAGLA) has given K20 million to the Institute of Marketing in Malawi (IMM) in support of their upcoming annual conference scheduled for October 23 to 26 in Salima.

Speaking during the cheque presentation ceremony in Blantyre on Friday, MAGLA Director General, Rachel Mijiga, said the partnership was a natural fit, aligning with the authority’s second mandate of promoting tourism and marketing Malawi as a destination of choice.

“As the Malawi Gaming and Lotteries Authority, we are proud to partner with the Institute of Marketing in Malawi for this year’s conference. One of our key mandates, beyond regulation, is the promotion of tourism—promoting and marketing Malawi as a destination of choice,” said Mijiga.

She emphasised that the conference, which is attracting strong participation from across the SADC region, presents a significant opportunity for ‘Brand Malawi’ to be marketed beyond its borders.

“This is an opportunity to position the country as the ‘Warm Heart of Africa’ and a hub for culture, nature, and investment opportunities. Marketers have a central role in shaping perceptions about Malawi both locally and globally, and IMM is the perfect institution to lead in telling Malawi’s story and showcasing its natural wealth,” said Mijiga.

IMM Vice President Twikale Chirwa hailed MAGLA for the timely gesture, saying it not only supports the conference but also reflects on its commitment to advancing Malawi’s identity and the marketing profession.

“This year’s conference will take place under the theme, ‘In the Face of Disruption: Be Bold, Be Different, Be Remarkable.’ It is a bold and unique call to action for marketers to rethink their strategies, challenge convention, and seize new opportunities,” said Chirwa.

He highlighted MAGLA’s sponsorship of the new segment, ‘Showcasing Malawi’s Charm’.

The segment, is a panel discussion designed to explore how Malawi’s beauty, talents, and cultural richness can be harnessed to provide solutions for national development and to position the country both regionally and globally.

“IMM’s mandate is to place marketers in positions of influence, enabling them to create narratives and design experiences that elevate Malawi’s brand. By being bold, different, and remarkable, we can reposition Malawi not just as the Warm Heart of Africa but as a country with unmatched charm, talent, and opportunities. Your support, MAGLA, strengthens this vision,” said Chirwa.

Business

IMM launches first-ever Superbrand Awards to recognize Malawi’s leading brands

Shaffie A Mtambo

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The Institute of Marketing in Malawi (IMM) has officially launched the Superbrand Awards a first of its kind, research-based awards program aimed at recognizing outstanding brands in Malawi that consistently outperform their competitors across various sectors.

The grand launch took place on Friday in Blantyre, attracting a cross-section of professionals from marketing, research, business, and media sectors.

Speaking during the launch, IMM President George Damson said the Superbrand Awards mark a significant departure from the traditional awards the Institute has presented in the past during its annual conferences.

“This awards process is entirely research based. Unlike our regular awards that are category based and rely on company submissions and a panel of judges, the Superbrand Awards rely on consumer feedback,” Damson said.

“This gives us deeper insight into how Malawians perceive the brands they use daily from the quality of service to customer satisfaction and overall relevance in their lives,” he added.

He further explained that the Superbrand Awards would involve a multi-sectoral panel drawn from reputable professional bodies including banking, insurance, engineering, retail, and more ensuring fairness and objectivity in recognizing Malawi’s most trusted and impactful brands.

Garaciano Bwanali, Head of Projects and Lead Consultant for Impact Research Center , the official research partner for the IMM Superbrand Awards emphasized the importance of credibility and methodology behind the awards process.

“As Impact Research, we were engaged to ensure scientific integrity in the data used to identify and reward Malawi’s top-performing brands,” said Bwanali.

“We have seen too many awards in this country lacking credibility organized by unknown individuals or entities with questionable standards. The Superbrand Awards are here to change that,”he added.

According to Bwanali, the research was conducted in phases, starting with consumer interviews across urban, peri-urban, and rural areas in both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) segments.

The first phase focused on top-of-mind brand awareness collecting unprompted responses from consumers to identify which brands naturally come to mind first.

“We analyzed responses and shortlisted around 200 brands that scored highest in top of mind awareness. In the next phase, we are going back to the consumers to assess satisfaction levels for these brands — how happy they are with the services or products,” he explained.

The comprehensive research approach is expected to boost the credibility and prestige of the awards, setting a new benchmark for brand recognition in Malawi.

Business

Airtel Malawi pumps in MK12 million towards Annual Marketers Conference

Maravi Post Reporter

By Chris Loka

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s leading mobile provider, Airtel Malawi has pumped in MK12 million towards Institute of Marketing in Malawi (IMM) Annual Conference scheduled to take place from October 26 to 29, 2022 at Sunbird Livingstonia in Salima.

The conference has been organized under the theme “From surviving to thriving: Scaling towards excellence’ and will attract both local and international speakers.”

Norah handing over the dummy cheque (from right)

Speaking during the Cheque presentation, Institute of Marketing in Malawi President Isabel Kachinjika thanked Airtel Malawi for the support saying the sponsorship will be channeled towards marketing excellence awards aimed at recognizing extraordinarily marketers in the country.

“We are very excited that Airtel has come in to sponsor this year’s marketing excellence awards. The excellence awards are an integral part of the event because this is where we recognize individuals and companies for the work they have done throughout the year.

Some of the categories on the award list include Marketing personalities, Public Relations Personalities, Sales Personalities and organization based awards among others.

Kachinjika said the event will be classy and is set to be very enlightening and enriching from an individual as well as corporate point of view saying they are looking at building individuals and the companies that they are coming from.

However, Airtel Malawi plc Head of Brands, Public Relations and Corporate Social responsibility Norah Chavula Chirwa said they have sponsored the event as part of Airtel’s  continued corporate social responsibility.

Chirwa said the awards are in line with what Airtel does which is celebrating excellence and they are very excited to sponsor the whole category to motivate marketers to work extra hard in their marketing adventures.

“Airtel Malawi is a brand that strives for excellence and we thought the awards are aligned to what we do in celebrating excellence. This is a very good platform to celebrating other entities, other corporates and other marketing professionals that are doing amazing things,” she said