CEO of Access Leo Burnett, Annette Martyres, plays a complimentary role for businesses. Her industry entails the combination of smart strategy and great creative ideas executed beautifully, with an aim of achieving positive results. The latest satisfying thing in her industry is recognition in an international competition that saw them bag medals in October this year.
When the Publicis Africa Group, a network that birthed Access Leo Burnett, upped the ante at the African Cristal Awards by scooping African Network of the Year, the Chief Executive touched the sky. They walked away with 16 medals (including one gold) from 50 pieces shortlisted, a huge improvement from the six medals the group won the previous year.
Ms Martyres is on the driving seat of a Kenyan advertising agency, which serves a wide range of multi-national and local clients across the continent. And that the group company was recognised in an international competition, there is proof of the importance the network is placing on Africa and the opportunities they intend to take full advantage of.
This is coming at a time when African brands are making a marked shift towards being consumer oriented in a bid to increase loyalty.
“The award shows the continued commitment by the Group and the individual agencies to building Africa’s brands through unparalleled understanding of local economic, commercial and consumer landscapes. This has enabled the delivery of dynamic, world-quality solutions for local businesses,” says Martyres.
Access Leo Burnett network agency, one of the pioneers of the country’s advertising industry has recorded much of the business growth since January 2000 when Publicis Africa Group began extending its reach in the continent, including Kenya. With Africa undergoing such tremendous changes and brands increasingly becoming an essential part of the African identity, the African Cristal stands as the first Summit for Media & Communications dedicated to the growth of this sector in the continent.
This is just the beginning of the growth curve for the group, now the fastest growing network of communication agencies in Africa – it is a part of the Publicis Groupe, one of the giant communications holding companies, and consists of companies that specialize in all aspects of the modern communication mix. It encompasses Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis Worldwide, Leo Burnett, Arc, Starcom MediaVest, Zenith Optimedia and DigitasLBi, and serves a wide range of multi-national and local client companies across the continent.
