The organisers of the Pitcher Awards have announced the opening of entries for the 2020 awards. Entries are open to campaigns created or implemented in any of the 54 African countries.
Nnamdi Ndu, Chief Executive Officer of CHINI Africa, Cannes Lions official festival representatives in Nigeria and organisers of Pitcher Awards said “2020 is a very important year for Africa. We have seen awareness grow about the need for Africans to come together and take their destinies into their own hands. We have seen Africans speak against xenophobia in one voice. We have seen the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. 2020 is the year when we will begin to see the practical implications of all these developments and Pitcher Awards is to lead in this new charge by celebrating and showcasing the creativity of Africa to the world”.
The organisers of Pitcher Awards have also named Pitcher Awards Channel Jury President as Emeka Okeke, Founder, Group Chief Executive Officer of Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network Holding Company Limited and Director of Dentsu Aegis Network Ghana. Emeka is responsible for the development of Dentsu Aegis Network's global and local service brands in Nigeria.
With over twenty-seven years’ experience spanning across the Print Media, full service creative and media agencies notably in Nigeria and Ghana; Emeka launched Ghana's first Media Independent Agency Network – Premier MediaCompany Ghana in 1999 (now Vizeum Ghana, a division of Dentsu Aegis Network Ghana) to pioneer the development of professional media planning and communications practice in that part of Africa.
In 2014 Emeka led Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network to winning the Fastest Growing Agency Network Award at the 2014 Marketing World Awards and won for himself the Media Entrepreneur of the Year award at the same event. In 2017, Emeka earned the Outstanding Leadership Award in Advertising at the 2nd Edition of DAAR Awards for his contribution to modern advertising practice in Nigeria and in 2018, received Advertising Professional of the Year in West Africa in Ghana from Marketing World Awards 2018 as well as Outstanding Media Advertising Leadership Award from Marketing Edge.
A Fellow of National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria and a member of different industry professional bodies, Emeka plays leadership roles in Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria, where he is an ex-officio member of the body's executive committee.
Emeka’s professional work life has taken him to many global communication networks and afforded him the opportunity to be in a position to support clients from different product and service categories spanning across conventional media communications, digital marketing and communication strategy in today's dynamic media landscape and evolving global digital economy.
Notably, Emeka is an Alumni of University of Nigeria Nsukka, Lagos Business School and IESE University, Barcelona, Spain, to mention a few tertiary institutions that contributed in shaping his career in marketing communications.
The Channel jury will judge entries for Use of Media, Use of Data, Use of Insights and Strategy, PR and Reputation Management and Integrated Campaigns. To enter or learn more about Pitcher Awards click here.