Nigerian Breweries, Carex, Insight Publicis, Others Shine at 2025 Nigerian Marketing Awards
By Azeez Disu
The memories, excitement, and electrifying moments will forever linger on as the Nigerian marketing industry gathered on Saturday, 15 November 2025, at The Jewel Aeida, Lekki, for the highly anticipated fourth edition of the Nigerian Marketing Awards® (NMA). Under the theme, “Driving Impact, Inspiring Change,” the ceremony celebrated brands and professionals who demonstrated exceptional creativity, integrity, and resilience amidst challenging economic times.
Nigerian Breweries Plc secured the prestigious award for Marketing Company of the Year 2025, while Insight Publicis clinched the Advertising Agency of the Year 2025 title and also won Best Alcoholic Brand of the Year 2025 for their work with Heineken. Carex (PZ Cussons) was recognised as Brand of the Year 2025 and won the award for Best Rebrand of the Year 2025.
Integrity: The North Star of the Awards
The Founder, Nigerian Marketing Awards®, Tony Agenmonmen, used his welcome address to reiterate the founding principles of the awards, stressing that the platform chose “the road less travelled by,” favouring conviction over convenience and integrity over compromise.
Mr Agenmonmen firmly addressed persistent inquiries about the transparency of the process, stating: “At the Nigerian Marketing Awards®, awards are not for sale, not for purchase, not for influence”. He insisted that this principle, which he described as their “North Star,” applies equally to competitive and honorary categories, noting that once integrity is compromised, “recognition becomes meaningless”.
Defining the core mission, he explained that the theme “Driving Impact, Inspiring Change” captures the mission’s “heartbeat”. He clarified that the true power of marketing is rooted in purpose, asserting: “Impact is when your work moves markets. Change is when your work moves minds”.
Navigating Slump with Innovation
The Chairperson, Award Decision Council, Nigeria Marketing Awards, 2025, Iquo Ukoh, shed light on the rigorous judging process, confirming that the Council approached its task with “the utmost integrity and professionalism”. She also commended the dedication of the 11 jurors and noted that their diverse expertise ensured that every entry was assessed fairly, with members recusing themselves when conflicts of interest arose.
A significant trend observed in this year’s submissions was “the challenge posed by the slump in consumer demand for goods and services”. Ms Ukoh praised the resilience of the industry, stating that many brands employed “innovative and creative strategies to sustain demand, balancing the long-term goal of maintaining mental availability with the short-term need to drive sales and ensure business survival”.
Looking ahead, the Chairperson expressed excitement for the future of the industry, particularly how it will continue to evolve, “using AI and other tech enablers to accelerate businesses”.
The Quiet Power of the Whisper
The keynote address was delivered by Steve Babaeko, the Group CEO/Chief Creative Officer of X3M Ideas. His speech, titled “The Quiet Power of Purpose and Aṣẹ,” challenged the modern tendency to reward noise.
Babaeko argued that while the world often encourages shouting to be heard, history shows that the greatest transformations begin quietly, comparing it to the seed that becomes the Iroko tree. He shared that when he founded X3M Ideas thirteen years ago, the resources were scarce, yet “the whisper said: Build. Trust. Create. The world will catch up”.
Reflecting on clarity and conviction, the keynote speaker emphasised that “The whisper does not promise certainty. It promises clarity of purpose”. He called for renewed confidence in Nigeria’s narrative, asserting: “We do not need to shout to prove who we are. We need to know who we are”.
He added, “Nigeria is not short of talent. Africa is not short of brilliance. What we need is a renewed confidence in our own narrative. The whisper speaking to our generation is clear: we must tell our own stories, build our own institutions, defend our cultural identity, and shape the world on our own terms.”
He concluded with a powerful blessing for the industry: “May our lives, our work, and may our generation move mountains. (àṣẹ)”.
Significantly, Mr Babaeko’s agency, X3M IDEAS, also took home the award for Best Use of Social Media 2025.
The Roll of Honour: Celebrating Excellence
The full list of winners who demonstrated impact and inspired change across various categories includes:
- Advertising Agency of the Year 2025: Insight Publicis
- Brand Innovation of the Year 2025: Lafarge Africa (Ecoplanet)
- Best Alcoholic Brand of the Year 2025: Insight Publicis (Heineken)
- Best Dairy Brand of the Year 2025: Cowbell (Promasidor)
- Best Influencer Marketing of the Year 2025: Crown Flour Mill
- Best Rebrand of the Year 2025: Carex – PZ Cussons
- Best Social Responsibility Campaign 2025: Stanbic IBTC Holdings
- Best Sustainability Marketing 2025: Red Media Africa
- Best Use of AI in Marketing 2025: Dufil Prima Foods
- Best Use of Social Media 2025: X3M IDEAS
- Best Use of Social Media in Foods & Beverage 2025: CWAY
- Brand Manager of the Year 2025: Omotooke Adebayo
- Brand of the Year 2025: Carex
- Campaign of the Year 2025: Durex – Reckitt
- Excellence in Experiential Marketing 2025: Life Continental Beer
- Experiential Agency of the Year 2025: EXP Marketing Nigeria
- Financial Institution of the Year 2025: Stanbic IBTC Holdings
- Marketing Journalist of the Year 2025: Abimbola Mohammed
- Marketing Student of the Year 2025: Omolola Oladeji
- PR Agency of the Year 2025: Creo
- Rising Star of Marketing 2025: Peter James
- Marketing Company of the Year 2025: Nigerian Breweries Plc
To all the winners, Ms Ukoh offered a final tribute: “Your hard work and brilliance have earned you this recognition, and we hope it serves as both an honor and an inspiration for even greater success”.