Twaha Kakaire, Founder and Managing Director of CTA Space, the agency affiliated with M&C Saatchi and Abel in Uganda and waiting to take over the MTN Uganda Account
KAMPALA, UGANDA – A local advertising agency, CTA Space, has protested MTN Uganda’s decision to award its marketing contract to Creatabuzz Communications, a subsidiary of TBWA, citing a breach of local content laws.
CTA Space, which partnered with M&C Saatchi Abel to pitch for the MTN account, claims it was unfairly rejected despite meeting the necessary criteria. The agency’s founder, Twaha Kakaire, alleges that MTN Uganda and M&C Saatchi Abel reneged on their commitment to support local talent, instead opting for an established international firm.
“We are reliably informed that M&C Saatchi intends to proceed and formalize this arrangement with the new agent together with MTN Uganda, an action intended to arbitrarily exclude CTA Space Limited, despite M&C Saatchi having communicated the appointment of CTA Space Ltd as its affiliate agency in Uganda after the successful pitch,” Kakaire said.
Nival Maharaj, a new business project director at M&C Saatchi Abel, explained that concerns were raised about CTA Space’s capability to deliver against 360-degree work. “As we have now had the opportunity to engage directly with the MTN OpCo, concerns were raised about the scale of CTA Space and current capability and quality to deliver against 360-degree work,” Maharaj said.
Jacques Burger, CEO of M&C Saatchi Abel, added that the MOU between CTA Space and M&C Saatchi Abel did not guarantee a contract or success. “The MOU doesn’t commit to any obligations from ourselves beyond putting yourselves forward as our affiliate partner in the Uganda market. It does not guarantee a contract or success, nor does it make any financial commitments,” Burger said.
Burger further stated that CTA Space did not contribute to the pitch strategy or creative development. “With regards to the pitch itself, you contributed or delivered no work in terms of strategy or creative development. You submitted a rate card that had to be updated several times due to incorrect information and a credentials document,” he said.
David Case, Founding Partner of TBWA Uganda and majority shareholder of Creatabuzz Communications, was also involved in the decision-making process.
M&C Saatchi Abel’s lawyers stated that the MTN/MCSA contractual ecosystem is designed to conclude agreements directly between local MTN companies and local agencies.
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