At the just-ended Uganda Creative and Media Awards (Silverback Awards), Eric who works for TBWA\Uganda scooped the Best Creative Director award for displaying “creative genius behind the most unique pieces of creativity delivering the key brand messages in the most ingenious way”. He also took home the Best Copywriter award, again for being “the most creative, influential, self-driven, and prominent copywriter”. That’s not all. Most of his works or works that he was part of, also helped TBWA to win the Agency of the Year, Brand of the Year, Campaign of the Year and Best TV Ad of the Year awards. CEO East Africa Magazine’s Muhereza Kyamutetera, tracked him down, for some insights into his creative world.
Many people know you as the creative maverick. But beyond your job, who is Eric Mununuzi- in real life?
I love rock music and I get a kick out of learning new things especially if they lie beyond the grasp of normal. I guess this explains my adoration for space movies.
And who is Eric Mununuzi -the professional?
I don’t like doing ads. I like telling stories, having conversations, and making people laugh and feel. That’s what living is about, after all, and everyone likes to live. I tend not to dwell on our agency wins today because a win now is only the beginning for me. The question in my mind is always, “Can you do better than that?” So I like to spend more time listening, watching and learning from others. You can never get comfortable.
Does Eric the person and Eric the professional always agree with each other?
Yes, they do. An important part of the job is to exploit the intersections between your private and professional lives. That’s how you enjoy what you do and do it well – because you’re not just working, you’re being you. That’s why we tend to team up our people at TBWA with tasks that are more in tune with their passions. Professional me and private me both believe in never getting comfortable with today’s wins and we both don’t like normal stuff. It’s boring.
What is your background and how did you come to join the industry?
Interestingly, I didn’t plan to join the industry. I just liked telling stories, especially silly ones. So right after campus, I opened a blog and started writing. The blog quickly grew in traffic and before long, one of my avid readers recommended me to Adris Kamuli, then Creative Director at MAAD Advertising (now MAAD McCANN). Adris took a chance on me and hired me as a copywriter. It was quite an intimidating start especially since I was tasked to write for Warid Telecom. This was a big media spender and if your ad wasn’t good, it was broadcast to the whole country for people to jeer and laugh at you. But I’m glad I had Adris and my partner in crime Emuron Alemu to guide me through the trenches.
Prior to TBWA\Uganda, what other roles have you had before in the industry?
I’ve been around a bit. I’ve worked with MAAD and Scanad Uganda as a copywriter, then I moved to QG Group (previously QG Saatchi & Saatchi) where I was Head of Creative, and then to TBWA\Uganda where I’m Creative Director.
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People out there wonder what it takes to be a Creative/Ad Man. Is this something you really wanted to do when you were young?
It’s all in the name – being a ‘creative’. Ugandans are massively creative people so we have a lot of talent in this market. It’s about how you hone your creativity. Being creative is only the beginning, how you use your creativity to sell is where the real work comes in. Your creativity cannot simply be for creativity’s sake. It needs to be able to use good market insights to land what you’re trying to sell. Just understand what you’re selling and understand whom you’re selling it to. But it’s not a one-day game. It takes practice and a hunger to learn. Oh, and thick skin because many of your ideas will be trashed and challenged so much that you’ll start to doubt yourself. But it’s all part of the learning process. At the most basic level, anyone can join the industry as a creative through one of two crafts – you’re either a writer or a graphic designer.
If you were not in the creative industry, where else would you rather be or would have been?
This is one of the very few industries where you can walk into a serious meeting in jeans and a t-shirt. So it’s hard to want to be anywhere else. But if I wasn’t in this industry, I’d probably be making movies. And if I were to totally transform, I’d be a globetrotting rock musician. That’s my first love.
About the creative process, is there some process involved in generating the ideas and bringing them to life or do ideas just fall from heaven like manna?
It’s a bit of both. Some of the best creatives usually never switch off. As long as you haven’t solved a certain business or brand problem, you’re always thinking about it somehow. So ideas can come to you from anywhere – while out having a drink or scrolling on TikTok or even sitting on the toilet. But it starts with a guiding process. The client shares a brief detailing what they want to achieve, you meet as a team to brainstorm and bounce thoughts off each other, and sometimes you crack it there. But many times you carry on thinking about better ideas and ways to improve the ideas. Also, it’s never just about the idea; it’s about how you bring the idea to life. You can crack a good idea and it ends up sucking just because you didn’t execute it right.
About winning the Creative Director accolade, what does it mean for you? For TBWA\Uganda?
It’s exciting but also humbling. Every accolade sets a new bar. So for us, it simply means that our work can never go below that bar again. Every win gives us the confidence that we’re doing something right and the satisfaction that our clients are indeed the right partners. But it also challenges us to keep the momentum and work our way up. The sky is not the limit – literally. There are gazillions of awe-inspiring stars above the sky waiting to be explored. Here I go talking about space movies now. You should watch Interstellar, by the way. Brilliant piece of work.