Kenya’s pioneering consumer psychologist and marketing maestro, Erick Wilson Wafula, was honored with the coveted Pacesetter International Award as a Pacesetter in Consumer Psychology held on Friday in Nairobi.
The annual Pacesetter International Awards are an industry leadership recognition survey that was founded by Jubilant Stewards of Africa (JSA), a non-governmental organization that honors leaders and innovators in various fields in sub-Saharan Africa who have demonstrated extraordinary dedication to advancing their industries.
This year, Wafula was honored for his groundbreaking use of consumer psychology in the marketing industry.
He has been at the forefront of understanding consumer behavior in today’s fast evolving digital environment, promoting efficient marketing techniques, and impacting how businesses engage with their customers.
He has been in charge of Ringier enterprises’ marketing campaigns in Africa since 2019. Ringier, a Swiss company, with operations in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
He has led marketing initiatives for a number of Kenyan Ringier businesses, including top real estate portal BuyRentKenya, top classifieds marketplace Pigiame, top autos marketplace Cheki, and leading employment and recruiting organization BrighterMonday.
He has also overseen marketing for Ringier brands outside of Kenya in Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Senegal, where he has deployed unique techniques that align with local consumer behavior to produce outstanding results.
Before joining Ringier, he was Head of Digital Marketing and Advertising at The Advertising Company, a Nairobi-based marketing agency.
There, he created and implemented digital marketing strategies for companies such as Heineken East Africa, Toyota Kenya, AIG Insurance, and The Nairobi Hospital.
“I am incredibly honored to receive this recognition. This acknowledgement demonstrates how crucial it is to comprehend customer behavior in the modern business climate.” Nairobi Wafula
He added that he was happy that psychology is becoming more widely accepted in Kenya, where it is no longer only used in the traditional mental and health domains with which Kenyans have associated it.
“Psychology is beginning to be applied in education and business. Some markets, like North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia, are way ahead of us in using psychology in business and commerce,” explained Wafula.
He cited the use of neuromarketing, which helped these markets develop products, features, and marketing campaigns that are more appealing to the human brain.
“We need to catch up to compete with them. We have a long way to go, but we shall catch up,” said the award-winning guru.
Wafula’s wife, Lilian Mumbi, a tax specialist and counseling psychologist, remarked:
“The psychology fraternity as a whole and our family both profit from this. We never would have imagined that psychology would be accepted and applied in many other professions.”
