Swangz Avenue emerged as the biggest winner at this year’s Silverback Awards, following the success of its work on Kiira Motors’ Business Unusual campaign, which secured the highest number of awards at the ceremony.
The Quollective Africa which developed the campaign strategy, also received the Agency of the Year award for its contribution to the project. The recognition follows the campaign’s shortlisting at the Loeries Awards in South Africa and adds to TheQuollective’s growing profile as one of Africa’s leading independent creative agencies, ranked ninth on the continent.
The Business Unusual campaign was developed to address a major challenge facing Kiira Motors: building public confidence in Uganda’s ability to manufacture an electric bus capable of competing in the African market.
Rather than organise a conventional product launch, the campaign took the Kayoola EV on a regional road expedition from Kampala to Cape Town and back, covering 13,784 kilometres across six countries.
The journey was designed to give the public an opportunity to experience the bus firsthand. At major stops, people boarded the vehicle, took test drives and witnessed its performance under real operating conditions. Transport industry leaders also got behind the wheel, while four content creators documented the expedition and shared its progress with wider audiences.
The campaign reportedly reached 10.9 million people and helped secure an order for 450 buses, the largest in Kiira Motors’ history.
The results highlighted the campaign’s ability to combine public engagement, brand visibility and commercial outcomes, turning the promotion of a locally manufactured electric bus into a regional storytelling experience.
While TheQuollective was responsible for the campaign strategy, Swangz Avenue led its execution and production, coordinating the logistics, content creation and public experiences across the six-country route.
Commenting on the campaign’s significance, Swangz Avenue co-founder Benon Mugumbya said the objective was to demonstrate Uganda’s technological capabilities through a real-life experience.
“This was never about making a bus look good for a day. It was about creating a moment that allowed people to see what Uganda has built and make up their own minds. The journey did not just tell people that the bus was real. It gave them proof,” Mugumbya said.
The recognition at the Silverback Awards underscores the growing influence of experiential marketing and creative storytelling in positioning Ugandan brands, products and innovations for regional and international audiences.
