On February 9, 2025, I stood at the podium inside the Uganda Communications Commission auditorium to share a message that has never been more urgent: If we do not anchor our media planning on accurate data and shared truth, we will lose the future of advertising in Uganda.
The moment was a significant one the unveiling of findings from the 2024 Establishment Survey led by IPSOS and the National Audience Measurement Survey Technical Research Team (NAMS TRT). What was at stake? Nothing less than the credibility, efficiency, and long- term viability of Uganda’s media ecosystem.
The End of Assumptions
The report's revelations were stark: radio listenership, once nearly ubiquitous at 89% in 2019, now sits at 70%. Television viewership has plateaued and print continues its steady decline. Meanwhile, internet use particularly social media is surging, climbing from 10% in 2019 to 26% in 2024 . But beneath these numbers lies a deeper story.
Audiences are fragmenting. Their behaviors are diverging across regions, ages, income brackets, and platforms. Rural versus urban gaps persist. Young people between 15 and 35 are actively disengaging from legacy media, turning instead to streaming, downloads, YouTube, TikTok, and other algorithm driven ecosystems where traditional ad formats are irrelevant unless deeply tailored.
The Establishment Survey revealed more than metrics it revealed a reckoning. We’ve been planning campaigns on legacy assumptions. Buying media with a foggy compass. The disconnect between what brands believe and where audiences actually are has never been wider.
A Market Without Currency Is a Market Without Trust
This is where the mission of NAMS TRT becomes pivotal. The establishment of a unified media currency a standard measure of audience exposure will stabilize Uganda’s media buying process, making it fairer for advertisers, credible for media owners, and grounded in fact for agencies.
For too long, media buying in Uganda has lacked universally agreed-upon metrics. Rate cards have been set without transparent audience validation. Advertisers have overpaid or misdirected budgets. Agencies have resorted to anecdotal assumptions. Meanwhile, content creators and broadcasters have operated without feedback loops strong enough to shape smarter programming or content investment.
NAMS TRT’s multi stakeholder approach bringing together the Uganda Marketers Society (UMS), Uganda Advertisers Association (UAA), National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), and others is a transformative step. With IPSOS as the technical anchor, and a panel based, 7-day diary methodology validated across global markets, Uganda now has the infrastructure to catch up with, and even leapfrog, the continent’s leading media economies .
From Fragmentation to Precision
As digital media continues its rise, we cannot afford to treat “the internet” as a monolith. We must disaggregate digital into trackable behavioral zones—OTT vs. social, passive vs. participatory, earned vs. paid.
The survey’s granular look at digital consumption is particularly valuable. For instance, streaming video on demand services like Netflix, YouTube, and Showmax are gaining more traction among younger users aged 15–30 in urban areas. Meanwhile, rural populations still rely heavily on flash drives and DVDs, highlighting a multi-speed media landscape that demands contextual nuance in planning .
For planners, this means moving beyond GRPs and demographic targeting to incorporate moment-based media planning buying attention based on behavior, mood, location, and intent. This is how global brands are moving. Uganda must not be left behind.
The New Mandate for Marketers and Agencies
Our industry must act on three imperatives:
- Demand Standardized Measurement
All stakeholders brands, broadcasters, digital platforms, and agencies must align on using the emerging media currency from NAMS TRT. Selective use of data weakens the system. Universal buy in strengthens it. - Elevate Data-Literacy Across Teams
Media planners and marketers must be trained to interpret and act on new insights. As the data gets better, our ability to translate it into intelligent buys must rise in tandem. - Shift Budgets from Nostalgia to Relevance
Loyalty to traditional channels must not override logic. The data is clear—if your target audience has moved to digital platforms, your budget must follow. Emotion cannot replace evidence.
Looking Ahead: A Smarter, Shared Future
What makes this moment special is that the system is finally catching up with the consumer. The convergence of data, collaboration, and leadership gives us an opportunity to build a more efficient and equitable media ecosystem in Uganda.
But data alone won’t solve everything. It needs interpretation. It needs application. It takes courage.
At Ten-X Holdings, we believe this is the golden age of contextual marketing where brands can meet consumers at the speed of culture and the point of relevance. But only if the planners are brave enough to trust the numbers, and the industry mature enough to build a shared truth.
We are proud to be part of this transformation. The future of media planning in Uganda just got a little clearer and it’s digital, dynamic, and data led.
Footnote:
The NAMS TRT was comprehensively represented by seven key industry associations: the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Uganda Media Owners Association (UMOA), Uganda Advertisers Association (UAA), Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU), East Africa Radio Services (EARS), Uganda Marketers Society (UMS), and the Online Media Publishers Association (OMPA). Formed on October 19, 2023, the TRT has since held weekly meetings to collaboratively refine its methodology, sampling framework, and data collection processes—ensuring industry-wide relevance and integrity of the research.