The MRKTing Alchemist

I'm a dedicated partner in the exciting journey of exponentially transforming businesses. I work hand in hand with founders and business leaders to co-create tailored marketing solutions that will not only supercharge their business growth, but also position them prominently in the eyes of investors, and establish their authority as thought leaders in their industries. From a practical standpoint, I align internal processes, building and fostering robust and nimble marketing processes that seamlessly integrate with other critical business functions like product, finance, legal, and supply chain management. 

With a wealth of global experience spanning diverse industries, I bring a proven track record in marketing, with a special emphasis on the digital realm, to drive revenue growth, data-driven decision-making, brand enhancement, stakeholder engagement, adept cross-functional team leadership, marketing AI optimization, automation integration, and crafting of exceptional customer experiences. The result is empowered businesses that soar to unprecedented heights.

Principal Alchemist, Fractional CMO

HARAMBEE CENTRE INC

Support Harambee Centre's projects to provide education, healthcare, foster community engagement, and render services that improve lives in rural Eastern Africa. Fundraise and educate Pacific North-westerners about Africa, and pull together Pacific Northwest and East African communities. Support communication initiatives to create online communities for volunteers and other stakeholder interested in the projects

Board Member

World Vision

Boosted revenue generation by leading the acceleration of the organisation’s global digital acquisition strategy and embedding it in the overall campaign go-to-market strategy:

Increased revenue and maximised media efficiency by deploying product, brand, and always on global campaigns and strategy, producing cut-through creative, developing zero-click social assets, engaging influencers and content creators, and deploying updated ad formats

Maximised ROI on media spend by refining audience segmentation and customer journeys across the funnel, applying ‘next best action planning framework’ in campaign design to drive desired actions, and increased ad inventory by expanding the pool of media publishers

Scaled up campaign acquisition volumes as high as 4x YoY in individual markets by embedding brilliant basics in playbooks, establishing a culture of data-driven decisioning, and delivering market specific media reviews

Enhanced cross-functional and cross-market collaboration to elevate group effectiveness in tackling organisational challenges by fostering buy-in and relationships with internal and external stakeholders

Embedded an organisation-wide test and learn process by establishing an Innovation Sprint framework around media strategy, channel effectiveness, creative format and design, all with common KPIs, then built a socialisation strategy to quickly share learnings across markets

Scaled up volumes of leads generated through digital lead magnet optimisation. Raised conversion rates by disseminating learnings, and communicating agency partners and publishers insights across markets

Secured dedicated white glove account servicing from publishers like TikTok, Meta and Google to provide troubleshooting help, train on new strategies and ad formats, and consult on media plans 

Expanded global team’s capacity to serve markets by sourcing agency partners to fill in resource and expertise gaps, leveraged global footprint to negotiate preferential service and rates

Global Director, Digital Marketing Acquisition

Standard Chartered Bank

Drove revenue generation and engagement across the Africa Middle East cluster through providing transformational leadership for the bank’s strategic digital marketing initiatives:

Elevated the team's expertise and effectiveness by embedding cohesive common digital strategy, and up-skilling staff through trainings and talent exchanges

Optimised ROI on campaign and always on media spend by leveraging paid and organic channels in concert to drive conversion. Used data and market insights and trends to make decisions on dollar allocation and drive target audience action 

Delivered differentiated product and brand campaigns for district audience segments, working with business functions as the ‘voice of the customer’ to ensure that products truly served customer needs. Key products included digital bank accounts, wealth, insurance, Investment, referral, and loyalty programs

Positioned the bank as a thought leader by deploying a content strategy which activated key Executive Staff, subject matter experts, highlighted bank sustainability and CSR initiatives, engaged content creators and bloggers, and seeded content across different owned and earned channels

Launched ‘Women in Tech’, an annual incubation initiative for grassroots female-led businesses, shepherding over 40 teams through the program over a 4 yer period. Recruited partners, worked with the credit team to build a low cost loan offering, and onboarded over 10 other markets to the program

Established and streamlined operational processes, brand guidelines, governance, risk frameworks covering vendors and agencies, budgeting, reporting, analysis, and innovation processes

Director of Digital Marketing, Africa and Middle East

Airtel Africa

Provided strategic leadership and guidance on brand and marketing activities for Airtel operations across 17 Anglophone and Francophone countries:

Executed organisational rebrand across Africa by producing the campaign shoot and execution playbook 
Gained stakeholder buy-in on the new direction, secured budget for the production of the new look and feel across all channels, educated Marketing staff on the new brand guidelines

Produced campaign creative and deployed through-the-line media strategy, thematic, product, music, sports, and brand campaigns with assets to be executed in-market. Responsible for centrally delivering regionally relevant creative assets, television commercials, video for digital, and radio spots

Boosted brand engagement across the continent by managing influencer activation of football legend Yaya Toure and other in-country artists. Managed the Pan-African properties Airtel Rising Stars, a youth football tournament, and Airtel Trace Music Stars, the largest African musical talent show, which was judged by a celebrity panel including Akon, Devine, and Linsha

Ensured exemplary service delivery through the administrative management of agencies, media buyers, publishing houses and others, working closely with Supply Chain and Legal to facilitate market specific negotiations and contract sign off.  Sourced the best vendors and agency partners by running RFP processes and setting service delivery benchmarks 

Increased customer uptake and loyalty by working across internal business functions to design customer-centred strategies and offerings 

Cultivated relationships with partners and stakeholders such as Google to generate opportunities for co-branded projects and initiatives

Managed a multi-million dollar budget for media and marketing activities across the continent

Fostered brand health by monitoring brand tracking, brand engagement and reach across all Airtel territories

Senior Brand Manager, Execution and Strategy

EVAS Digital

Digital Manager

Digital District

Educated and connected digital practitioners, tech innovators, social media experts, and other interested professionals through organising keynotes, panels, and networking events

Promoted digital media literacy and standards based technologies; championed ethical behaviour in digital media; and shared collective knowledge, best practices and insights through a variety of forums

Sourced keynote speakers, solicited venue donation, and formed sponsoring partnerships with digital and tech organisations around the DC metro area and beyond

Board Member Director, Events Committee

Independent Consultant

Worked with individuals, start-ups and corporations to develop, deploy and manage strategic programs, projects and social media campaigns:

Boosted program and campaign effectiveness by analysing data and research to clarify goals, metrics and outcomes and develop strategy to achieve desired results 

Increased staff capacity and skill by writing unique content for training, delivering educational marketing sessions, building curriculum, reporting, promotional and branding purposes

Generated awareness and engagement by building custom websites and blogs.  Deployed social media community strategy and producing engaging social content in a voice and tone that reflected and amplified their identity and values

Expanded client's reach and capacity by identifying, cultivating, and sustaining strategic partners, relationships and networks. Worked with clients to develop and hone their online voice and identity. 

Built engagement by delivering corporate conferences and bespoke events, coordinating post-event follow-up activities to achieve desired outcomes

Programs and Digital Media Strategy Consultant

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

Increased the depth and diversity of relationships between NBPTS and stakeholders through delivering and managed a range of initiatives aimed at creating engagement and referral

Amplified the organisation's digital ‘voice’ by developing social media strategies, campaigns and policy

Introduced and implemented a new digital strategy by creating and curating digital content, oversaw daily website management and coordinated a website redesign; e-newsletter editorial plan, blogger and in-person outreach programs

Maximised program impact by monitoring data and analytics to evaluate and adjust strategies as needed

External Relations Manager

Streamlined organisational processes in the management of multiple private and federally funded recruitment projects across the US and internationally

Organised administrative functions around budgeting, timeline management, acquiring and deploying resources and technology

Facilitated stakeholder collaboration and management, advising leadership on strategy, establishing and fostering stakeholder relationships, cultivating partners from diverse communities, and high need geographies

Mobilised partners to work together to  achieve organisational goals, coordinating the efforts of internal working teams, vendors, consultants and external stakeholders 

Maintaining quality control throughout the project life cycle by directing creative and technical staff on building custom program interfaces

Project Manager, Program Access and Equity

Streamlined and increased capacity of program structures for recruitment, candidate support and leadership development projects across the US enhancing communication and program effectiveness

Aligned activities with legal and Federal guidelines, budget monitoring and reporting for a variety of donors

Facilitated consultants management and training; event management; research and data collection and analysis; sourced digital tools for project management, trained resources on new technology, building online communities, and utilising collaboration tools.

Program Associate, Program Access and Equity

Supported the Mobilisation and Outreach Team in the areas of public awareness, teacher recruitment, and candidate support

Expanded administrative  capacity in research and data collection, budget tracking, report writing, production of publications, implementation of new technology, event/meeting planning, and overall team coordination.

Program Specialist, Mobilisation and Outreach 

The Harambee Centre

Recruited volunteers, raised awareness, and generated funds for programs in Africa. Delivered educational programming for individuals, groups and school wanting to learn more about Africa.

Raised funds by writing grants and producing informational material

Development Consultant, Educator and Performer

Meet Sarah Oyungu, the MRKTing Alchemist! This marketing maverick has worked her magic across the globe and in diverse industries to achieve organizational objectives. Now she uses her powers to work with founders and owners, unleashing their genius ideas into the world. By understanding their unique value proposition and audiences, she crafts sparkling marketing and digital strategies that boost revenue and position brands as industry giants. Committed to doing her part to build a better world, she's a passionate advocate for female empowerment and dedicated to helping vulnerable communities.

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