Changing Face of Marketing in Kenya

Marketing in Kenya has changed a lot since my younger days listening to my dad’s car stereo (not a radio) and borrowing

his newspaper.

Who can forget the following jingles

Jichangamshe na Vicks Triangle,

Kwa ladha ya menthol na pia machungwa

Pika kwa kimbo, pika kwa kimbo, pika kwa kimbo !

ROIKO…niongezee tafadhali…

“Ngumu sana hii.ngumu sana”

“shavashi neeene ta mato ma njogu”

Not forgetting the memorable one liners that still ring in my head today

Pilsner – Bia Imara kama simba

KBL – Brings people together

KBC – ni nusu ya kuanana (???)

Sportsman cigarettes – The true taste of Kenya

Kenya Airways – The pride of Africa

Tusker – Baada ya Kazi…

Life was simple for marketers in Kenya then. All you had to do was have a budget, call the ad agency, create a jingle and

have it on the radio. Kenyans had no choice but to listen to your advert. VOK (Voice of Kenya) was the only way of

communicating with the consumer. Of course newspapers and magazines such as True Love were another channel.

The consumer had no choice but to listen to marketing firm’s offerings. It was good for the marketing company in Kenya,

but it was horrible for the consumer. Every 3 minutes of Sundowner were interrupted by another 3 minutes of jingles from

the advertiser. For the small business that could not afford these marketing fees, life was impossible.

The Birth of Billboard Marketing in Kenya

Of course there was a need to get more eyeballs to the products offered to Kenyans. It wasn’t long that PR companies in

Kenya started offering merchandising as a way to promote businesses. Remember all those beautiful girls who would be

dropped in the City of Nairobi at 6am in the morning with flyers? They are still there.

The question is do flyers really convert? Or are the young girls the lucky ones since they may end up with husbands.

Marketing is all about getting your product seen by the right person. With the escalating costs of radio advertising, TV

advertising, and print advertising, it was becoming more difficult for small businesses to market their products. Most rely

on word of mouth to sell.

Then came the billboard and it took over cities in Kenya. For a monthly fee, one could have a humungous advert that

could be seen from the moon. At rates between 200k to 2million shillings, it is easy to see why only multinationals can

afford this space.

The New Age Consumer

Life was simple for the Kenyan consumer then. Wake up, turn on the radio, listen to a jingle. Buy the newspaper and see

the advert. In the matatu to work, no choice but to stare and the ladies on the billboard. For the marketing company, it

couldn’t get easier. They had the consumer trapped and there was nothing they could do about it.

Flash-forward, 2011 with the age of information dawning in Kenya. I have yet to see my 20 year old brother turn on the

TV or even buy the newspaper. In the year 2012, I have not bought a newspaper nor watched Kenyan TV. With a xbox in

the house, I don’t see my kids watching TV for a long time.

The fact is that the youth demographic in Kenya is turning off the “normal” marketing channels and the older ones are

catching up fast.

So where does the marketing firm go to sell its products. Roadshows seem to be the way out for most companies but do

they really work?

Where is the Kenyan consumer?

They are still around just not using the same media as we did in our days. Facebook, Twitter, mobile, blogs,

forums…..online. The Kenyan consumer has discovered they can get the news they wish, when they wish. Marketers are

discovering that the new age consumer doesn’t like being sold to, they buy what they want, when they want. Interrupting

their chat on Facebook with an Ad is a no go zone. Outbound marketing or interruption marketing is on the way out. With

the slow uptake of pay TV where adverts aren’t even allowed, the search for this demographic is going to get tougher.

This is a great thing for the marketer in Kenya with a small budget. It turns out that you don’t need the million dollar

budget anymore. You need to find out where your target market is hanging out online, and inform them about your idea.

When they need it, they will come to you.

Inbound marketing is in.

How Effective is Inbound Marketing?

The jury on inbound marketing in Kenya is still out there.