Advertising: How Is It Done, Exactly?
I was hanging out on Twitter the other day and I came across this Kenyan lady who worked at Ogilvy East Africa and I’m always interested in talking to people who work in the advertising business because I think the process of trying to figure out what will appeal to people seems to be both intriguing and exciting.
I know personally (for myself) that branding has had an impact on what I buy. For example, is there really a difference between a Nike sneaker and a Champion sneaker? They’re probably both made in the same factory in China, using the same kinds of materials, but because of Nike’s extensive advertising and branding campaign, I for many years believed that their sneakers were indeed the best. Why? Because I saw all these great athletes endorse their sneakers and I thought to myself, well… if these millionaire athletes are wearing Nike sneakers, hats and sweat-shirts, then by golly!…that must be some good, quality stuff and because I wanna be like Mike…I’m going to get myself a pair of those “cool” Nike sneakers. In other words, I bought their jive.
So, anyway, I decided to ask this lady (who is a director at Ogilvy East Africa) a few questions about advertising in general and more particularly, how it works in the Kenyan market.
Ogilvy East Africa is the holding company for four agencies: Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, BluePrint Marketing, Ogilvy Public Relations and Mindshare. As the Group Planning Director, I oversee the planning or strategy department, a shared resource department for the four companies. Planning or Strategy as others call it includes overseeing the business strategy for the organization, brand and communication strategies for the clients. Other roles that you may find covered in my portfolio include managing concessions (in charge of the selling airport media), knowledge management and strategic enhancement of existing businesses.
2) When a company approaches you to help them with the planning of an advertising campaign, how do you begin the process of planning a strategy to address their goals?
The planning or strategy delivery process covers but is not limited to the following:
3) Tell me about the advertising industry in East Africa:
Radio has the highest penetration in Kenya. At least every household in the country has a radio and there are increased avenues such as the mobile phones. The radio has 94% reach. This is where at least people above the age of 15 years consume radio. Mushrooming of vernacular stations has also increased the penetration and frequency of Radio usage to promote brands. This is because Kenyans still value their tribal languages and relate to the messages at a deeper level. Radio brings out excitement especially through activations
- TV- has the advantage of connecting with the audience both visual and audio. There are also upcoming local programs that are driving TV viewing in the country.
- In the past few years, there’s been a proliferation of billboards all over the country. What prompted this move and has it been effective? I.e. why did billboards become so popular? Were they cheaper to promote than radio or television ads?
4) In terms of Kenyan consumers, what do you think gets them to want to buy a particular product? Is there something distinctive about the Kenyan consumer that you have noticed with various ad campaigns that you have run? Different Kenyan consumers have different needs and wants according to their lifestyles and power of purchase. We use a tool from the Kenya Audience Research Establishment (KARF) called Living Standards measured (LSM). The KARF-LSM is a way of segmenting or classifying the adult population (or population of domestic household units) of a country based on access to and use of a wide range of goods and services, not just one or two. An LSM is a composite index derived from a range of variables that sum up the consumption and affordability status (and hence the living standard) of an individual. LSMs are sometimes referred to as a measure of affluence.
However the general trend that drives Kenyans is Price, promotions and free samples. In some instances loyalty brought about by ‘heritage’ of some brands still plays a big role. E.g. Blue band and Omo. Another trend is the experiential advertising where consumers get to use the product, endorse it and stand a chance to win
Currently most advertisements that have really won the hearts of Kenyans are those with strong local insights that resonate with their lives. E.g. The Equity Bank ‘Member’ campaign, Niko na Safaricom, YU Nimeamua campaign etc.
I think she’s provided very good answers to all my questions (part 2 is on the way) and I’d like to thank her specifically for taking the time out to do this (thank you – Carol Mbui) and I am very grateful to all these young Kenyans who take pride in their work and who’ve been very willing to share their experiences with me here because it’s helping to spur this ongoing discussion about Kenyan entrepreneurship that I’ve been trying to get going for years on this blog.
So, tell me how you advertise for your business? If your a small business are the rates at agencies such as Ogilvy out of your price range? and if so, what cheaper marketing methods have worked for you?
Tell me. Tell me.
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