Well now that the holidays are here with us one place you could travel to is Lake baringo. Situated in Kenya’s Rift Valley, Lake Baringo is about 300 km north of nairobi and 150 km north of Nakuru. With the road having been recently rebuilt from Naivasha to Nakuru the journey takes an even shorter while. In Nakuru take the Kabarak – marigat route which is quite long but well tarmacked with little traffic. Its the only road in Kenya you will find with a tortoise crossing sign that urges drivers to slow down.

Marigat is a small market centre with quite a number of shops and if you need any supplies this would be your last stop. The 20 km road from Marigat to Lake Baringo has many potholes which slows you down to an average speed on less than 60kph unless your in a 4×4. My stay at Lake Baringo was at Roberts camp on the shores of the lake in Heron House which accomodates up to 10 people with amazing views of the lake.

Swimming is not allowed as the lake is full of crocodiles and Hippo’s and at night the Hippo’s come out to graze. Its a beautiful place to go and relax as you enjoy the cool waters of lake Baringo.

Commercial Break

Ad: Popote ulipo
Client; Zain Kenya

Zain Kenya, Kenya’s second mobile network has had to fend off many rumours in the past months about the impending sale of their African network to another telecommunications company, by their parent company Zain international headquartered in Kuwait.
Other than these rumours locally they have been working on introducing new products and upgrading their money transfer service Zap. On the advertising front, their last campaign has been for Zain Vuka family and this corporate campaign, who their bigger rivals Safaricom are accusing them of imitation.

The corporate campaign opens on the picture of a guy in a room with a big map up on a board on one side of the room. We zoom in and we can tell it’s a map of Kenya, showing different areas around the country. He picks up the phone and the ad cuts to a split screen of a guy in a Land Rover out there in the countryside. We see as he puts a pin to show a particular location.

This sequence continues as we see the guy in the Land Rover move from location to location and he continues to report back to the man with the chat who indicates those points on a board. At the very end of the ad we see the guy finish his last task in some area of land that looks to be in the middle of the mara and reports back to base. The last shot shows him at the look out point of the Rift Valley as he surveys the land and the ad ends with the line Popote Ulipo, Zain. These different locations are what Zain has used on their press and billboard campaign where they show the beautiful landscape’s with the line “Popote Ulipo” showing that Zain is wherever you are be it in the Mara or Isiolo.

I really liked the launch campaign for Zain where they were launching Zain as the new brand to take over from Celtel across Africa. As much as their ads were very South African, they were aspirational and part of every day life. With this new campaign, Zain Kenya has gone very local, very Kenyan showing the land but intertwining it with people calling from different parts of the country. Its not a new concept, neither is it very creative but it is extremely relevant and I think that factor makes the campaign gel very well with the larger Kenyan audience. My only issue though is at the very first glance, this ad looks like an ad for Land Rover, which I think inadvertently is very good publicity for Landrover Kenya.

VACANCY

ANTI-CORRUPTION DIRECTOR

A well connected but lop-sided coalition government seeks to recruit a well-rounded Director to run our Anti-Corruption Authority. The candidate must accept and fulfill the following requirements:

Personal profile

· Minimum of 5 years of friendship with relevant authority figures.

· Self-motivated go-getter, with room for going and getting even more.

· Should be able to speak basic English and Swahili. No writing skills needed.

· Aged above… um… must be generally old; grey hairs a must.

· Good knowledge of 5-star hotel menus.

· Must be photogenic; will appear in various publications frequently.

· Working knowledge of Facebook and/or Twitter and YouTube.

· Capacity to work without any real authority will be an added advantage.

Terms of Offer

The very attractive package includes:

· A higher salary than the President.

· A higher salary than the Prime Minister.

· A higher salary than the Vice-President.

· Flexible working hours (international time zones taken into consideration)

· Celebrity status

Interested and suitably qualified candidates should drop their testimonials, detailed CVs and consideration fees (highly recommended), on or before someone else does.

Well finally after serving a 5 year term as the Anti- Corruption Czar, Justice Aaron Ringera has bid KACC fair well by tendering his resignation today. I feel for him as his name has been tarnished and he has been blamed for the numerous failings of a system that was never designed to be able to punish perpetrators of corruption.

As unjust as this is to him, i do think that the man was very well suited for the job and his replacement will have very big shoes to fill. For such a politically high profile positions i know the lobbying has just began and the next person who agrees to take up that seat would be better suited if they were to negotiate a bigger salary than Justice Ringera’s to jump into the fire that is KACC.

As i maintain, that his re-appointment had just been a side show i wonder what the next big story will be as the Justice Ringera one has been milked for its worth? I do suspect there will be a new scandal coming up from somewhere or a new topic of the day for the MP’s to scream themselves hoarse about. I guess only time ill tell.

Goodbye Justice Aaron Ringera, as thankless as the population might be we are greatful that you took the job and tried your very best to succeed. We hope your next job wont be this politicised, though i highly doubt our MP’s will change anytime soon.

Well after Kenya lost their last much against Mozambique, 2 weeks ago there was alot of tough talk from the Ministry of Sports about our German tactician Antoine Hey and his contract which entitled him to a hefty salary. As a Kenyan football fan i have always wondered why we decided that we needed a foreign coach, or was it because we were being given “assistance” by the German government and that came with a coach.

Our last coach a local one Francis Kimanzi was a fantastic coach who only lost only 2 out of 11 matches. Some may argue it was due to the fact that we were playing against weak teams, but the man had a plan and a strategy. Even as KFF was in shambles, full of officials who i dont think have ever played football, he was able to bring out delightful results with the fans very happy leading to the greatest sales of the national team jersey. I was optimistic that finally the national team was following in the footsteps of the National 7’s team.

That wasn’t to be with the kind of football officials we have who are more concerned about other things like thier rise in prominence and how much funding the association gets from FIFA than the state of local football. To add to that a spineless and direction less Sports ministry which seems not to be able to do to anything to fix local football.

I don’t think we need coach Antoine Hey, really he has performed way below average and we were much better off under Francis Kimanzi. I know Bwana Prime minister, he was your pet project but he has failed and its time to cut him off and craft a good package for a local tactician.

Is it only me or has the Kenyan premier league grown exponentially since it was removed from the direct running of KFF? Just imagine how well Harambee stars would perform if it wasn’t being run by KFF or FKL for that matter!!!

Ad: “Nimeamua”

Client: Yu– Essar telkom

Essar Group is a diversified group straddling the manufacturing and service sectors of Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping & Logistics, and Construction. Essar Group has an estimated enterprise value of over USD 20 billion and employs 20,000 people worldwide. Essar Communications Holdings Limited (ECHL), the telecom subsidiary of the Essar Global Limited, had acquired a 49% stake in Econet Wireless International Limited (EWI) with the fresh capital benefiting Econet Wireless Kenya (EWK). Essar Group then effectively took greater shareholding in the joint venture culminating in the group being renamed Essar Telkom Kenya.

YU, Essar’s mobile network in Kenya is the latest entrant into the mobile telecommunication scene and are for the very first time doing a corporate campaign, having previously concentrated on product campaigns. Their previous campaigns were quite interesting some of them bring out the humourous side of their free sms offer by using very Kenyan things.

In their new corporate campaigns, we see different people making different decisions. We see a young boy helping a older man push a pick up stuck in the mud. They are joined by other villagers and they are able to get the car unstuck. In another ad we see a boda boda guy racing to win a boda boda race and a very successful man going home where he trades his very polished suit for traditional regalia. In another ad we see a lady playing kati with some kids in the estate as a mother in law and her friends come to visit her daughter and her new born baby.

In all this ads the V/O talks about what the person in the ad has made a decision on and the ad ends with the Kiswahili word for making a decision – Nimeamua and and explaination on the fact that YU now covers the whole country. The press and billboard campaign follows the same route showing the different people in their routines all across the country.

I think this campaign sets YU apart as it moves away from showing the usual images of lovely pictures of rolling hills and valleys to explain about coverage by a telecommunication network. This ads show different people making different decisions in different parts of the country and explaining why this people would choose YU. It brings out community decisions, personal decisions and cultural decisions by a cross section of people. It’s a very way to communicate that YU now has built up national coverage, though my only question is what happened to the tagline YU launched with? Wait a minute, what was that tagline again?

Im not a fan of the US Ambassador, Michael Ranneberger or any ambassador from the European countries largely due to the fact that they are always telling us what to do. As a Kenyan I’m proud to be one, i pride myself in being one of the people who believes in home grown solutions to arising problems.

My logic is simple, there is no quick fix solution and if you read your history you will discover even first world countries have had their share of miss-steps as they grew to where they are now. I mean even now they are still making mistakes with decisions that they have entered without due thought. For the US i think the war in Iraq was one of those.

So we have bad leaders who should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity and there doesn’t seem to be any political will to prosecute them but is denying or barring them from going to the US gonna help…at all? Why would i a Kenyan be so desperate to go to the US? I dont get it, what does the US have that we crave so much?

If it was me Mr Ambassador, denying me entry to the US wouldnt mean much after all i could go to any other country in the world and there many of those who dont need me to have a VISA. I keep wondering though if this kind of threats havent worked in other African countries, why would they work here?

Maybe i just dont like Ambassador’s much but then in my books, they haven’t earned the right to speak!!!

Ad: “Check, check”

Client: Always – Proctor & Gamble

Procter & Gamble Co. is a Fortune 500, American multinational corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, that manufactures a wide range of consumer goods. Locally Proctor and Gamble has been selling Always, Pampers, Gillette, Duracell, Vicks and most recently has just re-introduced Ariel into the Kenyan market.

Always is Kenya’s number one sanitary brand and has been a consistent advertiser bringing out the benefits of the different new products. Most of their ads have different young girls talking about their experiences though their last campaign was animated showing the benefits of the pads by using an umbrella illustration. Needless to say I wasn’t very impressed with those ads and they have now come up with a new ad to promote the new Always with four wings.

The ad opens in a girls school as they are having class. In the middle of her lesson a young girl sitting on the front opens her desk and removes a roll of tissue. She stands up and begins to walk to the door, when the teacher asks her where she is going. She starts of a reply and soon the whole class erupts into a song about checking everywhere and anytime emphasizing on the fact that they need to check on their sanitary pads after every hour.

The teacher joins in and asks them to check out the new Always and the girls are all excited that Always have introduced a new variant that you don’t have to check on for 8 hours. The ad continues out of the class as all the students embark on a very well choreographed, upbeat dance accompanied by a very funky tune. The girls now are singing about the fact that their checking days are over and all the things they can do without having to check. The ad ends with a clock showing that with the new Always Ultra you don’t need to check up to 8 hours and the tag “Stay happy, Always.”

I really like this campaign as it shows a good example of global communication that has been tailor-made to local tastes. The music in this commercial is very upbeat and goes very well with the choreographed dance in a market that has a large youth population who are very interested in dance. By combining this 2 influences on the youth, Always has been able to bring out the advantage of their new pads, very clearly for instant understanding. Unlike previous communication, this ad does not sound and look to have been produced in South Africa as the English diction is very Kenyan. An amazing ad, that talks to the target audience in their own language, a language they understand a language of music and dance. Kudo’s to Proctor and Gamble!!!

Commercial break Ad: “Karibu member”

Client: Equity Bank

Equity Bank is one of Kenya’s largest and most progressive banks, which has grown in its stature to its current level over a 25 year period. Starting from humble beginnings in a Kenyan rural village, Equity has been credited as the bank that has redefined mass market banking in Kenya. Currently Equity Bank is spreading its wings across the border with an entry into the Ugandan market earlier this year. Equity Bank has not quite been known for its advertising and previously a lot of their advertising has been done especially when they have won awards both locally and abroad. A lot of their communication material has been largely directed to below the line merchandise and different branding efforts across the country. So finally Equity Bank have unveiled their very first corporate campaign. The campaign ad opens a guy in his farm out in the tea plantations of Kericho. He proceeds to explain who he is in Kalenjin and ends by saying he is a member. The ad continues with a fruit seller who follows the same format talking in Kikuyu. We then go through a cross section of different people each who says who he is what he does and ends with the fact that he is a member. The ad comes to a close with a pretty lady in her late 20 who walks out of a high rise building into the hustle and bustle of every day life. We watch as she walks down towards the camera and she turns faces the camera and says “ I’m a marketing director and I’m a member.” The ad ends with the reveal which is the Equity Bank logo and their new campaign theme Karibu Member. The ads also appear on press ads in the same format though I do pray the campaign will be extended to Billboards and wall wraps. Its not usual for a corporate campaign for any company to generate as much interest as the Equity Bank campaign has. It’s a very well thought campaign that elevates the bank customers by giving them a sense of ownership in the bank thus thus the bank addresses them as members and not customers. On the internet the campaign has spawned quite a number of other executions including the pirate execution which is quite funny. This is most definitely a very successful campaign which has generated a lot of interest and positioned Equity Bank firmly on the corporate map.

Kwani Trust is a Nairobi-based literary network committed to the growth of the region’s creative industry through

publishing and distributing Contemporary African Literature, offering training opportunities, producing literary

events and establishing global literary networks.

The position

The Marketing & Public Relations (PR) Manager is a central figure in the institution and will endeavour to ensure

the Trust’s relevance to the community by creating awareness of the Trust and its work, and by initiating,

developing and maintaining cooperative relationships with key constituencies. This function’s accountabilities are

three-fold: Handling external communications, and conducting both Editorial & Marketing outreach.

This position reports to the Executive Director and works in close collaboration with the Editorial and Sales &

Distribution Departments. This position is part of a team that is building a viable publishing house that is

commercially sustainable and that develops titles and products of world class literary quality.

Kwani Trust is a young and dynamic operation and the Marketing & PR Manager will be expected to build

systems and processes that make their department functional and effective, as well as developing, managing and

implementing an overall Marketing plan.

Key duties and responsibilities

· Develop and implement a strategic marketing and PR plan for the institution incorporating our various

publications, projects and programmes and that draws from our editorial philosophy

· Establish marketing linkages with other Arts, cultural and Literary institutions; building networks for

information sharing, partnering opportunities in event production, publishing and other core Kwani Trust

activities

· Establish and maintain public networks for the promotion of Kwani Trust publications and activities and

develop strategies and implement campaigns to increase book sales among agencies such as schools, diaspora

groups, churches, associations and businesses

· Maintain a database of contacts and key constituents in media houses; institute a system of regular press

updates, and advertisement of Kwani Trust-related activities

· With guidance from the Managing Editor, assist in the preparation of media packs & press releases and

present information verbally and / or in writing as appropriate

· Prepare and maintain annual marketing budget

· Work with the Executive Director and Managing Editor to establish appropriate goals for marketing

Kwani Trust

PO Box 2895-00100, Nairobi

Off Riverside Drive ( 500 Metres after

Chiromo Lane)

E mail: info@kwani.org

www.kwani.org

campaigns and in concert with the Editorial Department, establish a master calendar that outlines marketing

events and campaigns

· Coordinate the Marketing Committee of the Board of Trustees and report to the overall Board on progress of

all marketing activities

· Maintain a regularly-updated database of all contacts key to the Trust’s operations, including but not limited

to ; writers and poets, performers at events, media contacts, larger stakeholders, editors , other publishers and

institutional partners

· Maintain existing and seek new markets for Kwani Trust publications and other outputs

· Provide support at Kwani Trust events; display of publications, logistics, etc and further assist with the

production of publicity material

Minimum qualifications and skills

· Experience in Marketing, Media relations or other communications-related activity is crucial. Experience in

an arts / literary institution is an added advantage

· Degree in Marketing, Communications, Journalism or related field

· Demonstrable ability to undertake, originate and research on ideas for a Marketing & PR department in a

literary environment

· At least 2-5 years of progressively responsible relevant experience. Experience in content management

through various media is an added advantage

· Excellent written, oral communication and organisational skills

· IT proficiency

How to Apply

Applicants are invited to send a cover letter ( maximum one page) illustrating their suitability for the above position

against the listed qualifications, competencies and skills together with a detailed CV, including names and

addresses of three referees. All applications should be sent via email by 5pm, Friday 11th September 2009 to

Wambui Thuku; g.wambui@kwani.org indicating ‘Application for Marketing Manager Post’ on the subject line.

Other Details

The start date for this post is 1st October 2009. Interviews will take place during the week of 14th September and

21st September 2009.

Only short-listed applicants meeting the above requirements will be contacted.

To learn more about Kwani Trust, please visit:

http://www.kwani.org