Building an Irresistible Brand in Africa

Dr Sergey Sheykhetov (Kantar)

Dr Victor Ikawa (Safaricom)

Safaricom Limited is the largest mobile operator in the Kenyan market. It serves over 26 million

customers: more than two thirds of the Kenyan market.

Safaricom’s services include mobile and fixed voice, SMS, data, internet and M-PESA, a mobile phone-based money

transfer service.

The vast majority of Safaricom’s services (97 percent) are prepaid

by the customer.

Safaricom’s goal is to transform lives through providing

unmatched products and services that meet the needs of

Kenyans.

SAFARICOM’S BACKGROUND

Economic development by helping to grow

the mobile industry,

increasing Kenya’s Gross

Domestic Product (GDP) and creating

jobs.

Safaricom’s operations

generated KES 144 billion in

additional direct and indirect economic

activity in Kenya in FY15. If the

wider effects on the economy

are included this number

increases to KES 315 billion, 6 percent of

Kenya’s GDP.

Safaricom sustained over 112 000 direct

and indirect jobs. If the wider

effects on the economy are included this

number increases to over 682 000 jobs over

FY15.

Safaricom directly

contributed KES 54.8 billion to

Kenyan government

revenue in FY15. If the economic

activity generated by Safaricom’s operations is

taken into account, this

increases to KES 127 billion.

Safaricom helps to alleviate poverty in

Kenya: 5% of additional household income it

generates flows to low income

households

SAFARICOM’S BACKGROUND

2015

RankBrand

Influence

Index

Key Driver(s) of

influence

1 SAFARICOM 392Trustworthy, Presence

& Leading Edge

2 M PESA 379Leading Edge &

Trustworthy

3 CITIZEN TV 276 *Trustworthy

4 CITIZEN RADIO 247*Trustworthy &

*Corporate Citizenship

5 COLGATE 215 *Presence

6 FACEBOOK 210*Leading Edge &

Trustworthy

7 OMO 210 *Presence

8 ARIEL 198 *Presence

9 KENYA POWER 197 Trustworthy

10 EQUITY BANK KENYA 193*Trustworthy &

*Corporate Citizenship

Trust & innovation have made Safaricom & M-PESA the most influential

brands in Kenya

INFLUENTIAL BRANDS IN KENYA: IPSOS

SAFARICOM BRAND CHALLENGE

1. Safaricom wants to be viewed as a “company which transforms people’s life”

2. Safaricom needs to identify what the brand stands for and its core values.

3. Safaricom recently entered a number of absolutely different product categories and

now needs to manage the entire brand portfolio

4. Safaricom realized that although it has become the biggest and the most successful brand in the country, it is at risk of loosing

relevance to the young generation

Transforming People’s life: What does it

mean in the African context?

TOP OF MIND BRANDS THAT TRANSFORMS LIVES

Transforming People’s life: What does it

mean in the African context?

Accessibility

Physical access – presence of offices/shops everywhere

Financial access – affordability of the services/products either through lower price

points or availability of small SKUs

Demystified a category

Emotional access – product/service is no longer a preserve for a few based on

purchasing power/socio economic status e.g. mobile banking, insurance, loans,

international travel

Convenience

Saves time – elimination of queuing and time wasting processes

Unlimited access – access not hindered by time or location, access wherever and

whenever an individual needs it for instance online shopping, mobile banking

Developing the country

Providing basic needs/services especially to the poor (education, health, livelihood

options, water)

Contributing to employment opportunities - enable people earn a livelihood and

improve their lives

Transforming People’s life: What does it

mean in the African context?

Ultimately leads to self

independence,

minimizes and/or

eliminates the cycle of

poverty

Ultimately

enhance the

quality of life

Transforming People’s life: What does it

mean in the African context?

Positioning Safaricom; What does it

mean to be the biggest brand in Kenya

Positioning Safaricom; What does it

mean to be the biggest brand in Kenya

Split Positioning

A powerful market leader

VSDown-to-earth,

popular brand for the average people

President of the most powerful nation

on earth

“He makes decisions that affect most of the world……when he was in Kenya, Nairobi was basically at a standstill until he left. The whole world was glued to him…”

…..yet remains humble and down to

earth

“He is so easy going and warm……most likely if you met him, you would not feel uneasy…if anything you may hold a conversation with him and he actually listens to what you have to say…”

How to manage the increasingly diverse

brand portfolio?

Safaricom’s Brand Architecture

Safaricom is a brand that has crosscutting impact in Kenya

Core TelecomConsumer 4 segments

Finance E-CommerceSafaricom

Home

Enterprise sectors (Education, agriculture, Finance, Retail, Hospitality etc.)

About M-Pesa

M-PESA is one of Safaricom’s

flagship products. It is a

platform that allows money

to be transferred from one

mobile phone to another, and

has revolutionized personal

finance in Kenya.

M-PESA was launched in

2007 and has grown into a

sophisticated system that

accounts for 98 percent of all

mobile money transactions

in Kenya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkz-

Fh0Iyss

Safaricom VS Sub-Brands

Strong sub brand whoseequity is rivallingthe main brand

Versus

Safaricom VS Sub-Brands

In terms of Digital TOMA, A Google Brand Lift study shows that BLAZE is

performing at world class standards

Our TrueView ads have reached 1M users at an average

frequency of 2.5 impressions, providing:

59.2% lift in Ad Recall

(best in class, based on studies from Technology

vertical(s) in ALL)

24.8% lift in Brand Awareness

(best in class, based on studies from Technology

vertical(s) in ALL)

120.5% lift in Brand Interest

(benchmarks not available)

2,750

Subscribers

77,658

Fans

13,000

Followers

10,100

Followers

Our digital assets continue to grow in numbers

…Subsequently leading BLAZERS to share their stories online in an effort

to inspire each other

We have received over 50 unsolicited BLOG entries from youth who want to share their stories

and inspire others

All the stories are hosted on the BLAZE website and are amplified on social media + CVM as

part of our Inspiration Saturday SMS blasts to the BLAZE base

Four different architecture structures

1. Branded House

Masterbrand the single

unifying banner for all

products in the

portfolio. This can cover

different categories but

still be defined by a

common brand

essence

3. Endorsed Branding

The sub-brand is more

prominent and more

visible, playing the

critical driver role.

Often the Masterbrand

is explicitly identified,

but in some examples

the endorsement can

be implicit

2. Sub-Branding

Sub-brands stretch and

modify the

Masterbrand by

adding attribute and

benefit associations or

signalling a different

category or market

segment – both brands share the driver role

4. House of Brands

The company operates

entirely through an

independent set of

stand-alone brands

while keeping the

corporate brand itself

discreet

The role of the Masterbrand is dependent on the chosen architecture structure

Next Steps

We have continued with

development of these ideas

and that are proprietary and

secret.