Category Archives: corporate blogging

Local Content, Conversation & Branding in Africa

Late in 2010, TNS released a Kenya digital study as part of a three-month study of the habits of online Africans; In Kenya, it involved 800 interviews – 400 online, 400 face-to-face and tried to answer various questions like – Who is online? What are people doing online? How can brands connect? What messaging/digital communication channels are best?

Some findings included:

  • Internet penetration: Kenya & Uganda is 10%, Tanzania is 1.6%, Nigeria is 29%, Egypt 22%, South Africa 11%. In local capitals – 49% of Nairobi residents have tried the internet, 53% in Kampala, 31% in Dar es Salaam (and 42% & 49% in Mombasa & Arusha respectively) for an average of 45% of EA urban nationals.
  • Cyber café are the primary mode (67%) of access the Internet in Sub-Saharan Africa, but in Kenya its the mobile phone (60%)
  • Many people started using the Internet in the last two years and are on a learning curve; Companies need to make sure they educate the users on how to use their sites more effectively. This is compared to countries like Japan which has high internet penetration but low interest (its a part of life, no longer exciting)
  • In terms of daily media access, digital is still lower than conventional media – so companies/brands have to continue with old media; Also radio is very important, compared to global where radio trails TV
  • Top e-mail sites: Gmail Yahoo, Facebook, MSN
  • Top social networks: Facebook Google Yahoo Youtube
  • Top knowledge sites: Google Wikipedia Yahoo Daily Nation
  • Top news sites: Google BBC Standard Daily Nation
  • Top multimedia sites: Youtube Google CapitalFM Facebook
  • Very few people (7%) say they are shopping online
  • Kenyans (and Africans) want to do more activities online – like internet banking, pay utility bills, watch TV, make travel bookings, submit taxes, and advertise online. This will become an annual study by TNS to monitor trends in the online space.

One of their partners, VML (Kansas, US) also did a complementary study on digital monitoring of some Kenyan and African brands over several months this year using SEER ecosystem to find a link between bloggers and brands. They looked at mobile companies (Orange, Safaricom, Yu), countries as brands (Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa) and banks (Stanbic, Ecobank)

Some findings:

Mobile:

  • Orange is way ahead of everybody else (846,000 mentions with 92% positive) but may have little to do with Kenya (more the international Orange brand)
  • Safaricom had 11,000 conversations online, with people talking about the business, Michael Joseph (outgoing CEO), but not about products & prices. 66% was positive, and this varied from month to month, with some negative on their customer service and competition/regulation.
  • Most intriguing – the bulk of conversation about Safaricom does not happen in Africa – it’s highest in the US, UK, and Germany. In Africa, there is some conversation in Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa – and in Kenya it’s associated with 4 blogs (Kenyanjobs, siku-moja, bankelele, kenyaprincessproject)

Banking:

  • Ecobank has 5,000 mentions, and Stanbic 900 mentions – but Ecobank spiked as a result of an unrelated Ecobank twitter account in Japan (not Africa) while for Stanbic it was due to coverage of a cricket tournament in Zimbabwe
  • The highest conversation about Stanbic is in the UK, while for Ecobank, it’s in the US.
  • There are very few conversations about banks or their business, and these are happening mainly outside Kenya and Africa (Ecobank is associated with this blog on the strength of a couple of blog posts about the bank’s 2010 AGM in Nairobi)
  • There is an opportunity for banks, to engage, and not just about Internet banking products.

Tourism:

  • Kenya tourism conversation is 81% positive, 16% negative – (jambo ad annoyed people on the net) – and again a lot of conversation in the UK and US.
  • While Kenya gets good conversation given the budget they spend, Kenyan tourism only gets as much positive conversation as Nigeria – showing a need for more positive content creation and engagement online.
  • Concern that despite the natural beauty of Kenya (wildlife, beaches, scenery), 0% is taking place on photo or image sites – a missed opportunity to create visual content.

Summary

  • Very little conversation about African brands is originating in Africa, and there are opportunities for links to be created either with influential blogs, or social media etc.
  • Complaints cause large spikes in conversation.
  • Companies need to monitor online conversations, beyond press clippings.
  • Companies need to incorporate digital plans in their branding exercise.

Twitter Week Top 10 December 22

Twitter is a micro-blogging tool that is really nifty for doing mini-posts, forwards and other remarks that (are on any subject) and are maybe not worthy of a full blog post. Here’s a summary of my week on Twitter in a Dave Letterman top 10 format covering tech events, new planes, sluggish car sales, strange naiorbians and other topics

10 Mainstream Blogging: #F1 blogger quits work to blog full time-best wishes @f1fanatic_co_uk! http://tinyurl.com/yegm5l3
– Great reads: the 75 best business-blogs of 2009 http://www.businesspundit.com/the-75-best-business-blogs-of-2009/ includes @emeka_okafor

9. Tech Nairobi @whiteafrican is live blogging from @AfricaGathering today, refresh this post for the latest: http://bit.ly/75WgJ3 #agathering #agnairobi09
– Look out for @afromusing’s guide to buying solar gadgets.(via @sciculturist) <-----it's about time! #giftsforocha
– Stealth Startups, Get Over Yourselves: Nobody Cares About Your Secrets http://goo.gl/fb/hLw6 (via @rafiq)
– R/t: on the @ushahidi blog – 3 misconceptions about #ushahidi

idle castle brew facility

8. Brew Chatter SA giant beer brewer SAB considering re-entering kenya market after Deal with EABL in tanzania sours (Via @Nairobi star)
– konyagi vs waragi http://chickabouttown.com/2009/12/20/konyagi-vs-uganda-waragi/

7. GoK Absurdities 1. We dont accept sealed letters for PS, unless you have delivery book 2.This gate is locked between 9am and 4pm
– Harambee house is a corruption free zone, @SupremeGREAM – and so is a police roadblock #nyayohouse
– So new Police comm. Iteere got the 3rd class Moran/Golden Heart of Kenya; but so did Pauline & Ida
– Labour leader Atwoli sermons on #citizentv opposes privatization of #nationalbank #KCB #newKCC and kenya ports authority

6. Plane Chatter– know everything about today’s maiden boeing 787 flight (weather permitting) http://tinyurl.com/yewg5pl (via @flightblogger)
– 787 has taken off, take that copenhagen. R/t @coldtusker #787 is supposed to have a lower carbon footprint so supports #Copenhagen goals
– via @FlyingEmirates a Kenyan wins Emirates A380 dream prize (to Bangkok, Sydney or Seoul ) <----i'm so jealous! http://bit.ly/8yKvNA
– @coldtusker @alykhansatchu crown will fight to keep emirates independent as long as it can (perhaps pare down new plane buys to do so)
– #onejetone among airlines appying for licenses again – mombasa, harare, london
4:43 PM Dec 18th from web

5. Investor Awareness – ICT Kenya board tender for digitization of court records http://www.ict.go.ke/images/pdfs/6593719R_2.pdf @kenyanpundit
– Securities Industry Training Institute launched in Uganda-progs on capital markets,corp.fin, asset-mgmt, entrepreneurship, corp.govnance etc
– Send Nairobi Stock Exchange complaints by SMS to 8485, cost 10/= (also to receive) http://www.nsecomplaints.co.ke/ (via @NSEKenya)
– r/t @alykhansatchu Kenya Economic Update 2009 from the World Bank http://bit.ly/90sYCp simply definitive and full of Data that will surprise
– On CitizenTV ‘how to be rich’ is a golden dream prod .i.e @alfredmutua – they had ad for cobra squad season 2 DVD as perfect x-mas gift

4. Cars, Cars, Cars – r/t @SupremeGREAM today i was at biggest car yard on ngong rd and the only people there were salesmen, wash guyz and suppliers-grim(econ)! are you seeing some slowdown in autos? soe eyards have KBE and KBH that are gathering dust. – got a KBC Mark II been in the yard that long. today took it for a random drive. 780k bring the money. down from 1050k @inexes – Wambie wapunguze bei ya hizo magari! lol @bankelele
– r/t @Shitawabah saw a LAMBOGHINI today morning at 8;59 a.m yellow KBK 001A… ! eeeiy ! * but nid t say it was hot! <--wow! really? pics?
– r/t @karuoro If you own a Toyota-use toyodiy.com to look up part numbers so you know what to order (thanks-1/2 cars in kenya are toyota)

3. Peculiar Nairobi – @mountainous nation wrote that the only 3D theatre in kenya to watch #Avatar is in Nyali. Also #F1 off-season more
– Reading sundaynation about kayamba africa new album: ‘ KA is made up of 45 members who were all present. It has 6 band members’ (huh?)
– My dad was scandalized by the food portions at ONami, full house though
– Labour leader Atwoli sermons on #citizentv opposes privatization of #nationalbank #KCB #newKCC and kenya ports authority
– Family bank atm’s are so f’n unreliable these days. Spend some of that rights issue cash propely will ya? #gotissuez
– Peculiar habits of Nairobians http://sogomo.blogspot.com/2009/12/ten-nairobi-pecularities-i-could-do.html

2. Credit Crunch – @coldTusker wouldn’t be uchumi be a better pick for al-waleed ‘distressed asset’ philosopy? @coldtusker – I think Al-Waleed looks for management as well. Kingdom doesn’t supply management. Maybe he will look at Uchumi as well
– At empty local; not sure if its mid-month economy or competition from new joint up the road with #kidum playing tonight
r/t @siphojanuary More than 8 million South Africans are 3 months behind on their debt repayments – National Credit Regulator
Dubair/t @ coldtusker Read the signs. The day Emirates stops serving alcohol means the new owners are in control. Dubai may keep Emirates in name only. Who knows who owns it now? Not for public consumption. – There is no free lunch. Something has to give. I think Emirates is the ‘guarantee/collateral’
r/t @alykhansatchu Dubai = Ozymandias Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’ Nothing remains http://bit.ly/1wWz2g

1. Phone Woes
Safaricom I thought my phone had gone schitso calling me every minute! But its some dude who sent big #mpesa to wrong number one digit off (not me!)
– dear #safaricom there are black hole spots (no service) in Nairobi CBD #gotissuez
– Safaricom have had a really crap network in Nairobi CBD all week. Only way to call their subscribers is by using zain or orange
– #barclays call centre number works and calls picked up instantly 3900000 #safaricom should learn http://www.moseskemibaro.com/?p=763
Zain #ogilvy media clarify that they are NOT repsonsible for advertising & PR of #zain africa #passthebuck #itwasntme (via @NationMedia)
– R/t @JustDes – #Zain PR and Advertising is handled by #ZKAdvertising. #Zain Media will be handled by #OgilvyAfricaMedia. @PeterNjenga – Any URL for this #Ogilvy media #Zain Africa #advertising thingie? Wanna know who’s getting paid but screwing up Zain #marketing?
– @JustDes thanks for clarifying about ZK and Zain http://www.zekgroup.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6&Itemid=10 @peternjenga
mobile phones need messengers – Paying telkom,kenya power and safaricom bills this morning-if you are post-paid anything,you need a messenger to hoof around Nairobi – Where can one pay safaricom post pay bill on sunday, other than westgate?
– r/t @tmsruge True, because banks won’t allow transfers to mobile, which I think is another missed rev stream 4 banks – Sounds to me like a biz opportunity to me! Kenyan mobile $$ innovations are a bit one-track minded!
r/t @zulusafari even with mobile $ you still have to physically visit an office to put $ in ur account – seriously! it’s ridiculous. And why can I not pay by cc’d online!!!! @whiteafrican
r/t @ kahenya @whiteafrican @bankelele it keeps messengers busy and employed
r/t @whiteafrican which makes absolutely no sense in this day and age of digital money transactions locally.
competition for MPesa r/ @ Obopay Essar Telecom Kenya & Obopay Launch Mobile Money Transfer Service http://su.pr/21Vq0y

Delta Denied Permission to Fly Direct to Nairobi

Delta are postponing their arrival to Kenya again and Liberia as well. It’s been a long wait for Delta to come to Kenya, with the resultant direct flight to US and what’s a few more months? That Liberia was included in the statement that cited insecurity matters kind of cushions the blow.

And what are some of the insecurities that maybe caused the department oh homeland security to put a pause on the route? Shashank has a nice post on security at JKIA – -i.e. the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport – in Nairobi
That the situation in neighboring Somalia is escalating again, probably makes US security officials want to put as much distance between the US and East Africa – and by having more than one airport e.g. Amsterdam, Dubai, London filtering passengers from East Africa is a safer way than having them walk into Atlanta directly from Nairobi.

2009 still looks like a good year for investments to Kenya and Delta will be more than welcome when they do land. The competition will be welcome here, and I like that Delta has a corporate blog that will perhaps rub off on some of our local airlines with PR woes.

#########

excerpts from the Official Statement

Delta Africa cancellations from Delta Corporate Communications

ATLANTA, June 2, 2009 – Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) has been notified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that the Transportation Security Administration will require more time to approve Delta’s planned direct flights to Nairobi, Kenya and Monrovia, Liberia. Delta in response issued the following statement:

“Delta regrets any inconvenience to our customers caused by the postponement of our new direct service to Kenya and Liberia. The airline is proactively contacting customers to reaccommodate them on long-established connecting flights offered by our joint venture partners Air France-KLM and other SkyTeam member airlines, which carry Americans to these destinations in Africa through their European hubs.

“Delta appreciates DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano’s continued focus on finalizing approvals for Delta’s direct service to Africa as quickly as possible. Delta in October 2008 notified the U.S. government of its plans to offer new service to Kenya and Liberia. However, Delta was informed only yesterday by DHS that it would require additional time to approve these new flights.

“Africa continues to be an important region for Delta. Delta is the only airline offering scheduled service between the United States and Africa, currently serving six destinations in five countries: Accra, Ghana; Cairo, Egypt; Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa; Lagos, Nigeria; and Dakar, Senegal. This week Delta upgraded its service between Atlanta and Johannesburg, South Africa, to a nonstop flight operated with a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft featuring 180-degree full flat seats in its BusinessElite cabin.”

Where to Bank an Adsense Cheque in Nairobi

This is a follow up post to the long-running question of what do with an adsense cheque or its’ equivalent. There are dozens of Kenyan bloggers building up small net earnings from adsense and similar web-based advertising companies – but who usually pay in US$ cheques – minimum $100 i.e. now almost Kshs 8,000 which is a tidy sum for a part time activity.

The post is of interest because the costs of clearing such a cherub can run up to 50%at some banks. After the last post on the subject we had these as the cheapest banks:

2. Family Bank – Kshs. 650
3. KCB (said) minimum Ksh.800
4. Co-op Bank – Kshs 1,000
1. I can now add to the top of the pile Barclays Bank of Kenya who charge just Kshs 200 /= (~$2.5) the lowest so far I have verified.

KCB was the only bank (out of 40) to respond to a query via the general e-mail account published by the banks. What does this say about the level of internet interaction? Very bad. There are some non-existent companies with great interactive websites, but with Kenyan banking its the opposite – some great innovative banks who put up massive website, and which, though updated often, rarely respond to to online queries and feedback.

Twitter would be a nice (free) tool for them to use, but no bank has yet embraced corporate blogging, and none are on @Twitter yet. @MosesKeimbaro had a recent post on Kenyan brands on Twitter. – with the most prominent and active being @KenyaAirways. Also here’s a great list of other financial sites on twitter.

Event Blogging from Tanzania

2008 was still a great year for the blog except for my low travel schedule – travel is invigorating and is the my life blood of writing and I really hope to do more out-of-town corporate excursions this new year.

Almost a year ago I was fortunate to get a gig at for AllAfrica (thanks Mental) to cover and write about a factory opening in Arusha.

I had read the authoritative conference blogging guide by Ethan Zuckerman and gratefully hit the road with an interesting group of media types, on a brief escape from the post-election machinations going on in Nairobi

Here’s the two-part report of the factory opening (see also the official factory site)