We
live in interesting times. In today’s world of crisis and scandal, all we look
up to is an avenue to unleash our positive or negative energy.
We
have evolved as a species. But so has the media we consume. Forget about the
chariot-led armies that ruled the world. We now live in or are part of the
strong-fingered, yet faceless online army.
Once
upon a time, all you needed as an adman was to feature a product with a short
description of its uses. For the platforms, all you needed was to plug the
commercial onto any television channel.
In
Kenya, digital migration gave birth to tens of new television channels, from a
nation that thrived on very structured news segment that was dominated by
political, business and sports news to targeted channels that are sector-specific
in terms of content.
In
2015, Elimu TV became the first
channel to deliver digitized educative programs that are aligned to the
country’s curriculum. The launch of Farmers TV, which is purely an agriculture-based
station, has opened up a direct forum for engaging farmers in the East African
region.
As
we migrated Kenyan eyeballs to segment-specific television channels, the ever
rigid print publications were also on a revolutionary trend, moving from the
typical full page adverts to customized special covers with defined numbers of
issues set for delivery to certain towns.
Furthermore, publishers have taken it a notch higher by mapping databases
that can deliver the specific publications to the relevant target. How about
running a cough syrup advert in a daily that will be delivered to all the new
mothers in all the leading hospitals in Nairobi and Mombasa? Clearly, market
segmentation has moved a notch higher.
What
we are experiencing in Kenya is an evolution of communication channels. With
digital embedded into more traditional channels where most radio, TV, print
channels now have an active social media page, always competing to broadcast their
content online while engaging their consumers.
Programs
on radio and TV are keen to push their Twitter and Facebook assets as the
points of engagement rather than the usual call-in sessions that we were
accustomed to.
With
over 70 per cent of the county’s population being youthful, the entreprenual
nature of Kenyans will drive media consumption to another level, whether you
either target your communication to the right audience or your brand will
perish. Truly, the combo of a devolved government and a fully digital television
platform riding on our high internet connectivity is poised to drive this
youthful economy.
