Safaricom, Zain cross paths over advert content

Safaricom has complained to the advertising authority over negative comments by rival Zain, underlining the intense battle for market share between mobile phone operators.

The firm is asking the Advertising Standards Body of Kenya (ASBK) to compel Zain to withdraw the advertisements in a move that will once again put the planned buyout of Ogilvy by Scangroup on the spotlight, given that the two firms handle the advertising work for Safaricom and Zain.

Zain’s campaign for its new tariff structure includes jibes at Safaricom with a declaration that “Going green is not always the better option...” Safaricom’s marketing slogan is the “Better Option” and its official colour is green.

“We have received a complaint from Safaricom through its advertising agency, Red Sky, over the issue. The advertising standards authority (ASBK) will closely examine the issue starting today,” said Francis Wachira of the Marketing Society of Kenya.

Mr Wachira said two complaints had been lodged by Safaricom, one by the company itself and the other its advertising agency, Red Sky, which is part of Scangroup.

Zain’s advertising is handled by Ogilvy, in which Scangroup is finalising the purchase of a 50 per cent stake. Zain and Safaricom are engaged in an intense battle for control of the local mobile telephony market culminating in a price war that has seen the operators lower their tariffs.

The advertising tussle promises to pit two agencies housed under the same roof against each other, and could spark renewed investigation of ethical practice on the local advertising scene.

A listed media services firm, Scangroup owns a number of affiliate companies including Red Sky, and is currently in the process of concluding a deal that will see it purchase 50 per cent of its former rival Ogilvy.

ASBK will be asked to consider taking action against two companies that are members of the same group, presenting the market regulators with a challenge on how to handle the delicate issue.

In-house problem

“How will we decide on this issue? In my view, it’s an in-house problem, although I am not sure all parties have grasped that fact,” said a source at the ASBK who declined to be named.

ASBK was formed in 2003 by players in the marketing and advertising sector to guard against false, negative, and obscene advertisements as well as offending ads from competitors.

ASBK verdicts have no legal backing, but the body can force companies to withdraw adverts.

In 2006, for instance, ASBK ruled that alcohol advertisements in the electronic media could only run after 8pm in a case pitting Nacada against beer brewers and distillers.

Analysts say the Safaricom complaint could herald new rules to navigate what is becoming an increasingly converged media landscape.

Marketing experts said the Zain campaign was using a targeted communication strategy that focuses on the negative attributes of a competitor and their products, rather than emphasising on one’s own positive attributes or preferred qualities.

“In a fairly conservative culture like Kenya’s, one would rather speak more about their brands than focus on the competitor’s weaknesses,” said Maina Kerugo, a consultant with Apexx Marketing.

However, navigating the issue is an ethical minefield, as no one company can lay claim to a certain set of words or colours.

In one advertisement, Zain uses a shade of green favoured by Safaricom to highlight negative aspects of the market leader.

Current scenario

The current scenario is not foreign to the two firms, which engaged in similar advertising wars in early 2000 when Kencell, now Zain, marketed its network as more “connected” and referring to its rival’s as “congested”.

Safaricom lodged a successful complaint.

“Although these kind of attack ads often have no positive content, they do have the potential to be more influential in shaping consumers’ views in the short term.

“But one cannot sustain the use of such ads the whole year since they may backfire,” said Timothy Kosuri, a marketing consultant.