Athletics feat adds value to a flourishing Brand Kenya

In the late 1960s and early 1970s sportsman Kipchoge Keino was probably the most recognised Kenyan name across the globe.

The Kenyan flag was hoisted many times in global sports gatherings on his account and that of his teammates. Kipchoge effectively branded Kenya when our new nation was hardly known across the world.

The successes registered last week at the Beijing athletics meeting is confirmation of continued branding power by the Kenyan “athletics sector”.
Branding Kenya is a collective responsibility for all citizens.

It is the overall impressions that outsiders have of Kenya and its people that determine the country’s brand value. The impressions determine outsiders desire to associate with us; the wish to visit our country; and also preparedness to invest in Kenya.

These impressions create goodwill and respect for our country which is a valuable currency.

The visit by US President Barack Obama a few weeks ago did definitely raise the profile of this country.

During the visit, Kenya created a good impression of a progressive country in control of its destiny and with enough maturity to recognise and work on its shortcomings. We should not squander but build on the goodwill created by the US president’s visit.

There is little doubt that the leadership style of the current presidency in Kenya has continued to raise the brand profile of Kenya across Africa, especially in the eyes of the younger generations. We hear it said when we travel around Africa.

Branding a country is mostly influenced by positive information and impressions flowing from that country or demonstrated by its people. The media, both local and foreign, in particular has a lot to contribute in promoting our national image and brand.

Positive and balanced reporting that emphasises the potential of a country and its positive characteristics can reinforce a country’s image.

However we should appreciate that the responsibility for creating positive news rests with Kenyans. The media is only a vehicle for conveying that news.

Kenya as an investment destination already has a number of recognisable basic attributes that support the national brand. Generally Kenyans are viewed as people who are enterprising and with some good measure of resilience.

They are accepted as fairly well educated and with strong human skills. These are values that continue to make many wish to associate with its citizens. Equally these are the qualities that make the Kenyan worker welcome and valued across the globe.

But we still have some distance to walk to achieve a strong set of sustainable national values that correctly and sufficiently form the support systems for this brand.

We need to strengthen our governance and educational systems to effectively emphasise ethics, respect for quality and orderliness, thrift, ambition and effort, and also care for human lives and environment.

These are essential building blocks of a strong national brand. They define how we work, behave and relate. These are human qualities that are seen and perceived by the outside world.

When attained these values can also reinforce our self-respect and confidence as a nation. They should be prominently visible at all levels and sections of our leadership.

I mentioned quality and orderliness as attributes we should work on because these are mainly what give first impressions to our visitors. It is the many small experiences and observations that can reinforce or diminish outsiders’ impression of Kenya.

First impressions by foreign visitors are made on the journey from the airports. I have in mind the exhausting and frustrating experiences visitors endure in traffic jams on their way from both Nairobi and Mombasa airports.

Specifically for Mombasa, snaking through Changamwe, Kibarani, the island, and Kisauni to the north coast is an experience that no tourist would wish to repeat.

Let us undertake a review of all potential nuisances that we subject our visitors to and gradually work on them. This way we shield the brand value of Kenya’s tourism.

Associated with the national brand is the Kenya Airways which is currently showing signs of financial stress.

The national flag carrier I believe should be conditionally assisted to survive and thrive as a viable and profitable business that is capable of offering excellent services. A poorly run national airline can be a liability that depreciates our brand.

Kenya has a number of routine negative points that are always diluting our brand globally. These are the self-destructing escapades which many outsiders cannot reconcile with the positive Kenya that they know.

Frequent incidents of ethnic violence and out-of-tune politics make investors and visitors dither. Stories of endemic corruption also negatively dent our national image and brand.

I believe there is a generational shift that is already happening here in Kenya and there is hope that it will bring with it a new set of brand values.

This is a shift that should be encouraged and allowed to thrive to permit a smooth transition to a new and stronger brand of Kenya. Our educational curricula should teach value systems as early as primary schools.

Kenya has what it takes to create and maintain a strong and positive image that encourages and sustains continuous global associations and trade.

But it requires deliberate and conscious efforts to build and sustain that image. It only take a careless political lapse to destroy what we have built over years. In the meantime, we should all salute our athletes’ excellent performance in Beijing.

Mr Wachira is director, Petroleum Focus Consultants.