Companies

Safaricom, betting firms most visible brands in media

scom

A Safaricom shop on Kimathi Street, Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Safaricom #ticker:SCOM and betting firms have dislodged Coca-Cola to become the most visible brands in Kenyan media, according to latest survey that tracked the number of times leading companies kept their products in the eyes of consumers.

Research firm Ipsos Kenya ranks Safaricom as the brand that consumers of radio, television, Internet, newspapers or magazines are most likely to see, having overtaken beverages maker, Coca-Cola.

“We measure every content that went out as advertising whether paid for or not. We are not tracking how much was actually spent but just the value of content that went out as exposure of brands,” said Richard Manduku, Ipsos media insights manager.

Estimated value of advertising by the communication sector grew by 16 per cent to Sh15.6 billion in 12 months to last December due to competition between Safaricom and Telkom loyalty campaigns, Ipsos data showed.

According to Ipsos, Safaricom’s visibility was valued at Sh10.87 billion, going by the number of times its commercials appeared in the press and the prevailing charges in different media platforms.

The figures covering the period between January and December 2018 show that Coca-Cola’s visibility dropped from position two to six, with the value of the space given in the media shrinking nearly three times to Sh2.5 billion.

Betting craze

Betting and gamming firms dominated in the top 10 chart, explaining the intensity of gambling craze in the country.

Shabiki, SportPesa, Betin, Tatua and Lotto Kenya all feature in the top 10 chart.

Combined, the five brand’s value of visibility in the media was about Sh17.57 billion, being the highest spending sector.

This was despite the increased taxation and pull out of Angukia Chapaa, Mega dollar, Supabet 247, Shinda Bet and Vuna Lottery.

“A lot of people thought increased tax would reduce advertising in the industry but the new comers actually started increasing advertising to gain visibility,” explained Mr Manduku.

Telkom Kenya’s brand visibility moved to position nine from 2017’s position 20 as it pushed for uptake of its products through promotions.

Airtel also improved from position 18 to 15.

Ipsos says how strong a brand's visibility is in the eyes of the target customers has a bigger say on the choices they will make while choosing among competing brands.