diversifying to reach this audience
changing habits such as entertainment
vendors who have responded to the change
from older gens who listened to radio to
catering to dem youth watch movies and
music on their phones in compressed
format at KSh.30 only.
For Kenyan youth, data is a huge part
of their lives because this is where they
socialize and get their news. Telco
companies are therefore in constant
competition trying to offer them data at
affordable rates. The average millennial
uses about KSh.50 daily on airtime
where KSh.40 is used on data while the
remaining Sh10 goes to calls only, but
only when necessary.
They WhatsApp, not text. They get their
news on Twitter, broadcast their version
on Instagram, personalize on WhatsApp
to peer groups and maybe reference
on Facebook. This content journey
demonstrates a shift in style of usage
and relevance of apps and their changing
lifespans, a critical component to grasp in
digital marketing.
Unique content creators are the holy grail
in winning hearts and minds from this
demographic as there is a heavy excessive
amount of online content. However,
following the messaging path of word of
mouth can create notoriety and win the
day if the content stands out enough.
This is why content makers, Viusasa,
from Royal Media, are primed to yet
again create a paradigm shift in content
consumption and its monetization locally.
Millennials also have peculiar banking
habits. According to a 2017 research by
YDX, a youth market research and youth
As much as millenni-
als command atten-
tion, they often get
flak for what is per-
ceived as poor work
ethic with short atten-
tion spans. They have
been labelled as lazy,
spending too much
time on gadgets, ‘ex-
periences’ and gener-
ally feeling entitled.
marketing agency, a large proportion of
Kenyan youth aged between 16 to 24
manage their money on their phones with
mobile wallets (mainly M-Pesa). This is
critical to note as more than 33billion
USD was transacted on mobile wallets in
2016 in Kenya.
Those between 25-30 years have a salary
account, a transition of what used to be
their student account while those aged
between 30 to 35 have more than one
bank account for their salary, savings and
investment. Thus the attitude to financial
services and expectations from brands in
this space remains attuned to convenience,
value, living the #YOLO experience.
Young people prefer brands that make
life easier for them, but as much as they
are willing to try out new technology
more than the older generations, they
lack loyalty. They expect brands to react to
their ideas and criticism and allow them
a role in shaping new products as noted
with various groups.
By being connected to the online world,
youths have created online identities that
give them freedom of expression and a
voice to shape the world, but in which
image?
The key to remember though is that
despite the prevalence of online media in
urban centers, traditional media remains
king given that five million Kenyans
remain media dark.
However, the phenomenal exponential
growth in online penetration presents
unprecedented opportunities both to
connect and build new businesses and
to create a change in the capacity and
capability to achieve global success, to
even the playing field.
Given that millennials are generally
hustlers to a man, the future remains
hopeful as they perceive sustainability and
growth in their businesses as the ultimate
route to self-actualization, prosperity and
wealth.
Angela Mwirigi is the Director, Marketing
& Communications at the KCB Group. This
is an abridged version of the presentation
she shared at the AMRA 2018 Forum in
Nairobi. You can commune with her on
this or related matters at: AMwirigi@
gmail.com.