ADVERTISING
Kenya… Here Are The
Secrets Of Great
Advertising
By Andrew Human
C
reatively awarded work is 11 times
more effective in generating a
market share increase – a reality
the Kenyan advertising industry can use
to its advantage ahead of this year’s Loerie
Awards.
Yet, if advertisers did only what market
research
recommended,
advertising
wouldn’t be creative and it would certainly
not win any awards. Would it matter?
Undoubtedly yes, says Andrew Human,
CEO of the Loeries Africa Middle East.
The Kenyan entertainment and media
market was worth US$2.1 billion in 2016,
up 13.6% on 2015. Revenue will grow at
an 8.5% compound annual growth rate
over the next five years, hitting the US$3.0
billion mark in 2020, and totalling US$3.2
billion in 2020, according to a recent
PWC report.
This means big business potential for the
Kenyan advertising industry – and an
increasingly important role for industry
awards.
There is a clear link between creatively
awarded advertising and commercial
success. In a landmark 2010 whitepaper,
The Link Between Creativity and
Effectiveness, the Institute of Practitioners
in Advertising (IPA) merged data from
ten years of its Effectiveness Awards
(which rigorously assess marketing ROI)
with scores over the same period from
The Gunn Report (an annual publication
ranking the most creatively-awarded
advertising). The result showed the
relationship between ‘greater’ creativity
and better results.
It found overall, creatively-awarded
campaigns are 11 times more efficient
To be effective, great advertising doesn’t need
to be pretty. It doesn’t even need to be visual.
It certainly doesn’t need to be expensive. What
it does need – and here’s the real secret – is a
quality of unexpectedness. Advertising that is
memorable and truly delights the audience is
unpredictable, a little out-there, and sometimes
crazy. It’s important not to forget to have some
fun.
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than non-awarded ones at driving
market share growth. They are also more
successful across business metrics like
sales volume gain, market penetration,
customer acquisition and loyalty.
After 12 years of working for the Loeries,
I have seen the best work the industry has
produced, much of which has emerged
from Kenya.
So, what are the tips for Kenyan creatives
looking
for
regional
recognition?
Innovation is the most important
ingredient. Without a great idea you have
nothing, and you can’t fix a bad idea – no
matter how much money you throw at it,
it remains a bad idea.
The quality of execution also matters -
it’s one thing having an idea, but it takes
a lot to do it properly. This is followed
with three words for would-be winners:
relevance, relevance, relevance.
First you’ve got to be relevant to the
audience. Second, you’ve got to be relevant
to the brand. And third, you’ve got to be
relevant to the chosen medium.
Loeries submissions from the Kenyan
market are a showcase of these open
secrets. In 2018 Kenyan agencies won 10
Loeries, 5 of which went to Ogilvy Mather
Africa for the Ol Pejeta Conservancy’s
‘The World’s Most Eligible Bachelor’
campaign. Safaricom walked away with
a Gold Loerie for their Mtiba campaign,