NAIROBI, Kenya – Food and drinks company Nestlé Kenya has launched a reformulated 3in1 sachet by giving out free coffee in the streets of Nairobi’s Central Business District, in a move that comes as part of a surge in street marketing by Kenyan brands.
In the last year, spending by Kenyan brands on OOH (out-of-home) marketing has risen by 8 per cent, to $106 million.
“We took an integrated campaign approach for NESCAFÉ 3in1. This entailed a combination of above the line, below the line and through the line marketing support.
In our below the line strategy, availing the new product to a wide audience has been key to our success and that’s why we have set up various initiatives to ensure that NESCAFÉ 3in1 is available at our consumers’ convenience – whenever and wherever they need coffee,” said Ciru Miring’u (PICTURE), Nestlé East Africa Cluster managing director.
“So far, we have conducted product education and sampling in high traffic areas to allow consumers to enjoy a great tasting cup of coffee on their way to work or school ensuring that they have a great start to their day.”
In doing so, Nestlé Kenya is opening a direct channel to consumers at the point of purchase, against the back drop of the challenges faced by digital advertisers, with now 30.4 million global consumers worldwide having turned to ad blockers to restrict advertisements.
As a result, “Kenya will be the continent’s second-fastest OOH growth market by year 2020, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 7.0 per cent to reach $138m in revenue,” according to a 2016 report by Price Waterhouse Coopers on media trends in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.
“Companies tend to be constantly searching for new methods of communication that will allow them to differentiate their offerings and their brands in relatively saturated markets.
“Due to this, many have succumbed to the attractions of unconventional marketing approaches such as street marketing to achieve this differentiation,” reported the Journal of Marketing Communications recently.
“The operations of street marketing strive to meet the following objectives: to communicate with a particular and often moving target in its everyday environment; to generate word of mouth around a product, brand, cause, or institution; to create links between the brand and consumers through real-life participation in memorable experiences.”
Further findings have shown this marketing approach is effective for both the consumer and the company.
“The advantages of a street marketing campaign for a company reside in the directness of engagement and actual contact with a target, however mobile.
Through the experience and the ephemeral feelings shared between the company and the target, advertisers and agencies generate a feeling of intimacy that resonates beyond the encounter.
This feeling of nearness becomes all the more lasting as the affected individuals relive this encounter on the internet through social media,” reported the Journal of Marketing Communications.
In the case of NESCAFÉ, the brand is concentrating on creating a memorable start to the day by offering consumers a cup of coffee in the morning as they head to work or school.
