In the news today, Orange Kenya plans to launch a mobile money transfer service to compete with Safaricom’s M-Pesa and Zain Kenya’s Zap services. Specific details as to when Orange Kenya plans to launch its mobile money transfer service have not been provided as yet. Mobile money transfers in Kenya are just one of the ways that the mobile network operators are using to lock-in subscribers for the long haul as their Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) has dropped significantly due to tariff wars over the last couple of years.
Monthly Archive for June, 2009
There is a revolution afoot and its known as real-time internet search. Most recently, Twitter has shown us just how important real-time internet search is in the case of the disputed Iran election results as well as the recent death of Michael Jackson. In both cases, Twitter proved to be the most current source of information and even eclipsed both CNN and Google in terms of having the latest updates.
The most compelling aspect of real-time internet search is that it is largely crowd sourced, meaning that people like you and me are the agents of creating and distributing the latest search results. In this manner, certain topics of interest start to trend and massive levels of traffic can be realized on web sites that have the most current information.
This brings me to the main thrust of this post – are Kenyan and other African brands ready for real-time internet search? In fact, are they even aware as to what the online conversation on their brands is, and what it means in terms of brand reputation and positioning, real-time? I did a couple of searches today for several iconic Kenyan brands on Twitter, below is what I found (I have highlighted bad tweets in bold and good tweets in italic font):
Search: Safaricom
# mamboleo How is it the Safaricom customer service center is the most difficult place to buy credit? about 1 hour ago from TwitterBerry
# 1mrsrnyawaaae_iffpa3dqnb-ia__ sportinkenya Ndereba, Kungu, Nanyim victorious in Safaricom Lewa event http://bit.ly/HEJ3m about 1 hour ago from Mobile Tweete
# Chicken_head_normal lostwhitekenyan What’s with the new safaricom mobile browser home page. Looks good. Nice headings but then nothing . . . No content at all? ? ? about 7 hours ago from TwitterBerry
# Tweet_photo_normal africaholidays Safaricom Lewa Marathon was this morning.Was superb,attendance was great.Time records were not broken but it was fan,sweat & noble.see u ’10 1 day ago from web
# Viatu_normal siraf_2 the safaricom lewa marathon is on.the most challening marathon run in the equator and in the wild.may the best man win 1 day ago from web
Search: kenya airways
# Faisalkili09 Getting ready to board kenya airways to nairobi. . Im already having fun! 1 day ago from txt
# Seagull_w_normal stilgherrian Did I misread that in my tiredness? Kenya Airways KQ0887 departs Bangkok for Nairobi at 0035, not for 40 mins? Damn. #toto 1 day ago from txt
# Picture_035_normal jeanfrancis Kenya Airways : Bientot des vols vers Malabo ( Via Douala ) 2 days ago from web
# Seagull_w_normal stilgherrian Whoever asked, I’m flying Thai to Bangkok, then Kenya Airways to Nairobi, same to Dar es Salaam, and a local airline to Zanzibar. #toto 2 days ago from TweetDeck
# Feeding_the_kids_normal beltanefire Well the worst thing occuredDespite getting all my visas etc for KENYA Kenya airways website collapsed 2 days ago
Search: EABL
# coldtusker @bankelele uhuru could have been favouring keroche over EABL. Same situation where Mastermind gets favorable treatment over BAT 4 days ago from web
# Tweep_known_as_gream_normal SupremeGREAM @nziokxs did u read the eabl is increasing the price of distilleds after tax reduction!!? it was jargonized didnt get much 5 days ago from mobile web
# Print_tusker_normal coldtusker @alykhansatchu Things are looking shaky today as EABL & safcom are down today. 6 days ago from web
# Weta-brca_normal natrlvisions All 3 bluebirds are, no doubt, very stunning. Had to work a little to find EABL where I lived in FL, but would just to go see them! 8 days ago from ChirpTracker
Search: Tusker
# greenroutes Beautiful tusker in wet forest at madumalai 24 minutes ago from fring
# Twitter_pic_for_web_page_normal michell_van_zyl my first tusker malt lager – mmmmmm about 16 hours ago from web
# Avatar_normal PinkM @MoMaalim mmmhhh…I don’t know how Tusker tastes but I’m not sure it’s @lyfSaMystry’s choice food. How do you do Mo? 1 day ago from web
# 3n_normal ntatu @inexes a good morning tusker, enjoy! 1 day ago from web
Search: Orange Kenya
# gachigi orange internet in kenya is so bad i haven’t been online for one week now..thanks orange 1 day ago from TwitterFox
# _mg_0258_normal larrymadowo Dominic Saint-Jean leaves Telkom Kenya, to be France Telecom EA ‘Advisor,’ replaced by Mickael Ghossein from Orange Jordan. Hmmmh… 1 day ago from web
# Moses2007_normal moseskemibaro New blog post: Orange Kenya’s “Niaje” Tariff and Safaricom Live http://moseskemibaro.com/?p=483 4 days ago from Twitter Tools
# Aly_khan_satchu_photo_normal alykhansatchu The Sun is a glorious orange disc this morning rising over Nairobi #NAIROBI #KENYA and Good Morning. 4 days ago from web
# Databank_main_r1_c1_normal DatabankGroup Kenya: Orange chief set for exit after 18 months at helm http://bit.ly/g6ftL 5 days ago from web
Search: Safari Sevens
# alykhansatchu @coldtusker WELL at least he is not blowing it on #CNNFAIL though they did feature the #safari sevens 1 day ago from web
# Logo2_normal UR7s Does anyone think that #Safari #Sevens is good enough to be part of the IRB series? 2 days ago from web
# Blupantherlogo_normal alusainc Jamati Sports Kenya Remains the Tusker Safari Sevens Champion: Kenya prevails against talented Sout.. http://tinyurl.com/nvxn9g 2 days ago from twitterfeed
# Jamati_1_normal jamati Kenya Remains the Tusker Safari Sevens Champion: Kenya prevails against talented South Africa http://tinyurl.com/nvxn9g 2 days ago from twitterfeed
# 86423296_6513d5dd8f_m_normal RugbyUnionNews [RugbyDump] Kenyan rugby and Safari Sevens tournament growing in popularity http://bit.ly/aZcP6 3 days ago from twitterfeed
# Rugby_normal Rugby_Nation Kenyan rugby and Safari Sevens tournament growing in popularity http://minurl.org/YdXT #rugby 3 days ago from web
Search: KTN Kenya
larrymadowo Look out for the Kenya tourism ad to air on CNN on #KTN Business Today, plus where the money is coming from 11 days ago from web
Search: NTV Kenya
# bankelele Did NTV just mention ‘Telkom Kenya’ and ’95% market share’ in same breath? 2 days ago from mobile web
# Hon moseskoinange I forgot i was watchin Ntv kenya news. 5 days ago from Gravity
# Ephy_tw_normal ephymwangi @NTV kenya I like your presentation 8 days ago from TwitterFox
# Logo_ntv_normal ntvkenya Check out our ‘NTV Kenya’ facebook page and comment on the various news items and programmes aired on NTV 9 days ago from web
Search: Harambee Stars
# kenyangirl2 Whatever happened to harambee stars out kenyan team, i hope they are taking lessons from team USA that beat spain today GO TEAM USA!!! 3 days ago from web
# Savvy_normal savvykenya New post..how the Harambee Stars match on Sato went down http://bit.ly/13il8h 4 days ago from web
# Default_profile_normal wescute harambee stars r on a role……….. 6 days ago from web
# 2917_74243554593_694244593_1581052_4441031_s_normal CKigwe Am happy of harambee stars victory! 4 Southafrica nicegame too! 7 days ago from mobile web
# Logo_ntv_normal ntvkenya Stars defeat Black Mambas to record first win: Harambee Stars collected their first three points from group B in.. http://tinyurl.com/ljp3ac
In a nutshell, the above twitter searches go to show that Kenyan brands are definitely part of the real-time internet search phenomenon, and that’s whether they know it, or not. Going forward, its up to them to “plug in” to the online conversation to enhance their brand visibility and relevance through real-time internet search.
This is an off-topic post but one that I just had to do. This morning, I and the rest of the world were greeted with the shocking news that “King of Pop” Michael Jackson died yesterday the 25th June 2009 from a massive heart attack in his home. Michael Jackson, or “MJ” as he was affectionately nicknamed by his fans was only 50 years old.
Since MJ’s rise to super stardom in the late seventies with his “Off the Wall” album and the eighties massive “Thriller” album, he clearly redefined what success was as a musician and entertainer extraordinaire. He broke album sales records globally and Thriller is still the most successful music album of all time. MJ made us want to “moon walk” and be just like him! We all bought his music, posters and other paraphernalia like the “glove” and the “jacket” in droves.
MJ was undoubtedly a living icon, albeit one who over the last decade slipped further and further down a very dark hole. His financial mismanagement and recurrent child abuse court cases completely destroyed the man, or rather he destroyed himself. MJ became less and less the man we admired as his fans and more and more a freak of nature with his recurrent plastic surgery “experiments” and ever lightening skin – even being referred to regularly by the media as “Wacko Jacko”. But, nevertheless, we loved MJ, we adored him. MJ was THE MAN!
So, as we mourn the passing of one of the world’s most gifted and entertaining icons, let us not deny our inner Michael Jackson – He was after all, only human. He had to grow up so much faster than most of us as the child lead singer of the original Jackson 5 – he had no childhood to speak of so can we really blame him for what he became and the bizarre things he did? His life was always in the spotlight and even now we are shocked at the sudden passing of MJ – has it really happened? MJ represented the best and the worst in humanity. He made us want to soar like him but he also showed us that you can crash hard. MJ, you will be missed. Rest in Peace.
Its official. According to various media sources, the much awaited SEACOM high speed undersea cable will not go live at the end of June 2009 as initially announced in Kenya. The go live of SEACOM has been delayed by a month to the end of July 2009, largely due to logistical challenges of the Somali Pirate menace in the Gulf of Aden. As a result, SEACOM is unable to complete the Asia connection of the cable that will enable it to become operational.
I must say that I am pesonally quite disappointed by the delay since we have been waiting years for the high speed and cost-effective internet to make it to Kenya. But then again, its only a month more to wait, hopefully. However, this delay creates a window of opportunity for the competing and Kenyan Government-backed TEAMS cable, which could now effectively begin operations before the SEACOM cable – giving them first mover advantage in the race to sign-up key customers.
In the newspapers today, Orange Kenya has launched a new tariff, “Niaje”. The new tariff clearly demonstrates that Kenya’s mobile networks are not yet done with their “tariff wars”. Niaje has a very competitive per minute rate of Kes. 4.00 for both Orange to Orange calls and Orange to Telkom Kenya calls. It also costs only Kes. 8.00 per minute to call other mobile and fixed line networks in Kenya. Going forward, what remains to be seen is how Safaricom, Zain and YU will respond to the Niaje tariff but at the end of the day its the customer who wins with inexpensive call rates!
Also in the newspapers today are full page ads promoting Safaricom Live. Safaricom Live is Safaricom’s mobile content portal which has all sorts of downloads including ringtones, videos, wallpapers, games, etc. I had written about this service a couple of months back and was very concerned that Safaricom was basically competing with its value added services (VAS) partners – It seems to me that they are going full throttle (anyway) with Safaricom Live as a way of growing their data-based revenue. I tried getting into the service this morning, both on mobile and via my PC – It took ages to pull it up and timed out often! Looks like their subscribers are banging to get in and Safaricom may have underestimated online traffic after they ran the full page ads!
Ok, this post is clearly off-topic from what I normally write about which tends to be technology and internet heavy – but I could’nt resist posting a story I found online about Air Tractor, a small aircraft company in the US the specializes in single engine agricultural crop dusting and fire fighting aeroplanes. Air Tractor completely dominates this unqiue niche and has done so for over 50 years. They are now expanding into the military sector and already have made serious headway. The other thing is that Air Tractor’s almost 80 years old founder still runs the business to-date. For the full (amazing) entreprenerial story that is Air Tractor, go here>
In today’s Business Daily, there is a story on the fact that the relatively low penetration of internet access in Kenya is ultimately limiting the potential of online advertising. This article seems to mirror alot of what I had to say in my recent two part posting on how Internet marketing is set to disruptively re-invent the Kenyan Ad Agency. Its good to read see I am not the only one who thinks that there are some serious changes required in how marketing is currently done in Kenya through largely traditional media and not digital media like the Internet. For the full story, go here>
Another interesting story that came out today in the Business Daily is that Mobile Value Added Service (VAS) Providers are very much at risk of being legally charged for offering music and ringtone downloads without respect to copyright laws or the authority of the musicians. I’ve never thought much about this issue in the past when I have downloaded ringtones but clearly it must be super lucrative if there are no royalties being paid out. I’d be very concerned for the dometsic and regional musicians who are probably struggling to make ends meet financially and yet some mobile services companies could be selling their music for a tidy profit! For the full story, go here>
Also in today’s Business Daily, Jamii Telecommunications and Safaricom have entered into a strategic partnership so that Safaricom can leverage their data infrastructure to reach more Internet users. The partnership will therefore see Safaricom competing for more and more retail and business Internet customers by using Jamii Telecommunications wireless, satellite and fibre optic infrastructure in Nairobi and Mombasa where they are (currently) operational. This will clearly open up more competition in the marketplace and enable Safaricom to penetrate a larger segment of high margin business users with its Safaricom Business offeirngs. For the full story, go here>
In today’s edition of the Business Daily, its been reported that the Kenya Womens Finance Trust (KWFT) is currently testing micro loan repayments from its loanees using Safaricom’s hugely popular M-Pesa service on mobile phones. The pilot, if viable, will be extended to most of KWFT’s branches in coming month’s. The loan repayment pilot is being done to improve the KWFT operational efficiencies, effectiveness and convenience. Its becoming more and more apparent in Kenya that the mobile phone is far more than just a communication device, its becoming a virtual bank account and end-to-end financial service for many of us! For the full story, go here>
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