By MARY KIMONYE- CEO BRAND KENYA BOARD
INTRODUCTION
The Twenty First Century has presented nations of the world with unique challenges which if not adequately and appropriately addressed may negatively affect the livelihoods of the worlds 6 billion people and throw the entire world into a crisis.
Already we are experiencing the effects of global warming, international terrorism, substance abuse, environmental degradation and of cause globalization and the run away technological development.
Whereas some of the developments of the century are positive and have eased the way nations of the world relate, exchange goods and services, others are causing tensions and each nation is wondering “How do we survive”.
Technological developments for example have shortened distances but also complicated commerce and industry. The poor nations of the world most of who are in Africa and who cannot keep up with such developments find their share of worlds resources dwindling.
Globalization has opened up interactions, smashed psychological and physical boundaries and intensified competition for investments, tourism, inward migration of factors of production and individual nations influence and persuasions in world affairs.
The question most nations of African are grappling with is “Where to find the competitive advantage that is so much needed to remain relevant in world affairs. Much of this relevance is dependent on how others see and perceive the African countries.
Africa stands out in the minds of the world as the Dark Continent – a backward place where disease, poverty, ethnic strife, crime and poor governance are the defining characteristics. Whereas all this exists and are challenges, African governments are struggling with there is a lot of good in Africa.
The richness of the African cultures, the great endowments in minerals, good agricultural climates, warm friendly people present unique and positive assets which can be propelled to position Africa as truly the next frontier for the development of the world.
The first world happened in Europe&America, Asia and the Middle East are currently holding the development of the world, the tallest buildings, the biggest factories. Indeed the fastest growing economies are now to be found in Asia.
Africa can be positioned to be the next frontier. The huge deposits of unexploited wealth, the youthful dynamic populations and the resiliency of the continent will in coming years, present Africa as the preferred option for investments trade and industry as well as sources of labor. But for this to happen and for the African people to benefit fully, clearly well thought strategies of improving Africa’s image must be put in place.
Africa must take the lead and tell her story. Africa must consciously direct the content that reaches the ears of the world whether through the net, print or electronic media.
Africa’s Leaders must begin to think image and take the lead as the PR agents for their respective countries and for the continent as a whole. In sum Africa must look to leverage her diversity to create and maintain the desirable image. Africa must Brand and Rebrand herself.
For the East Africa countries, their stories and challenges cannot be divorced from those of the rest of Africa.
In terms of Branding what the Eastern African countries need to worry about, is “how to wriggle themselves out of the generally held perceptions of Africa as the backward continent .Successful attempts have been made, Egypt is able to attract tourists and investments, South Africa has been working on its Brand “alive with possibilities” is a common phrase to many of us.
Because of their commonality the East Africa country would benefit more from joint Branding efforts.
This paper will forward proposals on how the East Africa countries could leverage their ethnic diversity to create competitive advantage that will turn the region into an attractive place for business work and leisure and improve the inflow of the much needed foreign exchange.
AFRICA’S DIVERSITY: A BLESSING OR CURSE?
Africa is truly a continent of contrasts. A mosaic of colour, that in a manner of speaking could be said to “capture the world in one”.
Popularly known as the “Motherland”, Africa is the cradle of mankind and the home of ancient civilizations, occupied by some 900 million people of all races striding***** sq. kilometers. Africa is the third largest continent and Africa’s personality and character is very well captured in its rich diversity.
The climates of Africa range from deserts to rich tropical rainforests. In these are huge deposits of all types of resources the oil rich North, expansive gold and copper belts of the South western and Central Africa and a diversity of agricultural products.
The people of Africa speak over 2000 languages with diverse cultures and heritage. These cultures and heritage remain some of Africa’s greatest attractions to the world. Those who know Africa most possibly know the sounds of the African drum, which virtually every african tribe beats to signity good things like harvest, winning of tribal wars, the birth of children and of course marriage and many other good fortunes. Africa has an awesome experience, informed by the many struggles of her people, through history: colonialism, slave trade, tribal wars, neocolonialism, and more recently, globalization which has left the Africa leaders struggling with ways of generating enough capital to develop their countries within the world monetary and trade systems where they have little or no say but where so much is expected of them.
It is also informed by Africa’s natural beauty, the alluring beaches, the snow capped mountains right on the equator, the variety of wildlife, the ruggedness of the Africa savannah and the Great Rift Valley; The question is why does Africa despite all this suffers negative images. A continent that is so richly endowed, yet still houses the world’s poorest people. Why has the richness of Africa’s diversity not been fully exploited to position Africa where it should ideally be?
In his book Africa is Rising Vijay Mahajan presents a very encouraging view on Africa, and says, “despite all the attention it has received for its social, medical, humanitarian and political challenges, it is still undervalued as a consumer market”.
Africa has 900 million consumers who need all manner of goods and services. The world cannot afford to ignore Africa or even to brush it a side as the “backward” continent.
According to the Population Reference Bureau 2007 world population Data Sheet, Africa has 41% of its population being below 15 years. This makes it one of the youngest markets in the world. These young Africans are dynamic, and connected with consumer demands that mirror the west, it is in these young people; in their energy, enthusiasm and resilience lies the true brand assets of for Africa.
Through music and sports this young generation of Africans is slowly but surely foot printing the world. Africa’s strength and its greatest competitive advantage does not lie in its many minerals like oil, diamonds and gold but in the youthful talent and vibrant creativity of its people.
Africa has produced countless entrepreneurs, business people, academicians, sportsmen and political leaders. The nations of Africa and indeed E.A must tapp into this hidden “soft” wealth to transform themselves into domitable global brands.
AFRICA’S BRANDING AND IMAGE BUILDING
What is branding?
Branding is as ancient as civilization. The earliest indication of branding was somewhere around 100B.C in the Greek islands. The literal meaning of the word brand is to burn or to put an indelible identification mark.
Historically, branding has been applied a lot by marketing firms, foods and services. In this respect to brand means to use a term, symbol, design, phrase, colour or a combination of these to identify and differentiate the products of different producers.
Branded products reap benefits normally in terms of premium pricing, customer loyalty, easy identification and recognition as well as traceability.
What is place branding?
The Branding of nations and regions can be looked at within the context of Place Branding. This covers all initiatives of giving places be they cities, towns, Nations or regions distinctive and attractive characters based on the unique differentiators of these places.
The concept of Place Branding is fairly new and often confused with traditional advertising and promotion.
Place branding is however a more encompassing concept that deals with developing a places image and identity consciously in order to improve the places attractiveness,. It’s a holistic concept that demands the involvement and contribution of everybody.
In a continent like Africa the leaders whether political, religious or community, together with the business people, the policy makers, the citizens, investors etc would all be critical in the continents branding.
By definition, place branding involves applying the concepts and practices of marketing to the social, political, economic, and cultural development of a place. The results is an improved image of the perception of others towards the place whether a country, city or even a continent. It also results into an improved identity i.e. How the citizens and others in the place see and conceive of the place. Place branding then assumes that a place can be treated just like a product by a critical mass of people.
Such people then hold a generalized perception about the place which then informs or determines the nature of their interactions with the place. Through the use of strategic communication and marketing and backed by reality on the ground, the place can then generate awareness about itself, affection and preference towards itself and of course choice. Countries that have built strong brands have been able to reap enormous benefits in terms of improved influence in worlds affairs, greater inflow of capital, increased investments, social cohesion, greater demand for products and services, improved tourism and premium pricing.
A well branded country gives its citizens an “identity” that serves as a focal point and rallying call for harnessing the nations human potential. Strong nation brands are also able to better withstand crises.
When people express their preference for Indian Cuisine, Italian Shoes, French Perfumes, German Engineering, Egyptian Heritage, African Culture, they do so as a result of the brand images of these places. Is it then possible for a critical mass of people, say investors to express their preference for a continent? Yes, depending not so much about what is said of that continent but rather the context within which the continent exists and in which its messages are received. Branding a continent is then driven by the reality of the continents context.
The fundamental question to ask is, “What is the prevailing African context or culture?”. If such context is predominantly negative then people respond negatively-No desire to visit, wariness/ suspicion, less resources etc. It is within that context and these reactions that Africa and indeed East Africa must find and secure a vantage place for herself in the world. This in essence is where Branding comes in.
WHY BRAND AFRICA.
Fundamentally African countries are not only in competition with each other but with those in other regions. To stand, African nations need compelling reasons to present to the world. A deeper look at the majority of African countries gives both positive and negative reasons to embark on branding.
a) Positive Reasons (Drivers of the Continent Branding)
First, Africa possesses an array of strong Brand assets whose potential has not been fully exploited.
-People (Africa Icons)
-Cultures/heritage
-Climate
-Minerals
-Geographical features.
-Wildlife
-Sports
Secondly, many countries of Africa have built strong social and governance systems which can be sold to the rest of the world as useful models.
Thirdly, due to the geographical and climatic conditions of Africa, some of the worlds highest quality agricultural products are to be found here. There are strong exports, but rarely do they carry the names of their countries of origin (tea, coffee, cut flowers, cocoa etc)
Lastly, the African population remains an important source market not only for skills but also for talent in such areas as music, dance and technology. Companies looking to house their corpo0rate headquarters away from the very expensive cities of the world would find Africa a very viable option. Already industry and the private sector are thriving in many African states.
b) Negative Reasons Why We Must Brand Africa
– Limited or non existent African voice in world affairs.
– Wanton exploitations of Africans natural resources by others, led especially by multinationals corporations.
– Low levels of pride, confidence and patriotism among a majority of Africa’s people towards their motherland.
– Challenges of poverty, unemployment and diseases.
– Predominantly negative perceptions held world wide towards Africa.
– Lack of control and limited control of content on Africa leading to over projected nations of insecurity, corruption and inequality, poverty and general deprivation as well as understated achievements and positive values.
– Social economic challenges among them overstrained infrastructure, basic services and unemployment and of course bad press.
TO WHAT EXTENT DOES AFRICA NEED BRANDING.
Put very simply to the extent that the continent is low in “place value” i.e. uniqueness and distinctiveness. Fundamental questions need to be asked, for example to what extents can the nations of Africa make claims of being unique, distinctive and attractive.
In other words, possessing some competitive advantage over others. If they are lacking in these, then they can be viewed as depressed or distressed places which need a new image. Put against the key measures of attractiveness i.e. livability, investability and visibility, Africa can generally be described as depressed though some nations may not fully fit this classification.
To reverse this depressed state certain fundamental steps must be taken by Africa states. These steps are mapped directly on those aspects of the countries that give them a bad image.
– Governance must be addressed.
– Infrastructure must be improved.
– The costs of doing business must be addressed.
– Challenges of security must be addressed.
– Urban congestion and provision of basic services must also be addressed.
– All the symptoms and causes of society’s decay must be addressed among then crime, idleness, debt, poor services, inequality etc.
– The countries products and services must be delivered in an efficient and accessible way.
When all these are dealt with then the nations should be in a position to take up the two critical actions towards repackaging themselves by:
- i. Designing the right mix of each country’s attractions.
- ii. Setting attractive incentives for potential, visitors, investors and buyers of goods and services. Until these are in place then African countries can use communication to challenge the notion that Africa is risky and unsafe and also reinforce the fact that Africa is an attractive place to visit, live and invest.
WHAT MODEL SHOULD AFRICAN NATIONS USE TOWARDS BRANDING AND IMPROVING THEIR IMAGES?
Nation branding is not a short term quick fix action, but a strategic and consciously thought out process that is systematic in its very nature. The situations and challenges Africa countries are experiencing and which are denting their image cannot be advertised away. Solutions must be sought and deliberate actions taken to improve the context within which they exist.
To succeed at nation branding a country must design a home grown approach that takes cognizance of its uniqueness and the needs and aspirations of its people and potential target audiences. In general however a generic approach could be employment. This approach many follow certain key steps:
- i. It is advisable for the branding initiative to be within a high level agency led by a collaborative planning group of visionaries from diverse disciplines and groups (investors, business people, academicians, policy makers and professionals).
- ii. The planning group should begin by dissecting the country to extract its DNA i.e. to clearly isolate the countries strengths, weaknesses, principal assets, key brand builders and also brand destroyers. The process should lead to development of a catalogue of the countries problems and their causes as well as the countries attractions and their status, resources, values and opportunities.
- iii. Based on the diagnostic, the planning groups should then develop a clear vision of the long term solutions to the country’s problems taking into account all key aspects i.e. politics, economy, social, policy etc.
- iv. Out of this vision the planning group should develop a strategy (ies) for the country’s transformation in terms of:
–Policy and Governance
– Investments
– Basic services
– Infrastructure
– New attractions
– Behavior and attitude
– Charge
-People
- v. The country should then roll out a communication program both internally and externally to communicate its improved status and image.
- vi. Finally real time collaborative mechanism of support and image monitoring and evaluation is put in place, and brand champions identified to (convey and embody the vision).
ETHNIC DIVERSITY TOOLS FOR BRANDING.
Our ethnic diversity has unique and very ageless tools that can be used to propel the African nations to more prominent standings in world affairs.
Among these are;
- i. National Attitudes and Values
A country’s national psyche can be a strong differentiator and a formidable force. Kenya’s transformation in the period 2003-2007 when it attained a 7% growth had among others things a lot to do with the then prevailing attitude of optimism among the population.
Countries with strong nationalistic attitudes have been known to evolve cohesive and stable societies-Tanzania and several other nations around the world are cases in point.
The “English way of life” has often been sited as one of the reasons for Britain’s economic decline in the last century. This way of life is characterized by ‘stable, cozy behaviour’. The non saving culture of America, informed by over confidence and a high sense of security in the might of their nation has seen many suffer greatly under the current world financial crisis.
Needless to say a welcoming friendly attitude is a big image booster. Kenya has been a beneficiary of this for many years.
- ii. Music and Dance.
The love for music across all cultures is indisputable. Music has become a universally unifying force and indeed a strong income earner for many communities in Africa. This is the one product that Africa must use very effortless to communicate herself and tell the world her story.
- iii. Sports
Africa is awash with all manner of captivating sports, many from ancient african traditions. From football to long distance running the might of the African people has left the world awe struck. Watching African runners on the tracks of America and Europe is a truly spectacular experience. If modernized and institutionalized sports can change the face of Africa.
- iv. Art
African art constitutes one of the most diverse legacies on earth. Though many casual observes tend to tend generalize “traditional” African art, the continent is full of peoples, societies, and civilizations, each with unique visual special culture. The definition also includes the art of the African Diaspora, such as the art of African Americans. Despite this diversity, there are some unifying artistic themes when considering the totality of the visual culture from the continent of Africa. African Art with its emphasis on the human figure, visual abstraction, sculpture, performed art and non linear scaling can be a real image booster.
- v. African Cuisine
Africa is home to hundreds of tribes, ethnic and social groups. This diversity is also reflected in African cuisine from the ingredients used to the preparation and techniques of cooking. From the culinary dishes of North Africa to the southern African’s braais and Eastern Africans Swahili and traditional dishes Africa is truly has a banquet ready for the world to feast on.
- vi. Religion
Religion in Africa is multifaceted. Most Africans adhere to either Christianity or Islam as they are most prominent. This does not mean that other religions are not represented, but in smaller percentages. Religion plays a big role in African culture and through it identities and ways of life are shaped thus resulting in having a diverse and enriched populous. This makes Africa a vibrant place as anyone in the world can easily fit in.
- vii. Dress and Fashion.
Every continent has its distinct sense of style and Africa has not been left behind. Africa has become a leader in some fashion trends and has influenced fashion in America, Europe and the rest of the world. West Africa’s Agbada and Buba, Eastern Africa‘s Kikoy, kitenge, Umshanna, Omwenda and Gomesi and the North African’s Bui bui and Kanzu (which has been modernized to today’s fashion trend), Africa’s fashion industry is growing and diversifying each day thus boosting the economy and image of the continent.
CONCLUSION
The diversity of Africa has often been exploited for the wrong reasons. Regimes have used tribal and racial diversity to sustain themselves. However, as the people of Africa get more knowledgeable and exposed and as economic challenges push Africans to less communal living styles, this negative use of diversity cannot be sustained.
African nations must wake up and appreciate the richness of this diversity and use it to tell the world about Africa. The Africa youth possess vitality, creativity and energy that matches their counterparts in the rest of the world.
This needs to be channeled into the social and economic policy development of the Africa countries. In this modern world driven by knowledge and technology and with dwindling resources, only nations that are able to positively impact the world will win in the global competition with her rich cultural heritage and racial and ethnic diversity, Africa is truly poised for take off.
The Future of Africa 