DESTINATION MARKETING
Redefining Africa’s
Place Brands
W
ild animals, Maasai warriors
adorned in traditional attire,
tourists, mostly white, aboard
tourist vans, enjoying the beautiful
sceneries of landscapes and wild animals
scattered on a grass filled plain. ...An
all too familiar narrative. I am sure you
recognize where all this is heading.
African place brands have for a long time
been sold as tourist destinations using too
familiar visuals, such as those described
above, in both print and video advertising.
These visuals are also used by Kenya’s main
Destination Marketing Organization. It
almost seems as though no one has ever
paused and thought the reasons behind
this positioning. Better yet ask any regular
Kenyan on the streets what is the best
thing that Kenya has to offer to tourists.
My bet is as good as yours - wildlife and
national parks. This seems like we have all
been conditioned to think that way about
our country too.
I lived abroad for a short time. During my
stay, I would hear people say, “I am going
to Paris..., I am going to London…, Milan,
Amsterdam, Berlin, Manchester, New
York” etc. What I found a little peculiar
was that I never heard anybody state that,
I am going to Nairobi, Kigali, Kampala
or Dar es Salaam. The lingo was always,
“Oh... when are you going to Africa?”
Someone once asked me. “Can I be able to
see the animals from your house?”
Secondly, during the New Year celebrations,
international media showcased how cities
in the world ushered in the New Year 2019.
The most striking thing was that there was
no single African city that was showcased,
whereas all other parts of the world were
70 MAL31/19 ISSUE
By Margaret Muriithi
covered; New York, London, Dubai, Hong
Kong, Taiwan, Sydney.., name them.
I never really took offence. What really
struck me is how much we have not
differentiated our countries from each
other as well as individual cities within
countries. This often leads to Africa being
viewed as one country with a homogenous
population. Funny enough this “country”
is way bigger than Europe. In fact, it is
the second largest continent after Asia by
both size and population. Given this fact,
you expect better in terms of awareness
and brand visibility.
I really began to think about why this could
be. This narrative has been consistent for
many decades. Taking an example of Kenya,
I get this feeling that African cities have
not worked hard enough in branding and
differentiating their cities as destination
brands. We have not showcased what is
unique about our Nairobi, hence, the only
thing that tourists are bound to appreciate
from previous stories, is the wildlife and
the “untamed wilderness”.
I proceeded to watch a couple of
promotional videos by Brand Kenya Board
on You Tube. They majorly talk about an
“untamed wilderness”. On the downside,
I would relate this to the unending
perception by people in Western countries,
that Africa is an undeveloped jungle,
filled with strife and suffering and whose
inhabitants have not embraced modernity.
This is a perception that Africa has not
been able to shake off for decades. A
person who has not travelled but has come
across the promotional videos cannot be
blamed for seeing Kenya as one and only
one thing - An untamed wilderness.It is
important to note that every place brand
is unique and different things are bound to
be showcased, but I feel it is time we began
gradually showcasing our cities. Portraying
African countries in similar ways, using
similar visuals does not help at all.
There are other things we could leverage
on including unique deep history
and a vibrant nightlife. If not, unique
differentiators could be innovated, just
the way Dubai created the dancing
water fountain and the London Eye was
created too. They both attract a lot of
tourists. Another lingering question is the
perpetual use of Maasai people adorned in
traditional attire, in all advertising visuals.
This is despite Kenya having a plethora of
more than 42 tribes. Really? This would be
an opportunity to create national cohesion
and showcase other aspects and tribes,
hence keeping different cultures alive.
Many researchers from the west have in
the past critiqued this representation of
Africa by tourist agencies abroad. Many of
these researchers wrote in the 1970s and
1980s. It is interesting to note that this
representation still dominates how African
tourist destinations are sold to the rest of
the world. We need to get creative about
differentiating our cities and countries.
This article heavily borrows from
Margaret Muriithi’s master’s thesis
MSc Strategic communication-
Lund University, Sweden. Feel
free to get in touch with her for full
references via email at: Margiewm.
[email protected].