MARKETING AFRICA MAL 18/17 mal 18:17 online | Page 16

TALKING POINT
CAMPAIGN TIME
MARKETING THINGS
By Boniface Ngahu
K
enya goes to polls in August
2017, the party primaries
were done in May amid a lot
of confusion and many fallen giants.
Let us have a look at the marketing
aspects that have driven the political
campaigns.
Party Primaries
For the first time party primaries
in Kenya were a serious thing
yours truly also voted, this was
due to the party hopping law that
prohibited party hopping after
the primaries. This has resulted
to an unprecedented number of
independent candidates. Getting the
nomination of the popular party in a
particular region is almost equivalent
to winning the main elections.
The primaries were highly contested
with some counties like Nyeri
sending home all the mps apart
from one. Kirinyaga voted Ann
Waiguru for governor to compete
with Martha Karua in the general
election guaranteeing us of at
least one woman governor in the
incoming council of governors
compared to the current one which
is a pure bull dance.
From a marketing perspective the
party primaries tell us that the
market has changed and being a
market leader is not a guarantee
to staying at the top. We are now
faced with a market that has a very
short attention span and that has
become very unforgiving to non-
performance.
Diversity is also in play as we saw
more younger people and women
‘‘ From a marketing perspective the
party primaries tell us that the market has
changed and being a market leader is not a
guarantee to staying at the top. We are now
faced with a market that has a very short
attention span and that has become very
unforgiving to non-performance.’’
14 MAL 18/17 ISSUE
get nomination from major parties
compared to the past. A former
watchman was also voted for an
MCA position. This tells us about
the increasing power of women
and youth in line with changing
demographics.
The increasing political spending
also tells us that we need to spend
more to reach our target audience.
The underhand dealings during
the primaries also tell us that the
market is a dirty place that is not for
the faint hearted; this means that
you should be aware that when you
wrestle with a pig and you get dirty
it enjoys.
Slogans And Tibim
Just like in marketing slogans
are very important in politics as
part of hammering your unique
selling proposition and getting
remembered. The National Super
Alliance (NASA)’s slogan “Mambo
Yabadilika” is about change. NASA
is about change, this means that
NASA supporters should be those
who are inclined to a change in
government. Jubilee party’s slogan,
“Tuko Pamoja” means “We Are
Together” so it means we are
together in government and the
work should go on.