Safaricom, other big advertisers benefit from bonus airtime

By Macharia Kamau

Beverage makers, banks and mobile phone operators top the list of companies getting the most coverage in local media and in the process, have received free publicity worth hundreds of millions of shillings in the last four months.

According to the Media Publicity Index (MPI), a quarterly survey that tracks media coverage of companies operating locally, conducted by Synovate Kenya (formerly Steadman Group), the top ten most highlighted firms got close to Sh1 billion worth of free publicity.

Between April and June this year, the ten firms that topped the list of the highest spenders in adverts coughed up Sh845 million.

Synovate uses a concept called advertising value equivalent (AVE) to evaluate public relations activities undertaken by companies and compares subsequent coverage to the cost of similar-sized advertisement.

With an AVE of over Sh100 million, each Coca Cola, East African Breweries (EABL), Kenya Commercial Bank and Safaricom, are the biggest spenders in advertising. The total AVE for the four companies during the quarter stood at Sh578.21 million. This accounted for 68 per cent of the total for the top ten companies.

Other companies on the list include Telkom Kenya, Zain, Equity Bank and Kenya Power and Lighting Company Ltd, ranked fifth to eighth in that order.

Barclays Bank and Kenya Airways took the ninth and tenth positions, respectively.

Coca Cola was the most covered with its AVE standing at Sh167.86 million. This was almost double the score (Sh86 million) it registered in the first quarter of this year. For the quarter ending June, the soft drink maker had 1,373 appearances spread across both print and electronic media.

EABL got Sh167.15 million worth of free publicity, while KCB and Safaricom got Sh132.38 million and Sh110.82 million, respectively during the quarter.

The research firm, however, said that AVE was not a proper measure, adding that it was just one of the factors used to measure publicity index.

Prominence a story

"It is not the ultimate in measuring public relations activities. In order to come up with the index, we factor other elements like frequency, size and tone of coverage as well as how the coverage is distributed in other media," said Mr Joe Otin director of Synovate Kenya’s Media Monitoring Division.

Other factors considered by the pollster before coming up with the overall index include the prominence a story is given and opportunity by audience to see it during a news bulletin or when reading a newspaper.

KCB topped companies with most improved MPI with 124 points, which increased from 107.2 points recorded in the first quarter. EABL followed with 112.6 points, recording another increase from the 78.9 points it registered in the quarter that ended March.

Safaricom, which topped the index during the first quarter with 108 points, was ranked third in the latest results with a score of 103.7. Coca Cola and Telkom Kenya ranked fourth and fifth respectively.

The survey notes that the top three companies got most of their publicity from sponsorships, mostly of sporting events. Coca Cola had, for instance, acquired the naming rights to the Nyayo National Stadium before the Government, through Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Hellen Sambili, reversed the deal.

The fallout between the Government and the Stadia Management Board about the branding played to the advantage of the soft drink manufacturer, with many of the people who were polled saying the idea was noble.

KCB got most of its scores courtesy of a rallying event and a Pro-Am golf series, both of which it sponsored. It also sponsored football, volleyball and rugby tournaments, which received massive air play during the quarter that ended June.

Sports coverage

EABL, on the other hand, has a running relationship with the annual Kenya Open Golf and Tusker Safari sevens, both of which took place during the quarter as well as a long running affiliation with Tusker Football Club.

Otin noted sports often gets substantial coverage in the local media thus creating opportunities for companies to publicise their brands. It is also one of the most sought after segments in the media, coming third after local and foreign news.

"On average you will get five solid pages in almost all the daily papers on the previous day’s sports activities. There are also slots solely dedicated to sports on both radio and television," he said.

Otin also noted that there was a correspondence between the most covered companies and biggest advertisers. Safaricom, Telkom Kenya and Zain — the three top advertisers — during the first quarter, spent over Sh1 billion amongst themselves in adverts, and all made it to the top list of most covered companies.

Other heavy advertisers that received significant coverage include Unilever, EABL, Coca Cola, Equity Bank and mobile operator yu. There have been questions whether local media is being swayed to cover companies that also advertise more.

Otin, however, said companies that topped the list have the financial muscle to finance branding and public relations activities as well as spend big on advertisements. He added that a media house’s editorial policy should always be above board.

"Reputable media houses should have a clear editorial policy and a demarcation between commercial and editorial departments," said Otin.