Selling to survivors requires persistence
Sep 15, 2011
IN African marketing, as in African life, there is an obvious divide. There are brands for the well-off to super rich.
By Chris Harrison
IN African marketing, as in African life, there is an obvious divide. There are brands for the well-off to super rich.
There are brands for the emerging middle class. And there are brands for people whose lives are constrained by geography, culture, politics, and access to stuff.
But the fact remains that most Africans live at the ‘bottom’ of society. The watu, as they are called in Swahili, or more frequently the wananchi – a term often used by politicians, perhaps to suggest altruism.
Every country on this Continent as such descriptors.
At Y&R, we call such people ‘Resigned’ and ‘Strugglers’. Two distinct groups, but in similar economic circumstances.
Not just in Africa, but all over the world. Witness the recent riots and looting in London. Visit low-income housing in Tennessee. You’ll get the picture pretty quickly.
What separate these groups are their attitudes to life. The people we call ‘Resigned’ have accepted the boundaries of their existence. In Africa, most of them are subsistence farmers.
Usually outside the monied economy, not just because banks aren’t interested in them but because money doesn’t help them in their daily life. Barter and help thy neighbour do.
Not surprisingly their horizon is very short – today and tomorrow. They take refuge in tradition – storytelling, ritual, passing basic skills down.
They respect authority – women’s groups, the meeting place under the tree, the local chief. This doesn’t necessarily make them unfulfilled, or unhappy – except in times of crisis.
Maybe they don’t want to be ‘rescued’, an heretical opinion on this Continent imposed upon by Aid.
A South African colleague said recently – ‘African people are too poor, too dispersed’. He is wrong of course, but only in the scale of his generalisation. Having a little trouble shrugging off his monochrome past, I suspect.
There are millions of ‘Resigned’ people. Dispersed but they are not unreachable. Almost all have radios, and have had for two or three generations.
They gather in marketplaces and for religion. To market to them you must be persistent, and you must believe in two things. One, for your shareholders, that they represent a long-term volume opportunity. And two, that your brand satisfies a need in their lives.
Decades ago, our client Colgate-Palmolive realised that the universal truth its toothpaste addresses all over the world is also true in Africa. Colgate’s promise to consumers is and always has been CONFIDENCE.
And in Africa, we discovered that our smallest pack sizes were being bought for once-a-week usage. To freshen breath, and give strong African teeth a quick polish on Sunday mornings. For greater CONFIDENCE on the smartest day of the week.
Next week, we’ll look at the millions who do not accept their circumstances. We call them ‘Strugglers.’
To comment on this article, visit : www.chrisharrison.biz
Copyright Christopher James Harrison. PO Box 41036
Nairobi 00100 Kenya
IN African marketing, as in African life, there is an obvious divide. There are brands for the well-off to super rich.
There are brands for the emerging middle class. And there are brands for people whose lives are constrained by geography, culture, politics, and access to stuff.
But the fact remains that most Africans live at the ‘bottom’ of society. The watu, as they are called in Swahili, or more frequently the wananchi – a term often used by politicians, perhaps to suggest altruism.
Every country on this Continent as such descriptors.
At Y&R, we call such people ‘Resigned’ and ‘Strugglers’. Two distinct groups, but in similar economic circumstances.
Not just in Africa, but all over the world. Witness the recent riots and looting in London. Visit low-income housing in Tennessee. You’ll get the picture pretty quickly.
What separate these groups are their attitudes to life. The people we call ‘Resigned’ have accepted the boundaries of their existence. In Africa, most of them are subsistence farmers.
Usually outside the monied economy, not just because banks aren’t interested in them but because money doesn’t help them in their daily life. Barter and help thy neighbour do.
Not surprisingly their horizon is very short – today and tomorrow. They take refuge in tradition – storytelling, ritual, passing basic skills down.
They respect authority – women’s groups, the meeting place under the tree, the local chief. This doesn’t necessarily make them unfulfilled, or unhappy – except in times of crisis.
Maybe they don’t want to be ‘rescued’, an heretical opinion on this Continent imposed upon by Aid.
A South African colleague said recently – ‘African people are too poor, too dispersed’. He is wrong of course, but only in the scale of his generalisation. Having a little trouble shrugging off his monochrome past, I suspect.
There are millions of ‘Resigned’ people. Dispersed but they are not unreachable. Almost all have radios, and have had for two or three generations.
They gather in marketplaces and for religion. To market to them you must be persistent, and you must believe in two things. One, for your shareholders, that they represent a long-term volume opportunity. And two, that your brand satisfies a need in their lives.
Decades ago, our client Colgate-Palmolive realised that the universal truth its toothpaste addresses all over the world is also true in Africa. Colgate’s promise to consumers is and always has been CONFIDENCE.
And in Africa, we discovered that our smallest pack sizes were being bought for once-a-week usage. To freshen breath, and give strong African teeth a quick polish on Sunday mornings. For greater CONFIDENCE on the smartest day of the week.
Next week, we’ll look at the millions who do not accept their circumstances. We call them ‘Strugglers.’
To comment on this article, visit : www.chrisharrison.biz
Copyright Christopher James Harrison. PO Box 41036
Nairobi 00100 Kenya