Producing communities and commodities: Safaricom and commercial nationalism in Kenya

Abstract

This research analyses Safaricom, one of the most established mobile operators in Kenya. Alongside the provision of mobile services, Safaricom has closely engaged with the government of Kenya, even getting involved in the nation’s politics. This study examines Safaricom’s advertisements from 2010-2014 to explore its use of national sentiment in its marketing. We argue that the ads reflect a commitment to promoting the country and its products through discourses of ‘commercial nationalism’, which present Safaricom as a driver of economic growth and development in Kenya. These discourses link Kenyan identity and distinctiveness to consumerism, commercial and economic success, profit and upward social mobility.

Inclusive Business at the Base of the Pyramid: The Role of Embeddedness for Enabling Social Innovations

“…The company exploited its first-mover advantage in Kenya to develop an image of a flagbearer operator that represented the whole nation. Safaricom's marketing and promotional campaigns often profile the company as "Proudly Kenyan", which blended collective sentiments with a message of service quality and reliability to create a positive corporate image (Tuwei and Tully, 2017). The remainder of this section will show how embeddedness inspired the initiation, implementation and sustenance of mission-driven business activities in Safaricom.…”

“…Although managed and partly owned by Vodafone, Safaricom has successfully branded itself as a genuinely Kenyan company, which is apparent from its motto of 'Transforming Kenyan's Lives.' This was an outcome of a deliberate branding strategy crafted during the company's formative years to create better emotional connection with Kenyans (Tuwei and Tully, 2017). The company exploited its first-mover advantage in Kenya to develop an image of a flagbearer operator that represented the whole nation.…”

Popular Digital Imagination: Grass-Root Conceptualization of the Mobile Phone in the Global South

“…Despite the pervasiveness and visual impact of billboards and other marketing tools in framing uses and users, few authors have studied these vectors in the context of digital technologies in the Global South (for notable exceptions, see Horst, 2014;Horst & Miller, 2006;Tuwei & Tully, 2017;Wang, 2010). But looking at marketing strategies can provide useful insights.…”

“…But looking at marketing strategies can provide useful insights. For example, Tuwei and Tully (2017) in their analysis of the video ads of mobile operator Safaricom in Kenya, show how the commercial company's "reimagining of national identity" (Tuwei & Tully, 2017, p. 29) is parallel to individual users' reimagining of their role as successful and upwardly-mobile consumers, who inhabit a world of (economic) opportunity. Similar messages are commonly deployed in the commercial strategies of mobile phone operators in a variety of countries.…”

Communication technology, capabilities and livelihoods

“…Further, the ads presented Safaricom as the driver of the country's economic growth and development. The company achieved this by using discourses that linked Kenyan identity and other aspects of the country's distinctiveness to consumerism, commercial economic success, profit and upward mobility (Tuwei & Tully, 2017). This study, situated within the mobile telephony for development research complements these studies by examining how rural M-Pesa users as well as M-Pesa agents utilize M-Pesa for their individual development.…”