Size 8 performs during the Niko na Safaricom Live concert held at the Carnivore grounds in Nairobi. She is one of the artistes who have been part of the telecom’s company campaign criss-crossing the country. FILE
By EVELYN SITUMA
Celebrity endorsement has proved to be very successful for some products over the years.
Companies are investing in these endorsements to attract customers and increase sales.
A big deal internationally, it is quickly catching on in Kenya with local athletes, actors and musicians being signed on as brand ambassadors.
Little was known of Julius Yego until last year’s London Olympics where he represented Kenya in javelin. The policeman had relied on the Internet to sharpen his skills, earning himself the nickname ‘YouTube athlete.’
His relentless zeal to learn the skills online has seen him add another feather to his cap as the brand ambassador for Orange Telkom. The telecom company unveiled a 30 second- advert featuring Yego talking about how he ended up being a javelin athlete as part of promoting Orange’s Internet services in a bid to drive up numbers.
Mickael Ghossein, Telkom Kenya’s chief executive, said Yego was ideal to appeal to online users, inspiring them to log on for unlimited opportunities.
“Yego is an example of the unlimited opportunities for learning and development that Internet access offers.”
The athlete is the latest of many well-known Kenyans who have signed deals to be brand ambassadors. The use of celebrities to promote products is a marketing tool that helps create awareness and eventually sales of their products.
Companies are willing to pay millions of shillings to get the endorsement. The trend is quickly catching on in Kenya with companies using musicians, athletes and actors to endorse their products.
This is not the first time Orange is signing a local celebrity to promote its products. In 2009, it signed a Sh10 million deal with Paul Julius Nunda, popularly known as Jua Cali, to promote its ‘Ndunda’ campaign.
The Sh10 million figure was the biggest ever earned by a local celebrity at the time. The endorsement came with a lot of criticism from fellow artists who were also eyeing a piece of the cake.
The 33-year-old Jua Cali says the endorsement was a major boost of confidence in the industry and not just him. This came just after he had served a Sh1 million contract as the face of Motorola locally.
Jua Cali, it emerges, is one of the most expensive product endorsers in the country. Though many still question why him, he says it’s by God’s grace.
The Safaricom Live campaign is said to be one of the best paying with artistes fetching a good pay-check and getting exposure across the country. The campaign goes across the country with different artists promoting products by the telecom company using music.
“They pay us well, I can’t say how much, but it’s really good money,” Jua Cali said, smiling shyly. Size 8, Jaguar, Juliani, Red San, Nameless and Jimmy Gait are some of the artistes who have been part of the Safaricom Live Caravan.
Pan-African campaign
One of Kenya’s well known marathoners Paul Tergat was unveiled as a Diageo ambassador in November 2012. He was selected to take part in Diageo’s Johnnie Walker’s pan-African campaign.
The campaign also features Ethiopian marathoner Haile Gebrselassie, Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango and former Nigerian footballer Samson Siasia. Tergat did not reveal how much he was paid for the campaign, saying it was confidential.
David Rudisha is another Kenyan athlete who has endorsed local products including the shoe polish Kiwi and Safe Guard. For most local endorsements, the pay cheque ranges at about Sh1 million, a figure they are not happy with and expect more.
“We are never paid an amount equivalent to our talent,” said Bonny Musambi, a news anchor and gospel artist who featured in the ‘Nuru’ soap television commercial.
For the three-year publicity contract he says he was offered Sh350,000, a figure, which with time he has come to see as little.
“The fact that I was on billboards, on TV and print, the figure was not little,” said Bonny. He blames himself for the shortfall, saying he settled for the amount because it was his first engagement and lacked advisors to steer him towards maximizing on the contract. He has since found an agent.
Creating a brand
Actor Kenneth Ambani has featured in different products commercials for over two decades with his most recent one being Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT), which is running. Famed for his roles in Tausi, Makutano Junction and Tushauriane he says many people lack an understanding of how to negotiate a good deal, settling for less.
“Sometimes a celebrity may agree to endorse a product for Sh20,000 while actually the pact was Sh200,000 because of needs,” said Ambani.
The most Ambani has been offered for his talent in commercials is Sh800, 000.
“It should be above that. But often the money goes to the production house producing the TVC,” said Ambani, who keeps a day job. Ambani is an assistant manager at the Postal Corporation.
The least he has ever been paid for endorsing a product was Sh42,500. However, he no longer settles for that, he is now a brand that corporates are willing to associate with and they must be willing to pay.
Poor pay
Jua Kali says part of the reason that sees celebrities land shoddy endorsement deals is greed; they are not willing to talk to people for fear of competition. This makes them vulnerable to exploitation.
“Artistes have high tendency of greed and thus some opt for the smallest team possible or go it alone.”
Realising one’s worth and packaging oneself as a brand is one way of getting corporates to reward talents appropriately.
“If one is good at what they do, certainly they will be prominent and corporates are bound to show interest,” says JuaKali.
Jacquey Nyaminde, a celebrated actress going by the stage name “Wilbroda” says as a celebrity she is a brand who people associate with.
“You have to make sure you are a realistic character, able to address issues,” said Jacquey. She endeavours to research more on the current trends to remain relevant in her role.
“The accent thing, doesn’t work anymore. People want to express issues,” Jacquey said in an interview with BDLife. As a celebrity endorser, she has landed deals she considers rewarding. Her recent endorsement is Molo Milk, which paid her Sh700,000.
“I can’t complain though money is never enough. It’s natural. We all want more money. What is clear is that you can never pay for talent. There is nothing enough to measure our worth what we get is only an appreciation,” said Jacquey.
The least Jacquey has received for endorsement is Sh400, 000 for a two-year contract.
The contract restricts celebrities from endorsing competitors’ products until expiry. Ambani believes the only thing that will make celebrities benefit from their talent is having a body in place to fight for their rights. He is leading from the front, and has already registered a lobby group. Among the issues the outfit will address are artists’ rights and standard rates for artists.
Nigeria’s film industry which is consider among the best in the continent, took intervention of the artist guild to bring sanity.
Internationally, athletes, musicians and actors have been known to take home millions of dollars with endorsements. Derrick Rose, a basketball player in his early 20s, is currently the highest paid sports celebrity endorser after signing a 14-year deal with Adidas worth $260 million.
Tiger Woods was for years the highest paid athlete from endorsements. However, his earnings dropped to $54.5 million, according to Sports Illustrated from over $100 million a couple of years ago.
Highly appealing celebrities, such as Kim Kardashian, are paid $10,000 per tweet, for endorsing products online.
Source: Business Daily
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