by Remon Geyser (@remongeyser) Radio is buzzing its way through the airwaves in Kenya, and making a big impact upon the consumers who tune in to listen to the latest news and freshest hits from around the country. We chatted with a few of our Kenyan creatives to get a better feel for the Kenyan radio landscape.
Interestingly, in 1999 there were less than 10 active radio stations. According to radiostationworld.com, there are 154 radio stations prevalent in Kenya today, each province offering various frequencies. The impressive amount of stations offer shows that are hosted in both English and the country’s other primary language, Swahili.
Homeboyz Radio 91.5 by S Martin, Flickr.
Languages
Most people in Kenya are fluent in Swahili, as it is a mandatory subject to take in primary and secondary school, and the most commonly spoken African language in East Africa. In fact, 48% of Kenyan radio listeners (2009) predominantly speak Swahili.
Kenya boasts 62 regional tribal languages and there are a few state-run stations that converse in these languages when on air. Even though Swahili may be understood by the greater communities that use these indigenous tongues, the government has done well to provide a service of broadcasting relevant to the smaller cultural pockets in Kenya.
So, what radio stations are the people of Kenya tuning in to? What’s buzzing on the air, and what topics of late have been the primary focus of many stations nationwide? Are the DJs widely respected and revered for their charm, humour and asking the controversial questions that shake the foundations of opinion, as is the situation here in South Africa? Are there cultural nuances (such as the English-Swahili language shift) that would dictate the context of news, cater to the preference of music and direct on-air debate?
Redundant radios by Ben Freeman, Flickr.
Popular stations — who’s listening in, and what’s all the talk about?
Capital FM 98.4 (English)
In the Kenyan environment, one station’s popularity is exuberantly spoken about: Capital FM 98.4. Founded in 1996, the station has been one of Kenya’s primary sources of news, general information and music before the exponential influx of radio stations in the 21st century — and has remained one of the country’s most-popular frequencies. The radio station’s culture and personality could be comparable to that of 5fm in South Africa.
Situated in the busy metropolis of Nairobi, Capital FM 98.4 caters to the audio needs of the urban dwellers, generally around the ages of 18–35. This audience is educated, trendy and could be considered as the influencers of this urban jungle. They are “in the know” with the latest goings-on in Kenya and tend to be very homogenous with the music that they listen to.
This is brought to table with popular Capital FM DJ, Joe Mfalme, who specialises in Dancehall and upbeat Reggae mixes. He is an award-winning DJ, grabbing the “Hottest Media D Award” in 2009 and 2010 respectively, and continues to bring popular music to the listener of Capital FM. The famous DJ is often characterised as the branded face of Captial FM and is highlighted as “Kenya’s Hottest Sensation” on the station’s website.
Nairobi by Jonathan Stonehouse, Flickr.
Capital FM 98.4 is known for its relevant topics, which tends to focus on local uptown events in Nairobi. The Koroga festival, sponsored by the station, celebrates “the greatest African acts from around the continent”. The event happened last month (June) and made a huge impact upon the driven conversation on air, as organisers were interviewed and, as a result, organic hype was stimulated.
The station also covers a standard variety of topics, angled mostly at American entertainment from Hollywood, however. The station has even coined a speciality segment entitled #weirdnews, which covers soft, whimsical happenings that tie in with humour. A recent topic (July) that was covered in this segment followed the story of a shark “falling from the sky” and landing in someone’s garden in Virginia Beach, Virginia, US. Others included the nation’s excitement for US president Barack Obama’s arrival in Kenya, as his ancestral links to the country are very important and a symbol of pride to many Kenyans.
Pwani 104.7 FM and catering to other cultures (Swahili)
For Kenyans who are mother-tongue Swahili speakers, Pwani 104.7 FM is a popular choice. The station belongs to the KBC broadcasting group of Kenya, which is owned and mediated by the national government. Ten percent of conversation is broadcast in Mijikenda, a language used by nine small tribes inhabiting land between the Sambake and Umba rivers, on the Kenyan coast.
Beach loafers by The Wandering Angel, Flickr.
Pwani 104.7 FM has accumulated a net audience of over 2m people, with a big audience in the port city and national business hub of Mombasa. The trends have shifted towards bringing culturally relevant, appealing, educational and entertaining audio content to audiences who primarily use this language. The station caters to their online brand awareness with Facebook and Twitter, regularly updated with the latest broadcasts and news spots in Swahili, of course.
Although there is the availability to live-stream via websites such as kenya.radio-live.co and kenyamoja.com, these online platforms cater more to English-broadcasting stations. Only a few Swahili stations, as well as other Kenyan languages such as Radio Maisha 102.7 and Musyi FM, are broadcast online.
A youth-centric audience listens to Pwani 104.7 FM, and a fair share of airtime is dedicated to urban beats and the latest in Kenyan hip hop. However, the audience also tunes in to listen to a more-diversified, modern Pan-African range of music. These include Taraab, which may be compared to an Africanised form of jazz mixed with a little bit of soul.
Due to the proximity between Mombasa and the Indian subcontinent, these influences are also prevalent in the music of Pwani 104.7 FM, catering to the preferences of the Muslim listenership in Mombasa plus other coastal towns where the concentration of Muslim demographics are high. In 2014, it was calculated that 14.59m people in Kenya are of Muslim faith, which comprises 33% of the total population. Therefore, the trend in reaching out to the religion and psychographic of these audiences is on the rise in similar FM stations.
What does this mean for brands and agencies?
The presence of stations that broadcast in English in the western regions of Kenya is attractive to more cosmopolitan brands. Capital FM 98.4 has the highest ad revenue of any station in Kenya, due its longevity and market strength.
Other stations catering to indigenous languages, such as Pwani 104.7, are the perfect marketplace for brands to reach out in a more relevant “Kenyan culture” manner. International brands/corporates shouldn’t be ignoring the growing Swahili market, though.
Kenya’s radio landscape is thriving, and growing with its reach and popularity. The multilingual condition of broadcasting allows a wide basin of consumers to engage with a medium of relative news sourcing and the latest in local music. These stations are reaching into the culture of the developing cities, all the way through to facilitating the latest happenings in the rural, tribal and coastal spheres.
As a result, this is making a positive impact upon Kenyan audiences by giving them a sustainable platform of keeping up to date with the latest in their own country and abroad.
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This information was provided by Springleap’s Trend Spotting platform.
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Remon Geyser (@remongeyser) is a burger fanatic, wine connoisseur and eSports enthusiast (yes, a fancy term for playing computer games). He is also the Research Lead for Springleap, heading up a new global creative research division whilst obscurely attempting a PhD. Springleap provides instant creative expert feedback to rock marketing ROI. Remon contributes the new weekly “Talk Africa” column, covering Pan-African trends, on MarkLives.com.
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