Kenya’s musical concert scene has, in the last 6 months been at its peak. As noted by Michie, a Kenyan tweep, Kenya’s live performance has, in a span of 3 months, hosted Electronic Dance Music’s high priest – Diplo, US RnB Artist Omarion, Jamaican Reggae artist- Damian Marley & Nigeria’s Wizkid with Jidenna set to perform in a fortnight in Nairobi.
Can South Africa twitter realize that Kenya has had Diplo,Omarion,Damien Marley,Jidenna & Wizkid in a span of 3months? She coming to Kenya.
— Michie (@Mstowarituva) May 22, 2017
Companies have been using music events to build their brands for quite some time now. According to a 2015 study by live promoter AEG and Momentum Worldwide, a marketing agency focusing on experiences in the music world, sponsoring a live music event makes millennials trust and recommend a brand.
According to the study; 93% of respondents say they like brands that sponsor live events, 86% perceive those brands as being more authentic, 80% purchase a product from a sponsoring brand after the concert experience and 80% recommend brands that sponsor live music experience to their networks compared to 49% among non-attendees.
Brand sponsorship is essential to the success of a musical concert. Brands seeking to reach millennials, a group that has shown an immense interest not only in music but also in live spaces such as concerts and festivals, will endear itself more by focusing its marketing strategy to such events.
Kenyan
Promoters are really coming out guns blazing this time round.
Damien Marley
Jidenna
Wiz kid
OmarionIn a span of 3 months.
— Mazel Tov ✌ (@bobeabobea) May 20, 2017
That is exactly what Moët Hennessy is currently doing in Kenya.
Mention any of the recent 5 live concert performances and chances are that Moët Hennessy was the major sponsor of most, if not all of them.
Moët Hennessy is part of the world’s largest luxury group Moët Hennessy- Louis Vuitton (LVHM) which has over 60 brands.
According to an article appearing in the business daily, Kenya’s growing thirst for luxury drinks has been on the rise and driving the demand for fine drinks. There has been a demand for finer drinks, especially single malt whiskeys, with international brands looking to grow their market share locally.
As noted by the Moët Hennessy Marketing Manager for East Africa. “The middle class in the country is growing and Kenyans are traveling to London, Paris, Dubai, they come back to Kenya with the experience”.
It is in this growing middle class, the love for music and a good experience that Hennessy is seeking to plug in its brand in Kenya.
“Hennessy is associated with good artists, with people who believe and are passionate by what they are doing. When you meet talented people and you offer them the best quality product in a nice environment, the result is explosive.” Says Alexandre Helaine the Moët Hennessy Market Manager – Eastern Africa.
The Hennessy Artistry – a global music campaign to promote the art of mixing various genres and blending the talents of world’s top artist, came to Kenya in 2014 with its first Kenyan artist being Anto Neosoul. The Artistry has been credited for growing careers of world famed artists such as Nas, QTip, D’Banj.
In 2010 Hennessy through the Hennessy artistry brought together The Roots & Q-Tip, Mixing Old School, and New School and Blending Musical Genres to create a new experience. This has been captured in the documentary ‘The art of blending’.
Locally in Kenya, the brand has gone on to associate with great artist performances. The first noted high-level event being the Wizkid and Chris Brown live concert in Mombasa where Hennessy was the VVIP sponsors.
Darmian Marley, Diamond, Wizkid, Jidenna, Omarion, Dj Jazzy Jeff… RIP salaries. https://t.co/FIgQQapwDm
— Watch_Dogs (@lu_kei) May 19, 2017
On 1st July, Jidenna, an American recording artist and record producer with Nigerian ancestry, will be doing a live performance at the Carnivore grounds in Nairobi Kenya. Also on set to perform will be Kenya’s pioneer hip hop artist Nyashinski who has made a huge come back with various hits following his long hiatus, it will be his first time performing on stage in almost a decade. The concert is the 3rd edition of FOMO Parties. Hennessy is the title sponsor for this Saturday concert.
Brand sponsorship of live performances has not been consistent in the past. The Tusker Lite experience which, for a while, brought various RnB Soul artists such as Erykah Badu and Anthony Hamilton discontinued the series. Sierra which had started a Sierra Live Jazz concert series by bringing acts such as Incognito, no longer runs the series. Others have been the Tusker Malt Club 100