by Herman Manson (@marklives) The revival of Y&R in Kenya and the broader East African market rests in the hands of a remarkable woman. Prital Patel has evolved Creative Edge — a business she describes as a “one-woman show”, bought 18 years ago — first into a small graphic design shop, and then again into a fully fledged agency only three years ago.
Today, through a partnership initiated with Y&R in March 2015, she is reviving the agency networks prospects in East Africa.
Launched in 1995
Creative Y&R, as the agency is now known, launched in 1995. Patel had been working in finance (she has a BSc in management from the University of London) but wanted to do something more creative and started helping out at the family business, which was in the process of setting up a printing press. That’s how she happened across Creative Edge, a small graphic design shop, whose owner was in the process of emigrating, and bought the business.
Patel learnt the trade by buying books and taking courses when she was travelling abroad; there was little practical marketing or advertising courses in Kenya at the time. Mostly, Creative Edge worked with SMEs and, as Kenya’s economy grew, so did it. Long-term clients were suddenly looking for full-service communication solutions and the agency had to scramble to meet these needs or risk losing business. So, three years ago, she transformed the business into a full-service agency, and launched a digital counterpart, Qube.
In any case, graphic design had become commoditised, as design was outsourced to freelancers. The transition from design shop to agency is still in progress, and managing the expectations of both staff and clients remains a challenge.
Scouting for a new partner
Y&R had an agency in Kenya but it was in the process of being closed down. The network was scouting the market for a new partner, and soon met with Patel and her team. It felt like a fit, says Patel, and a formal affiliation came into being. Contrary to some reports in the Kenyan press, Creative Edge was not acquired by Y&R, although the network is looking at acquiring a shareholding as the relationship matures.
Creative Y&R and Qube employ 70 people, and service major Kenyan clients, including East Africa Breweries (controlled by Diageo), Cadbury GSK and Crown Paints.
Creative Y&R will function as Y&R’s East African hub and is in the process of investing in offices or finding affiliate partners in Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania. Qube has been affiliated with Y&R’s VML, and Y&R’s shopper-marketing arm, LabStore, will be launching later in the year.
Kenya’s first Bronze Lion
Creative Y&R also won Kenya’s first Bronze Lion at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity earlier this year. Its ECD, Ben Hunt, has worked in in various markets in Asia, as well as in Australia, Nigeria and Ghana.
The Kenyan media and marketing environment is a sophisticated one, says Patel. The PwC Kenyan Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2015–2019 estimates that the total entertainment and media expenditure in Kenya will exceed the US$3bn mark in 2019 to reach US$3.3bn.
The Kenyan Pay-TV market will reach 689 000 subscribers and subscription revenue US$144m by 2019, according to PwC. Total TV ad revenue will reach US$US$591m in the same year. By 2019, Kenya’s newspaper market will be worth US$224m, of which US$169 million will be generated by advertising.
Roller-coaster
Courses in marketing and advertising are now much more accessible to students in Kenya. It’s an exciting time to be in that market — a roller-coaster, according to Patel. But she’s hanging on.
Herman Manson (@marklives) is the founder and editor of MarkLives.com. He was the inaugural Vodacom Social Media Journalist of the Year in 2011 and has, over his 20-year-plus career, contributed to numerous journals and websites in South Africa and abroad, including AdVantage magazine, Men’s Health, Computer World and African Communications.
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