ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS
Local realities vital in selling to Africans
There are different skin shades, different mannerisms, different ways of speaking, even when it’s the same language
What is the difference between red and green — apart from offering conflicting messages at traffic lights? In Zambia, says Denford Magora, head of the Jericho advertising agency, red is considered a prestige colour. Aspirational brands adopt it for packaging and corporate identity. Green, on the other hand, is comparatively down market. So when a foreign Jericho client, whose corporate identity was overwhelmingly green with a small splash of red, decided to launch a product in Zambia, it was advised to reverse the colours and make red dominant, even though the existing mix resonated positively in the client’s home country. "The styling, as it stood, would have alienated many consumers immediately," says Magora, whose Harare-based agency also has offices in Zambia and Malawi. Many multinationals talk blithely of entering the "African market". There’s no such thing, says Jason Xenopoulos, chief vision officer of the global VML advertising group and chief creative officer of its Europe...
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