Are Corporates Helping or Hurting Sports and Arts in Kenya?

There has been tremendous growth over the last decade as far as sports and arts are concerned. The number of events has steadily increased with the growth of the middle class being a major driving factor. This has seen a number of corporates come on board as sponsors of various events from fashion shows, music festivals, award shows and sporting events. Artistes and athletes have benefited from this support and it has created a revenue stream for them and those who work with them. It has also changed the face of the country, especially as far as the major cities and towns are concerned. Hardly a weekend passes by without a hyped event happening somewhere. Granted, there’s still a lot to be done as far as event planning in Kenya is concerned, but we are definitely on the right path especially where sports and arts in Kenya are concerned.

Sponsorship is important in the sports and arts sectors. Teams, individual athletes, artistes and events require sponsorship. This is how it works all over the world. Kenya is no different with corporates steadily coming on board various events and campaigns. This has been good news for artistes and athletes and has contributed to the growth of these sectors. There is one thing however, that I find problematic when it comes to corporate sponsorship in Kenya. There is an element of ‘overbranding’ when it comes to Kenyan corporates with corporates almost always insisting on completely taking over an event through naming rights. There is nothing inherently wrong with granting naming rights to the title sponsor of an event, but it does become problematic when the title sponsor changes every few years. The brand integrity of the event or campaign is compromised as it becomes confusing as the sponsors change every other time. A good example is rugby sevens that currently doesn’t have a title sponsor. It was originally sponsored by Tusker and then taken over by Safaricom who have recently opted out. We are basically waiting for the announcement of the new title sponsor so we can know what name to use to refer to the event.

Granted, corporates have a right to ask for naming rights if they are giving large sums of money to an event however, Kenya isn’t the only country in the world to have corporate sponsorship. Even the EPL that was sponsored by Barclays for years has declined to grant naming rights to any other sponsor going forward, realizing the importance of brand integrity. It may difficult to deal with corporates on some of these matters but the originators of an idea or an event need to think about longevity and sustainability before granting naming rights to a corporate as it does become confusing for audiences/fans going forward.

What’s so difficult with saying event x sponsored by corporate x as opposed to corporate x event x? Honestly, the audience knows who sponsored the event without the corporates name being part of the event’s name. Also, it is sad that there have been complaints from event planners of bullying by corporates that has run them out of business because they refused to play ball when it came to sponsorship. Some corporates even insist on placing their banners on a performance stage surely.

There are corporates that have also started their own specific events and included the name of the corporate in the event name. Again, nothing wrong with that as it is their event and it is part of their brand visibility strategy. The thing I worry about is the sustainability of this as it is primarily about branding and not necessarily the art/sports or artistes/sportspeople. When it is no longer working for the brand, they will simply shelve the event or campaign and move on to something else. There is nothing wrong with that and it is the right of a corporate to do what makes best business sense as it is about business at the end of the day. The issue is when a huge corporate has major influence in the arts scene and because of the clout and resources it is able to pull into its events, effectively makes it difficult for smaller players especially artistes to compete.

We can’t blame corporates though as there is a gap that is meant to be filled by the government that they are filling. It could be argued that Kenya is a very corporate country. Unfortunately, a lot of the systems that should be working that are to do with basic services are not hence why services like healthcare and transport in disarray.  I remember when people around the world were doing ‘Happy’ covers. Their covers were city themed while in Kenya the covers were by corporates. There was no Nairobi happy; there was Safaricom, USIU, Strathmore, Nation, Capital FM happy among others.

I would like to see a Nairobi Jazz Festival just as there is a Cape Town Jazz Festival. I would like to see a Nairobi Film Festival just as there is Durban International Film Festival or Zanzibar International Film Festival. This can only happen with support of the government and a push by artistes to have something that will endure the years even as sponsors change. As an artiste, I can’t help but worry about the growth of the sector going forward. Yes, there is money to be currently made and platforms to shine on and we are grateful. However, will these same platforms be there ten years from now and are they creating a brand that is centered around our identity as a people? We really need to be asking this questions or we’ll never make actual progress in either the arts or sports if all the major events are primarily corporate centric as opposed to being centered on the art/sports/campaign with corporate sponsor(s).