Zain Kenya acquires Superbrand status

By Macharia Kamau

Zain Kenya, Kenya’s second largest mobile phone services provider, has received the Superbrand status, after emerging as the highest ranked mobile phone operator, ranked at position 15 in East Africa.

Vodacom Tanzania was ranked 86, while MTN was at position 88. Tigo and Uganda Telecom were ranked 94 and 208 respectively.

"In a world where there are millions of brands to choose from, consumers will readily relate to, and recognize, those that reflect integrity and humility, which can only be achieved through consistency, and continuity of product performance," said Jawad Jaffer, Superbrands East Africa project director.

Superbrands East Africa does a survey of once every two years, seeking to find out the brand perceptions and preferences by consumers from the region.

Jaffer noted that the consumers’ viewpoints are dynamic, and brand perception might significantly change in a short span of time.

Zain hopes to ride on the status to increase subscriber base in East Africa, especially Kenya where it has for years remained a distant second to market leader Safaricom, which has over 70 per cent market share in the voice segment.

"Consumers having an emotional attachment with the brand is the first step and believe that this will reflect in the number of subscribers. It is already happening, but the Superbrand status will accelerate this," Arefeh Bashar, chief operating officer Zain East Africa, said. The firm urged Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) to implement a regulatory framework that would stop players from undercutting others in their quest to increase market share.