Mpesa clinches top spot in brands survey

Popular mobile payment brand, M-PESA, has been crowned the 2015 Kenya’s leading Superbrand’, beating previous winner and parent company Safaricom and several others in the race.

A survey managed by London-based Centre for Brand Analysis revealed that M-PESA has improved its brand equity considerably from 2012, where it was placed sixth. Safaricom itself dropped to position three, behind Red Cross Society, a humanitarian relief organisation, which emerged second after Mpesa.

 “The leading brands not only prove they offer quality products and services that consumers can trust, but do so on a consistent basis,” explained  Centre CEO Stephen Cheliotis, while announcing the results yesterday.

“We surveyed both informed experts and the end consumers who ultimately decide what brands to buy to determine the region’s Superbrand,” he added.

Other top brands

Others companies that made it to the top 20 brands were The Daily Nation, Facebook, Google, Nakumatt, Citizen TV and Mumias Sugar company. Other brands in the top 20 list include Coca-Cola, Samsung, Kenchic, Colgate, Dettol, Supa Loaf, Bata, Equity Bank, Farmer’s Choice and Crown Paints.

Eleven brands retained their top 20 positions in the 2015 survey. Kenya Red Cross and Equity Bank Kenya maintained their top 20 rankings and remain the only representatives of their respective sectors in the top grouping.

Leading supermarket and food retailer Nakumatt maintained its top 20 placing, moving up from 11th to eighth as the only representative from its sector. New entries into the top 20 included three US digital giants Facebook (fifth), Google (sixth) and Microsoft (seventh) and South Korean-owned Samsung (12th). Other new entrants were Bata, up from 27th position to 17th.

“Close to 1,000 brands were reviewed so those brands placing high in the rankings can be rightly proud of their performance and success in generating respect among experts and desirability among customers,” Cheliotis said.

The leading brands were judged on three core criteria, namely quality, reliability and distinction. Separate surveys are currently taking place in Tanzania and Uganda to inform on which brands can enter the East African edition of the global branding publication Superbrands.
Cooking brand “Kasuku” failed to benefit from the upward trend of food brands as it dropped out of the top 20 category, from position 18 to 44.