Competitive strategies used by advertising agencies in Kenya

Abstract

This paper analyses the competitive strategies used by advertising agencies in Kenya. The study involved fourteen (14) advertising agencies registered by the Association of Parishioners in Advertising (APA) of Kenya. According to the Steadman Report (2007) these advertising agencies controlled over 90% of the advertising budget in the industry in the year 2007.

The paper consequently aims to address the following research objective: “To identify the competitive strategies that are used by the advertising agencies in Kenya.” A descriptive research was undertaken focusing on the CEO or MD of the advertising agencies in Kenya. The researcher utilized questionnaires containing both closed and open ended questions to collect the necessary quantitative and qualitative data from ten (10) respondents (out of fourteen (14) respondents) for analysis using Microsoft Excel (MS-Excel). The study was a census survey hence sampling was not undertaken. The researcher then analyzed the study’s findings in accordance with the questionnaires structure that collected data on the general information (demographics), competitive strategies, competition and the environment.

The research findings illustrated that all the advertising agencies in Kenya have adopted a differentiation strategy as the organization’s overall competitive strategy. Competition is also found to be the most critical environmental factor determining the competitive strategy to be adopted by advertising agencies in Kenya. The paper further outlines various conclusions and recommendations in relation to the use of competitive strategies by advertising agencies in Kenya.