Media products for the bottom half may be a game changer 

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how media could tap into the bottom of the pyramid market (BOP) and leverage the huge underserved market that makes up the majority of Kenyan society.

There is no shortage of successful enterprises built on the BOP business models.

Locally, we have Equity Bank, which went against convention to provide financial services to Africans in the BOP segment.

The bank not only provided services to grossly underserved markets but also democratised banking and financial services while making significant profits and expanding across the region.

Can we have the Equity Bank version of Kenyan digital media?

Is it possible for the media to come up with a product or series of products that will speak directly to the BOP market and make a significant profit while at it?

The biggest headache right now for any media organisation – in Kenya and globally – has been how to monetise digital media in the era of tech giants that consume a significant chunk of advertising revenue.

Given this challenge, it could be possible for Kenyan media to create digital products for the BOP market and make money.

The first – key – step is to change how we think about innovation, more specifically, how we think about ‘media innovation’.

Fancy as it may seem, media innovation is not the complicated, high-tech stuff of robots that can write stories and finally replace journalists.

Well, that is part of media innovation, but only a small part of it.

Democratise innovation

To crack this BOP market, Kenyan media must democratise the concept of innovation and think about innovation holistically and disabuse ourselves of complicated processes and products that the audiences don’t care about.

To do this, I would suggest that media executives do the unconventional; spend quality time with the BOP market segment to understand how they think, live and work.

It means going into their homes, observing their lives and media consumption habits and tailoring products based on what they have witnessed.

This is not as strange as it may sound; executives from some of the most successful and innovative companies have been doing this for decades – going to their consumers’ homes, looking through their fridges and cupboards to understand consumption habits and preferences.

We need to start seeing editors and media executives spending time with families from Kibra, Mathare and Nyalenda slums to observe their lifestyles if they are to break into these markets.

The other thing to consider is technology. BOP markets have been known to be hotbeds of technological innovation.

We know for sure that technology will play a key role in shaping Kenyan journalism, so why don’t we run a few new technology experiments in these markets?

For example, would an all-rounded app that leverages Natural Language Processing (NLP) to read out stories to their audiences in their preferred language work for this market?

Maybe, maybe not. The bottom line is, going forward, it is becoming apparent that a media strategy in this market that does not consider the BOP segment is missing the big picture.

Dr Chege is a media and technology researcher.