Okay so Wazuans were unmoved by Orange's loss; perhaps a word of empathy now that their CEO is crying...

French demand for $385m compensation over Telkom Kenya’s ‘vanished’ assets http://www.theeastafrica.../-/puk36gz/-/index.html


“You sold to me an empty box,” is the gist of the claim by the French state-owned company — one of Europe’s leading telecommunications providers, which beat seven international bidders in 2007 to acquire a controlling stake in Telkom Kenya.

The company now wants the government to compensate it to the tune of a massive $385 million — an amount almost equal to what the French company paid for its 51 per cent share of Telkom Kenya.

BRAND & CUSTOMER LOYALTY..customers inertia to move to other service providers...

a product/ brand that first debuts into the market enjoys a headstart over its rivals that enter the market subsequently. Its like it 'locks' the customer in and whatever the rival company does the customers of the intial company remain unfazed. Okay, in this case Kencell came earlier than Safcom but the latter had good pricing & product names/ better strategies for its products and this is what stuck in consumer's minds...plus the constant changing of ownership does not give customers comfort that all is well. Maybe they should have left the brand name(independent of the co. name) of the intact even as shareholding changed! Like Gakiavih of Discount Securities (DSL) left the name intact even after purchasing it from the original owners - he was rewarded with sustained customer loyalty to the DSL brand.

Like also KTN has more viewership than johnny-come-lately NTV.

But hey, a co. can still break this jinx if it comes with products with Unique Selling Propositions (UPSs)! Ala Equity, Bidco Oil which ate into Elianto's/ Kimbo's market share and humbled the giant Unilever.

BTW, why did they change ORBIT chewing gum to P.K.? Change in ownership? P.K ni nini - Pumbafu Kabisa? Because ORBIT was an established brand, and upto today you will hear folks asking for ORBIT, not P.K. Why change an established brand - didn't Peugeot 504 remain king of the road in Kenya for over 3 decades and all they changed during this time was only air conditioning (and maybe the limited slip differential)?

Methinks the importance of branding is still not fully appreciated.
Mixing the actuals and projected financials above, did you notice the magnitude of the combined loss of Zain & Orange (13m red ink) is more or less equal to the magnitude of Safcom's profit (14m)? Meaning, in effect, they have 100% of the actual profit pie/ market share to themselves. Terrible monopoly.

Branding 101 tells you to develop your brand through repetition, consistency, and fulfillment. But markets change: New competitors arrive, customer expectations change, your company's strategy can change. So you may want to change your branding at some point, and it is likely that you will have to change your brand eventually.

How do you know when it is appropriate to change your brand? How do you change it without alienating old customers? Why should you change your branding? Why should you keep it the same?

When to Change Your Brand

Your brand represents a message that you craft, with some value proposition that you make to the customer. Consistency is important for several reasons: You want the audience to memorize the message, you want a consistent reputation, and you want to build longevity and market share.

But when your message fails to connect with your audience, it may be time for a change. Typical disconnects include:
There is no recognition.
There is unexpected recognition.
There is a market shift.

When Not to Change Your Brand ?
There is new management.
There is mergers and acquisitions.
It has a dated, aged look.