Why Clever Positioning Means That Kibaki Has Already Won Re-election… Barring Extraordinary Circumstances

Clever Positioning Of Their Man By The Kibaki Think Tank Led By An International PR Company Means That Barring Extraordinary Circumstances Kibaki Has Already Won Re-election

…But It's Going To Be A Very Violent One

Here's Why…

To Understand What Has Been Done, You Must Understand What "Positioning" Is.

Two gentlemen by the name of Al Ries and Jack Trout wrote what in my view is the most important marketing book ever written in the 60s called Positioning. This book changed marketing forever and every Kenyan needs to understand the basic principle behind positioning as presented in this book before it is too late. This is because the Kibaki campaign machine is about to steal an election based on this simple principle of marketing and human behaviour.

I want to remind you of something… Remember all the noise we all made when it was reported that the government was hiring the most expensive public relations outfit in the world to improve its' image? Remember how we all said that it wouldn't work, and that they didn't know enough about Kenyan politics. And then remember how we all just dismissed them and forgot about them?

Well, these guys have been working overtime and they've just pulled off something that is going to guarantee a Kibaki win in 2007, unless we all wake up to what is happening before it is too late.

Bear with me for a minute while I explain what positioning is.

The book by Mr Ries (pronounced Rees) and Mr Trout broke new ground because it changed the way we look at marketing. Until then people always knew that marketing wars were fought out there in the field in the marketplace. Trout and Ries told us that they are fought in the minds of people and suddenly it dawned on everybody how true that was.

Mention the product "soft drink" and the first name that comes to mind is Coca-cola, mention "toothpaste" and the first name that comes to mind is Colgate. Those two are positioned at the top of the minds of consumers. So to sell a competing soft drink or a toothpaste successfully, you must first be able to "position" your new product properly and not in the field or marketplace but in the minds of consumers.

So this guys comes up with Uncola or a non-Cola and positioned their soft drink directly opposite Coca-Cola and their marketing has proved to be very successful. But probably the most successful positioning was that of Avis rent-a-car in the US. Everybody knew that Hertz was the number one rent a car outfit so to positioning themselves as number one was not believable. (This is one of the most important aspects of positioning. And that is, it must be believable to occupy a position in the mind). So Avis deliberately positioned themselves as No 2 and they said in their adverts that they were number two, but there was a kicker to that statement. What does a number two company do that a number one company doesn't do? They try harder of course. So that implies that customers will always get a better service and a better deal from a company that is trying harder because it is number two than from a usually arrogant market leader who is already number one. That clever position caused an unprecedented rise in sales.

So positioning is very important to marketing and it is even more important in politics. George W. Bush did not win in 2004 because he was popular. He won because his clever handlers positioned John Kerry as the candidate Osama Bin Laden preferred to win the presidency because he was not as tough as Bush was. That was enough. When Osama himself released a tape on cue shortly before election day, I knew Bush had won. Images of 9/11 were still too fresh on the minds of Americans and nobody wanted Osama taking over America, which is exactly what was being implied in the George W. Bush TV ads.

So what is Kibaki's expensive PR consultancy and his handlers doing?

They have simply positioned Raila as the only chief opponent of the Kibaki government, with his ODM Kenya party. Have you noticed that the minute you criticize Narc Kenya or president Kibaki, you are labeled a Raila sympathizer. This positioning has been done so well that even if Kalonzo Musyoka were to win the ODM nomination, it would be impossible for him to shake off the Raila label. If he loses and defects, he really won't matter because the race "in the minds" of voters is between Kibaki and Raila, yes and also between Kikuyu and Luo. The Kikuyu with their sympathizers and the Luos with their sympathizers. All those politicians who crowded into ODM are finished as far as the Presidential race is concerned. Yes, even Uhuru Kenyatta has lost a golden chance to position himself as an alternative candidate under a unified Kanu. So now, whoever wins the ODM nomination, it really doesn't matter because the presidency will be a fight between Raila and Kibaki in people's minds.

The effect has been dramatic. Most Kenyans no longer look at issues. The whole thing has already degenerated into a tribal thing. It is now simply what that Jaluo is saying or what lies that Okuyo is telling this time. If you doubt it, just try and take a middle position in any debate, or even those online discussion forums. You will find that it is impossible.

Notice how this is in sharp contrast to the original Narc (National Rainbow Coalition) in 2002 whose strategy and famous summit was under the full control of Raila, but nobody saw those elections as Moi versus Raila. We all saw it as Moi versus a united opposition. Or Moi versus the rest of Kenya.

I keep on warning about this, and I will never get tired of doing it, because I see real danger here. Kibaki was warned about the referendum in November last year, he ignored the warnings. To date, almost a year later, the wounds of that November Referendum are yet to heal. Let the President take the warnings seriously this time round, because the result could be catastrophic and the bucks stops on his desk.

Kenyans should pray very hard that we do not go into the general elections in this kind of set up. Tensions will be way too high and there can only be one result, chaos. We are not yet ready for a Luo versus Kikuyu presidential race, which is exactly what the 2007 polls are shaping up to be.

Quick Question
Why would anybody want John Michuki dead? And if they were serious why wait until he has left the house to fire shots inside? Why not stake him out or ambush him? Why Is Michuki himself so sure that it was an attempt on his life, before any investigations have even been done? Citizen TV says that the slain chief met with people who at first identified themselves as policemen but shot the chief dead when he asked for further identification to prove that they were policmen. Oh... and the chief bumped into them totally by accident. Then at around the same time things steal Kalonzo Musyoka's secret game plan for election 2007. Oh please... what game plan is there in ODM Kenya that is different from everything that we have seen in the past and is valuable enough to be stolen?

It is the rapidly approaching general elections, stupid.

Tomorrow: The Exciting Alternative To Kibakinomics And What We Can Learn About It From Safaricom and Bill Clinton. Don't Miss It

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