The Nairobi county government is in the process of acquiring FM frequencies from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK), amid plans to launch a county radio station.
The county government cites high advertising costs in the existing commercial stations for the move, and has since moved to allocate Ksh 50 million for the establishment of its own radio station in the next financial year.
Speaking about the county radio station, Nairobi county finance executive Gregory Mwakanongo said: “The radio station will serve as a platform to communicate our policies and development agenda.”
“We are moving to secure a licence with the Communications Authority of Kenya for radio frequency spectrum,” added Mwakanongo.
The project is set to cost the Nairobi county a total of Ksh 100 million, and the remainder of the funds are expected to be made available later once the necessary structures are put in place.
“We have to develop the content and specifications first then we will go to tendering,” said information, communication and e-government executive Mohammed Abdullahi.
Apart from carrying out important advertisements and notices, the Nairobi County government plans to use the radio station to broadcast live county parliament proceedings, and also engage the public in matters of county administration.
Marketing experts have; however, raised concern on the effectiveness that the radio station could have in communicating to Nairobi residents.
Speaking to ITWeb Africa, Ruth Jelimo, director at marketing consulting firm, Display and Reach Communications, said, “Nairobi is a very vibrant city when it comes to the radio industry. The competition is so tough and it’s proving quite a challenge when it comes to increasing the listenership numbers even to the commercial stations, despite them offering all the necessary entertainment sought by the listeners across the city.”
“I think it is going to be a huge challenge for the county government to get active listeners on board, unless they offer content that will make one to give them at least few hours of their day,” added Jelimo.
Jelimo said that the county government could instead embrace digital marketing such as social media, where they can engage with those to be affected by the county policies.
“Digital marketing and communication is picking up quite well in the country, and I think it is proving to be pretty efficient, even for the multinationals with a huge customer base,” said jelimo.
“I think it would be better for the county to first explore this digital option and evaluate its effectiveness, before launching the radio station.”
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