The Africa Smartphone Market Edition

On Tecno mobiles, multiple SIM slots, and emerging market brandbuilding.

Colin here. I am fascinated by some of the unseen battles for brand mindshare in emerging markets. In the US, we are very familiar with the usual hip-hop beefs: Apple versus Samsung, Nike versus Adidas, Coke versus Pepsi. But in emerging markets, the battles are often far more scrappy, and even more interesting. The game is not splashy OOH (“Out of Home” advertising) or high profile campaigns during the Grammys, but it is often imbued with even more creativity when it comes showing up where people are spending their time. CPG brands are fighting for the best placement in roadside shops, and often the advertising feels more pure, raw, and attention grabbing. 

Bloomberg recently set the stage beautifully, in its story about how an “unknown Chinese phonemaker” recently “took over Africa”: