KBL Curbing Drink and Drive through Social Media platforms

Kenya Breweries Limited has unveiled a virtual community movement to help reduce drunken driving-related road carnage.

Aptly dubbed, “#Party Central Kenya”, the first-of-a-kind digital campaign aims to show young revelers on partying responsibly while cultivating a culture of responsible living.

A step-up in KBL’s long-lasting commitment to promoting alcohol beverage responsibility, #Party Central leverages the power of the digital media where the influential youth cohort plays in by calling them to move from the famous “Don’t Drink and Drive” mentality to actual cab-hailing, aptly christened “#VutiaTaxi.”

Ingeniously roping in ride-hailing apps, celebrated Deejay’s, influencers, entertainment joints, entertainment providers and Kenyan celebrities, the campaign is geared at instilling an attitude of change, towards responsible drinking.

The *one-year long themed campaign, laden with music, fashion, food, movies  content will speak to the party-conscious youth  and ultimately help reduce drunk driving by offering up to *50 rides home on weekends and holidays in partnership with Uber. 

According to Maryann Nderu, ‎Sustainability Manager, Sustainable Development at Kenya Breweries Limited the digital conclave seeks to give young revelers the only option there is to after a night of partying and drinking.

“KBL is passionate about its consumers. We realized that we needed a Responsible Drinking platform that speaks the Kenyan Millennials’ language. Party Central Kenya was therefore developed for the purposes of teaching them, in a fun and interesting way, how to enjoy a great party responsibly.” says Maryann Nderu.

KBL’s sees the growth of social media, for this youth demographic, and its interoperability with devices such as mobile phones, digital camera and video applications as a colossal opportunity for useful conversations.

Coupled with the millenials boundary-pushing tech savvy, eagerness on new experiences which has spurred their interaction with social media, the value of responsible drinking amongst young revelers.

“The response has been fantastic so far, with close to 80,000 followers in our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages,” says Ms. Maryann.

Research shows up to 81 per cent of millenials in Kenya are on Facebook, with an average of 250 friends with more than 700,000 and 420,000 actively using Twitter and Instagram, respectively. They also check their mobile devices 43 times a day, on average. 

The correlation of the youth cohort average spend in the alcoholic beverage market and the resultant growth, Sh.40Tr ($400 billion) consumption growth in the next decade according to a Nielsen Survey (2015) has created an urgent basic for industry players to manage the associated risk of the drunk driving and beverage abuse menace.

“With this age-group an important cog in the socio-economic renaissance of sub-Saharan Africa, the benefits of promoting values of consumer responsibility are unquantifiable,” says Maryann.

Topical for alcoholic beverage companies is the road carnage statistics partly attributable to irresponsible drinking.  Authoritative data from National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) points to drink-driving, alongside speeding and dangerous overtaking as among the chief reasons for road accidents for this productive segment. 

Latest NTSA figures on road carnage and related incapacitations paint a macabre picture, with an economic and social cost of Sh300 billion or 5.6 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. 

“This is good enough a reason to ante-up efforts to salvage the situation. At Kenya Breweries Limited, there is perpetual innovation on our channels of engagement with key stakeholders and the digital sphere becomes vital,” adds Maryann.

The campaign complements KBL’s online knowledge based DRINKiQ programme that is tailored to ensure that revelers are easily able to acquire information on responsible drinking so as to make informed decisions.