By Eric Wamanji
This past week should have been Kitui County’s moment to shine. Hosting Energy Week climaxing in the Mashujaa Day fete presented a rare chance to raise the county’s visibility, brand, pride and economy.
The weeklong Energy Week activities attracted hundreds, if not thousands, of delegates from around the country. Throw in the Mashujaa Day visitors and you get a real-estate opportunity to rally folks around the county’s offerings.
Instead, it appears, Kitui missed the memo of how to make such occasions count. The town seemed unprepared, uninspired, disengaged. Kitui town lacked the vibe to suggest it was playing host to such important activities. No symphony of place meeting occasion. Kitui lost on the game of seduction.
It was business as usual. Uninviting buildings, congested narrow streets, stray dogs, unidentified roads. There was no pretence to spruce up the town and spice it with the pulse for the occasion considering the number of visitors and the expected spotlight. Not even a mural that captured the “spirit of Kitui”. It was just a soulless world.
LOST BID
Kitui squandered a golden opportunity to package and advance its narrative – on investment, tourism, or even flaunt signature county programmes (if any). It lost the bid to profile its culture, its art and craft, its history and of course its famed honey. It failed to position itself not as a place but an enchanting idea – “Brand Kitui.”
Just where were those charged with trade, industry, tourism and strategic communications? Did they really understand the magnitude of the occasion?
While the hospitality sector made a kill, it was more of luck than strategic planning. Some delegates complained of cockroaches, dirty linens, bedbugs and cobwebs in their hotel rooms. The only popular joint that palatable meat and drinks automatically became the unofficial headquarters of the visiting delegates. They buzzed the place 24-7. Still, even here, at one point, a waitress innocently used her bare hands to pack food for take-out. Again, when yours truly insisted on getting an Electronic Tax Register (ETR) receipt, the supervisor went volcanic in fury.
The mythical Nzambani Rock, just about 7 kilometres from town, the Kalundu Eco Park, less than 2 kilometres, and other sites, ought to have been profiled as “a must visit”. They were not.
DISAPPOINTMENT AT NZAMBANI ROCK
In one of the days, a group of 30 thronged Nzambani hoping to get mbuzi choma and marvel at the fabled rock. The only restaurant was closed. The operator had no clue that his town was playing host to thousands of delegates, some of whom would be wanderlust. Bemused by the unexpected visitors, the operator frantically dashed to the villages in search of a goat but gave up after two hours. The visitors left disenchanted.
It appears that the relevant authorities didn’t do a great job to sensitise the business community on how to leverage the events. Were the ideals of Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) really registered in the thought processes of the local technocrats?
Probably the county is yet concretise its brand, its narrative, its myth. Yet counties, Kitui included, should see themselves from the lenses of corporations operating in a competitive environment. A great corporation forges a striking, innovative brand. It rides on strategic communication to thrive. A great brand is the currency of a successful organisation.
Yet, for Kitui, even the official county website ignored the Energy Week. Neither did it create a landing page to celebrate the week, nor to enchant the traffic with what Kitui stands for and what it can offer. As of October 18th, the “Latest News” had nothing to charm visitors about the county carefully woven around Mashujaa Day and Energy Week. The webmaster ignored the potential traffic that the site was primed to receive from curious folks. Yet, websites are powerful -the first port of call for visitors.
HOW IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE
If you attend international conventions, you can’t help but admire the organisers’ clear understanding of hosting. Buoyancy is registered all the way from the airport, through the highways to the venues. You are woven into the mood and the pulse of the hosting city. Strategic branding, souvenirs, courteous townsfolk, and vibrant hospitality sector. You are won over.
This is what Kitui should have done: Develop comprehensive strategy to leverage on the season that would give visitors an unforgettable experience. Sensitise and train the business community including SMEs and the hospitality sector on how to handle guests. The county should have activated its strategic communication machinery: Develop a compelling narrative about Kitui, brand the town, instal signages and weave the story of Kitui around energy and Mashujaa. Take advantage of the arrivals to showcase such places as Nzambani and even the Kalundu Eco Park. Perhaps going forward, not just Kitui, but other counties should learn the lessons prepare better. These national events and attendant thematic weeks are a goldmine. The smarts will reap dividends.