Procter & Gamble upgrades Pampers brand in Kenya to give babies drier, undisturbed nights of sleep

Many moms describe the sleepless nights they have in their experience of raising their babies, and often a wet diaper is to blame for the sleep disturbance. For this reason, Procter & Gamble has introduced an upgraded Pampers diaper, which keeps baby dry for a whole night of sleep, uninterrupted by wetness.

The upgraded Pampers product will retail at the current price point. It will be available in all sizes and comes with a core containing more absorbent gel material (AGM), which absorbs and locks in wetness, thus keeping it away from the baby’s skin.
Pampers Brand Manager Inem Nsimah said the introduction of the new variant is as a result of research and innovation that sought to offer Kenyan mothers a product that addresses their most important needs.

“The number one need that mothers have expressed concerning a diaper is overnight dryness for their little ones. When babies sleep better, they wake up more active and able to enjoy the day. Mothers have asked for a more absorbent diaper as well as one that is a perfect fit to their babies’ anatomies and this is what we are giving them with the new and improved Pampers ,” said Mrs. Nsimah.

Diapers have to work extra-hard for baby at night-time, as they need to absorb up to 50% more liquid than they do during the day. The new and improved Pampers diaper now has more super gel that absorbs and locks away wetness, keeping babies’ skin drier overnight.
At the 2014 Baby Banda Pregnancy and Baby Fair, mothers were given an opportunity to sample the new product and this is what a few of them had to say:

Bella Makokha: I have tried the new diapers and they are very absorbent and light for the baby’s comfort. They are worth it.

Susan Manosu: I’m grateful for the new pampers n am so happy because they keep my daughter dry all day n all night. Thank you so much

Beth Nyaga:  First, I want to thank you for giving me the honor of being among the first moms to try the new improved pampers size 5. I used it since Friday night and I must say am a happy mum. It does not soak fast and fits my baby who is 16kg perfectly. No more side leaks.

Dr David Githanga, Chairman of the Kenya Paediatric Association (KPA) said that diapers play a vital role in the healthy development of babies through uninterrupted sleep.

GILLETTE AND McLAREN MERCEDES ENHANCE OFFICIAL PARTNERSHIP

Gillette, the world’s leading male grooming brand, is enhancing its collaboration with McLaren Mercedes, one of the most prestigious and successful teams in F1 history. The two brands are extending their partnership to bring to life an innovative marketing campaign focused on Precision Engineering.

The partnership covers the Europ9e, Middle East and Africa. Gillette and McLaren, which share an ethos of innovation and precision engineering, are coming together for an exciting new marketing campaign emphasising the ways the two brands push boundaries of technology. With this partnership, the male shaving category will move up a gear.

As the ultimate male grooming and high-technology experts, Gillette and McLaren constantly innovate to achieve greater precision and enhanced performance. Ultimate precision technology and a passion for winning are deeply encoded in the DNA of both brands. Gillette and McLaren lead engineering refinement, whether that’s seen in developing blades thinner than a wave length of light, or engineering car components that are accurate tolerances of a fraction of a human hair.

Gillette ushered in the era of modern shaving and for 110 years constantly reinvented the shaving category. McLaren pioneered the first carbon fibre chassis in Formula 1 and introduced advanced electronic systems leading to decades of ground-breaking achievements on the track.

This passion for the best will be further leveraged through a pioneering sports marketing campaign that aims to reach and inspire millions of men with cutting edge communication behind TV, Digital, PR and In-store programs. McLaren Mercedes F1 drivers Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen will engage men’s passion for Formula 1 and thrill the millions that enjoy Gillette grooming expertise and superior technology day in, day out.

Eric Boullier, Racing Director at McLaren Mercedes, said: “It is very exciting to be able to announce a new partnership between McLaren Mercedes and Gillette.  Gillette is synonymous with precision engineering and with innovation. These are values we hold dear at McLaren as we strive to deliver world beating performance. The fact that a global brand, of the stature of Gillette, has chosen to engage in a major multi-national partnership with McLaren Mercedes is also a reflection of the strength of our brand and our ability to reach millions of avid motorsport fans around the world.” 

“Gillette has a rich heritage of making men feel and be at their best. We stand for excellence in shaving. We couldn’t think of any partner that shares those values more than McLaren Mercedes”, commented Hossam Ashour, Gillette Europe, the Middle East and Africa Shave Care Vice President. “For more than 40 years McLaren has innovated in superior engineering and performance. This makes them the ideal partner to demonstrate our belief in the importance of the precision when it comes to shaving.”

Like McLaren Mercedes, its Official Partner, Gillette has always applied immaculate detail to every one of its own innovations; engineering and refining products down to the microscopic razor’s edge. It is this precision that gives 800 million men across the globe the edge; shaving performance that makes them look, feel and perform at their best. With years of technological and product innovation of this calibre, Gillette has created its most advanced razor ever – as seen in the Gillette Fusion ProGlide, a true advancement in shaving precision and performance.

Airtel Africa team brightens up orphaned children in Mathare school

 
 

…marketing team inspires Mogra Star pupils and tips them on how to be successful in life

…slum school is catering for some of the most underprivileged, but promising, children in Kenya

 Bharti Airtel, a leading telecommunications service provider with operations in 20 countries across South Asia and Africa, made a connection with over 800 orphaned children in Mathare, by visiting Mogra Star

Academy, one of the most underprivileged institutions of its kind in the Kenyan capital.

Airtel Africa’s marketing team, which drives the company’s brand in the continent, made a donation of Kshs 150,000 and other items including clothes, blankets and toys to the children. More importantly, the team interacted with the children, inspiring them with tips on how to build their budding potential while in school.

Mogra Star is located in Nairobi’s Mathare, a slum area situated three miles east of the city’s central business district, and considered one of the worst in Africa. Mathare is home to over 600,000 inhabitants occupying an area of two square miles.

Airtel Africa Chief Marketing Officer Andre Beyers, who led the team, said: “Airtel’s marketing team has been inspired by the story of Mogra Star and its indomitable spirit of the founder who has been selfless in nurturing the dreams of these children. Our team’s hope is to see the institution developed in order to secure as many lives out there in the streets as possible, and transform them into tomorrow's leaders.”

Mr. Beyers said the marketing team’s philanthropic gesture is a part of the company’s larger corporate responsibility goal of supporting sustainable learning in schools, a model that Airtel has adopted for tens of schools across Africa.

Mogra Star Academy provides education at both primary and secondary levels and seeks to provide a better foundation for a brighter future to the pupils and students. The institution not only provides education but also food and shelter to the destitute children.

The Mogra Project was founded in 1998 as an initiative of Mrs. Hanna Njoroge. Having been brought up in the slums, she was aware of the many children unable to go to school because of abject poverty with their parents also unable to pay school fees.

Mrs Njoroge realized the children not attending school engaged in petty crime, scavenged for food and were being forced into child labour. She set up a children’s home in Mathare which she registered as a charitable children’s institution. She then realized many children were unable to attend a school and so founded Mogra Star Academy to provide free education in the Mathare slum.

Airtel Africa’s ‘Our School’ programme involves tens of primary schools which have been adopted in rural areas of 17 African countries where Airtel operates. Working closely with the governments in these countries, the initiative seeks to improve the delivery of quality education to children, especially those from underprivileged areas. So far the schools under the programme are catering to over 16,000 underprivileged children.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY HELPS PROCTER & GAMBLE SAVE OVER ONE BILLION DOLLARS

 

Procter & Gamble (P&G) has saved over one billion dollars in value since 50 of its manufacturing plants achieved zero manufacturing waste to landfill last year.

P&G’s Vice President, Global Sustainability, Dr. Len Sauers said that the savings where brought about by the P&G’s 2020 sustainability goals where all of our manufacturing waste is recycled, repurposed or converted into energy.

“This part of sustainability is important because it shows businesses the value of embracing sustainability whether environmental or social,” said Mr. Sauers.

Mr. Sauers who was on his first visit to Kenya said that Africa is P&G’s major growth engine and it was important that the company learns how to expand responsibly and still remaining profitable. He added that the company aims to maintain its global leadership and performance in the region.

P&G first announced its zero manufacturing waste to landfill site in Budapest in 2007. Since then, the Company has shared a long-term Environmental Vision, pledging to work toward zero consumer and manufacturing waste worldwide.

“Through quality assurance, packaging reduction, compaction and recycling efforts, the company now ensures that 99% of all materials entering P&G plants leave as finished product or is recycled, reused or converted to energy,” added Mr. Sauers.

To drive all sites toward zero waste, P&G has searched for innovative ways to find value in what was once seen as waste. In Mexico, paper sludge from a Charmin toilet tissue plant is turned into low-cost roof tiles used to build homes in the local community. At a U.S. Pampers site, scrap from the wipe manufacturing process is converted to upholstery filling. And, in the U.K., waste created in the production of Gillette shaving foam is composted then used to grow turf for commercial uses.

However, Sauers notes that the next challenge is the long term goal of achieving zero consumer waste since approximately 4.8 billion people around the world use P&G products every day. He said that the company continues to invest heavily on research and development to identify and enumerate the impact of its products and how innovation can help achieve zero waste.

For more details, please call Michelle Anekeya 0721945183

Consumers turn the heat on pay TV company over actual cost of hardware

As Nairobi residents brace themselves for the imminent switch off of their analogue television sets, consumers have been in

a rush to acquire approved set top boxes which will enable them continue accessing the essential service beyond the December 13^th date, a gazette deadline where Communication Commission of Kenya is expected to initiate the 1^st phase of ensuring Kenyans access television on the digital platform.

Pay television companies have taken advantage of this period to have brisk business but it seems in the process, the public are left at the mercy of companies eager to make money at the expense of the service they are to supposed to provide.

A letter sent by a concerned consumer to COFEK has been intercepted by Corporate Africa which shows a consumer raising concerns on how he was made to purchase a Pay Television decoder from Gotv only to realize that he had to pay monthly fees as opposed to what he thought was a decoder to migrate him to the digital platform at no fee.

In the end, the poor Kenyan is being pushed to spend up to Ksh 7,100 on a set top box whereas essentially there are those retailing at between Ksh 4,000 to 5,000 which would have seen him save up to Ksh 2,000!

See the letter copied below…Kenyans are urged to evaluate their options while purchasing their preferred set top boxes to avoid such frustrations as below. BE INFORMED! A visit to the digital Kenya website http://www.digitalkenya.go.ke/list-of-type-approved-dvb-t2-set-top-boxes-and-authorised-vendors will give you a list of approved set top boxes and their prices.

Consumer Exploitation by Gotv

My Name is Hesbon and I live in Kahawa Sukari. Given the indication that the Government intends to switch off the analogue television sets, I took up the initiative to purchase a set top box from Gotv for Ksh 4,500 where according to the company’s attendants who served me at a tent set up within the company’s compound in Westlands, I was to access all channels including our Kenyan channels.

Towards the end of October, I noticed I could only access KBC, I switched the decoder on and off and checked my aerial but the problem persisted. I then decided to take the decoder back to the company offices.

The attendant I met told me that what I paid when I purchased the decoder was inclusive of subscription which had now expired and if I want to continue accessing channels I had to pay monthly or pay another 2,600 to access Kenyan channels!! Why am I being charged extra money to access our channels which essentially should be free???

This means I will end up paying Ksh 7,100 (4,500 + 2,600) whereas had I known this before I purchased I would have purchased from another company which I see being advertised between 4,000 and 5,000. Gotv attendants said their decoder was cheaper now its evident it is very expensive!!

COFEK, don’t you protect consumers from such evident consumer exploitation? I feel cheated and bitter, I wonder how many Kenyans have been taken through the same.

Please do something.

Hesbon Wanyoike.