Africa’s best PR campaign

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Today we’re not talking about tech. We’re doing something different.

We’re curious about other African stories too.

Like the Visit Rwanda campaign, we’re writing about today.

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In May 2018, Rwanda dropped $40 million to get their name on Arsenal’s football shirts.

Everyone thought they were nuts.

This was a country nine times smaller than the UK.

It was the 19th poorest country in the world - with an average income of $700 per person.

So what business did they have sponsoring one of the richest football clubs in the world?

But, Rwanda, led by President Paul Kagame, felt it had a lot to offer the world.

And it does:

• It’s ranked the safest country in Africa, and its capital, Kigali, is the cleanest city.

• It’s home to world-famous attractions like the endangered Mountain gorillas.

• The World Bank says Rwanda is the second easiest place to run a business in Africa.

But, Rwanda's tough political past kept it in the shadows of other East African countries - like Kenya and Tanzania.

They wanted to flip this image and make Rwanda the top destination for tourism and business.

This is how “Visit Rwanda” was born - a big campaign for this tiny East African country.

Now, lots of tourism campaigns have come out of Africa, but none have grabbed global attention like “Visit Rwanda.”

But what did Rwanda do differently?

And what can other African countries learn from their PR game?

1. They bet big on football

Rwanda spent $40 million to put the Visit Rwanda logo on every Arsenal jersey, in 2018.

One year later, they paid 10 million Euros for a similar deal with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

Then last year, Bayern Munich signed a five-year deal with Rwanda, but they kept the amount sealed.

These clubs now display “Visit Rwanda”.

But why football?

And why go for the oldest and biggest clubs in their leagues?

Because football isn’t just a game - it’s a movement.

Football has a huge global audience, and sponsoring a team puts the brand in front of millions of fans, both in-stadium and on TV.

Fans fill these stadiums, their hearts tied to their teams through every win and loss.

Rwanda’s president, a ride-or-die Arsenal fan, is a good example.

Brands compete to get in on this passion, and Arsenal has bagged deals with global brands like Emirates, Puma, Nike, and now, Rwanda.

The global football sponsorship market is huge - worth around $39.36 billion.

But what about value for money?

The Arsenal shirt is seen 35 million times a day.

In 2022, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain generated over $160 million in media value for Rwanda.

And that means, Rwanda is in the global spotlight.

For this campaign, Rwanda went heavy on massive football clubs with strong emotional ties to their fans.

Critics have questioned the returns for PR brand campaigns, but Rwanda has defended their playbook.

Michaella Rugwizangoga, who handles tourism at the Rwanda Development Board, says:

"Working with sports clubs is the positioning we have chosen as a country. Today, tourism accounts for 10% of our GDP. But without marketing, we have no tourism and without tourism, we have no revenue to reinvest.”

2. Africans want to see Africa too

International tourists are a big deal for Africa because they bring in dollars.

But don’t be fooled. Africans want to see their continent too, and Rwanda is tapping into this growing interest.

“Visit Rwanda” is using MICE (Meetings, Incentives, conferences, and events) to get Africans to go over there, and see the continent in a new light.

And they’re investing heavily to achieve this.

In 2016, Rwanda finished the Kigali Convention Center.

It has 18 venues and can host up to 5,000 people.

And three months ago, it hosted over 2,000 African business leaders for the Africa CEO Forum.

In 2019, Rwanda completed the 10,000-seat Kigali Arena, East Africa’s biggest indoor venue.

As part of “Visit Rwanda”, it’s hosted the Basketball Africa League tournament three times in a row.

In 2021, France's President Emmanuel Macron was one of the special guests, watching as African teams battled it out for the title.

But it's not just about sports and business.

Last December, Rwanda brought hip-hop lovers together to see Kendrick Lamar kick off his Africa tour in Kigali.

The sold-out show drew over 8,000 people from Africa and beyond.

"Visit Rwanda" ran a smart digital campaign to build hype and sell tickets, tapping into the reach of local African influencers.

In 2023, Rwanda's MICE sector had a banner year.

Revenues soared to $91 million in revenue — up from $64 million the year before.

And let’s not forget the local job opportunities these events create, like for hotels and event organisers.

3. Shout your greatness from the mountain tops

Volcanoes National Park is home to the world's only remaining mountain gorillas.

A big section of the park is in Rwanda.

For this reason, gorilla trekking is Rwanda’s top tourist attraction.

It’s a hike through the forest to see Mountain gorillas in their natural home.

The hike draws in thousands of tourists every year.

So when Rwanda kicked off the Visit Rwanda campaign, they put a big spotlight on the Mountain gorillas.

They were the first wild animals with their own social media presence on Instagram, called Gorilla Gram.

The account shares everything about the gorillas' lives, from their meals to how they interact.

When tourists tag Gorilla Gram on their posts it also helps rangers know how they behave, which helps with research.

It goes beyond the gram though.

In 2005, Rwanda started Kwita Izina, an annual event where they name baby gorillas.

It happens at the base of Volcanoes National Park and helps raise awareness about wildlife conservation.

For the past few years, the Visit Rwanda campaign has helped hype up this event and make it global.

Over 20,000 people, including celebrities, show up at the event.

Last year, under the Visit Rwanda campaign, Hollywood celebrities like Idris Elba, Kevin Hart, and Danai Gurira joined to name the baby gorillas.

It’s five years since the Visit Rwanda campaign kicked off.

The results are in, and it seems to be paying off:

• Tourism revenue passed $500 million for the first time ever, hitting $620 million last year

• Over 1.4 million tourists came to the country—three times more than in 2021. (That’s a great sign of bouncing back after Covid.)

• And investments are on the up too. In 2021, $3.7 billion was invested in the country, compared to $1.3 billion in 2020.

Visit Rwanda is a big bet for a small country - one of the boldest we’ve seen.

Rwanda took a calculated risk, and it’s looking good so far.

They spent big to get global attention and changed opinions about where this African country is going.

Critics say the money could've been better spent elsewhere, but we believe other African countries can learn a few things from Rwanda's playbook.

Do you see more African countries adopting Visit Rwanda’s lead in future?

Let us know here.

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