After the successful Ficha Uchi campaign we ran in 2023, reaching over 100 million people digitally, we assessed the impact of our messaging using a powerful tool called Swayable. Swayable operates on the principle of test and control sampling, a method widely employed in research and marketing to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. The test sample comprises responses from a specific group of people exposed to the campaign’s messaging, while the control sample contains responses of people not included in the campaign’s messaging.
In our case, we used this tool to show Ficha Uchi posters to specific groups of people based on our main target audience for the campaign. These were youth aged 18-35, from the lower middle-income, expanded slightly to reach older people, in order to see how well the messages worked.
We chose the assets above to test our audiences perception of the issue of data protection
Our sample size comprised 5,907 individuals, with 3,925 allocated to the test sample and 1,982 to the control sample. This division allowed us to compare the responses of those exposed to the messages in the test sample with those in the control sample. To further explore our analysis, we concentrated on two primary metrics: the level of support for the data protection act and the significance assigned to data rights and data protection.
Support for the Data Protection Act: We asked participants if they are in favor or against Kenya’s Data Protection Act, which was passed in 2019. The findings showed a noticeable 6 point increase in support among those who saw the Ficha Uchi messages.
Issue Importance: We also asked participants how important they think data rights and data protection are. Once again, we saw the impact of our campaign messages, as people showed increased worry about this important topic.
What this tells us is that our messaging strategy effectively encourages people to engage with the topic of data protection. However, we needed to understand more. After each of the assets were shared with them, we asked our respondents:
Based on the message you just saw, do you plan on taking any specific actions? If yes, please share.
The overarching themes in this question were focused on financial fraud and keeping PINs private. Many participants expressed concerns about how being intoxicated can impair judgment, making individuals more at risk of being deceived or scammed.
Our respondents were also keen on safeguarding their sensitive personal information. There was a lot of conversation around mobile money and banking PINs, and the need to keep this information private to prevent fraud and theft.
We’re pleased to see that the Ficha Uchi campaign is connecting with the public as we persist in advocating for data privacy and protection.
Where it all began …
The #FichaUchi awareness campaign ran its first phase in 2021. Ficha Uchi is Swahili for “hide your nakedness”, a hashtag that was carefully chosen so that it is not only catchy but also impactful in the way in which most citizens, particularly the youth, could relate to their data both online and offline. #FichaUchi demystified the data protection concept by providing factual, age-appropriate information about data privacy and protection.
In 2021, the campaign reached a total of 80 million people, and the second phase of the campaign reached 112 million digitally. Arising out of the first phase of the campaign, there was a need to take the conversation further by engaging with citizens offline and understand their context better. Through radio shows and focus group discussions, more engagement and nuance was added to the conversation.
Taking Ficha Uchi to East Africa
The campaign is now in its third phase, aiming to effectively engage on the topic of data protection in Uganda and Tanzania and determine what citizens think about their personal data and why privacy matters to them.
Ficha Uchi Phase 3 camping posters.
Our partnership with Swayable provided invaluable insights into the impact of the Ficha Uchi campaign’s messaging. We have learned that through the use of data-driven tools and methodologies, we can refine our strategies and amplify our campaign’s impact. As we continue the third phase of the digital campaign, primarily in Tanzania and Uganda, we are keen to observe the impact the messaging will have in the region. We are learning more about the particular countries’ contexts and how data protection is perceived as well as how it compares to our experience locally here in Kenya. Stay tuned for these insights as we continue to build the conversation and promote data protection regionally.
