The convergence of creativity and marketing: a case of two selected drama programs on Citizen TV, Kenya

Abstract

Film is both an art and a business. This study was interested in both sides of the art form. The study had three objectives; to identify the creative strategies employed in the selected dramas, to investigate audience responsiveness and perception of the creative strategies and to interrogate possible ways of intersection between creativity and marketing of TV Dramas. The study was based on the prism of Social Marketing Theory as well as Formalist Film Theory. The two drama programs selected were Machachari and Inspekta Mwala. Interview guides, Focus Group Discussion and Close reading were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics of frequencies and percentages were used to analyse the data. Close reading was applied to read two episodes from each program. The study looked at only three creative strategies namely; setting, acting and character portrayal, clothing and costumes. It was established that characterization, scripting, casting, cinematography, settings and costumes were the key reasons that made most of the audience watch the two drama programs. There were challenges facing creative and marketing teams at Citizen TV. The two teams rarely met. Therefore, the marketing team was sometimes unaware of the content of the programs they were required to sell while the creative teams were unaware of the reaction of the viewer and client to their content. It is the conviction of the researcher that this study is a contribution to scholarship considering that this field is yet to be fully explored.