If you were a friend of the reigning, Miss World Tharaka Nithi, who is also a Former Miss University of Nairobi , the current Epileptic ambassador and founder of an epileptic foundation; Kuagamiza Kifafa, and had to plan a baby shower for her where would you start? It might be challenging to make it work and make the celebration grand enough but Christine was up to the task of creating the perfect event for Bernice Mugambi.
Baby showers can bring a lot of oohing and awing, as piles of various shades of blue and pink themed gifts are bound to be opened during this joyous event. When a baby shower is being planned, the main objective is to offer new parents, gifts that will help them be prepared for their new bundle of joy. Baby showers are also about sharing the happiness, excitement and joy a new baby brings.
For Christine, she treaded cautiously as she knew her friend Bernice, who is epileptic, might easily get emotional from the surprise and have a fit. With the honor of hosting her old friend’s baby shower and being part of the committee, it was nerve racking planning for the event and she was abit worried about how to carry out this event and also getting the cash to make the event happen.
For Christine and her group of friends; who were mostly models from the various counties in Kenya, planning for a baby shower for the new mother turned out to be a daunting task. The new expectant mother was very inquisitive. The fact she has been able to stay with a baby full term was already a miracle by itself. Christine, who is an online shopaholic, spotted an advert by OLX, stating that they would sponsor a surprise shopping spree for any baby shower committee planning to have a baby shower event. Christine and a friend of hers, Grace, who had also spotted the advert on Twitter, alerted all their other friends via Whatsapp.
The campaign
OLX ran an online baby shower campaign from 15th June to 22nd June 2015. Friends and family were asked to share their baby shower plans.
The Nomination
Bernice Mugambi’s friends campaigned for their friend who they described as humble, caring and outgoing. It all came down to nominating their friend via a whatsapp number, by posting pictures and well-crafted words to ensure they win the coveted sponsorship, which they did, three weeks into the planning of the event.
They got a call from the OLX people and were told they had won the prize. This now meant shopping for the appropriate gifts online. This was meticulously done by two committed friends namely; Judy and Grace, who ensure they picked the right gifts within the stipulated budget. Their OLX experience was great as they had never imagined they would find baby gifts online. They were able to buy a baby cot, rompers, cot sheets, nursing pillow, Bottle sterilizer, adorable baby dresses, mittens, bibs, booties, baby basinet, bottle warmers, Moses basket and diaper bags. baby cot, and adorable baby dresses The best part about the OLX shopping was mainly the convenience it brought and that it was hassle free. They were able to witness and see how vibrant the OLX market place is like, due to its interactive nature and well detailed categories according to Christine.
The surprise
When the baby shower was all planned, the venue set and the gifts wrapped it was time to get the guest of honour to the venue. Bernice’s friends were unsure of how to surprise her because they were worried about her getting a fit if they didn’t do it right which would be bad for the baby. They decided to ask her husband to bring her to the venue Shebeen, Upper Hill as part of the surprise. He was to tell her that it was just a normal date out. She came to the venue to find the place filled with smartly dressed friends all in white and a media crew waiting for her at the venue. Bernice was very surprised; she even got emotional at the time and took time off to take a breather.
“I am so humble that my friends went out of their way to do this for me, am so blessed beyond my thoughts, I can’t stop crying, and to think that my husband had an idea of all these and never mentioned it even once, this is the biggest surprise of my life”, said Bernice.
The surprise party by OLX went down as planned. It will surely remain a befitting and memorable event for Bernice and all the friends involved.
The campaign by OLX was aimed at promoting the kids and babies category on OLX. It seems this is a very busy category as babies are constantly outgrowing their clothes, and baby items. Parents are now re-selling them on OLX and using the money to buy other items that the kids need as they grow.
OLX Marketing manager Priscilla Muhiu, said there was an overwhelming response. She hopes to scale this across the country. Priscilla said “It is a fact that OLX is now the official on-line Gikomba market for women looking into saving a penny while buying and selling babies and kids’ products. Getting a baby is an expensive affair that is why all those women wanted to win shopping from OLX for their expectant friends”.
