This archive report was first published on 22 October 2019.
NRG Radio's Rebranding Blunder ¶
Kenyan radio station NRG Radio's attempt to rebrand and celebrate Kipchoge Keino's achievements ended in disaster when they faced a lawsuit for image rights infringement and attempted to bribe the athlete with a BMW.
On October 18, 2019, Kipchoge Keino's lawyer, Donald B. Kipkorir, tweeted a demand letter to NRG Radio, stating that the station had infringed on Kipchoge's image rights and reputation by rebranding to Kipchoge Radio without his permission.
The demand letter, which was posted on Twitter, read: 'We have been retained by Eliud Kipchoge, our client to write to you. That you issued a press release indicating your said intention to appropriate our client's name and images on your various FunX Radio 91.3FM, NRG Radio 97.1FM and Choice Radio 87.7FM.'
According to the letter, Kipchoge never asked for any gifts, including the BMW that NRG Radio promised to give him in exchange for 1 million followers.
The station was given two hours to make a public apology and expunge Kipchoge's name and images from their promotions. Failure to comply would result in the station being forced to settle for an amount payable for the violations.
NRG Radio quickly met the demands and rebranded to Mashujaa Radio, deleting their earlier tweet that had sparked the controversy.
It is unclear what the outcome of the lawsuit was, but it is clear that NRG Radio's PR strategy backfired and they faced the hand of the law for their actions.
