It is late March 2022, and the Tusker centenary celebrations are in full swing. As we go further into 2022, Tusker is turning up the intensity of the celebrations. Over the hundred years since the brand was established by the Hurst brothers in Ruaraka, it has grown into one of the most prestigious brands on the African continent.
The success of Tusker can be accredited to the shrewdness and magnitude of the partnerships that the brand has made over the years. These have allowed Tusker to carve itself a niche in Kenyan culture that few brands can boast about. From having a football team that is one of the most successful in the country, to making its name synonymous with sevens rugby, and even sponsoring the Kenya Olympic team as recently as in Tokyo 2020. Tusker is a force to reckon with when it comes to Kenyan culture. Think back to Tusker Project Fame, which was a musical talent competition with an imprint that is indelible in the Kenyan conscience, and whose name still echoes across East Africa a decade after its completion. Simply put, Tusker has been a colossus of the Kenyan and East African zeitgeist throughout its century of existence.
As the brand marches on into a new era, the next 100 years, the question on everyone's lips has been a short one: “What next?"
For the next 100 years, Tusker is continuing its plans of reciprocating the support that Kenyans give to the brand, year on year. This will be done in a way that keeps in mind the individuals and groups that encourage those around them to stay loudly and proudly Kenyan, no matter the situation. For the next era of Tusker, the brand is taking into consideration all the players and the trailblazers whose actions push the Kenyan culture forward.
One of the recent developments is a platform dubbed Tusker Nexters. It is based on Tusker's heritage of nurturing homegrown talent and providing a platform for them to shine. This time, the green light has been given to musical talent as well as eSports talents across the country. Tusker Nexters has its sights firmly in the future, where the next generation of musical talent will stand tall alongside the next generation of organized electronic sports, or eSports talent.
Participation in this journey is triggered by sending an SMS of your name and count to 29844, after which would-be musicians and eSports prodigies will get the opportunity to enter an audition process. Qualified participants will be invited to a defined location in their region where they will participate in a music or eSports competition and stake their claim as the best in the region, and ultimately, the country.
This contest targets a mainly 18 to 24-year-old audience, a demographic that is fast-paced, always moving, always finding new ways to get things done. The brand seeks to connect with this audience for the future, as this demographic shares the same outlook as the brand for the next 100 years: connected to their roots through family and community ties, whilst keeping a modern outlook and actively seeking to shape their future.
The Tusker Nexters talent search has already unearthed six musical talents, and eight eSports pioneers from the Mountain and Lake regions of Kenya. The search marches on through the remainder of March and into early May, with the next event happening on 26th March at the Nyayo National Stadium, 2nd April at the Eldoret Sports Club, and 9th April at the Butterfly Pavilion in Mombasa. All young talents in music and eSports are encouraged to come out in big numbers and take advantage of this chance to showcase their prowess on the Tusker stage. For more information on how you or someone you know can become a Tusker Nexter, or to see highlights from past auditions, log onto tusker.beer or follow Tusker’s social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
