The Nation Newspaper

Category: Brand week

  • Kwese TV may break Supersports’ monopoly

    Kwese TV may break Supersports’ monopoly

    Kwese TV, owned by Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, started operations in Nigeria about a week ago.  Kwese TV came to the country with decoders and satellite dishes available to subscribers, indigenous family contents, and the biggest sub-saharan sports channel, Kwese Sports.

    Kwese Sports is the largest sub-Saharan sports channel with 100 million viewers in 25 countries. It is free-to-air and aims to break the monopoly of SuperSports channels. Kwese Sports has acquired the rights to beam the 2018 FIFA World Cup live to Africa and beyond. According to Chichi Nwoke, General Manager, Kwese Sports, ‘’the matches will be live on both the free-to-air stations and those that will subscribe”.

    The company introduces flexible payment plan, which include three and seven day subscriptions at N990 and N1,850 respectively, as well as a 30-day subscription option for N6,275. Nigerians have yearned for pay-as-you-view plan since DSTV pioneered the market.

    Kwese TV is an entertain-ment-sports Pay TV operated by Econet Media, a subsidiary of the giant pan-African telco, Econet Wireless.

  • Phantom 8: Tecno’s new flagship challenges competitors

    Phantom 8: Tecno’s new flagship challenges competitors

    The fast-rising global manufacturer of smartphone, Tecno Mobile, has unveiled a new brand, Tecno Phantom 8. At the unveiling at Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai, were ace actor Odunlade Adekola and popular tech You-tuber Eric Okafor, OLUFEMI BABALOGBON reports. 

    The device has 20 megapixels front and back cameras with 12 megapixel and 13 megapixels configurations. While reviewing  the phone with this writer, Eric Okafor, who is the founder of howtotechnaija.com, said “the refocus camera feature on Phantom 8 is a conversation starter. “My friends on social media suddenly aren’t shy to ask if I used a phone or an actual camera to take amazing portrait shots. Everyone wants to look good and that’s what Phantom 8 offers,”he said.

    Ace Nollywood actor Odunlade Adekola explained the optical power of the product from the perspective of a film producer. “The technology behind it is so wonderful. From the camera point of view, the refocusing part of the camera is beyond imagination and the battery is very strong,” he said.

    The dual-lens back camera enables the phone to achieve depth of field as identified by Adekola.  The main camera is a 12 megapixel SONY IMX386 sensor with f/1.8 lens and improved low light photography. Other features, which complement the power of the camera, include a TRI LED flash, 10X Zoom, Autofocus, portrait mode (refocus), Auto HDR, Night mode, Superpixel and smart filters.

    The portrait mode is found in the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. In the iPhone 8 Plus, the Portrait Mode is embedded with Portrait Lighting, which uses the camera sensors to light the subject’s face in real time. Both Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and iPhone 8 have the dual camera feature.

    Techno Phantom 8 does not only match Samsung’s and Apple’s flagships in terms of camera technology, it also boasts of 6GB RAM, and 64GB storage. These are same specifications with Samsung Galaxy Note 8. However, Apple  offers 64GB as standard storage, with up to 256GB scalable storage without the need for MicroSD. That is currently unbeatable.

    Tecno Phantom 8 promises to offer the best experience in photography and design. The product couples form and functionality; presented in a slimmer and lighter metal rounded-edges frame. As a luxury product, it has a 3D diamond design at the back. The device has an appealing aesthetics and architecture. This is an attempt to measure up to Samsung Galaxy Note 8’s exceptional and futuristic packaging.

    Obviously the consumers were  expecting Phantom 7, but the company said it tasked its’ engineers to double up and produce Phantom 8. Reviewers said it is a bid to keep pace with  Samsung’s and Apple’s previously launched Galaxy Note 8 and iPhone 8, respectively.

    Tecno Phantom 8 is targeted at upper-middle class. It comes in Champagne old, Galaxy Blue and Phantom Black. Tecno mobile is known for spotting global trends and producing local-driven solutions. The brand, with competitive presence in India, the Middlle East and Africa, has kept its market share on a positive gradient.

    Although an Africa and Middle-East brand, Tecno’s strategy of “think globally, but act locally”, positions it in the same niche with Apple and Samsung. Techno Mobile engages idea thinking and native intelligence in a bid to beat competition in its territories.

  • Returns on social media investment: elusive or illusive?

    Returns on social media investment: elusive or illusive?

    With my experience, social media should just be a component of your marketing strategy and not the centre of it. The return on investment is low. That is why start-ups who focus on social media fail”.

    This was the opinion of a tech evangelist and Chief Executive Officer  of TychZoe Global Network, Shaba Okare Michael. He is one of the few tech enthusiasts who believe that the return on investment (RoI) of social media marketing is a mirage.

    Multinationals’ executives  have refused to discuss the results of their social media engagement and RoI. Small businesses are not tracking RoI; they just believe it works. When asked if social media really delivers, Tofunmi Akinseye, of lifestyle-entertainment magazine Savvy, said: “Yes, this isn’t supposed to be a debatable topic at a time like this when we have increased smartphone users and adoption.”

     

    That’s the euphoria.

    From social media consultants, all you have are analytics that pictured social media impressions, reach and followership. Michael Oluwasegun, strategist with Social Handlers, attempted to illustrate what RoI is for a recent campaign, #RideShareWeekNG.

    In July the campaign led to an increase of over 75 per cent in inbound traffic for gomyway.com and 60 per cent growth rate in engagement and followership,” he said.

    Social Media’s RoI is a measure of the profit generated by social media engagements and ads relative to the cost of those engagements and ads. RoI is a business-centric metric that is connected to a company’s bottom line unlike Return on Advertising Spend (RoAS), which is a measure of gross revenue generated for every naira spent on advertising.

    A close observation of social media pages suggests that brands are unknowingly spending to grow a community of fans, prospective clients and customers. If what brands do is growing communities, then how do they get return on such investments?

    “I believe the community factor is one of its’ strongest attributes”, explained Susan Onigbinde, founder of Dodo Design agency. “It also drives brand loyalty, because people who now share the same values as your company start to develop a connection with your brand”, she added. Tofunmi Akinseye explained what this “connection with your brand” could birth, arguing that it “leads generation to product awareness, product engagement, brand/product retention and ultimately sales”.

    But RoI of social media is not evidenced by making sales. Sales could be direct or indirect effect of some other marketing initiatives or the product itself.  RoI for social media is difficult to track, “because it can be difficult to collect data and exact customer behavior leading up to a sale”, according to Cannon Tekstar Hodge, a social media strategist and writer based in Los Angeles.

    It is either Social Media’s RoI is difficult to track or it is a fantasy. The clicks and impressions may not signify an intention to “connect” or “purchase”, it may be an indication of social media addiction explained as “operant conditioning” by psychologists. Operant conditioning, as explained by Entrepreneur Network partner Ben Angel, suggests that people post, click and share on social media to get a psychological feeling of reward.

    A global study released by the International Center for Media & the Public Agenda (ICMPA) at the University of Maryland, reveals that social media addiction is rampant among college students. The participants of the study were made to abstain from social media for 24 hours. One of the participants noted: “I was itching, like a crack-head, because I could not use my phone.” Social media is a lifestyle, and most users are there to indulge and pass time. Your product is not the attraction.

    The founder of Disrupt Digital, David Idagu Goldfinger advised that “the website and other activities outside the social media platforms is what convert the traffic to sales”. Jide Bamidele, a certified e-campaign expert and founder of Spark Conect warned that “Social media should not be the strategy in itself but a major part of the overall marketing strategy”. He advised organization to align online activities with offline activities to convert social media leads.

    Tech innovator Shaba Okare Michael claimed that social media consultants know that social media does not work but “they have to make money”. He however posited that “Social media is not a failure in itself. It does work for events and social stuff. But for sales, it does not work as such”. The logic in the statement is that events and social causes need “human traction” while profit-inclined businesses need “sales traction”. It is hard to argue against Shaba with the dearth of data on RoI of social media.

    Before you debate this, consider the presentation of Coca-Cola at the Advertising Research Foundation’s 2013 Conference in New York. At the conference, Eric Schmidt, Senior Manager (marketing strategy and insights) at Coca-Cola said “we didn’t see any statistically significant relationship between our buzz and our short-term sales”. Thus, this debate is about statistics and social media RoI remains either elusive or illusive until we have the data.

     

  • TStv’s delay: We shall soon find out!

    TStv’s delay: We shall soon find out!

    Nigerians are becoming wary of the delay in the operation of the newly-launched Pay TV, TStv. The pay Tv multi-channel platform was launched on October 1, in Abuja. Apart from the ceremony which took place on that day, the company failed to start operations and distribute decoders as promised. Even the decoders the company said would be given to 5,000 Nigerians for free were obviously not available.

    A week after the ceremonious launch, TStv announced that commercial operations would start on November 1. Anticlimax!

    TStv’s entry into a market previously monopolized by DSTV was heralded with a lot of hype about the platform being the first pay-per-view Direct-To-Home satellite TV in Africa. Nigerians embraced the idea and joined the company in promoting the brand, online and offline.

    Nigerians were excited that they would be able to subscribe with as low as N300 and they can pause the subscription while travelling out of town. In addition, the brand promised 20GB internet data for those booking the full month’s subscription. The government had to join the people in supporting the indigenous player by granting it a three-year tax holiday.

    TStv promised a lot and it is still repeating those promises. However, Nigerians may be losing interest in the company. The postponement of commercial operation is a lag that has given Nigerians the chance to re-evaluate the promises rationally. The delay also gave competitors the chance to introduce additional value and consolidate their market territories.

    In addition to these, the stories being peddled online about TStv are capable of damaging its’ reputation. There are unconfirmed reports that TStv is having issues with its content providers. All TStv has done is refuting the stories and assuring Nigerians that the company will launch operationally with exciting contents on November 1st 2017.

    For now the buzz deflates day by day. As long as there is delay, Nigerians would keep speculating and detractors of TStv will always echo the news purportedly crafted by saboteurs.  Perhaps the narrative that those stories are coming from saboteurs is a cover for TStv’s negligence and inadequacies; we shall find out. Soon!

  • ‘How market products, services in austere times’

    ‘How market products, services in austere times’

    Nigeria’s inflation is currently 16.01 per cent. We are out of recession, according to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

    However, marketing budgets are yielding low returns as Nigerians are still struggling with economic hardships. At this time, how best can products or services be marketed?

    During austerity, consumers think more of utility than luxury; more of functionality than design; more of must-haves than good-to-haves; and more of reusables than consumables.

    Therefore, we have to go to the market via unconventional routes: flip the Pareto Principle, narrow your targeting, focus on repeated sales, and make your customers brand ambassadors.

    In flipping the Pareto Principle, create new product mix that can make 80 per cent of your customers generate more income for you.

    A product mix that can easily initiate upselling and cross selling is a good strategy in motivating customers to spend more. Bundle your products with brands that are strategic to your route-to-market, the same way Mr. Biggs outlets appears at every Mobil gas station.

    During this period, you will have to narrow your targeting to the core of the prospects that need your services/products. For example, everybody may needs fumigation to protect against Lassa fever, but families with children will respond faster to that need because the stake is high. There is always the core of the market that would be readily receptive and responsive to marketing. If that core is identified and engaged, it yields better results.

    Rather than focusing on increasing the number of customers, focus on generating repeated sales. Frequency of patronage can make up for loss of customers and it is cheaper to manage.

    Don’t spend unnecessarily on billboards, TV Commercials and radio jingles, if the demography and psychographics of your targeted customers does not fit into above-the-line advertising.

    Put events together to bring your prospects to your door; use ambient ads to be in their face. Explore social media ads, facebook’s algorithm tracks prospects and help convert them to customers, faster than word of mouth. Remember, if it isn’t digital, it isn’t strategic.

  • Airtel’s Unlimited Data campaign: A case of puffery?

    Airtel’s Unlimited Data campaign: A case of puffery?

    In Nigeria, internet is the culture. Internet has given people the opportunity to enjoy the often ridiculous pop-up broadcasts on WhatsApp, the rib-cracking videos on Instagram, vanities of Snapchat and the whimsical banters on Twitter.

    This must be the reason one of the many ads for Airtel’s Unlimited Data campaign is chronicled “Data is Life”.

    The data-is-life advert vividly depicts a stone-aged homo sapiens becoming radiant at the glitters of civilisation, fluffiness of hedonistic lifestyle and photo-flashes of smartphones. This message is very true for 53 per cent of Nigerians; that is the statistics for internet penetration.

    Another advert of Airtel storied some neigbours who depended on a young man’s internet data. They had to rush to their benefactor’s house when power went off, a scenario which mocks Nigeria’s erratic power supply. Those neighbours assembled at the Good Samaritan’s door, begging for more data to complete downloads they have initiated. This particular ad does not exaggerate the need of Nigerians not just for internet but for speedy internet data bundles.

    Thus, it was great news when Airtel Nigeria launched the Unlimited Data Plans. The data bundles go for N10, 000, N15, 000 and N20, 000 for Unlimited 10, 15 and 20 respectively. On its’ website, Airtel claims the Unlimited Data plans are “designed for heavy data activities like downloading, streaming and sharing with friends and family”.

    “Nigerians know that the subscription will expire within thirty (30) days and obviously what it promises is unhindered speed for upload and download”, an Airtel subscriber explained. At a time when Nigerians are complaining over poor quality of service (QoS) by the telcos, Airtel promised unlimited data. This would not only be good news but a technology breakthrough.

    These offerings are obviously part of the strategy to give Airtel competitive advantage. The brand is positioned as the smartphone network in a market where WhatsApp calls (active mobile internet) threatens to eclipse voice calls (active voice subscription). According to statistics released by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), telecom subscribers using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) grew by 880per cent in July 2017 relative to same period last year. Data is the new civilisation!

    However, the Unlimited Data campaign is sheer puffery. A check with Airtel’s website reveals that the  data plans are not actually unlimited. The data plans are limited by some certain Fair Usage Policies (FUP). When the consumption of Unlimited 10 reaches 40GB, the speed will be throttled to 256kbps. The Unlimited 15 and Unlimited 20 will both also throttle to a speed of 256kbps when consumption gets to 65GB and 100GB respectively. The TV commercial for the campaign could have had a caveat that “Terms and conditions apply” or a referral to the company’s website for more information.

    According to CSG Network’s download speed calculator, a 100MB file would take 51 minutes and 19 seconds to get downloaded at the speed of 256kbps. This shows that the offering is not totally unlimited and using the nomenclature for the product name is an outrageous claim which could mislead subscribers in their decision-making.

    NCC’s Guidelines on Advertisements and Promotions, No 3(e) states:“Licensees offering internet connections should state the Internet connection speed available to end-users as well as specific upload and download speed. If the connection speed quoted is only obtainable under special circumstances, then these circumstances should be clearly stated.”

    This shows that it is expected that the company quotes on the advert material, the upload and download speed and how consumption levels would chop down the data speed at a certain point. This would help decide whether the package fits for some specific use or not. Some buy data bundles to stream events and the unlimited speed is actually needed.

    Take for example the tweet from @AirtelNigeria by 3:01pm on 7th October, 2017, which said: “Get Unlimited 10 for N10, 000, Unlimited 15 for N15, 000 and Unlimited 20 for N20, 000 and start enjoying the unlimited data life!” Such a message is unambiguous in its’ promise.

    To make its message clearer, Airtel Customer Care tweeted via @airtel_care in a reply to @TransOceana that: “Each variant of bundle offers Unlimited data for 30 days, which gives you the access to share your data with loved ones”. The irony is that you would not be able to share a data with your loved ones when the speed crashes to 256kbps or less.

    Why would the commercials never mention that the data bundles will slow down in speed when consumption reaches a level? Why would Airtel not give subscribers this information via the social media? Why should very important information which borders on the limitations of an unlimited offer be released only on the website?

    Puffery in advertising is not illegal; it is rather an ethical dilemma. An ethical dilemma is a practice that does not contravene any law but may not be socially responsible. The vetting guidelines of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) states that advert “should be prepared with a high sense of social responsibility and should avoid misinformation”. It is clear that the adverts and social media posts of Airtel contain half-information about the offering and have not guided subscribers properly in making a rational decision.

    It is understandable that the competition in the telecom sector is tense. The portability access has given subscribers the freedom to switch brands without losing their lines. Out of the 91,419,943 GSM lines subscribed to internet data in Nigeria, only 22.5 per cent is subscribed to Airtel internet data plans as at July.

    Between January and July 2017, Airtel has gained an average of 2, 307 lines monthly and has lost an average of 4, 837 lines monthly due to portability. This means Airtel experienced more subscribers porting away from the network than it receives.

    This is the situation for most of the telcos in the first and second quarters of the year.

    Analysts claimed “the portability statistics as released by NCC may be a picture of consumers’ response to unfulfilled promises by some telcos”.

    Puffing and fluffing in advertising is a common practice in the telecom sector. Consumers are always reacting with vitriolic attacks on social media against the untrustworthy networks whenever it becomes clear that their marketing messages were completely exaggerated. Those attacks on telcos via the social media deplete the goodwill of the brand and aids brand switch through portability.

    In his book, Principles and Practice of Advertising, author Hillary Chidi Ozoh stated that advertising has a duty of accountability and that “this duty of accountability is largely a consequence of the overriding social responsibility philosophy that the media should be socially responsible”.

    The author, a lecturer and examiner with APCON, said “incomplete description” and “partial disclosures” are forms of deceptive advertising. Incomplete description is explained as “stating some, but not all of the contents of a product”, while partial disclosures is explained as “stating what a product can do but not what it cannot do”.

  • Quadrant MD speaks at TEDx

    The curator of TEDxIkeja, an event licensed by TED LLC,  New York, said Bolaji Okusaga, the Managing Director of The Quadrant Company, will  speak at the talk event.

    He is a strategy and brand enthusiast with wide experience in media and marketing.

    His PR consultancy firm, The Quadrant Company won the Award of the African PR Consultancy of the Year, the most prestigious international award in Public Relations by the Holmes Report/Sabre Awards.

    He is expected to facilitate new thinking through his speech on “Are we yet a nation?”

    He will join others to aggregate ideas on social reputation, algorithm, suspended thinking, soft power, visual metaphor, Lassa fever detecting kits, and nation-building.

     

  • Eunisell educates customers on engine lubricants and industrial fluids

    Eunisell Limited, a specialty fluids management company, organised a one-day technical training and seminar for lubricant additive customers, as part of its efforts to raise the participants’ technical awareness of the lubricant market to enable them have a better understanding of the link between engine design lubricant performance and knowledge of global trends especially in the downstream sector of the oil & gas industry. Currently in its 15th year, the seminar with the theme: “Advances and Trends in Automotive, Transmission, and Industrial Fluids” was held recently in Lagos.

    Speaking at the event, Chief Executive Officer at Eunisell Limited, Ramesh Hullur, said the training has been designed to help participants gain cutting-edge knowledge on trends and developments in the automotive, transmission and industrial fluids market. “This training is essential and is meant to bring together professionals who are into blending of lubricants and other petroleum and allied products in Nigeria, with a view to bringing them up to speed with industry developments and technological breakthroughs that have led to the advancement of additives and lubricants in other parts of the world,” he said, adding that the seminar creates a veritable platform to access the latest information on specialty fluids, thereby enhancing application expertise.

    Chief Executive Officer of Eunisell International, Iain Fraser, who was also at the event, expressed the company’s determination to see Nigeria benefit from the development of the downstream sector while the participants are also empowered with quality knowledge. He said: “Nigeria must not be left out of the developments in the downstream sector; this is why we carry out such training for various organisations at no cost. We have done this every year for the past 15 years, empowering participants with the requisite knowledge to guarantee the production of top quality lubricants for automobiles and industries in Nigeria.”

  • Agitation for professionalism deepens as NIMN sets to license marketers

    Agitation for professionalism deepens as NIMN sets to license marketers

    To distinguish those who have demonstrated experience, proficiency, knowledge and exposure to marketing profession for effective practice, Nigeria Institute of Marketing NIMN, is now fully positioned and determined to enforce the provision of the NIMN Act, which mandates marketing professionals and marketing related organisations in Nigeria to obtain practice license from the institution.

    The license, which provides an inclusive environment for licensing marketing professionals from varied backgrounds, thereby leveraging the multidisciplinary  nature of the licensing field based on marketing knowledge standards. The president of the institute Mr Tony Agenmonmen made this known recently in Lagos where he clearly declared that there are thousands of marketing professionals in Nigeria who are not registered with NIMN, adding that by the position of the law, they are clearly in violation of the NIMN Act No 25 of 2003. He noted that the responsibility for compliance rests on both the individuals and the companies that employ them.

    According to him, “Section 20(2) of the Act states: If on or after the coming into force of this Act, any person who is not a member of the institute practices or holds himself out to practice as a marketer for, or in expectation of reward or takes or uses any name, title, addition or description, implying that he is in practice as a marketer, he commits and offence.” In view of its determination to encourage such erring members to comply with the provision of the law, NIMN has created a window of opportunity for a special Fast Tracked Executive membership programme. This programme covers all categories of membership, including associate, full member and fellow.

    Agenmonmen declared that interested professionals can register for the fast tracked programme through its online portal. He also added that those who may not be able to meet the requirement for the fast tracked executive membership will need to follow the examination route. Interested candidates have between September to December 2017 to undertake the programme.

    The NIMN president noted that this development is in line with the institution’s preference for non-use of force in driving compliance. “Our approach to compliance is to avoid the use of force, except this is a very last resort. We are convinced that it is in the collective interest of all true marketing professionals and marketing organisations to support the effort to ensure that only true and qualified marketers, practice marketing,” Agenmonmen said.

    At the expiration of the grace period, the NIMN president noted that a comprehensive register of marketing practitioners, including organisations that have registered and therefore are in compliance will be published. “Practitioners and organisations not in the register will be seen as unable or unwilling to comply with the provisions of the law and will be handled in accordance with the provisions of the Act accordingly.

    “By January 2018, it will be compulsory for all companies recruiting into their marketing departments to indicate membership of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria as a mandatory requirement in addition to other qualification for employment,” Agenmonmen said.

    Still on the issue of membership, NIMN is also reaching out to about nine thousands of its over 10 000 members who have not been financially active, and whose membership of the institution have technically lapsed. This class of members has now been given up to December 2017 to regularise their membership by paying their accumulated subscription up to 2017. “If they fail to do so, their names will not be in the register and the provision of the Act will also apply,” Agenmonmen said.

  • Seven Interactive emerges only West African winner at Loeries Awards

    Nigeria’s young and vibrant agency, 7even interactive, has recorded a feat by becoming the only agency in West Africa with a medal in the “Digital & Interactive Communication: Social Media category at the just concluded Loeries International advertising awards which was held in South Africa.

    According to entries and nominations data released on the organisers (Loeries) Awards website, only three Nigerian advertising agencies’ entries got shortlisted for the prestigious awards. These include Noah’s Ark’s two nominations; X3M Ideas has one, while 7even Interactive also had one nomination while Nigeria’s advertising school, O2 Academy, also got shortlisted in the students’ category.

    At the awards in Durban, South Africa, 7even Interactive pulled an actual win, it was awarded bronze not only as the only Nigerian winner but became the only 2017 Loeries winner to emerge in the entire West African sub-region. The winning work, tagged “Frixion Vodka” is a self funded, outstanding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) material by the agency in the area of digital interactive and social media aimed at fighting against “Rape”, a social ill that transcends geography and races. The agency got frontline Nigerian movie stars and social commentators to sign unto the project and talk about the social ill on the social media with a view to raising awareness and discourage such bestial act and also bring about respite to suffers and punishments for culprits.

    Commenting on the award, Chief Operating Officer, COO, 7even Interactive, Taiwo Agboola, who expressed delight for the young agency to be acknowledged and given international recognition through the prestigious award expressed that although, “we didn’t plan for it, we were just doing our stuff and we wanted to affect the society positively especially by being in the vanguard to raise voice against the endemic social vice –rape. If in doing this an award of this magnitude comes our way, we are indeed appreciative of it,” the COO declared.

    The agency objective is to “raise awareness again the social vice- rape, by re-enacting it on a social media platform. The easiest way to define rape is sex without consent, the key word being without consent. Our objective was to get people, especially those that matter in social circles to discuss the 4-letter word – Rape which has become a commonplace social ill which the society often sweep under the carpet,” he added.