The Nation Newspaper

Category: Brand week

  • Indigo is Lekki Gardens PR consultant

    As part of its repositioning drive, Lekki Gardens Limited, a real estate development firm, has appointed Integrated Indigo Limited as its public relations consultant.

    Indigo is to manage the perception and reputation of the company to ensure that it maintains mutual understanding and goodwill with its publics and stakeholders.

    Lekki Gardens Limited Managing Director  Mr. Richard Nyong, the appointment of a public relations consultant became imperative, considering the company’s growth and huge investments in the real estate sector as well as future business direction, which requires effective communication with its stakeholders.

    Nyong said tIndigo was expected to provide support for the company in key areas, including PR advisory service; government relations; media relations & engagement; media coverage; customer relations and corporate social responsibility, working closely with the management team of the company.

    Indigo Managing Director Mr. Bolaji Abimbola, said: “We are very excited to partner Lekki Gardens Limited as the Public Relations consultant, especially at this time, we do hope to work with the client to reposition the brand for the future as a thought leader in the real estate sector with innovative product offering to its customers.’’

  • Consumers hail Chivita’s ‘my 100% achievement’ promo

    Consumers hail Chivita’s ‘my 100% achievement’ promo

    Chivita 100 per cent fruit Juice from the stable of Chi Limited thrilled consumers with exciting gifts at its just-concluded My 100 per cent Achievement’ social media promo.

    The promo, which witnessed large participation, consolidated the brand’s affinity with consumers across the digital space.

    The promo was inspirational as it highlighted essential elements of success and leadership of the brand in its market category.

    It required participants to share moments of success they were proud of, be it graduation from school, writing a book, starting a business and others.

    Consumers shared stories of values and principles that motivated them.

    At the prizes’presentation recently, IPhones, IPads and packs of Chivita 100 per cent fruit juice were given to winners.

    One of the lucky winners, who won an IPhone, Esezebor Sylvester, said: “Chivita 100 per cent is my favourite fruit juice, not only for its nourishing and refreshing taste and variants, but also for its health benefits and so when I heard of this competition, I quickly made an entry. The promo is unique because through our ‘100 per cent Achievement’ stories, we are able to inspire each other to achieve the best there is at anytime.”

    To stand a chance of winning in the promo, consumers were encouraged to like the Chivita 100 per cent page on Facebook and follow the brand’s Instagram and Twitter handles. They were also required to share their 100 per cent achievement on any of the brand’s social media pages, using the hashtag #My100 per cent Achievement.

    The top entries were posted on Chivita 100 per cent’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter handles. The final entrants had to get their friends to like their entries on any of the social media pages so that they could accumulate points. Winners were selected based on the highest number of points.

    The company’s Head of Marketing, Probal Bhattacharya, hailed the winners for participating in the contest. He said: “As we continue to develop creative ways of engaging consumers via our various social media platforms, it is our belief that they would continue to explore the amazing quality and benefits of Chivita 100 per cent. As they strive to achieve success or reach memorable milestones in their lives, our consumers deserve the best in fruit juice and Chivita 100 per cent gives the best at all times.”

  • NIPR faults govt’s use of non-professionals as image makers

    The Federal Government’s engagement of uncertified public relations practitioners to handle the nation’s  image rebranding campaigns has drawn the ire of the sector’s leadership.

    The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) Lagos chapter, at a  Stakeholders’ Conference, said the government should learn from the failure of past national image rebranding campaigns and ensure that only professionals were employed tohandle its image agenda.

    The Chief Executive Officer, C&F/Porter Novelli and a member of NIPR, Mr. Nnemeka Maduegbuna, who also condemned the lack of professionalism in the handling of the nation’s PR campaign, said the successful management of Nigeria’s reputation at home and abroad would attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

    Lack of coordination in Nigeria’s PR campaigns has resulted in the fall of FDI from $8 billion in 2011 to $3 billion last year, he said at the  conference with the theme: “Communication, Reputation and Sustainable Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria.”

    He said Ghana, with $3.2 FDI last year, was ahead of Nigeria, blaming lack of transparency in the foreign exchange trading, policy somersaults, poor infrastructure, insecurity and lack of PR strategy for communication management for the nation’s awkward standing.

    He said PR played a significant role in restrategising national communication approach and reputation management to enhance sustainable FDI inflow into the country.

    “Any government that refuses to communicate will soon go into extinction. But you have got to earn a reputation before you can communicate,” he said.

    Maduegbuna also urged the government to adopt a macro-economic policy that will enhance wealth creation through transformation of raw materials into finished products.

    NIPR Lagos Chapter chairman  Mr. Segun McMedal, who described the theme of the conference as timely, called on the government to improve infrastructure to attract more FDI.

    “The preferred destinations for FDI have good infrastructure and steady macro-economic environment. Places like Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore, the preferred investors’ destinations, are known for their world class infrastructure,” McMedal said.

    The President, Africa Public Relations Association, Mr. Yomi Badejo, stressed the need for government to employ professionals to manageg the country’s reputation.

    The Lagos NIPR Stakeholders’ Conference, an annual event organised by Addefort Limited, a public relations outfit, in collaboration with the Lagos Chapter, is aimed at creating a viable bridge-building platform for stakeholders to discuss and proffer solutions to social, political and economic challenges plaguing the nation.

  • Chocolate City, Arewa24 to promote artistes

    The Chocolate City Group, a music, media and entertainment brand in Africa and AREWA24, the 24/7 Hausa entertainment and lifestyle television channel in the North, have announced a new show “Artist Showcase Series” meant to promote artistes from the North.

    It features some of the most talented and popular artistes from the North.

    Each of the short vignettes follows the musical journey of the Chocolate City artistes, from childhood to current status, and shines a spotlight on their inspiration from their home cultures and communities across the region.

    The artistes participating in the initial Chocolate City-AREWA24 showcase include Ruby Gyang, Jesse Jagz, Loose Kaynon, DJ Lambo and Chopstix.

    “We are excited and proud to work with AREWA24 in highlighting the tremendous contributions that our northern artistes are making to the Nigerian and African music scene, while looking forward to Northern Nigerian audiences getting to know not only the music, but also the personal side of our artistes,” Chocolate City Group’s co-founder and CEO Audu Maikori said.

    AREWA24’s Head of Programming and Production Bob Reid added: “These Artist Showcase vignettes will give our viewers a deeper appreciation for how influential the Hausa culture has been in shaping the talents of artists whose music has broad appeal beyond Northern Nigeria. We are delighted to tap into the wealth of Chocolate City Group’s amasing talent and believe our audiences will be pleasantly surprised to learn some new things about the artists, as well as to share the endless joy of their music.”

  • Nutricima unveils Olympic Nutri-Active milk

    Nutricima Limited, a subsidiary of PZ Cussons, has re-launched its premium milk, Olympic, as part of measures to encourage Nigerians to embrace a more active lifestyle. The relaunch will see the brand roll out a new look in the coming months with a new nutrition proposition, “Active For Longer”, while still sticking to its promise of quality nutrition and low cholesterol content.

    At a briefing on the relaunch at the company’s Ilupeju office, the Marketing Director, Mr. Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, said the newly- improved Olympic Nutri-Active milk demonstrates Nutricima’s commitment to providing consumers with nutrients to live a healthy and more active life.

    He said: “So many Nigerians work very hard and are actively engaged in one activity or the other. The new Olympic Nutri-Active is specially formulated to help consumers stay active all day long, regardless of the nature of what they are engaged in.

    “As a company, we understand that as much as people are disposed to an active lifestyle, the prevailing circumstances may cause them to be easily overwhelmed, tired or bow easily to anxieties, work stress and other pressures which can adversely affect their productivity, hence we are committed to helping the Nigerian consumers stay active and healthy at all times.

    “With Olympic Nutri-Active, people have the option of having a milk that contains all the essential nutrients they need to live a really active lifestyle and still not fret about their cholesterol level,” he added.

    The Category Marketing Manager, Olympic, Raphael Agbaje, said the brand realised the need to support consumers and help them achieve more.

  • Boosting local football league marketing appeal

    Boosting local football league marketing appeal

    Since the kick-off of this year’s Nigeria Professional Football League season, there has not been a title sponsor. To enhance the brand profile of the league, Nigerian Breweries has injected its marketing investment into it, positioning its premium brand,  Star Lager beer, as the official beer of the Nigerian football league, reports ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.

    As the economy continues to slide, especially with recent admission by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, that Nigeria is technically in recession, the questions marketers and brand managers need to answer  are: How to invest wisely in brand building, where to use as point of exposure to engage consumers beyond the traditional platforms, and when to invest and achieve an impactful mileage for their brands?

    The economic challenges have forced some brands to rethink how to survive amidst the continued decline of the economy, to stop their marketing efforts sliding to almost zero level.

    Operators said the tough operating environment has forced a leading telco to cancel its entire billboard advert placement in Nigeria – a development that showed sliding marketing budget.

    Nielsen West Africa Managing Director Mr. Lampe Omoyele, in a marketing survey by Nielsen, a global marketing research firm, said the economy’s downturn presented brand managers ample opportunity to deploy more marketing campaigns.

    At an event organised by advertisers, he said brands should be innovative, and corporations should look for where to place their brands to derive  optimum value for marketing expenditure rather than withdrawing from marketing in the name of tight budget occasioned by market malady.

    Yielding to this advice, Nigerian Breweries shocked the marketing industry on Tuesday when it announced a major sponsorship deal with the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPLF), run by the League Management Company (LMC). The sponsorship is expected to position NB’s premium brand Star Larger beer as the official beer of the Nigerian League. Banking on an average of 8,000 fans (according to 2014/15 season fan review) that attended games, the brand is expected to ride on the impressions the league enjoys, especially via its growing digital interest.

    According to Keyhole, a real-time hashtag tracker for Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, the NPFL enjoys an average of 500 posts with four million impressions on Twitter every weekend.

    The sponsorship, according to a media buyer, would also offer Star Larger beer an opportunity to reach about 30 million TV football  audiences, who watch local leagues both in Nigeria and abroad via digital and online TV.

    The brand is also expected to leverage on the growing emotional factor in the Nigerian league to bond with its consumers. For instance, there is a growing interest among families who attend local league matches in their bright club replica jerseys due to enhanced security at venues across the country.

    Touted as having the biggest crowd for domestic football in Nigeria, for more than 15 years and expected to rise this year, the league has become more competitive as clubs now chase points, leading to greater excitement for the fans – the biggest stakeholders who are the core target consumers of most brands.

    Over the years, there has been a chasm in football sponsorship in Nigeria. Unlike its European league counterparts that enjoy sponsorship on all their properties, such as TV right, sports arena advertising hoardings, Jersey, and league naming, among others, the Nigerian league has had  tough times in attracting sponsorships from various brands.

    “The NPFL, like many important leagues across the world, needs big corporate organisations to support its message of youth empowerment – at least 700 footballers are employed across the 20 club sides in the league,” said LMC Chairman, Shehu Dikko.

    Having enjoyed a great deal of sponsorship from Globacom, other brands have not been forthcoming, especially at this critical period when the brands are cutting marketing budget because of market realities. While some do not see the opportunities in coming on board, Star has defied the marketing challenges, economic recession and threw its marketing fund to support the league.

    ”This partnership agreement with Star shows that there is an opportunity for corporate Nigeria in our league and we hope that many more organisations will take advantage of football to reach their target market as we continue to build an attractive league,” said Dikko.

     

    Need for brand support

    However, due to the fact that more than 70 per cent of clubs are still owned by state governments, player salaries are hampered by the financial insolvency of many governments across the country.

     

    Leverage for brands

    Still, there have been more positives than negatives on the domestic scene, which has seen brand impressions grow digitally with increased interest. This, however, informs why Star Lager beer, Nigeria’s first indigenous beer, decided to support the growing local success story to push it beyond its current reach.

    “We’re excited to sign this agreement with the LMC that sees us become Official Beer of the NPFL for the next four seasons. It’s a partnership that we expect to bring excitement to Nigerian football and the fans who love the domestic game,” said Managing Director, Nigeria Breweries, Nicolas Vervelde.

    With a massive investment in the NPFL through this new partnership, Star will be able to connect its message of vibrancy and excitement with football fans across the country.

    The partnership will see STAR provide excitement to fans during matches through activations, music and fun games at match venues. Fans will be able to win signed memorabilia, replica match balls and jerseys as well as key rings.

    For many that have complained about the lack of entertainment after matches, Star’s experience with music would ensure there’s never a dull moment post-match.

  • ‘Nigeria loses billions of dollars to destination brands’

    Indication has emerged that  Nigeria loses billions of dollars in the tourism and hospitality sector due to failure to refresh the brand equity of tourist destinations, heritage sites and monuments across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Nanet Hotels Limited Managing Director Ini Akpabio said this at a briefing in Abuja.

    He said Nigeria had over 1,000 tourist destinations, including 33 museums, and 65 national monuments  of which two were declared World Heritage Sites. They are Sukur Cultural Landscape in Adamawa State and Osun-Osogbo Groove in Osun State.

    Akpabio added that the Abuja Carnival and Argungun Fishing Festival attract no fewer than 1,000 international tourists and over 100,000 domestic tourists. When the tourists board flights, book hotels, eat and pay for other leisure associated with the festival, Nigeria stands to rake in billions of naira.

    According to him, Nigeria loses billions of naira in Yankari Game Reserve, Bauchi; Obudu Cattle Ranch, Cross River; Sukur World Heritage Site, Adamawa; Tinapa Resort Centre, Cross River; Chad Basin National Park, Born, among others.

    He said this monumental loss was due to infrastructure decay, absence of facilities, insecurity, poor policies, lack of a national carrier, poor management and insurgency.

    Akpabio said the challenges of lack of capital, poor government support, poor infrastructure, political instability and natural calamities hinder the growth and development of the sector.

    He said there was a need to improve social services, such as providing more sporting and recreational facilities, man-made tourism centres, promoting architectural, religious and educational tourism while re-jigging and improving the health care system for medical tourism. He was happy to note that Lagos State was creating a Healthcare City.

    Akpabio said low level of technology, destruction of wildlife, poor road networks, poor funding and lack of basic amenities had also been a challenge to domestic tourism development.

    He, therefore, urged ministries, departments, agencies and the private sector to work with the tourism and hospitality experts for the nation to access the huge benefits that abound in the sector.

  • Denna Rossi unveils new beverage

    To meet the high demand for vitamin-laden beverage, Denna Rossi Limited has introduced Clue Vitamin Beverage to the Nigeria market.

    The company’s Head, Marketing/Corporate Services, Ifeanyi Nihe, said Clue Vitamin Beverage provides a healthy, hydrating, and rejuvenating miracle elixir.

    He said the product reduces the risk of chronic disease like diabetes, gives more energy and provides a healthier immune system.

    According to him, Clue Vitamin Beverage is an alternative to soft drink and other fruit juices. It’s refreshing and healthy for an active lifestyle.

    He also said the product has been produced to be sipped neat, mixed or in cocktails and offers innovative and unique gourmet and luxury experiences with extensive nutrient enrichment.

    The company’s Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director, Dr. Ifeanyi Nwafor, revealed that Clue Vitamin Beverage provides the benefits of water along with enjoyable flavours and added nutrients which can replenish the body.

  • Mobile bank apps offer convenience, safety

    Mobile bank apps offer convenience, safety

    A bank customer’s experience with kidnappers underscores how early adoption of mobile app service can prevent loss of money, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI

    As the banking sector continues to introduce convenience into its offerings for customers, aside the onus of meeting up with its regulator’s cash-less policies, many customers are still wary of adapting to the convenience being marketed.

    Most of the banks, in recent time,  have introduced various conveniences to the market through mobile app, automated teller  machine (ATM) cards and online banking, among others, in an attempt to ensure safe custody of their customers’ money, and ease of transaction without barriers.

    However, one of the factors that always prevent banking customers from adopting this technology is errors on the part of the banks. Some customers have complained of erroneous deductions without early reversal, jammed network and, ultimately, online fraudsters and internet hackers now on the prowl.

    Confirming their fears, a report by the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) disclosed that 1,461 cases of electronic frauds were recorded in Nigeria in 2014. The figure, NIBSS said, represented an increase when compared to the 822 reported cases in 2013

    NIBSS said internet banking, ATMs and other electronic platforms are responsible for the increase in fraudulent activities. Specifically, NIBSS said internet banking and ATM were the lead channels for perpetuating e-fraud in 2014. These, however, made more customers to be afraid of the risk of hooking up with online or mobile banking.

    A recent experience of a member of the National Youth Service Corps, Kelechi Raymond (not real name), at the hands of kidnappers, has given an insight into the good side of customer’s experience with mobile App.

    The Corps member, whose story was online, narrated his ordeal and how bank mobile app saved his bank deposits from being withdrawn by the kidnappers. “I have never been a fan of mobile banking app because of its conditions in Nigeria. The many hitches like connection error, service time out and too many charges, deductions from accounts always make me frown at mobile banking,” he said.

    However, what turned out to be his hatred for using mobile apps later saved him from having his savings withdrawn by kidnappers. On a certain day after his sister had sent a huge amount of money to one of his two bank accounts, FirstBank, the vehicle he boarded was attacked on his way to Port Harcourt and he was accosted by kidnappers.

    He said the kidnappers took possession of all the ATM cards of passengers and collected their passwords. His FirstBank ATM card where he had N265,540, which was transferred to him by his sister for him to start a business after service, was also collected.

    He had left his GTBank debit card where he had N23,000 behind. By providence, when his phone rang, one of the kidnappers, who was waiting for one of their men who had gone to an ATM machine to empty the account of all the kidnapped passengers who had  released their ATMs and passwords under duress, asked the Youth Corps member to show him his ringtone folder. In the process, he was able to log into his FirstBank mobile app and transferred the money into his GTBank account.

    “As I was swiping to get to the folder, I came across the Firstmobile app. something in me said, ‘why don’t you transfer your money in FirstBank to your GTB account?’ At first I was scared, I didn’t know if the ones that had gone to withdraw had already completed the transaction. Or if in the process I might be caught! I had to summon courage to work on my network as fast as possible. I logged in and my N265,540 was still there in my FirstBank account. I transferred the money to my GTBank account. Barely after 15 minutes, they received a call from the ones that went to withdraw that my account had only N540. ‘Nothing dey there’, he told them. They said they were going to hold me there. I began pleading that I was just a Corps member,” he said, adding that he was released three hours later with others.

    As a result, marketing experts believe most banks are offering convenience and safety to customers beyond mere product.  This, according to experts, curbed incidences of fraud in banking transactions in 2015 as mobile money transaction volume grew to N4 billion during the year, the CBN said.

    The Director of Banking and Payments System Department of the CBN, Dipo Fatokun, said the actual loss as a result of fraud in bank transactions dropped from N6.2 billion recorded in 2014 to about N2.3 billion in 2015.

  • CSR: 3XM Ideas donates library to school

    The 3XM Ideas, an advertising agency founded by Steve Babaeko, has donated a library to Ikeja Senior High School as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. The school is at Ikeja GRA, Lagos.

    Its Principal, Mrs. Ibidun Olawuyi, who complained about the absence of a library in the school, said: “Since I was posted to the school, having a school library has been a burden on my heart.”

    Mrs Olawuyi said prior to the new library, the school shared an existing poorly-equipped library with junior school and “this had made it difficult for an effective use of library by both the staff and students of the school.

    An SS2 student of the school, Josep Eunice also lauded the agency’s generosity and spirit of giving back to the society.

    Meanwhile, Babaeko said when the company started “one thing that we thought important was the need for corporate Nigeria to co-operate with the government, especially in the area of education”.

    “We are here today to show you young people that you can be anything you want to be in the future if you believe in it. The foundation starts from here, it starts from reading. I can’t even imagine a school not having an adequate library,” he said.

    The Tutor-General /Permanent Secretary, Education District VI, Lagos,  Anifowoshe Amidat  Abimbola, also commended 3XM Ideas’ effort.