Category: Brand week

In its ongoing move to topple Guinness as the market leader in the stout market, Nigerian Breweries is not relenting in its effort to push its product, Legend Extra Stout, to the top of the ladder, using brand activation, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.

Getting a brand to become a market leader could be tedious. It is a long journey. In a market where competition is stiff, many brands give up the chase as a result of the strength of the market leader. Those closing in on the leader employs every trick in the marketing tool box to close the gap, setting eyes on the golden position in the market leadership hierarchy.

For instance, the battle between Coca-Cola and Pepsi, both producing carbonated drinks, has remained legendary in the history of marketing. Though the feud got heated up with the Pepsi Challenge in 1975, which prompted Coca-Cola’s horrific New Coke debacle – the brands have been fighting each other for more than a century.

When PepsiCo unveiled the stevia-based Pepsi True late last year, the unofficial ceasefire between Coca-Cola and Pepsi came to a dramatic end and one of marketing’s biggest rivalries sparked back to life. But the latest campaign by Coke, Share a Coke, appeared to have further entrenched Coke’s leadership in the cola market. Coca company got the killer instinct when, according to the company, “it received a 151-word creative brief that gave them free reign to deliver a truly disruptive idea that would make headlines and capture the country’s attention.”

Accordingly, the resulting campaign, known internally as “Project Connect”, based on its ambition to both strengthen the brand’s bond with consumers and inspire shared moments of happiness in the real and virtual worlds – became known as “Share a Coke.” The first-of-its-kind campaign celebrated the power of the first name in a playful, social way by swapping Coke branding on bottles and cans.

Like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, both Guinness’ Extra Stout and Nigerian Breweries’ Legend Extra stout have continued to battle in a similar manner over decades. During this period, both conventional and unconventional market knives have been used to outdo one another. Their long-term war has raised issues such as demarketing, ambush marketing, content-cloning, offensive and defensive marketing, but none has relented on the fight for market share.

While it is understandable that Guinness Extra stout occupies the top seat in the market hierarchy in the stout market, its closest rival’s continuous aspiration to become the leader, has been monumental and threatening, putting the market leader on the defensive mode.

In its ongoing campaign, Legend Extra stout has continued to use consumer engagement marketing channels, such as memorable ad campaigns, experiential events, viral growth, and consumer participation strategies to beat the leader, especially at a time when the market leader appears to be silent in its marketing drive.

Using the opportunity of the market leader somewhat interregnum, the brand handlers started with the re-launch of the brand in a staniol bottle last year to create an attractive bottle, beautifully adorned with a golden neck foil.

“The stout drink did not leave anyone in doubt that it was aiming for market leadership,” said a brand analyst with a PR agency.

The brand, however, intensified its brand mission with the ‘Taste and Tell’ Activation, a brand activation, whose train moved from one state to the other, using in-bars as its point of engagement. According to experts, its aim is simple: “Brand activation, sometimes called brand engagement, focuses on building a longer term emotional connection between the brand and the customer. Activation based on direct-response marketing will focus on generating immediate sales transactions.”

For Legend brand, the in-bar activation featured blind taste competition among Legend consumers with prizes doled out to winners. “The activation turned out to be a resounding success. Perhaps that accounted for the reason why Legend is continuing with the promo in 2015,” says Mr. Adesola Akinkunmi, managing director, MainOne Media Company, a new marketing communication firm.

Like a train stopping at every station, the activation has been held in several cities across the federation including Lagos, Benin, Owerri, Ibadan and Enugu. Using comedian De Don, holding forth as the Master of Ceremony and a host of other talented artistes including Oritsefemi, 9ice, Terry G, among others.

Interestingly, Legend Extra stout’s growing ascendency is happening at a period when declining personal income is affecting the purchasing power of would-be consumers in the alcoholic beverage segment.

Beyond the marketing buzz-words, what is the brand’s secret? How has it managed to sustain growth in volumes and sales despite declining consumer pocket? “A lot of the brand’s growing profile lies with its creativity in its brand engagement and loyalty reward activities. For two years running, Legend has sponsored loyal consumers for a shopping spree in Dubai. Scores of lucky winners have travelled to Dubai, all-expense paid, courtesy Legend Extra stout. In addition to the Dubai trip, the promo also saw thousands of winners carting home fantastic prizes,” Akinkunmi said, adding that the same worked for Guinness Extra stout when it took consumers to South Africa to watch the 2013 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).

He said  the Taste and Tell activation has further brought something different to the table. “While providing consumers an opportunity to test their knowledge of the brand, the event is also serving as a unique platform to create a bond between the consumers and the brand,” he said.

Through the brand activation approach, the brand also engaged consumers with prizes. The winner of a brand new flat screen television in the Ibadan leg of the activation, Moshood  Saheed Abiola, said: “Legend has always been my brand of choice, but I hadn’t taken it for three years until today. I just decided to take Legend because my friends invited me to hang out. Even if I stay away from Legend for 10 years I will still be able to identify it because of my history with the brand. It was really not difficult,” Abiola said.

Abiola wasn’t the only winner that night in Ibadan. Adekunle Adeyinka and Solution Oguniyi were equally lucky as they won a 9.5kva generator and a refrigerator.

For Adeyinka, winning the brand new generator would remain an unforgettable experience. “This will not be the first generator I will own. I have bought several generators in the past, but this one is different because I won it, courtesy of my love for Legend Extra stout. That’s why I won’t forget it,” he said.

Blessing Koffi, a Ghanaian professional dancer, was another winner in the Test and Tell Contest in Benin.

According to her, she was attracted to Legend because of its long lasting taste and thick foam.

The Marketing Manager, Lager and Stout, Nigerian Breweries Plc., Emmanuel Agu, said  Legend Taste and Tell activation was introduced as a way of reinforcing the key features of the brand to its consumers. He added that the activation will also serve as a medium to engage and reward its teeming consumers for their support over the years.

Agu further said the brand was consistently looking for innovative ways of rewarding its consumers. “We do not only stop at rewarding our loyal consumers; we also ensure that we give them the experience of a life time and no stout has ever done that in this market. “If you remember, we did National Consumer Promotion (NCP) last year where we gave out generators, LED television sets and instant airtime. These are the ways we say thank you to the people for taking this product- the only full brewed stout in the market and it is our turn to say we really appreciate you. We are getting their loyalty and that shows in our volume and growth. We are happy,”he said.

With its aspiration to be a leader of the category, Marketing Director, Nigeria Breweries Plc Walter Drenth, said: “Legend is on a very exciting journey. If you look at Nigerian Breweries, and you look at the brand, Legend specifically, you find that change and innovation are in the DNA. We always say ‘if you do what you did, you get what you’ve got. And consumers are open for change. They are asking for change. So, innovation part of the Legend’s DNA as well.”

Nigerian Breweries (NB) is not resting on its oars to retain its leadership in the market. After unveiling Ace Roots to tackle Guinness Orijin, whose brand coverage is spreading fast, NB has also spread its tentacles with Ace Roots to get into the regional market, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.

After a successful merger with Consolidated Breweries (CB), upping its brand portfolio to 21 products, Nigerian Breweries Plc is set to further sustain its leadership in the brewery market using an offensive marketing approach.

Bragging with bigger marketing budget, a more robust research and development unit, the leading brewer in the country threw the first jab at its oldest rival, Guinness Nigeria, with the launch of Ace Roots, a Ready-To-Drink (RTD) herbal drink, to kick-start the marketing war with Guinness for this financial year.

While most brands suspend the execution of most of their marketing plan for the year as a result of  electioneering, observers said NB did well in keeping the intelligence of the launch from watchdogs until it unveiled Ace Roots, which appears to be an offensive against Guinness Orijin herbal flavoured drink.

However, the ambience of Havens Event Centre in Ikeja, where the product was  launched, was kept secret even before Ace Roots was unveiled.

Approaching the venue, guests, made up of mostly key distributors, suppliers and the media, were received with the big, black and bold banner inscription “Let’s take you back to your Roots”.

One guest said the place looked like a music event, but nit wasn’t. Unknown to the audience except the discerning ones, it’s a play on the name of the new entrant (product). The stage décor, use of cultural paraphernalia, especially the leafs, reveal the upset it is set to create.

With the brand eventually unveiled amid pomp, NB explores the weakness of the first entrant into the herbal drink market, Orijin, to market its unique selling points to its trade partners in Lagos. The Sales Director of NB, Hubert Eze: “The reality is that to communicate what your brand stands for and who you are, you need to link the consumer needs to, maybe existing needs, and bring it out in a proper way where people that are not quite well read like you would understand and connect, with what you are saying. Comparative marketing is not illegal, it’s in the books. If you want to describe two beautiful women, you would always look at one and say this one is taller than the other. If we cannot compare, we cannot make choices and life is about choices,” he said.

To sell the product beyond Lagos, NB has taken the brand to regional market, starting from Ibadan, Oyo, Ogbomosho, Oshogbo, Ilesha/Esa-Oke trade zone, the NB enlightened trade partners, distributors, retailers, entertainment spot operators and consumers on Ace Roots unique selling points.

Muscling low-end herbal drinks

With the new entrant from a big brewer, it appears both Ace Roots and Orijin are set to deplete other smaller players who discovered the potential of the market. But with their strengths, the two products are bringing new standards into a market that has thrown standards into the winds. Orijin came in two variants. Orijin Bitters, a spirit drink of about 40 per cent alcoholic content made simply by mixing flavours with distilled spirits, and Orijin, a simple cocktail of fruits, flavours and alcohol.  While Guinness used Orijin Bitters to deplete a section of the market fighting known brands, such as Alomo, Ogidiga, Koboko, Baby Oku, Yoyo Sappiro Lemon and Ginseng Liquor.

Rather than throw a product into the fray merely to answer competition or impulsively react to the yearnings of the market, NB said it decided to research and consult critical stakeholders before joining the market, adding that they are not out to study anybody.

“Our innovations don’t target products; it goes to satisfy consumer needs. So, we did not target anybody, we did not study anybody. We studied what consumers wanted and we made a product that fit what consumer wanted,” said Eze.

The company’s Zonal Business Manager, West, Opeyemi Oluwalusi, comparing the product with what the consumers are used to, said Ace Roots is the product of  research and consultations executed by the firm over a long period to come out with the best for the consumer. “It is our response to consumers yearnings and demands, our answer to the feedback we got from your our trade partners – retailers and distributors bar owners and entertainment spot operators during consultations with you critical stakeholders.

“When our competitor came up with her brand sometimes last year and stakeholders like you and our teeming consumers started asking when is Nigerian Breweries going to come out with her own brand of herbal mixture drink?  We responded by appealing to you to exercise patience as we need time to carry our proper research and consultation. That was exactly what we did. The result of that painstaking research and consultation is Ace Roots,” he said.

Eze also noted that Ace Roots is the result of a research carried out NB carried out.

 

Why NB, Guinness are playing in herbal drink market

The booming alcoholic herbal drink market is inspired by the need to cater for the African taste for herbal content while enjoying and sharing moments with friends on alcohol, especially liqueur. Right from when the first set of herbal liqueur (Alomo Bitters) forayed into the market, the phenomenon has since seen the alcoholic beverage section of the market littered with assorted brands of these cocktail of fruits, flavours and alcohol products, many of which are produced locally, with others imported.

Makers and marketers of these herbal products invaded the market, unsubstantiated claims about their efficacies. Such claims include that the herbal liqueurs have the capacity to remove harmful toxins from the body (cleanse/wash) and purify blood, prevent oedema and numbness, boost immune system, eliminate worms, cure internal heat and reduce stomach sores (ulcer), among others.

Some even claim their products eliminate acute waist pain, enhances quick erection, improve sexual performance, boost sperm count, prevent bacterial infections and typhoid, reduce excessive fat and pot belly, and also reduce blood sugar level.

However, with the success being recorded by Orijin, the NB entry with Ace Roots, according to analysts, might stir competition among the old rivals considering  that NB is capitalising on certain contents of Orijin to offer new value.

Oluwalusi said: “The herbal mix comes with the lowest sugar content in the market. Whereas there are herbal mixtures with as much as five cubes of sugar, Ace Roots has very low sugar content of just one cube. Aside this, Ace Roots is made with actual herbal juice extract from age-long roots, leaves and herbs. Its alcoholic content is moderated at six percent, that’s a little higher than lager beer and slightly lower than stout beer beverages. More importantly, Ace Roots is entering the market with great value that takes care of the consumers’purse. I can assure you that Ace Roots will not bore holes in your pockets.’’

Unlike Orijin, he listed some of the USP of Ace Roots to include natural herbal extracts from roots, tress, leaves, kolanut, ginger roots, chilli pepper, sweet orange, bitter orange, ginseng roots, cocoa bean, ASPARTME plus seven other fruits, spice and herbs.

Oluwalusi added that the beverage is sweetened with low calories that were tested and accepted as healthier replacement for sugar.

NB’s Marketing Director, Walter Drenth, said: “Ace Roots symbolises a call to action for everyone; customers and consumers to go back to their roots of true African herbs, fruits and spice extracts with low sugar. It’s a great innovation, one that we, at Nigerian Breweries, are very proud of, and we are confident our young and vibrant consumers will appreciate this game changing brand.”

No doubt, while NB is gradually penetrating the market with Ace Roots, the market supply chain is expecting response from Guinness Nigeria.