Despite the poor performance that dogged its sales, Guinness Nigeria shook the marketing communication landscape with one of the most intimidating marketing campaigns since May, 2012, when the outgoing Managing director of Guinness Nigeria, Mr. Seni Adetu, took over, ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI reviews some of the activities.
By next January, Seni Adetu will vacate the hot seat at the Guinness Nigeria headquarters in Ogba, Lagos. This was announced by Diageo’s Guinness Nigeria division early in the week. He will be replaced by John O’Keeffe, who has been with Diageo for about 20 years.
O’Keeffe is the global head of Innovation and of Beer & Baileys.
The announcement came amid recent report that Guinness is not doing well.
Adetu said the revenue decline was due to pricing disadvantage, growth in the value segment, investment in capacity expansion , competitor’s aggressive trade practices and increased finance costs among others.
Despite this, his tenure is known for remarkable and innovative marketing campaigns which delivered on marketing objectives as paer of effort to sustain the global positioning of the Guinness corporate brands .
With his aggressive drive to build Guinness marketing share in the beer market, he also brought to Nigeria new products such as SNARP, Dubic and Origin whose current market penetration within the little period of introduction shocked competitors.
“Under Seni’s leadership, the quality and diversity of our portfolio have been enriched with the renovation of Guinness FES and Harp, the repositioning of Dubic and Satzenbrau, the expansion into mainstream spirits and soft drinks categories, the introduction of new brands like Snapp and Orijin. In the period, we have won the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) award for best beverage innovation in Nigeria in 2014 with Orijin and sustained Guinness Nigeria’s long-standing position as one of the most reputable companies in Nigeria,” Guinness stated in a release obtained by The Nation.
“During his time in role, Seni has creditably led the business, successfully completed the capacity expansion project and commenced a major transfromation in the company’s Route-to-Consumer,” the statement conclude..
Beyond that The Nation looks at some of the marketing campaigns under Adetu:
2012: Drink IQ campaign
In 2012, in attempt to promote responsible drinking, Guinness Nigeria Plc organised the second series of the DrinkIQ Media workshop to reinstate the need for consumers to make informed decisions on alcohol consumption. Speaking at the workshop held at the corporate head office in Lagos, Sesan Sobowale, Corporate Relations Director, Guinness Nigeria, stated that the reason for organising the second series of the DrinkIQ Workshop was to further promote responsible drinking and create awareness on the proper consumption of alcohol. He added that it is part of the company’s ‘Plan Ahead’ Responsible Drinking campaign.
2012: Fly with the Eagles
At the time when all big brands tactically failed to made budget available to support the national team, the Super Eagles for the 2013 African Nations Cup in South Africa, Guinness Nigeria Plc under Adetu unveiled the “Fly with the Eagles” campaign to identifies with the love and passion Nigerians share for football and the team’s aspiration to make Nigerians proud at the 2013 AFCON games. The campaign, however, paid off when the team won the trophy and other big brands embarked on ambush marketing thereafter.
As the official sponsor of the team, Adetu, said Guinness is proud to associate with the Super Eagles over the years. He noted that the company is at the centre of galvanising support from millions of Nigerian fans. “Guinness Nigeria is keeping faith with the Super Eagles. We believed that the team is not just made up of the eleven players on the pitch but also includes the 170 million people cheering their team on. As a company and a football-loving brand, we are convinced that we have what it takes to succeed at this year’s outing.”
The brand sponsored about 200 consumers to support the team.
The secretary general of the Nigerian Football Federation, Alhaji Aminu Maigari applauded Guinness’ efforts in supporting the national team.
2013: Largest Jersey unveiled
As part of the preparation to boost the morale of the team and enhance support from Nigerians Guinness Nigeria also unveiled the Largest Football Jersey in the World at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos. It was quite an amazing experience for many who visited the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere to sign on the jersey.
“Going from one engagement point to another was a total and complete experience for me… from 5-aside football match to the live match screenings and finally putting my signature on the jersey, it really was one of those rare experiences that are to be treasured. Trust me, this is something you want to check out,” a signatory said.
2013: Guinness #Colourfulworldofmore Concert Guinness During the year, Guinness Nigeria also unveiled a new label at the #Colourfulworldofmore Concert on Sunday, November 3, 2013 at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. The star studded event which was one of the biggest shows of the year, featured performances by D’banj, Tiwa Savage, P-Square, Chidinma, Burna Boy, Phyno and Olamide, Flavour, Wizkid and Davido. It was a night of non stop fun and excitement, which will linger in the minds of all attendees for a long time. From the ambience of the concert area, the sterling performances, the lightning effect, the sound, it was an event that lived up to the expectations of the Guinness brand. The highlight of the night was the 3D unveiling of the new Guinness Foreign Extra Stout bottle label.
2014: Made of Black
Few months ago, Guinness showed a strong determination to connect with its teeming consumers through the latest campaign, Made of Black. The campaign according to Adetu is meant to provide the platform for Nigerians to explore their innate potentials. The event, which was held recently at Beer Hugz, Ikeja Mall, Alausa, Lagos, created sparks of exciting artistic appreciation of the stout’s extra ‘Blackness.’ The Made of Black campaign was designed to promote and celebrate the universal human capacity to rise above seemingly daunting life’s challenges towards greatness. “Our vision is to be the most trusted beer brand in Nigeria by creating exciting experience for our consumers. The Made of Black campaign cuts across colour, race and creed. It is designed to inspire a positive attitude in the rise of new age consumers. This campaign represents the movement of Nigerians that are determined to carve their own unique path in life. Hence, the brand is providing the platform for them to express their natural attitude,” Adetu said.
He also explained the Made of More campaign, which has been the iconic campaign of Guinness. “The Made of Black as well as Colorful World of More are subsets of Made of More. Guinness Nigeria will continue to explore various consumer touch points that would make the beer brand the consumers preferred choice. Through this initiative, we are redefining what black means. It is meant to increase the attitude of individuals whose inspiration cannot be contained. The attitude is not peculiar to any race but with a universal appeal as an endearment for greatness,” he said.
During the event, the company also announced three Nigerian musical artists, Olamide, Eva and Phyno, as the ambassadors of the Made of Black campaign, noting that they were “carefully selected because they epitomise the truest ideals of the human character to achieve greatness, in spite of the glaring odds.”
I’m proud to be part of this
“We had some big campaigns in the last couple of years that I took charge. I am proud to be part of it. We supported Super Eagles with Fly With The Eagles campaign as a way of supporting the team when they had been written off. In 2012 November, we had a big event at Eko Hotel for the team and after that they went to the Nations Cup in South Africa to bring back the trophy. We also sent about 200 consumers to support the team in SA. We did the Made of Black and we also repackaged the Guinness bottle. In terms of impact, these campaigns are still holding sway The Guinness stout in terms of brand strenght has the highest brand strenght as revealed by consumers research that test brands strenght. We also spent heavilty on media to drive these campaigns. I am proud to be part of this,” he told The Nation.
Prior to taking up this assignment, Seni was the Managing Director of Guinness Ghana Breweries Ltd., based in Accra, Ghana and East African Breweries Ltd., based in Nairobi, Kenya where he achieved great success. Having completed his assignment Adetu will report to Nick Blazquez, President, Diageo Africa and Asia, starting January 2015. The details of Seni’s next role will be subject to a further announcement says Guinness Nigeria.
