Category: Brand week

Gbenga Sogbaike, Chief Executive Officer of Plaqad.com — Nigeria’s leading content trading and influencer marketing platform — has been announced as a speaker at this year’s edition of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) Week, themed ‘Promoting Professional Excellence and Community for Development’.

Gbenga, alongside other renowned media and communications experts, will take part in a panel session to discuss the topic: ‘Harnessing The Synergy Between PR & Digital Influence’ at the Variety Night of the NIPR Week 2019 holding in Lagos.

Joining him on the panel are Japheth Omojuwa; Public Speaker, Political Commentator and Social Media Expert, Omotola Oyebanjo; Head Corporate Communications Lafarge, Tosin Ajibade; New Media Entrepreneur and Digital Content Strategist, Bidemi Zakariyau, Founder and CEO LSF PR, and Bunmi Adeleye; Head Corporate Services, Leadway Assurance Company Limited.

“Attention is a valuable asset in the PR industry and much of that attention is concentrated on digital channels and held by digital influencers. As PR Professionals, it is our responsibility to help the brands we work for to communicate effectively on these channels; and leveraging the points of alignment with digital influence is a great way to do that” said Gbenga.

Earlier this year, Gbenga Sogbaike was a speaker at the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) session on ‘Fame, Fortune & The Business of Influence’ where he shared insights on the workings and trends of influencer marketing in Africa.

Established in 2017, Plaqad is a marketing and public relations technology company providing AI-driven influencer marketing, paid media distribution, content creation, and media intelligence to companies worldwide.

In February 2019, Plaqad launched Nigeria’s first-ever influencer compensation report to provide stakeholders in the industry with data and key insights on the influencer marketing industry in Nigeria.

The company followed up with the launch of the Big Brother Naija Report, a first-of-its-kind and the only comprehensive research work on the impact of the very popular reality TV on youth culture and the Nigerian economy in April. Some of the most successful and popular BBNaija contestants such as Ceec, Tobi Bakre, Tboss, Anto and Bisola among others are members of Plaqad’s influencer community.

The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), is the non-governmental, not-for-profit professional body of qualified Public Relations practitioners chartered by Decree 16 of June 1990 (now an Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria) to regulate the practice and direct the development of Public Relations as a profession in Nigeria.

Three leading brands from the Nigerian Breweries portfolio – Gulder, Goldberg and Star Lager – were awarded GOLD prizes by the well-known independent institute in the world; Monde Selection Awards.

The awards were conferred on the three beer brands on June 3, at the 58th Annual Awards Ceremony of Monde Selection held in Rome, Italy. This year more than 1,000 companies from 90 countries presented no less than 3,000 products to Monde Selection juries. Each product was evaluated individually to establish its global quality profile and grant the product the quality award it deserves.

Gulder, which introduced a new label and packaging last year, Goldberg, the premium quality lager beer brewed to golden standards and Star Lager, the first locally-brewed Nigerian beer, all won Gold Quality Awards at the 2019 Annual Awards Ceremony.

It is not the first time NB brands are receiving accolades from respected international organisations. In 2014, Amstel Malta was recognized as an international high quality and prestigious brand with its quality awards from the International Taste and Quality Institute (iTQi) and the Monde Selection Quality Award; while Maltina, Star, and Fayrouz have all been recipients of Advertising Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) Awards for Marketing Excellence respectively at different times.

Since inception in 1946, Nigerian Breweries has been home to a wide array of alcoholic and non-alcoholic brands, which have set the bar for excellence in the brewing industry. The company is home to the most decorated brands, and the market leader by volume.

Dedicating the awards to staff and consumers of the revered brands, Managing Director/CEO, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Jordi Borrut Bel said,
“We couldn’t have won this award without the hard work and dedication of the Nigerian Breweries team. Goldberg, Gulder, and Star are some of our most prestigious brands and we are proud of their startling success in the Nigerian market.

Over the years, these brands have not only continued to lead the line in the beer industry but have been able to cultivate a cult following, with millions of consumers across the country. The growth and evolution of these brands have been a joy to behold and we appreciate our loyal consumers for sticking with us through this historic journey.

We appreciate this honour and promise our consumers and stakeholders that we will not only continue to raise the bar but will also set out with innovative and exciting ways to consistently win with our brands.” he said.

Meanwhile, Star Lager is having a year to remember, kicking off 2019 by unveiling its first ever brand ambassador, Burna Boy. This was shortly followed by the announcement of Tiwa Savage as the first ever female brand ambassador for the citrus variant, Star Radler.

Goldberg Lager also announced rapper, Olamide as its new brand ambassador. And 2019 will also see the third edition of its beloved indigenous music competition, Ariya Repete aired on television.

Gulder is encouraging consumers to own their journeys, using its new TVC and its Red Night Parties as vehicles to inspire and fire up consumers.

Foremost media and public relations company, BlackHouse Media (BHM), has been awarded the ‘PR Agency of the Year’ 2018, at the recently held Brandcom Festival.

Organised by Brand Communicator – a leading brand and marketing communications magazine, and also the organiser of Women in Marketing and Communications Conference/Awards (WIMCA), the largest gathering of female marketing and communications professionals in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa – the festival was established to recorgnise and celebrate excellence in Nigeria’s rapidly growing Marketing Communications industry.

Held at the Shell Hall, Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos on Friday, May 24th, 2019, the maiden edition of the BrandCommFest had in attendance some of the best and brightest minds in Marketing Communications in Nigeria, cutting across, advertising, digital, media and also some of the biggest brands in Nigeria today.

Heineken has joined the league of beer brand with new identity

This was confirmed on Monday by portfolio managers of the premium brand at a meet with the media and brand distributors in Lagos.

According to the Brand Manager Heineken, Olaoluwa Babalola, Heineken now has a new identity as the cork of it beer has been changed from silver colour to all rich green colour.

He said green colour is symbolic to the brand and what the brand stands for.

‘the green colour represents the fresh and natural character of the Heineken lager beer while retaining its same great taste.

He explained that this new change mirrors the brand’s contemporary and progressive identity, highlighting Heineken’s most iconic design elements.

Some other notable changes in the beer cork, the Brand manager said, includes, a unique red star in bold design, and the word “Quality” has also been replaced with “Original”.

“This, further referencing Heineken’s claim of being one of the most authentic brands in the world,” he said.

The new look is in line with Heineken’s green identity which takes effect this May. With this change, the old silver crown corks will be phased out gradually, leaving the same beer and same great taste.

Commenting on the reason for changing the design of the Heineken crown cork, the Marketing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Emmanuel Oriakhi says, “We at Heineken are very excited about this new modification to our crown cork. Just as with the limited edition bottles, we are very confident that our proud consumers will share in the euphoria of this new change.

“This year has been exciting for Heineken in Nigeria. Through our carefully thought out campaigns, we have reinforced strong connections with our loyal consumers by gifting them unique, remarkable and unforgettable experiences. As we strive to consistently raise the bar in our consumer experience, this new crown cork design re-establishes our resolve to stay prominent above other brands, all while maintaining that same originality and great taste”.

This is not the first time Heineken will be changing its look, as the brand changed its crown cork in 2014. This new launch comes hot on the heels of Heineken’s ongoing riveting UEFA Champions League Campaign.

This year with the UCL campaign, the premium viewing experiences, the UEFA Champions League tour, the unmissable match, a trip to the UCL semi-finals lucky consumers and now the limited edition UCL bottles, Heineken has continued to connect with its consumers with a commitment to continually reward them with more exciting encounters in the coming months.

With its presence in 192 countries worldwide, Heineken remains one of the world’s most consumed international beer brands, consistently upping the ante in providing fans with unique, remarkable, unmissable moments.

Portfolio Manager, Non-alcoholic drinks, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Ngozi Nkwoji, has reiterated that the brewing company will continue to use its Malt brand to spread and share happy moments among Nigerians.

The portfolio manager made this known as the brand supported the two comedy show on Easter Sunday held in Lagos and Ibadan respectively.

“We’re always excited to be a part of shows like AY Live and Gbenga Adeyinka’s Laff Mattaz, as they align with the brand’s commitment to sharing unending happy moments with  families and friends across Nigeria. We always look forward to being a part of these events as we have in recent years.”

AY Live and Laff Mattaz which witnessed the perfect blend of music and comedy held at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos and the iconic Jogor Centre on Easter Sunday, had in attendace creme de la creme in the Nigeria entertainment industry.

 READ ALSO:      Maltina launches 1000 smiles campaign

DJ Jimmy Jatt, 2Baba, Ruggedy Baba, Chinko Ekun, Omobaba, Alariya, Terry G, the Small Doctor, Chi Young, Madiba of Comedy, Shete, made appearances in the Maltina. AY Live show in Lagos.

Others were, comedy superstars– Akpororo, Funny Bone, Helen Paul, Dr Smile and Peteru, who delivered great doses of music, humor and excitement to the people in Ibadan.

For six years, Gbenga Adeyinka the 1st, the self-proclaimed Grand Comedian of the Federal Republic (GCFR) has been going around the South West, sharing happiness through his Laff Mattaz comedy show courtesy of premium malt drink.

 Laff Mattaz has been the biggest family event for the people of Ibadan over the last six years like AY Live in Lagos, with Maltina sharing happiness at the different shows.

Managing Director/Chief Strategist of Chain Reactions Nigeria,Israel Jaiye Opayemi, won ‘PR Practitioner of the Year’ at the 2018 edition of the Lagos PR Industry Gala Awards (LaPRIGA).

The Chain Reactions Nigeria boss was named winner of the prestigious award by the flagship Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) during the award ceremony in Lagos recently.

Commenting about the honour, Opayemi dedicated the award to God and to his team of ‘creative rebels’, and said the award was a motivation for him and the team to improve on the great work Chain Reactions Nigeria has been doing.

“This is not just a recognition award; you have challenged me and my team tonight. And let me say before this circle of professionals that, we will continue to raise the bar of excellence. We will bring more honours to this great profession in our own lifetime”, he enthused.

He thanked the Lagos State Chapter of NIPR for the award, and commended LaPRIGA as a great initiative that promotes professional excellence amongst PR practitioners in Nigeria.

Speaking at the event, the National President of NIPR, Muktar Sirajo, described LaPRIGA as one of the creative ways to keep PR practitioners on their toes while encouraging more PR professionals to aspire for excellence by ensuring they approach their works in a competitive manner.

He also revealed that the national leadership of NIPR was intensifying the fight against quackery as part of steps to ensuring standards and professionalism in the industry.

“The fight against quackery in the profession is still on. We don’t want to make a lot of noise about that because we don’t want to give away our strategy. But we are on top of it and very soon, we intend to visit the Attorney – General of the Federation who is mandated by the law to set up a tribunal to try people found to be practising Public Relations without licensing by the institute”, he stated.

Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Kehinde Bamigbetan, said Public Relations is a very important tool for the Lagos State Government to effectively communicate its policies and programmes to the residents of the state and other stakeholders.

“It is always a real challenge every time when we have to convince over 20 million people to buy into our policies. I believe tonight, through the awards, we will see those whose experiments have worked so well that you can learn a few tricks and then try and use one or two in packaging our own policies in government”, he said.

Present at the occasion were the Vice President of NIPR, Comptroller Adeniyi Adewale; President of African Public Relations Association (APRA), Yomi Badejo-Okusanya; Acting Director, Defence Information, Brigadier – General John Agim; NIPR Council Member, Mrs. Nkechi Alli-Balogun; former NIPR President, Mazi Mike Okereke; pioneer Registrar of NIPR, Dr. Adekunle Salu, President of Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN), John Ehiguese; a Fellow of NIPR and distinguished academia, Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye of the Univesrity of Lagos and Dr. Fassy Yusuf amongst others.

Opayemi’s Chain Reactions Nigeria was named the ‘Best Reputation Management Consulting Firm in West Africa’ at the 7th edition of the Nigeria Brand Awards 2017 organised by International Brand Award Nominees in the keenly contested Gold Category award that featured two leading Ghanaian agencies: Insel Communications Ltd and GMA Communications Inc.