The Nation Newspaper

Category: Brand week

  • Nigerian Idol: Voting begins for first top 10

    Nigerian Hip-Hop Superstar, Naeto-C at the weekend debuted at the Etisalat-sponsored Nigerian Idol Season 3, guiding the contestants on what it takes to really become a superstar.

    The artiste, who came on the show as a guest judge during the first theatre show for the top 30 contestants, took a tough stance in his assessment of the participants during their performances which took place at the Dream Studios in Omole, Lagos. Naeto-C is standing-in for Afrobeat legend and Nigerian Idol Judge, Femi Kuti, who will be absent for one month.

    Explaining his stance, he said he was firm in his assessments because he wanted to drive the contestants to bring out their best. “This is a competition, and when you’re in a contest, you have to bring something extra to the table,” he said, and encouraged them to strive to raise their game. According to him, “it isn’t always the most talented singer that becomes the star at the end of the day. As such, even if you don’t make it through the competition, you should not give up on your career.”

    His fellow judges, Jeffrey Daniels and Yinka Davies, echoed similar sentiments and advised the contestants to focus more on their vocal skills and less on their showmanship as the show was about finding the best singer.

    Speaking after the show, Head, Events and Sponsorship, Etisalat Nigeria, Modupe Thani, expressed satisfaction with the level of talent that the competition had to offer, stating that the competition will be even stiffer than the previous editions. She said the telecommunications giant was proud to be lead sponsor of the show as it creates a platform for the youths to express themselves and take their dreams to the next level. “We are committed to continually encouraging and empowering Nigerian youths to achieve their dreams, and Nigerian Idol is one of such platforms through which we intend to do this,” she said.

    The first theatre show saw returnee, Obinna Michael, aka Mr Byno making it to the top thirty stage of the competition.

    Speaking on his progress, he said: “Making it to this stage is not a small feat, as there were many talented contestants but it is my hope this year that I will progress past this point in this season.”

    This season’s winner will go home with N20 million worth of prizes, including N7.5 million in cash, a brand new SUV, and a recording contract with a record label. The first runner–up will receive N1.5 million and a saloon car which will be presented by Etisalat. The show airs on STV, NTA network, TVC, Soundcity and ONTV.

  • Winner emerges in Dealdey promo

    A 27-year-old Pharmacist from Madonna University, Busola Odunlami has emerged the winner of a Picanto Kia car by an Online Shopping Mail, Dealdey Limited recently in Ikoyi, Lagos.

    Odunlami clinched the prize among the eight finalists selected for the final phase of the promo for their subscribers in Lagos. The other three finalists which are Stella Daniel, Babajide Ajilola and Oladapo Ojo got N10,000 each and a DVD player.

    Speaking at the event, the Vice President, Sales, DealDey, Etebarian Sanaz, said the giveaway was aimed at appreciating and rewarding customers for the patronage of their business in the outgoing year.

    “We are impressed by our acceptability and the patronage we get from our subscribers which have been tremendous and fruitful. We promise to always show our appreciation whenever we can with the firm support of our sponsors,” she said.

    In her response, Odunlami, said: “I am very excited by this gift as it is a dream come through and I give all the glory to God. I was recently introduced to the online mail and I have purchased a few things with them.”

    She promised to always patronise the company and urged others to explore the opportunities available on the internet.

  • CASRO endorses Nigerian firm

    The Council of American Survey Research Organisation

    (CASRO) has admitted Random Dynamic Resources, an indigenous fast-growing market research company as a member of the association when it profiled the company on its latest newsletter edition.

    CASRO used the platform to underscore various contributions the foremost fieldwork company has made in delivering quality market research data to its international partners like Millward Brown, Nielsen, GFK, TNS, Ask Afrika and other local companies in Nigeria.

    It was revealed that among the many countries and industries yearning for the opinions of African consumers, the South East Asia (South Korea and China) and Europe regions still lead the pack. With a rising interest coming from UK companies in sectors like the mobile telephony, Info tech, and FMCGs (Fast Moving Consumer Goods).

    According to the Chief Executive Officer, Random Dynamic Resources, Mr. Paul Nnanwobu, “the most effective method of data collection in most African markets is Pen and Paper, Face to Face Interviews (PAPI-F2F) and it accounts for approximately 80 per cent of any research process.”

    While for the online data collection, the procedure has not gained footing due to unreliable slow internet and telephone connectivity, he said.

    Nnanwobu noted that in some countries like Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, data collected via PAPI can be entered using an online data entry link and the use of social network sites like Facebook, Linkedin, etc to collect data is just beginning to bud and has not gained much momentum. Other methods, like video streaming for focus group research are still in the experimental stage. He said the inability to use technology to achieve quicker results is part of the several challenges faced in the reduction of project turnaround time.

    Research has shown that the infrastructural decay and insecurity in Nigeria also contribute to the challenges in fieldwork as communal clashes, ethnic tensions and acts of terrorism are being perpetrated in every nook and cranny in Africa. Without regular electricity supply, it is difficult to maintain a steady workflow, also meet deadlines which are the basis of research analysis.

  • Justrite begins promo

    Indigenous retail outlet, Justrite is set to reward its customers with a brand new Hodan Hyma series 3 car as the grand prize for the promo tagged ‘Chop Life’.  The promo, which commenced recently, will run till April.

    According to the Branch Manager of the outlet at Abule Egba, Mrs. Yetunde Ibukunolu, the promo which is offering every customer who buys goods worth N10,000 the chance to win a car or some other exciting consolation prizes.

    Ibukunolu described the promo as a way of saying “thank you” to customers and to give back to them. “For every purchase of goods worth N10,000 in any of our retail outlets in Sango and Abule Egba, it qualifies the customer for a raffle ticket to win  either a car or other consolation prizes. Someone must win that Hodan Hyma Series 3 car”, she emphasised.  She added that the draw for the car and other prizes will be held in April.”

    “Our idea of business is to reach those in the interior because we want them to know that they too can also enjoy what the high class in the society is enjoying. We also drive our business on the fact that every good thing is meant for everyone to benefit,” she said.

    Ibukunola dismissed the rumour that there is a foreign interest in the ownership of the retail outlet.  She noted that Justrite is strictly an indigenous organisation which is not affiliated with any foreign body, it is 100 per cent owned by Nigeria.

    She revealed that the establishment of the various outlets in strategic locations between Ogun and Lagos states has created gainful employments to some Nigerians thereby reducing the number of unemployed in the various locations.

  • Lagos boosts investment with countdown festival

    With the recently held Lagos Countdown Carnival which climaxed on new-year’s eve, the Lagos State government has reaffirmed its resolve to attract foreign investment into the state, with its business-friendly policies, infrastructure and tourist attractions.

    The Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Aderemi Ibirogba, said this on Tuesday, in Lagos, during the Lagos Countdown – a cross-over event driven by the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA). He said the government is leveraging the proposition of Lagos as a premium destination for business and leisure, with tourism platforms such as the countdown.

    “The Lagos Countdown was conceived to place Lagos on the same scale with cities such as Sydney, London, New York and Los Angeles, which have been know world-wide to celebrate the entry of each year with colourful festivities, while attracting thousands of tourists and businesses with each edition,” he said.

    He further stated that the event boosts the micro economy of the state and also rehabilitates and employs the majority of the high-risk youth and individuals, popularly called area boys, who usually cause nuisance to their communities during the festive seasons. An estimated 615 individuals were employed during the course of the event, and majority of these previously unemployed individuals also benefited from the training programmes that were organised to assist them discharge their functions.

  • Fidson holds excellence awards

    One of Nigeria’s leading pharmaceutical companies, Fidson Healthcare Plc has once again taken another bold step in its effort to ignite the passion for excellence among its employees with ACE; a newly instituted staff award ceremony which birthed on January 11.

    The awards which derives its name from the acronym of its rationale, is designed to Acknowledge and Celebrate Excellence among staff of the company. The maiden edition witnessed a constellation of the company’s staff members, who trouped out from all the regions of the country; all appearing in dark-coloured suits and black ties for the glamorous event under a colourful ambience.

    The Managing Director, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Dr Fidelis Ayebae opened the evening with a remark and congratulated all staff members for their efforts and commitment in 2012, especially the six recipients of the ACE who displayed exceptional performance in the course of the year.

    “We are here today to acknowledge and celebrate the very best among the best – our teammates who have shown exceptional capabilities in the course of a very challenging financial year in 2012. You nominated them for this award. You have shown exceptional team spirit by nominating them. They are being celebrated today because you not only played with them, but you played for them. You have lighted their candles. They sparkle today because of the light you shone on them. You are all worthy men and women of excellence,” he said.

  • Unilever donates to mothers

    As part of celebrating the pureness of a mother’s love and to share love in the new year, Unilever Nigeria Plc. has donated Home Care & Baby Products to mothers who just gave birth and expectant mothers at the General Hospital in Ifako Ijaiye, Lagos suburb.

    Speaking during the donation. Assistant Category Manager, Skin Cleansing, Unilever Nigeria Plc. Mr Adeola Dexter stated “our giving is not to do what others are doing but it is our sincere love that we come to share with mothers and babies here. From the on-going, our brands are purely the expression from our heart to go extra mile in putting smiles on the faces of everybody we come in contact with them. Our brands signify our joy and love that we spread across every home.”

    “We aim to become an iconic company in Nigeria. This means to be known as a company first for good, impacting our environment in a very positive way. And this is one of the little ways we give back to our immediate society. We reflect this also in our new super four variants to connect the abundant benefits with our numerous consumers. The new Vaseline maintains its rich heritage of extreme quality, now using a unique triple purification process that works naturally with your skin to renew and rebuild moisture”.

  • Domestic tourism vital to destination branding

    Globally, tourism and incentive travel are not only acknowledged as the largest industry in terms of huge revenue generation but also the world’s highest employer of labour. Yearly, over 600 million people travel internationally while hundreds of millions or more travel domestically, transiting from city to city. They embark on these journeys for various reasons: specifically for business, pleasure, relaxation, enjoyment, education and more.

    Over the years, the tourism industry has grown and is also evolving with leading tourism destination spots changing from the former assets-driven marketing to the strategic customer-centric marketing. This entails the selection of the best a country has to offer in terms of arts and crafts, science, cultural and biological diversity, beautiful scenery, rich and distinct history and people with diverse heritage.

    Tourism has become the honey pot of most countries as they rely on it either as the major foreign exchange earner or as the main source of national income and in most cases with the revenue generated higher than those of agrarian countries. World wide, tourism generates about $10 trillion, employs about 300 million people and about $10 trillion in terms of capital investment. Nigeria with the world at her feet as a tourism destination spot has the potentials of earning well over N100 billion annually, if well harnessed.

    Genesis of tourism in Nigeria could be said to have began in 1472, when Lagos as a protectorate welcomed the Portuguese who came visiting for reasons best known to them. But then they could be described as the first set of tourists to step on Nigerian soil. According to the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), “tourism is the movement of people from one place to another, either across national or international boundaries for some specific purposes, such as education, business or even sports and immigration”.

    With rich natural endowments, huge population, friendly people and good climate, Nigeria as a tourism spot has huge potentials. Hence, the world ought to be visiting Nigeria to see what she has to offer. With a population of about 150 million, 250 ethnic groups with diverse historical and cultural backgrounds, Nigeria is indeed a paragon of tourism.

    Sadly, however, over the years, Nigeria has been unable to harness these potentials for branding and sundry developmental purposes. Reasons for this are not far-fetched, tourism industry analysts contend that Nigeria is perhaps blinded to her tourism potentials because of the petroleum resources available which earn her trillions of Naira every year.

    Analysts also point to the fact that the average Nigerian does not know how to relax, rest or enjoy utilising the tourism potentials God blessed Nigeria with. But why do Nigerians fail to tap into Nigeria’s tourism endowments? Reasons for this, range from poverty, economic survival, ignorance, non-appreciation of heritage, complacency and religious fanaticism. Given this scenario, only a few rich appreciate domestic tourism in Nigeria.

    However, how can the Nigerian tourism industry become attractive to outsiders if Nigerians fail to appreciate and patronise the tourist havens and facilities? How can Nigeria’s huge tourism potentials be explored and exploited profitably if domestic tourism does not flourish? Domestic tourism apart from its revenue generating benefit also plays a very vital role in destination branding.

    According to the late tourism guru, Matts Da’Silva, “domestic market is important to any country determined to develop its tourism destinations with a view to penetrating the international market.

    It is true that globally, domestic tourists always outnumber international tourists in varying ratio. It is possible that local products can be developed to international standards by clustering very popular destinations or points and various festivals within the country, in conjunction with states and local governments where most destinations are located to form circuit for marketing internationally, thus building the image of the nation as an international tourist destination”. This strategy will, however, work when it is driven through a Public, Private, Partnership (PPP) platform.

    Already, some states in Nigeria are already utilising the PPP platform in the tourism sector. States like Cross River, River, Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Kebbi, Ondo and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja are in the vanguard of promoting domestic tourism for destination branding. Before it was recently rebranded as ‘Ipinle Omoluabi’, (State of the virtuous), Osun State was known as the land of the Living Spring. The term, living spring was taken from the Osun River. Annually, the Osun festival features colourful display of the rich cultural heritage of the Yoruba people.

    Also, the Osun Sacred Grove and Shrine in Osogbo is acclaimed locally and internationally as a favourite tourist spot. And Osun, one of the pantheons in Yoruba mythology is regarded as the goddess of fertility. Drawing tourists within the country and abroad, the Osun annual festival has for decades now become a veritable marketing tool to position Osun State.

    Also, corporate brands, such as Grand Oak Nigeria Limited, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Coca-Cola Nigeria and MTN have partnered with the government to leverage Osun as a tourist spot.

    In Cross River State, the Calabar Carnival, the month long festival which opens weeks preceding the Yuletide has become very useful in branding the state.

  • Lagos woos investors with carnival

    The Lagos State government has reaffirmed its resolve to attract foreign investment into the state, with its business-friendly policies, infrastructure and tourist attractions.

    Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy Mr Lateef Aderemi Ibirogba, said this on Tuesday, during the Lagos Countdown – a cross-over event driven by the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA).

    He explained that the government is leveraging the proposition of Lagos as a premium destination for business and leisure, with tourism platforms such as the countdown.

    “The Lagos Countdown was conceived to place Lagos on the same scale with cities, such as Sydney, London, New York and Los Angeles, which have been known world-wide to celebrate the entry of each year with colourful festivities, while attracting thousands of tourists and businesses with each edition,” he said.

    He further stated that the event boosts micro economy of the state and also rehabilitates and employs the majority of the high-risk youth and individuals, popularly called area boys, who usually cause nuisance to their communities during the festive seasons. An estimated 615 individuals were employed during the course of the event, and a majority of these previously unemployed individuals also benefited from the training programmes that were organised to assist them discharge their functions.

    According to him, 108 shops were erected, while licensed vendors recieved stalls, tables and chairs free of charge. Over 120 vendors participated in the event, while jobs were created in areas of security, crowd control, stewards & information marshals and fireworks rigging and testing.

  • Celebrating YBO @ 50

    It was a splendid Monday morning at the Grace Assembly, Yard 158, Oregun Ikeja, on December 24, last year, when the crème de la crème of the society gathered for a thanksgiving service to mark the 50th birthday of an illustrious Ijebu Prince, Lagos socialite and public relations consultant Mr Yomi Badejo-Okusanya popularly known as YBO.

    Eminent Nigerians from different walks of life, family members and friends honoured YBO with their presence and good gesture at the service. Among the guests were Dame Abimbola Fashola, wife of the Lagos State Governor, who represented Babatunde Fashola, Prof Kanyi Ajayi, Honourable Abike Dabiri Erewa, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi, Chairman of APCON and Chief Executive Officer of Prima Garnet, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso, represented by his three Oloris among whom is YBO’s sister, Olori Bisi Tejuoso.

    Others were board and management of CMC Connect Ltd (Perception Managers), an organisation founded by the celebrant and where he presently presides as the Managing Director. Top echelons of Nigeria’s Integrated Marketing Communications industry and various regulatory bodies such as the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN) and the African Public Relations Associations (APRA where the celebrant is currently the Secretary General)) were fully represented.

    The church service was presided over by the Most Senior Pastor of the Grace Assembly, Pastor Femi Paul. He was assisted by Pastor Charles Abraham, Group Managing Director of the LTC Advertising Group. Prof Ajayi, a Reverend, was the guest minister.

    In his sermon, Pastor Paul admonished the celebrant to look back and reflect on the beginning of his 50-year journey on earth and be grateful to God for sparing him and placing him in an enviable position in life. He drew analogy between the celebrant and the biblical seed planted that germinated good fruits and the vague seed that scattered bearing no good fruit. YBO, he said is the purposeful fruit that was planted and yielded great fruits.

    According to Pastor Paul, the celebrant has influenced his community and the people that had come across him positively; creating and giving values to humanity.

    Eulogising the celebrant, Dame Abimbola said the humble and selfless nature of the celebrant endeared him to many that have crossed his part. She congratulated his wife, Oyinkan Badejo-Okusanya and their son Kitan for being lucky to have a husband and father like the celebrant. She prayed for long life, good health and prosperity for the birthday boy.

    The thanksgiving service was climaxed with a breakfast and reception at the event centre of Yard 158. The reception was coordinated by ace comic act, Teju Babyface who was joined by other eminent highbrow comedians, Alibaba and Tee A.

    Members of the Igbobi College Old Students Association, a body where the celebrant is a prominent member, were not left out. They came on stage to render the school song to the admiration of many.

    As part of activities marking Badejo-Okusanya’s 50th birthday, a colloquium was held on January 8, at the Agip Recital Hall, MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos. The colloquium discussed the topic, Managing Nigeria’s Image: Whose Responsibility?

    Keynote was delivered by the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, was the special guest, Senator Ike Nwachukwu, was the lead speaker.