Firstbank, a conservative bank, is sponsoring a television campaign, B430 TV series, which addresses the challenges of under 30 women. Analysts say this is novel for an old generation bank. But the bank says as a social cause, the deal is worth its salt, especially as it is within its corporate social responsibility and sustainability, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.
The television series, B430 (before 30), sponsored by Firstbank, is unique in many ways. It is the first time the conservative bank is walking on such a terrain.
The series is centered on four young women – Damilola Adegbite, Beverly Naya, Meg Otanwa, Anee Icha – who live in Lagos.
To meet social expectation – marriage – the women are under pressure to get married before hitting age 30.
Though they have good careers, their marital status is giving them headache.
Each of them either have one complicated relationship or the other. Sometimes, over a bottle of wine, they discussed and mocked each other.
At a premiere of the series at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victorial Island, Lagos, where the story is also set, the trailer reveals through the lead character Adegbite starring as Temi Coker, 27, a lawyer with voice over. Naya, a consultant but single, who stars as Nkem, plays the sexy career woman who believes men are playthings.
Otanwa, 28, an house wife, who plays Aisha, is the conflicted northern housewife, married to a billionaire. Icha, 25, a banker who plays Ama, is the sweet and cheerful friend and the youngest in the group.
The series, produced by Nemsia, a full service marketing, design and content production house, is set against the background of social stigma single ladies who are through with school.
Against the backdrop of the members of the society who see marriage as important, the pressure faced by single women under 30, could be traumatic, especially when their kiths and kins are getting married.
At family weddings, as reflected in B430, they face various questions on their status from family members, such as: “Please, do quick, we are waiting for your invite.”
But, such expectation put pressures on the women to become desperate and this, in turn, makes most men to fall ‘prey’ for such women. “Men always want to stay away from desperate ladies,” says a social analyst.
With everyone shying away from starting the conversation of single women who are under 30, getting a sponsorship for the campaign was a hard nut to crack for the producers.
According to the Director of the series, Omorinsojo Akinnola, these challenges no one wants to talk about despite the problems faced by the victims.
“No one wants to talk about it, but its real. We have to start the conversation. As a result, she said so many companies did not want to sponsor the series because of the sensitive nature of the conversation,” she said.
Analysts said endorsing such story could mean that brands are also stigmatising single women. But the way the story is told might have endeared the campaign to some of the sponsors who took the tough decision to accept the B430 deal.
“Firstbank, for believing in us and taking a risk backing a show of this nature deserves great appreciation. Visionaries, such as Mrs Ani Mumuney fighting to give young firms like us a chance, not just in film making but in the marketing field, have kept the lights on at Nemsia over the last few years while we worked on making before 30. Airtel for bending over backwards to accommodate our requests within an impossible time frame. Federal Palace Hotel for being the very first brand to see our vision and providing this beautiful canvas for us to express it,” Akinnola said.
As strange as it sounds to a brand analyst that a conservative bank, such as FirstBank, is endorsing such a campaign because of its sensitive nature unlike other social cause marketing, such as Downsyn-drome, an health problem, the bank is bankrolling, the Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Folake Ani-Mumuney said: “We are known for supporting causes and this is a cause because it’s rooted in sincerity, and that is really what as a brand we stand for. If we cannot have an honest conversation among ourselves as a people about the things that drive our economy forward, about our people and their health, and things that ensure that we are a nation of productive people, then we wouldn’t be doing what we should be doing as a company. We are not here just to make money; we are a bank that actually believes in being a nation builder in supporting the nation.”
Will the sponsorship of B430 enhance the bottom line and build more equity for the bank? “First, it is the conversation, a discussion, and a topic of this particular ‘B430’. It is also around the production; it’s about the business of art, the business of movie making, and it was decided that we want to do it in a standard that is exportable and that will compete anywhere in the world,” she said.
She said further that Firstbank believes in the art of story-telling to reposition the brand. “If you think about us as Nigerians we grow at story-telling, I think we all love story-telling as Nigerians. First bank also supports small businesses, which was the reason it partnered with Nemsia Studios to produce B430. There was a time the performing arts in Nigeria were at the top of their game. If you remember plays in Ife in those days, true talents rose from there. Firstbank has been around for 120 years. We have always supported the arts, but there has been a renaissance since four years ago so much so that we actually created a sub-brand first in the arts and we have very many reasons for that. Beyond that, again still looking at the business of art, we believe that we can begin to really understand the pipeline and the value chain really better. Look at what is happening now; we have Ebony and Arise TV, which can compete with the biggest channels in the world,” she noted.
However, the idea to screen this social issue into a TV campaign started with a young independent writer and director living in New York City, Bodunri Sasore. “He inserted himself into the psyche of the average Nigerian woman and was able to find a voice to speak their truths,” said Akinnola.
She said the idea was further brought to visual reality by the artistic mind of one of the Nemesia partners, Derin Adeyokunnu. Worried that the idea was concieved by men, she said: “At that point, you would wonder how two 30 something men are able to convincingly tell a story about women. Well, that’s where I came in, and not a moment too soon. As a young lady, these guys gave me a chance to hone my natural ability to be a controlling micro-manager. In fact, they respected it. If only other men felt the same way… I might very well be married before I turn 30,” said Akinnola.
On the characters, she said the lead actors are simply the best in the business. “And if we have done our job, which we believe we have, you are witnessing the birth of the newest generation of proper movie stars. Damilola, Beverly, Meg and Anee are true talents and you will be hearing their names for a very long time. OC Ukeje, a certified star in his own right, took the project on in its early stages and his many awards are proof that he is a force to be reckoned with. Karibi Fubara, essentially the Nemsia whip. He has stepped far out of his role as actor in a role as friend and trusted co worker. Patrick, Gideon, Kenneth, Aunty Tuby, Patrick Doyle, Zainab.The list is endless. The talent is limitless,” she noted.
