The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Legend

  • An evening with a legend

    An evening with a legend

    The event tagged “An evening with Ebenezer Obey” left no one in doubt about the kind of guests that would grace it. And true to expectation, high profile personalities thronged the Picasso Lounge, an upscale hospitality outfit on Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos State.

    The gathering was a perfect blend of the old and the young who cut across ethnic, religious and political lines.

    Although the show was expected to start at 9pm, it did not begin until about 10.15pm. It was anchored by popular comedian Gbenga Adeyinka, who held the audience spell bound with rib-cracking jokes.

    The owner of the hospitality outfit, Otunba Olaitan Oladipo, and his delectable wife, Keye, were on hand to welcome guests who started trickling into the venue as early as 8pm.

    According to Oladipo, the event was borne out of the need to satisfy teeming friends who had been clamouring for Obey’s live performance. Many of them, he said, are based in Europe and the United States (US) and they had been kind of nostalgic, hence, we decided to have the show to celebrate Nigeria’s independence anniversary.

    Expectedly, many of Obey’s long time fans, such as ‘Lagun Adesanya (now an evangelist); Chief Jide Osinubi; Ovation Publisher Dele Momodu; Global Excellence publisher Mayor Akinpelu, made the list of guests at the show.

    Though the guests did not ask for an encore they got one after Obey-Fabiyi has churned out quite a number of his evergreen songs. Many guests sprayed him with naira notes. There was no stopping Obey-Fabiyi who played until the wee hours followed by a splendid performance by upcoming hip hop artiste G-Tone.

    Popular disc jockey DJ Humility was on hand to dish out music as soon as Obey dropped the microphone after a six-hour performance.

    Humility’s spectacular show ‘on the wheel of steel’ drew the curtain on the show with many guests acknowledging that it was a good and memorable outing.

    Praising the organisers of the event, notable personalities also lauded Obey for his unique performance and showmanship, urging him not to relent in dishing out more albums.

    Lagun Adesanya said he never had any doubt that “today’s show will be a success because Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey does not disappoint when on stage and he has proved that with his “unstoppable” performance tonight.

    “And if you look at the audience here, you will discover that they cut across age; we have the old and young socialites and music buffs. This is a testimony that his music will remain evergreen and appeal to even the younger generation because of his edifying lyrics that got people like us fascinated to his brand of Juju music.”

    Another ardent fan of the juju maestro, Chief Oshinubi, who despite his age made it to the event said, Obey is a quintessential artiste.

    He said: “As one of his die-hard fans who have followed his trajectory in the Nigerian entertainment scene, I think he has not lost his musical prowess at all.

    “Personally, there is no way I would ever want to miss his live performance because he is a delight to watch on stage anytime, any day. But I want to urge him to wax new albums of his rich Juju Miliki brand so that we can continue to enjoy him more. I wish him good health and abundant God’s mercy. As for the organisers, they really deserve kudos for putting this show together and I wish it never ended after thrilling us for six-hour non-stop.”

    Tayo Oropo described Obey’s performance as “interesting, exciting and exhilarating” adding that he would forever remain relevant on the music scene because of his unequalled performance and ability to hold the audience with soul-lifting lyrics.”

    Among other guests were former Ogun State Speaker, Hon. Titi Oseni; Ogun Commissioner for Special Duties Mr Lanre Tejuosho; Hon. Kayode Amusan; Donald Obaseki; Taofeek Okoya; Wosilat Seriki; Yinka Oropo and Otunba Biodun Onanuga.

     

  • Abuja comes alive with Legend ‘Real Deal Nite

    Abuja comes alive with Legend ‘Real Deal Nite

    Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was agog when the highly entertaining Legend ‘Real Deal Nite’ train stormed the capital city. The ‘Real Deal Nite’ is an in-bar activation the Legend brand deploys to engage its consumers as well as reward them for their loyalty.

    The venue of the event, Baytown Lounge, Gudu Crescent, was a beehive as Legend loyalists came in droves. The ambience at the event was breath taking. Despite the rain threat, guests were unperturbed as they kept vigil with their popular brand, more so as on-air comedy personality, De Don, was the compere.

    The presence of music maestro, the widely acclaimed Port Harcourt first son, Duncan Mighty, sent the crowd into a frenzy.

    Duncan Mighty thrilled fans to the hit tracks which endeared him to millions. The crowd was ecstatic when Duncan Mighty performed songs like, ‘Obianuju’, ‘Port-Harcourt first son’, ‘Na God’.

    In line with the Real Deal spirit, guests won gift items.

    Henry Michael, an automobile business man, was stunned when he was announced the winner of a 32″ plasma television. According to him, he had heard about the event on radio and attended.

    He said: “It’s been an awesome experience for me. I wish Legend can make this event happen regularly in Abuja. It is unbelievable winning this 32″ plasma television. I feel so blessed today. It is a thing of joy. Out of the huge number of people here, I was lucky enough to be a winner, I feel lucky indeed. I use a 21 inch television in my house. But now that I have won a 32″ plasma, I would replace the one I have at home with this new one. Legend is the only brand of stout I drink. The taste is simply awesome.”

    Another winner, Nonso Ekwo, a real estate marketer, carted home a new generator. “I feel so glad tonight. I wasn’t expecting to win anything, at all. It came to me as a very big surprise. Prior to this, I never believed in raffle draws and things like that. But when my name was called, I was shocked. The whole thing has proved a very credible exercise. I’m so excited tonight. I’m leaving here happy,”he said.

    The Public Affairs Manager, Nigeria Breweries Plc, Abuja, Mr Bala Yesufu, said the reception consumers accord Real Deal Nite was a testimony that Legend is the number one stout in the country.

    “The consumers here are very excited about it. They turned out in droves to have a feel of the brand. The Monde Gold Quality award bestowed on Legend recently goes further to show that the brand is the flagship stout brand in the country. We have always known that Legend is the best tasting stout anywhere. The Monde Gold quality award, further attests to the brand’s international recognition and stance,” he said.

    The Legend Real Deal Nite is expected to storm other major cities in the coming months. The event kicked off in March last year in Lagos.

  • Obi gets Legend of True Leadership award

    Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has been conferred with the Legend of True Leadership Award by the National Association of Nigerian Student Nurses and Midwives.

    At a ceremony at Our Lady of Lourdes School of Nursing and Midwifery in Ihiala, the National President of the association, Comrade Dauda Ahmed said the award was in recognition of the governor’s contributions to infrastructural development in Schools of Nursing and Midwifery, either government-owned or missionary.

    He noted that besides his support to rebuild hospitals and a new teaching hospital, Obi had also built or is building over 25 structures in various Schools of Nursing and Midwifery.

  • Legend, the real deal

    In today’s fast changing world, manufacturers are constantly challenged with aligning their products and marketing activities to suit the ever changing needs of consumers. For major and upcoming brands, the goal has always been to capture a fair share of an ever changing market.

    To achieve this, deft marketing techniques become an imperative. Overtime, marketers have come to realise that to ensure consumer loyalty which ultimately leads to increased sales, there must be a strong connection between a brand and the consumer.

    Social and cultural trends have continued to dictate the taste, style and attitudes of consumers. The pace at which consumers attitudes change in recent times, has proved to even be faster than marketing can cope.  Marketing strategies that worked a short while ago may prove a colossal failure when employed again. Today’s consumer is now more informed, as a result marketers find it a bit daunting connecting with them.

    One of the hurdles involved in creating a connection between brands and consumers, is that there is no guaranteed path to achieving this even though certain fundamentals are often considered.

    Today, brands strive to find new strategies and innovative ways to dominate their markets. This explains why brand builders are constantly looking for diverse ways to connect with their target audience. It is therefore not surprising that a successful consumer engagement platform can spell huge gains for a brand with foresight.

    In Nigeria, brands are springing up from almost every sector of the economy. The implication of this is a huge increase in brand clutter. In order to differentiate itself from this clutter, brands look for meaningful ways to engage and connect seamlessly with consumers. It is imperative here to note that only a few brands ever get to truly connect with their audience and achieve their marketing goals.

    Legend extra stout, one of the strong brands from the stables of Nigeria breweries plc, is considered as one of the few successful stout brands in the country. Market results shows that the brand is the fastest growing beer brand in the country. Within a short time the brand has climbed up the market ladder to compete head-to-head with other so called major brands that have been in the stout market for decades.

    The brand has maintained over 65 per cent increase over the past years and this has continued to rise. How has the Legend brand been able to achieve this rare feat in such a competitive beer market? What factors, propelled this brand to the top echelon of the market? These are some of the pertinent questions on the mouths of market watchers.

    A cursory look at some of the workings of the Legend brand reveals that indeed the brand merits the current position it occupies. One of the most distinguishing factors of the Legend brand is its taste. Legend is regarded as the best tasting stout brand in the country. A blind test with several participants revealed that the taste of Legend was unique and tasted better that all others.

    Legend is also the only full brewed stout in the market. Another factor is that of cost. The Legend brand not only tastes better, but it’s also pocket friendly. The unique combination of cost and superior product has played to the advantage of the brand.

    Another factor, that has proved significant to the success story of the Legend brand, is its association with entertainment. Knowing full well that Nigerians are fun loving people, the brand in March 2011, introduced ‘Real Deal Nite’ as one of its consumer engagement platforms. The brand has been able to sustain the intensity and excitement of the event far beyond expectations. In doing this, Legend seems to have realized what its consumer’s desire.

    The brand also envisaged the challenges of sustaining such a platform and thus put in place strategies to continue to make the event captivating and highly rewarding for consumers.

    Overtime, the brand has been able to leverage on this platform to provide optimum entertainment for its consumers. The Legend ‘Real Deal Nite’, which holds at the Niteshift Coliseum hangout, Lagos, has become a monthly convergence of revelers, top entertainers and crème-de-la crème of the society.

    The fusion of comedy, an electrifying in house live-band and music by current A-rated artistes and living legends, seems to be delighting consumers as the number of attendees continue to leap each month. This year alone the event has been able to attract high profile entertainers like Basketmouth, I go Dye, Seyi Law, Mike Okri, Flavour Nabania, J.Martins, Gordons amongst others.

    It was all fun and excitement at the last edition of the highly entertaining Legend ‘Real Deal Nite’, which held at the Niteshift Coliseum, Lagos. Fast rising humour merchant, Bovi, held the audience spell bound as he thrilled them to rib cracking jokes. Also on ground at the event, was legendary musician, Mike Okri, who dazzled the audience to sublime dancing skills while performing vintage hit tracks like ‘Time Na money’, ‘Omoge’, and ‘Rumba Dance’.

    One of the high points of the ‘Real Deal Nite’, is the raffle draw promo where wonderful gift items ranging from generators, DVD players, refrigerators, standing fans and lots more are given out to lucky winners.

    Miss. Tokunbo Dosunmu, a civil servant based in Port-Harcourt, was the proud winner of a brand new generator. According to her, she came to Lagos to unwind with her friends. It was also her first time ever at the Niteshift Coliseum. “This new generator is a life saver because my canteen business will benefit very much from it due to the bad state of the old one”. Tokunbo said, she applauded Legend for making this possible.

    Mr Olamide Lawal who was also attending for the first time won a brand new refrigerator. He acknowledged that he was shocked when it was confirmed that he had won. “I came here to relax after a friend invited me. I never imagined that I would go home with a new refrigerator. I am really glad to be here today.”

    Funso Ayeni, Brand Manager, Legend Extra Stout, reiterated that the relevance of the “Real Deal Nite” is to create an atmosphere where the brand bonds with its consumers and make them understand the essence of the brand. “We are calling on people to follow the brand, try it and of course become loyalists,” Ayeni explained.