The Nation Newspaper

Tag: marketing

  • Mobile tech to revolutionise marketing

    Mobile technology is the

    next step in the market

    ing evolution and a medium which would redefine brands interaction and engagement with their target audiences on the continent, experts have said.

    With half of the continent’s people benefitting from an increasing access to the internet for the first time on mobile devices, the Group Managing Director/ Founder of Terragon Group, Mr. Elo Umeh, at the just concluded Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain said the industry was experiencing a tremendous growth in the mobile market.

    “Mobile penetration in Africa is stipulated to be about 80 per cent in 2013 and growing. Right now, there are more mobile devices than there are television sets. Mobile and digital services have the potential to generate significant earnings and boost the economies in Africa,” he noted.

    African markets account for the highest growth of smart phones globally. Report from a research by Gartner Inc, shows African Telecoms firms specifically are expected to generate over $1.3 billion in mobile advertising revenue alone by 2016.

    “The global market for mobile advertising will reach $18 billion in 2014 and grow to $41.9 billion by the end of 2017 this information goes to show the potential that mobile advertising has, not only in Africa but globally,” he added.

    Terragon, a digital media marketing agency, made its debut at the event with three businesses.

     

  • ‘How Neuro-science can change marketing research face’

    ‘How Neuro-science can change marketing research face’

    Something is in the offing in the maketing research world. It is a research method that can get into consumers’ hearts to understand them better to build consumer-oriented brands. The Managing Director, Millward Brown Nigeria, a global marketing research firm, Mrs Ugo Geri-Robert, in this interview with ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI, says this method will drive marketing research in 2014.

    How will you rate marketing research business activities within the marketing communication industry in 2013?

    Talking from the research point of view, marketing research has done well in Nigeria and most of the major agencies are smiling to the bank. The processes have gotten better too. For example, think of the Foreign Direct Investment coming into Nigeria and the way it has impacted market research. All these foreign companies are no longer jumping in and running off with their brands, they have begun to invest and trying to find out the kind of people who are buying their brands are. We do know that marketing will always work, if you understand the people that you are dealing with and so you will sell the right products to them and address them the right way.

    Challenges and areas where you need improvements

    As you grow, you begin to see your challenges as stepping stones. In the area of challenges, it is still what it used to be – the field which we are still battling to get right. Research is like garbage in garbage out, so the field can make or mar you. The field is the connection between us and the consumers we talk about, so we are still battling in this area, trying to get the right people that we are set to, even as we strive to tone down on field malpractices. In the area of under pricing where agencies cut down prices to get business which in most cases is not in the interest of the client is one of the issues still endangering the growth of marketing research. The clients are not left out, it’s a 50 -50 blame. I will say some clients just go about like hawkers looking for the lowest bidder to give their brief to. Research is not about cost because you can’t blind yourself to the delivery and processes attached to the work. Also, some of the foreign investors think that Nigeria is a dumping ground where you can just jump in, do what you want to do and jump out.

    Measures in place to correct such imbalances

    I will begin with the research body in Nigeria – NiMRA. In the last two years, NiMRA has been very active. It has gone into partnership with GfK trying to upgrade the field.

    Traditional and modern mode of research in the past year

    Technology is not just about the social media but the tools of research. In time past, it was all pen and paper and we have always come back to that (especially Nigeria and other African countries) while the rest of the world has moved on. We complain about issues of power supply, but in the last two years, PAPI is gradually fading away and we are doing more of CAPI. We have gone all technology and so it makes the research faster, it does cut down a lot on fraud because you are able to track and monitor the field. Prior to now, social media was like a rave and we know that we can’t do without the social media, but then you can’t jump into it without understanding the community of the social media. So, you cannot just wake up one morning and replace the traditional media with the social media because you cannot import all the things you do on the traditional media and vice versa. Research is helping clients to move the social media from just a touch point to a connection point.

    Are the technologies for data collection limited to Lagos?

    If you restrict it to Lagos, then there will be a problem. Of course Lagos was a testing ground but that was two years ago. We do have trackers which run over the country which helps you sort out data. We have rolled out gadgets (tablets, laptops, mobile phones) to other cities where we have jobs.

    Learning for brands in 2013

    When we all went digital, using tablets and laptops, we put some arrangement in place to elongate battery life but now, when you talk digital, we now partner with some of these manufacturers to produce our spec for research. We have all learnt that when you talk digital, it is faster and cheaper, we also know it is more on the spot, where I am not able to knock and they open, digital breaks that barrier.

    There is an emerging role of Neuro-science in marketing research. How does it work?

    Research is moving away from traditional methodology. We, at Millward Brown, have a marketing science, which is charged with the responsibility of continuously finding ways of really getting into the hearts of the consumers, so that when we talk to them, we understand them better. Neuro-science goes beyond the voice and other physical features, it tracks every twitch and shift of the face, and it also tracks emotions.

    Expectations in 2014

    Despite the fact that we are gradually approaching the elections year – 2015, we are very optimistic because Nigeria gets informed by the day; I am not sure Nigeria is interested in wars; we are interested in harnessing her resources to move forward. We also expect that this year, more foreign companies will come in because the Nigerian environment will be very conducive.

     

  • ‘How Nigerians are transforming multilevel marketing’

    ‘How Nigerians are transforming multilevel marketing’

    The resilient and enterprising nature of Nigerians has elevated them to exceptional levels of performance in multi-level marketing business. Ranked in the 4th position among over 150 countries where one of the foremost multi-level marketing companies – Forever Living Products, operates worldwide, Nigeria retains the largest market share and networkers in Africa today.

    Nigerians also hold five seats in the exclusive “Global Leadership Team” of FLP International, in recognition of their overall performance in the company’s Marketing Plan.

    There are 20 seats presently in this class of FLP distributors worldwide. And this is the reason why Nigeria is looked upon at the FLP head quarters in the USA as a potential leader in the world.

    Speaking after an exhaustive special training and recognition event at the Forever Complex, Ikeja recently, visiting FLP International Vice President, Africa, Mr. Gary Shreeve, said he was always inspired by each visit to the country and the success that is being achieved.

    “Forever Living Products has been doing business here in Nigeria for more than 10 years. Nigeria is, without doubt, our number one market in all of Africa. It is our number four in the world. The people are fantastic; they are energetic and loving. The people are very resilient. While I can understand that life could be difficult at times, the perseverance and determination of the Nigerian, makes them overcome uncommon obstacles. Nigerians continue to work hard and triumph and achieve success.”

    He described Nigeria’s success in FLP as exceptional and praised the commitment and fairness of the management in Lagos for the outstanding performance that has put other countries at edge as to what next Nigeria could come up with.

    “We, at the headquarters in the United States love Caroline and Cornelius Tay, who oversee the operations here. They are great people. They have been in charge of our business here for about six years now and they have done a fantastic job. Under their direction, the company has grown considerably; we have helped more people with our fantastic products; we are changing lives with the opportunities we offer. With their guidance and direction here in Nigeria, they are doing a fantastic job”, Shreeve said.

    In 2010, FLP International launched the Eagle Manager Incentive, an incentive for managers to work towards some particular goals within the company. Since that launch, there has been so much success in Nigeria with the Eagle Managers Incentive.

    Distributors all over the country have been so excited and passionate about the incentive that Nigeria emerged the number one country in terms of the number of Eagle Managers produced annually throughout Africa. The country also has emerged the number one country in sales.

    According to Shreeve, “The Eagle Managers Incentive has grown in popularity and all FLP Managers now strive and work hard to achieve it. Financially, our sales have gone up as our Nigerian distributors continue to share our unique products and the opportunities with more and more people throughout the country.”

    Shreeve also reiterated the commitment of FLP International founder, Mr. Rex Maughan to help more people in Nigeria achieve their dreams.

    “We are looking for greater and bigger things. Nigerians have a lot of hope and dreams and what we want to do in Forever is to help them achieve those things. We have just been very successful, but in life, you can always do better; you can always do more. And for us, in Forever, what that means is that we want to help more people”.

    Earlier in a training session, Shreeve said the nation’s distributors were blessed to have outstanding Global Leaders like Oma and Tony Attah; Justina and John Ekperigin; Maria and Clement Idigo; Kike and David Apeji, because they are always ready to share their success stories with fresh distributors. The rise of Nigeria in Forever had brought special interest from people around the world. The FLP International Vice President urged all distributors in Nigeria to take advantage of the awesome management who had provided a conducive environment for all engaged the FLP business.

    Mr. Shreeve warned Nigerian distributors to be wary of competition from South Africa, and Turkey. Although he said the advantage here is that Nigeria has more Eagle Managers than all countries in Africa put together, he added that Nigeria remained the fastest growing country in the fastest growing continent.

    He was optimistic that the country was capable of beating India to the third position at the next Global Rally taking place in London in April 2014.

    “Work to leave a legacy”, he told distributors, adding, “Time waits for no one. You require discipline, hard work and determination and the understanding of the company’s policy to excel in this business”.

    He urged all FLP distributors to acquire good knowledge of the products, so they can share, retail and use them more efficiently. “You have got to be the product of the product”, he emphasised.

    According to Mr. Shreeve, 2013 is the best year to qualify for the FLP Global Rally of 2014, as stipulations for qualification were more relaxed and achievable with minimum effort. He also revealed that so much had been put in place by the USA headquarters to ensure that distributors have a great time during the global event in London.

    Aside the Global Rally and Eagle Manager incentives, Mr. Shreeve said there are also car incentives, Chairman’s bonus and others all available to hard working distributors in Nigeria. “I urge you to work hard and close this year strong, as the party is just beginning for Nigeria in the FLP family.”

  • Nigeria to host Xperiential marketing conference

    All is set for the maiden edition of XMC, the Xperiential Marketing Conference planned for Lagos, Nigeria in June.

    Redbutton International, the conveyers of XMC 2013 birthed this conference out of a need to further empower marketing executives with strategies that not only deliver their brand message, but immersive, powerful experiences that forge connections and evoke the right emotions in consumers.

    Across the world, marketers understand that there is a need to infuse the NEW. Strategies are being reinforced. Objectives are being modified and perfected. Campaigns are being integrated. And live experiences are getting refined and reinvented. This serves as the primary basis for having the 2013 Xperiential Marketing Conference The 2013 Maiden edition is themed “Experiential Marketing Paradigm; What Today Is Saying about Tomorrow”.

    The event will hold on June 28 and 29 at The Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos from 8.00am – 5.00pm daily.

    The conference, which is expected to become the largest yearly experiential marketing conference and exhibition in Africa, inviting international participants from America, Europe and Asia, will attract strong opinion and key influencers in the marketing communications industry like company directors, CEOs, marketing managers, brand and communications managers, account directors alongside entrepreneurs and SMEs.