Reality shows appear to be gradually becoming a new platform that generates emotional bonding to viewers thus delivering on media investment than traditional platforms. ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI reports that the trend poses danger to the survival of traditional platforms.
Fake and edited, reality TV shows have been criticised for lacking any clue of reality but the curiosity they create in the minds of the audience has continued to endear the platform to advertisers and brand managers in the Nigeria marketing communication industry.
In spite of the feelings among critics that the platform, with its growing audience base, is creating a very bad effect on the minds of the youth, the impact the shows have on youth in discovering their talents have made such misgivings to become irrelevant.
Beyond the job it creates for art directors, producers, creative agencies, modeling agencies, make-up artists, the huge revenue the platform generates for TV stations is unprecedented. But media buying pattern trend-spotters are having concern that the level of corporate sponsorship enjoyed by the platform may have caused revenue loss to other traditional media such as press, outdoor as well as other TV contents which hardly secure advertisement.
TV reality shows have become the place where advertisers put their sponsorship money because of the higher return-on-advert-spend it offers. With the level the platform engages consumers, it has become a stronger touch-points where brand handlers can reach out to all demography apart from the youth.
The Group Managing Director of SO & U, a leading marketing communication agency, Mr. Uffot Udeme, said reality shows have become a platform that came with spontaneity. He said: “Over the years, Reality Shows have caught the fancy of the younger generation of consumers. These shows offer a certain spontaneity that excites the audience and any opportunity for involvement is an added bonus.”
Uffot explained further that TV reality show has become an extension of social media lifestyle. “To me, this is an extension of the social media lifestyle where people delight in being involved in each others’ lives no matter how geographically remote they may be from each other,” he noted.
With the level of sponsorship enjoyed by the platform, other platforms especially, press and outdoor has continued to suffer revenue loss while indication showed that the huge budget on reality shows has continued to lift the TV advertisement revenue.
According to the 2012 edition of Mediafact, a publication of MediaReach OMD, a media planning, buying and strategy agency, media investment for both press and outdoor declined last year while TV recorded rise in media investment. The figure showed that advertising industry spend on Above-the-Line Advertising activities dropped by 10.6 per cent to N91.846 billion in 2012 as against N102.755 billion in 2011. The decrease, accordingly, was due to reduced media investment of 43.9 per cent on outdoor advertising and 41.7 per cent on press while media investment on TV and radio grew by 7.2 per cent and 20.1 per cent respectively.
Although there are no explanation as to why the investment level has continued to drop in favour of reality TV shows, The Nation spotted the trends based on the level of sponsorship and growing adoption of global reality shows by Nigerian brands. It suggests that the platform is the rave of the moment while producers and franchisees of these shows are making fortune at the expense of some traditional media. For instance, the chairman of Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) Mr. Charles Chijide has complained about revenue loss in the sector while a lot of its agency members have fled the industry into politics as a result of dwindling fortune. Also, other sub-sectors in the industry aside media agencies which invest clients media spend on the best platforms, have never had any cause to complain about revenue loss.
Findings also show that other TV contents that have suffered low sponsorship as a result of growing strength of reality shows in delivering target audience to brands include but not limited to animated series, breakfast television shows, television comedy, comedy-drama, docudrama, educational television, interview, mockumentary, paranormal television, participation TV, political drama, public affairs (broadcasting) and reality TV shows but the one that has enjoyed higher corporate sponsorship and adaptation to brands sole-sponsorship remains TV reality shows which comes in various content forms such as court show, food reality television, game opera and game show, hidden camera, masterchef among others.
The TV reality genre of TV content began in earnest between the early and mid 90s with The Real World. It then exploded as a phenomenon in the late 90s and early 2000s with the global success of the series Survivor and Big Brother. These shows and a number of others (usually also competition-based) became global franchises, spawning local versions in dozens of countries.
For instance, the show became popular as a result of the success of the global TV reality shows. As the show continues to generate massive audience and sponsors, many producers and advertisers began to adapt the global shows that have become a brand such as Big Brother, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Dancing with the Stars, Fear Factor, Got Talent, Pop Idols, Project Runway, The Apprentice, X Factor among others.
Some local brands who, however, have appended their brand name to some of these TV shows to increase shows as way of enhancing top-of-the-mind awareness for their brands. Glo X-factor, Airtel’s Nigeria’s Got Talent, Etisalat Nigeria Idols, MTN Who Wants To Be A Millionaire are some of the global reality shows franchised to some brands in Nigeria. While producers of these shows have continued to innovate in other to remain relevance to changing consumer’s behaviours, a music reality TV show, Star Quest, which has produced major Nigerian stars like Kcee, Klint D’Drunk, Mr. Raw, was recently rested by its organisers after 10 years but the producer of the shows have replaced it with a new one, ‘The Winner Is’ which will feature entries from soloists and groups, as contestants battle for a cash prize of N10 million and brand new car.
Also, recently, Guinness Nigeria bought into one of the reality shows Airtel Nigeria’s Got Talent as co-sponsor. The show is produced by Rapid Blue Format, a global trendsetting and independent production company, but now with a local franchisee in Nigeria to tap into multibillion naira advert budget for reality shows. However, beyond the façade of the excursion into talent discovery, Guinness Nigeria has seen the show as a potential point of engagement to promote the premium products from the stable of Guinness, Malta Guinness.
The Director, Marketing and Innovation, Guinness Nigeria, Austin Ufomba said Malta Guinness’ decision to sponsor Nigeria’s Got Talent is because the show embodies the passion of the brand.
Also, Coca-Cola last year designed Coke Studio Africa, a new and exciting music television show, to sustain its brand awareness and leadership in the continent where it features musical icons from each participating country to bring every market into consideration.
The Brand Manager, Colas, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Mr. Olufemi Ashipa, said through the Coke Studio, fans will be able to access content from the show on the new Coke Studio Africa while the entire episodes of the show will also be available on the CocaCola official YouTube channel as viewers across the continent are expected to win various prizes including autographed posters, coke studio kits and branded merchandise through the show.
With this trend growing, a senior lecturer, marketing, Faculty of Business Administration, University of Lagos, Dr. Peter Iyiegbuniwe, said the trend is gaining popularity because of its entertainment impact. He said: “This is a new trend in the marketing communication industry in Nigeria. It is fast becoming a platform to engage consumers because of its entertaining features. It can be used to stimulate the desire of their target market.”
Also, a brand analyst, Mr. Tomi Ogunlesi, said Nigeria as a late adopter of reality and games show, has got to wait after eight decades after an American, Allen Flunt had popularised the concept. Ogunlesi said: “It seems we’ve been late adopters, however, over the past decades, the association of brand names with popular television shows has become a trend on the ascendancy, particularly by companies and brands in a quest to increase their market share.
“Flipping past channels on both terrestrial and cable TV channels these days, the sheer avalanche of reality shows that is aired assails one. Contemporary television programming has clearly become incomplete without them, or so it seems!”
Iyiegbuniwe said for any brand-sponsored reality show to make the desired impact on consumers, “it must be localised. It must reflect the culture and values of the people. It must not be offensive and must be of quality standard in production.”
However, the Managing Director of Media Share, Mr. Dele Odugbemi, said traditional media should improve its content to drive revenue which is being loss to reality shows. “Print media is losing market share largely to digital media so it’s not a surprise the numbers have been declining over the past decade. The medium will need to reinvent itself so that it can remain relevant in the digital age.”
He said radio and TV continue to thrive because they have incorporated digital media into their offering, adding that a radio station can interact with its audience via its Facebook page or Twitter account. When faced with declining advertising revenues, TV stations reinvented themselves by changing the type of content they offer so one now has soap operas and reality shows.
But Uffot said in spite of the growing trend, not all reality shows are crowd-pullers. “Not all Reality Shows are crowd pullers. They can only be a threat to other television exposure opportunities by their appeal to, and resonance with the desired audience groups.
“Content, personalities involved and quality of production are key elements that will determine attraction, followership and value for money for the advertiser,” Uffot insisted.
