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New Normal
With its highly successful virtual launch of three iconic mobile phone brands into the Nigerian highly sophisticated market in the last two months, SBI Media, Nigeria’s Generation Next media agency group has expertly ushered the country into the era of the New Normal in product launch.
It is on record that between April and now (when Nigeria was, and still is, in the thick of total and, later, partial lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency midwifed virtual launches of Tecno Mobile flagship smartphones, the Camon 15 and Camon 15 Premier; Infinix Note 7; and the iTel P36 series.
Interestingly, the historic launch events reaped the benefits of the creativity behind them by chalking up immense global attention and viewership when they were streamed live on television and across social media with millions of people watching from across the world each time.
The popularity of the events was accentuated by the agency’s ingenious assemblage of crowd pulling celebrities at each of the launch. For instance, the launch of Tecno Camon 15 was anchored by award-winning Bovi; while Davido, Infinix’s brand ambassador, Patoranking, Ini Edo, MC Lively, and others graced the launch of Infinix Note 7 to make the event a wow event. It was another mesmerizing moment at the launch of iTel P36 series with Ebuka, Big Brother Nigeria anchor and the face of Channels TV directing affairs, with Olamide Adedeji, brand ambassador for iTel and many others present to add colour, beauty and class to the event.
A very rich blend of music, comedy, celebrities and super stars into the said mobile phone launch events was obviously a first-of-its-kind in the subsector in our clime.
Of historic significance and very significant relevance is that prior to the historic virtual launch, SBI Media and its sister company, Streams Media Network had earlier brought their corporate innovativeness into the management of the front running brands by championing the brand influencer idea into the brands’ marketing odysseys and brokered the contracts between them (the brands) and top notch and award winning Nigerian artistes as their ambassadors.
Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, known professionally as Wizkid, a Nigerian singer and songwriter, was signed on as Tecno brand ambassador; while Afro-pop star, Olamide Adedeji, was signed on as brand ambassador for iTel.
And, even though the media group did not midwife the signing on of Davido as the brand ambassador for Infinix, years back, the SBI media group was the brain behind pooling together of the top notch celebrities, including Davido himself, for the virtual launch of Infinix Note7.
The thinking behind that strategic and epoch-making move, according to Rotimi Bankole, SBI Media’s CEO, in a statement, was the fact that there are parallels in the soaring profiles of each of the brands and their respective ambassadors.
Bankole stressed that the duos of the brands and their ambassadors parade a kind of synergy which made each of the deals to be worth the investment. In Bankole’s words, “It is the synergy and the brand fit, in each case that makes the deal invaluable”.
The SBI Media boss added that the sign-ons have initiated mutual partnerships for improved engagements with consumers by the brands as each of the brands and its ambassador share similar values which their various consumers can relate well with.
As should be expected, the move has brought so much glamour, class, panache and sophistication to the marketing efforts of the brands and their owners.
The novelty of this innovative move by SBI Media of identifying and connecting the brands with ambassadors that share very similar profiles and persona with them, thus making the relationship to resonate very well with their various targets while impacting positively on the performance and fortunes of the brands in their segments, speaks to the agency’s creativity, innovativeness and dynamism in the business of brand management and the management of brand business.
And, to say that the agency’s Midas touch has been rubbing off on the brands is to state the obvious.
Apart from a steep rise in the brands’ profiles and performances in their segments in the market, they are having several awards from both Nigeria and Ghana in their kitties. Their ranking, too, is improving steadily.
For a good example, Tecno which was ranked No. 33, only ten years ago, now ranks No. 5 most admired brand in Africa.
All these sterling achievements have turned SBI Media group itself into a most sought after agency in Nigeria and beyond.
Since inception in 2013 as a strategic media strategy and buying agency, SBI Media has been built on a culture of bravery, thought leadership, creativity and innovation in its provision of end-to-end media solutions to all its ever increasing clientele which cut across FMCGs, Aviation, Telecoms, Financial services, Technology, Startups, and Political brands.
Its continuing success with the mobile phone brands and the duo of Wizkid and Olamide is, indeed, a study in brand ambassador management; and may well become a reference point in that emerging subject.
