2Face: The Indispensable Brand Fit With MTN?
MTN 2Face & Friends Tour ends yesterday in Abuja after long performances at Lagos, Kaduna, Enugu, Benin City and Ibadan respectively. 2Face motherless homes visit at various cities he performs is another unquantifiable side attraction that added colour to the event. Tijani Adegbola examines the level of brand fit between the 2Face and MTN as brands.
There are many products in the markets. Consumers don’t know which one to buy. That is why every brand is working hard in order to top in the market. In this case, brand awareness is very imperative. Brand managers therefore invest huge amount of money on creative programs that can be explored in selling their acclaimed best products to reach the target markets. Some brands have made innovative use of reality shows and creative events as tools to raise awareness on their products or services.
Others who don’t have unique ideas locked up in distribution chain. That has brought competitive advantage and developed an intimate knowledge of customer needs. In fact these are products or brands that have made some smart choices. But some brands on the other hand got it wrong. So they perish. Some make use of events to leverage their brands. Like 2Face million dollars tour deal with the foremost telecommunications in Nigeria, MTN is still the talk of the town at the moment. This made the multi awards winning Nigerian pop star to be the brand ambassador of the youth targeted brand, Xtracool for some period of time. The brand fit between the two MTN&2Face has been the cynosure of all eyes in the Nigerian entertainment industry. Brand experts comment that it a good deal for MTN to have tracked down the highly rated Nigerian music star. This would drive the synergy between the successful 2Face brand and MTN as a corporate brand in the faces of the targeted loyal customers.
“2Face is a successful brand as far as music is concerned in Nigeria at the moment. So, there is nothing wrong for MTN to explore 2Face platform in order to reach their target market. There is relationship between the two brands”, a brand consultant said.
Establishing Common Ground
Whenever a brand is unveiled, the manager the particular product usually promises a lot. Even if the strategy and planning wouldn’t work with the concept the company is using to leverage on either the product or service, to the customers, there are bound to be propaganda.
As far as establishing common ground is concerned, there should be synergy between the products or services a brand manager is projecting in the market. Many reality T V shows have been shown on television sets. But lots of them don’t fit with the brand the company is positioning. “Some brands don’t even know the objective reason they are into the market. They don’t even understand the common ground and brand fit between the product and the reality show the brand is pumping huge amount of money on. Can you tell me the establishing common ground work in Celebrity Takes 2 with Skye Bank?” a brand expert asks. “Brand fit and product fit for different types of brand alliances, the literature states that the degree of brand fit can be measured by the number of associations that correspond between the brands. The more associations correspond the higher the degree of brand fit”. Another brand consultant added that Using 2Face Idibia with MTN as a study, the common ground is real. “2Face is a youth icon. He is an achiever. So, MTN is a platform for youths to achieve their dreams and excel via the product (Xtracool) MTN is positioning in the market. 2Face is a living testimony today in Nigeria and abroad. Who knows 2Face 5 years ago out side Nigeria? Is the brand really captivating when you mention it at the international level? He actually came from know where to become somebody. He has won many laurels for himself and flags the country’s colour. This is good for the brand using him to leverage their product, Xtralcool”, he revealed.
Brand Fit & Awareness
It is because of awareness brands invest in events, reality T V shows, T V dramas and other scintillating informative, entertaining and educative programs which can uplift their products.
Doing this would make the big brand managers that have set themselves apart from the crowd and brands that have made major commitment to the loyal consumers or customers to building brand awareness. To do so, it means that brand managers are making their brands to be effective use of a broad range tools: above-the-line and below-the–line. This is a factor that is essential because it enables companies to reach and influence large audiences. A scenario of this is Apprentice West Africa. This is a brainstorming reality T V show that targets serious minded audience. The sponsor, Bank PHB is enjoying lots of leverage from the local media and international respectively. This therefore created lots of values to Bank PHB brand awareness. It can also be said that the brand fit is intact, for the fact that the bank is projecting and targeting intellectuals to banking with them through the interesting programme. They are as well supporting in order to create brand fit which can be used for many references either for profit purpose or corporate and social responsibility.
According to Ayokunle Adesina, MTN Xtracoll brand manager, MTN is merely living to the brand promise of its Xtracool brand which is to make the Xtracool package a whole loaded bundle of value and entertainment. “At this season, we like how we are sharing the message of love and demonstrate our commitment to bringing unforgettable music experience to Nigerians. We recognize that 2Face remains Nigeria’s youth ambassador and is a reference point in showcasing the talents and potentials the average Nigerian youth possesses. MTN Xtracool is the first and the best youth brand in Nigeria that connects strongly with music and entertainment. We are happy to associate with 2Face as a brand”, Adesina stated recently at the 2Face and Friends concert in Lagos.
Cultivate Customer Commitment
It is from brand awareness a product wins the heart of targeted customers. According to a brand writer, MTN is banking on Xtracool with 2Face to cultivate, create unlimited commitment fun and entertainment to its publics. Therefore, 2Face is a vessel to achieving that unlimited form to MTN publics. In addition, it is to reach out fun to different communities where MTN operates. Bringing a brand personality like 2Face to their communities makes and cultivates customers’ commitment towards the brand positioning in the face of the targeted. In fact, this would create a symbolic reach out to the Nigerian youths who might not have seen 2Face one on one. In that case, MTN lives with passion.
MTN Return on Investment
Brands at time invest in events, reality T V shows amongst others in order to get quick reward. Some don’t look at the immediate money invested in the project but everlasting brand equity. Gulder Ultimate Search comes in to the picture. The brand spends a lot every year on the to make the loyal consumer happy via the interesting and widely acclaimed best reality T V in the whole of the Afriacan continent. The brand equity is still unquantifiable. Gulder receives accolades every year. So, MTN spending a lot on 2Face and Friends tour is not really all about quick money making instantly, according to the MTN Xtracool brand manager. “We care for our loyal subscribers. MTN is actually seeking for long term brand equity. During the tour in Benin, Ibadan, Lagos, Enugu, Kaduna and Abuja all the gates were open free. We position this to be a symbolic reach out to Nigerian youth who might not have seen 2Face one on one. The humane aspect to visit many motherless homes at various states during the tour is to share love with the less privileged ones and use MTN as a platform with 2Face to preach hope alive. MTN lives with their passion and dream”.
“The return on investment can’t be quantified in either naira or dollar spent on the event. It is an extremely mouth watering event which event experts would often be making references to. The brand fit and equity are really indispensable, Bestman Nze, the C E O, Image Expression said.
