In a world where inhibition to accomplishment resides in the imagination and fear of people, Gulder has decided to motivate men to confront their fears to reach new heights to establish new relationships and achieve their goals. Senior Correspondent GODDIE OFOSE writes.
TUSOM is created and delivered for men, the brand’s main target, and the programme is a guide to confidence living and the examples that motivate ‘man’ in that direction.
Gulder, taking this a bit further, recently released three new television commercials (TVCs) which put limitation to imagination to the test.
Departure from the past
Rarely would one see a television commercial without a selling proposition written all over it. For a brief to be accepted by a client, an advertising agency must justify its pay by highlighting selling propositions in a commercial.
Recently, an ad agency was fired for its inability to clearly spot selling elements in the campaign it created for a fast moving consumer good (FMCG) brand.
The material was lauded as one of the best created by a local agency because it told a near perfect story of the brand and exuded it values.
Yet the ad agency was sacked and another hired which crafted the mind of the brand owner despite the fact that sales targets were never met.
Oracle Experiential Agency Chief Executive Officer, Felix Eiremiokhae, said any brand that jettisons storytelling in communication plans to fail – evident in campaigns churned out by the likes of First Bank, Access Bank, United Bank for Africa, and Heineken.
“The era of a selling proposition in creative in over,” Eiremiokhae insisted.
On the new creative
“Storytelling” is a new trend sweeping the brands building community like a whirlwind.
Born out of the need to depart from the old creative silos of brand owner’s desperate interest in selling a brand, more brand custodians from the creative perspective believe that “small stories can be very powerful communication tools” that can help brands connect with the target market.
Globally, storytelling in advertising is becoming the formula for brands that want to go the extra mile. Brand builders look out for social issues, explore the plot and setting that consumers can easily connect with to deepen their footprints, and unveil new offerings or reposition their brands.
One of the Gulder commercials tagged ‘John’ shows a man staring at a beautiful lady as she walks into a boutique. While he admires her and wants to make a move, the fear and doubt in him present sad suggestions of rejection.
In another version of the commercial tagged ‘Dan’, a man visits his proposed father-in-law, an army General, for the first time. The fear of the General, known for brutalising men who hang around his daughters, is the beginning of wisdom.
Mere staring at his picture on the wall scares the suitor so much he needs his girlfriend to reassure him. He conquers his fear and in the end is received with a rare smile and warm handshake from the General.
‘Mike’, the third commercial, shows a career-driven young man who is not getting due reward for his contribution in the office.
He wants to confront his boss to find out why, but his fear tries to discourage him, raising questions about how he would pay his rent and pay for his car loan if the boss fires him. He fears he may even lose his fiance.
But he braves the odds to confront his boss who also welcomes him and ushers him into a seat.
All the stories end without highlighting the selling proposition of the brand but the inherent value of the brand, which is hardly given attention by brand custodians during an exercise like this.
Aligning TVC with the bottle
While the launch of Gulder Ultimate Search, Nigeria’s first reality show, is also meant to inspire courage among men and women, reviewers are not surprised by the new creative trajectory of the brand.
Last year, Gulder launched a new bottle which comes with a masculine shoulder that suggests strength and character.
Nigerian Breweries (NB) Managing Director, Nicolaas Vervelde, said the re-launch is in tandem with a penchant for innovation which sustains NB’s leadership in the brewery sector.
“In 1946, the story of innovation started with Nigerian Breweries Plc,” he recalled.
“We launched the Gulder brand in 1970 in a unique brown bottle with a unique logo and unique recipe. This unique beer is loved by millions of Nigerians who savour the taste every day, every week, every month and every year.
“Gulder was the first beer to be launched in cans, which is a further sign of its innovativeness.”
Vervelde described the new bottle as revolutionary.
“It is a historic moment for the Gulder brand. The new bottle which was contained in the Cube reflects that this celebrated brand, Gulder, is at the forefront of advancement and I can assure that what you are going to see is the result of several years of hard work and skill that the brewery industry has seen in a long while.”
NB Marketing Director, Walter Drenth, described the bottle as the most innovative in Nigeria.
“What we have done is to take Gulder from a 1970 bottle and transformed it to a 2020 bottle. This is the most innovative bottle in the Nigerian beer market today.
“Despite the efforts and resources committed to giving our esteemed consumers of Gulder this classy bottle, the price and the taste remain the same,” he stressed.
A market survey shows that Gulder is the second highest selling beer in Nigeria. It spent about N700 million on above-the-line advert last year, trailing Guinness Extra Stout (N1.6 billion), and Star Larger beer (N1.5 billion).
Brand implication
For Gulder in the new ad, success is limitless once fear is removed.
Its Senior Brand Manager, Onyeka Okoli, said the brand seeks to play significantly revolutionary roles in the lives of its customers.
“At work, at play, and in building relationships, Gulder is the beer brand that inspires men to succeed in everything they aspire to do and achieve.
“We have played this role since the brand berthed in the country, and this time around, we want to take men to the point where they can confront their fears and battle them till success is achieved,” he explained.
Okoli said Gulder, through research and relationships with its market, discovered that “the greatest limitations to success reside in the imaginations. They are not always real.
“The young man that loves a girl but cannot state his intent is only scared. The man who is scared of meeting his boss or his prospective in-laws is also afraid of the unknown.
“But Gulder says we can go on, confront our fears and live to enjoy the fruits of success it would bring to us at the end of the day.
“In doing this, Gulder will continue to remain the number one national premium beer, playing a significant role in the life of its consumers.”