World Cup media and marketing campaigns by brands in Nigeria are being pulled as a result of Super Eagles’ exit from the football fiesta in Brazil.
Sponsors of the team include Guinness, STAR, Samsung, Peak Milk, Tom Tom, DStv, Globacom and Pepsi. Collectively, they spent over N500 million in endorsements, media, strategic and promotional campaigns in the romance with the Super Eagles.
GODDIE OFOSE looks at the sour side of the gig.
Bandwagon effect
The national team became the most attractive marketing tool immediately it qualified for the World Cup.
Top brands fell over one another to engage the team by identifying key characters such as members of the coaching crew and players.
Others adopted the team and paid huge sums to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
STAR, produced by Nigerian Breweries, engaged former internationals, Austin Okocha and Kanu Nwankwo.
Brands for the team
Globacom, Guinness, Samsung, Cadbury’s Tom Tom and Peak Milk invested in the team rather than key characters. Peak Milk staked double deals, in the team and Coach Stephen Keshi.
To avoid the intriguing waters of ambush marketing, Peak tagged its campaign ‘official milk’, Tom Tom, ‘official candy’, Pepsi, ‘official beverage’, and Samsung, official ‘home appliance’.
Glo chose ‘the supporter club’, but Guinness Stout did not use an ‘official’ tag.
Glo invested in the supporters’ club and also explored the national team to leverage especially on the days the Super Eagles played.
Brands for key characters
Pepsi, MultiChoice, Peak Milk and STAR used key players.
DStv, Peak Milk and Pepsi all scrambled for Keshi’s signature to carry their brands to Brazil. But all that looks like a gamble now that the team has crashed out in the last 16 and Keshi has purportedly resigned from his job.
Coke experience
Coca-Cola, official sponsor of the World Cup, localised its campaign tagged, ‘Everyone is welcome’ to focus on the five African teams (Nigeria, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon and Algeria).
The brand is licking its wounds as all the African teams have been ousted from the competition.
Aborted forays
Before the tournament kicked off on June 12, brands targeted communication materials at their different sponsorship properties. The 360 degree communication strategy was adopted by all the major actors.
Key channels included outdoor, radio, television, press, online and activation. However, Glo, STAR and Guinness called off media placements after the Eagles were defeated by Les Bleus of France.
All the creative materials targeted at the Eagles’ progress in the competition have been squashed. Hence, Glo “Go ahead Super Eagles Conquer the World”, and Guinness’s “Fly with the Eagles” have been dropped.
Also dropped are Pepsi’s ‘Our Moment… Our Time’ campaign, Samsung’s ‘Official Super Eagles home appliance material’, Peak Milk’s advertisement on Keshi and STAR’s ‘ #ShineOnNigeria’.
It was learnt that Peak Milk will review Keshi’s endorsement deal soon because of his sudden resignation as the Head Coach of the team.
But Friesland WAMCO Corporate Communications Manager, Nkechi Njemanze, insisted that “the advertisement still ran this morning (July 2, 2014) on radio. We are not aware of that, because Keshi has not said he has resigned.”
MultiChoice Public Relations Manager, Caroline Oghuma added that the brand is focused on bringing the tournament to Africans in their homes and “is not considering any marketing decision concerning Keshi at the moment.”
Expensive outlays
Over N500 million was cumulatively invested in the Super Eagles and its characters, which experts criticise as miscalculated.
But others see huge benefits in brand endorsement.
Puseletso Mompei, a communications consultant and trainer based in South Africa, said: “You cannot control what your ambassador does. Tiger Woods is a prime example of someone whose wholesome image crumbled quickly after allegations of multiple affairs went public, leaving many of the brands he was affiliated to in a difficult position.”
Luiz Suarez, who plays for Liverpool and Uruguay, has also fallen prey to miscalculated marketing strategy where a betting company and Adidas both withdrew their deal from him after he bit Giorgio Chiellini in the game against Italy.
A brand ambassador can be a huge asset, but management of this resource is always a difficult task, noted marketing communication professional, Nsikak Bassey, who is based in Lagos.
The verdict
Brands that engaged in tournament advertisement rather than aligning with the Eagles are the most beneficiaries.
However, Glo, Guinness, STAR and Peak Milk marketing teams are holding strategic sessions to locate windows to leverage their huge investment.
