By Uche Nworah Ph.D
There are benefits when brands sign on popular personalities as brand ambassadors. The feel-good factor that follows such an association ultimately impacts the brand and may also lead to increased sales and positive brand perception in the minds of its customers.
There is also an expectation that lovers of the celebrity and personality would transfer their love of the personality to the brands.
Telecommunications giant Globacom sponsors the Ojude-Oba Festival and Onitsha Ofala Festival. These are easily the two biggest cultural festivals in Nigeria. During the 2024 Ojude-Oba festival, one man came to global attention because of his style. He was nicknamed King of Steeze. He became an instant hit with a picture of him mounted on horseback and chewing on his cigar. Mr. Farooq Oreagba has since become a cultural celebrity flying the flag of the quintessential man.
Mr Farooq Oreagba was also sighted at the 2024 Ofala festival. This is good cultural collaboration.
I had falsely thought that Globacom had sponsored Mr Steeze to attend the Ofala festival. You can imagine how surprised I was when I saw Mr Steeze being used in rival Airtel’s brand advertisements.
Why did Globacom miss such a huge opportunity to sign Mr. Farooq Oreagba as a brand ambassador? I will say that the brand managers at Globacom dropped the ball on this one. To my mind, Mr Steeze as a Globacom brand ambassador would have been perfect. He was ‘discovered’ at a Globacom-sponsored event and has had some association with the brand. I am just wondering if he will show up at the 2025 Ojude-Oba festival in Airtel’s brand colours.
We had a similar missed opportunity a decade ago when the actor popularly known as Saka (Afeez Oyetoro) was ‘snatched’ from under the noses of Etisalat by telecommunications rivals MTN.
Hafiz Oyetoro (Saka), became the center of attraction when he suddenly appeared in an advertisement for MTN, despite being associated with Etisalat. With his now famous words, ‘I don port’, the advert was meant to sensitize members of the public that they could switch (port) from one network to another without buying a new sim card. The commercial was successful because Saka was believed to have ‘ported’ from Etisalat to MTN.
In an interview, Saka said; “It is very important to maintain one’s integrity and discipline. I also want to correct the notion some people have that I abandoned Etisalat because of money. The truth is that I did not have any official engagement with Etisalat as their ambassador. I was just a model working with an agent who was handling Etisalat’s account. I did not have anything to do with Etisalat. Rather, I had something to do with the agent, and as of that time, my contract with the agent had expired. Another agent then called me to be an ambassador for MTN, and that was it. If anyone contacts Etisalat or MTN, that is the same thing they would be told. Money is important, but I do not allow it to mess with my integrity.”
Brands and their managers should learn from these missed opportunities. When they are part of ‘creating’ a ‘property’ such as Mr Steeze and Saka, they should tie them up to long-term deals as brand ambassadors. If not they will be left with eggs on their faces.
Peoplesmind
