Tuesday <strong>07</strong> <strong>Nov</strong>ember <strong>2017</strong> 16 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556
Tuesday <strong>07</strong> <strong>Nov</strong>ember <strong>2017</strong> Nigerian brands jostle to ride the wave of 2018 World Cup … Budget for event depends on economy, say experts Stories by Daniel Obi Media Business Editor Every four years, the Fifa-organized World Cup comes with emotion and enthusiastic feeling in different nations. The 2018 event, kicking off in Russia on June 14 is no exception as it has started attracting attention among Nigerians and big brands and this is expected to reflect on the marketing budget of companies for next year. Already, brands like Emzor, Aiteo Group and others have joined the passion with congratulatory adverts for Nigeria stating that ‘Russia here we come’. The brands congratulated Nigeria on its qualification to the World Cup, an event that transcends religion, ethnicity, politics, language and age. According to analysts, this trend is expected to continue up to June 2018. It is also expected that large chunk of the 2018 marketing budget by many companies would be devoted to In response to the growing need of data and internet usage for various purposes including official and family use, Coollink, a Nigerian ISP and system integrator with nationwide presence has launched Asta, a brand new service that is delivering satellite broadband internet to consumers in Nigeria. While unveiling the product in Lagos, the CEO of Coollink, Shahin Nouri said the new service is tailored to the needs of local consumers as it increases broadband penetration and offers seamless satellite broadband everywhere including rural areas in Nigeria. Also speaking, Abdurrahman Mubi, Senior Technical Manager at Coollink said that while there are other satellite internet services available in Nigeria, Asta stands apart for numerous reasons. the global event largely on account of Nigeria’s qualification as brands seek greater eye-balls. But Jenkins Alumona, the CEO of Strategic Outcomes, an integrated marketing communication firm based in Lagos and sports enthusiast agreed that companies would key in to the event, he however said that budget for it would depend on the economy. “Following Nigeria’s qualification and as football popularity grows, there would likely be an increase in the marketing budget next year on account of the global event but this depends on the performance of the economy”, he said. Jerry Oche, Chief Executive Officer of Zowasel, an eCommerce marketplace who also estimated that brands would largely key in to the event believed that most marketing platforms would be used by brands during the World Cup for consumer con- Coollink introduces Asta Satellite Broadband service for Nigerian internet users He said the service is highly available and specifically tailored to the needs and demands of Nigerian consumers; it is affordable, covers the majority of the Nigerian territory and offers features such as speeds of up to 20 Mbps, data rollover and free night zone. Asta was launched in September and fully launched on <strong>Nov</strong>ember 1 by Coollink, partner of Konnect Africa, a company set up by Eutelsat in 2015 says Mubi. He said that Asta will continue this tradition with high speed Internet access available for consumers and enterprises across the Nigerian territory and beyond. “When it comes to enterprise applications, Asta will benefit companies in virtually every niche. With premier connectivity and infrastructure, clients will be able to use Asta for everything from small office home office and enterprise applications to complex Government solu- nection. In his view, John Ehiguese, the CEO of Media- Craft, a public relation agency believed that there would be a big rush by corporate to be part of the World Cup as the platform presents a brand mileage opportunity for them. “The 2018 World Cup would be the focus of most brands next year and we are expecting excitement in the media industry” The 2018 FIFA World Cup which would end on July 15, 2018 would present opportunity not only to sponsor global brands but to many brand around the world who want to tap in to the opportunity. But according to experts, some advert messages would be lost during the one month event but the most creative messages would be remembered and make impact on the brands months after the World Cup. Reports indicate that the World Cup competition in Brazil in 2014 reached a global in-house TV audience of about 3.2 billion and this could increase for the Russia- hosted event as football population continues to increase tions”. He further said that Asta is also available for residential customers at affordable rates in areas where broadband service was inexistent. according to him, the service is delivered using antennas as small as 74 cm in diameter, which can be easily installed in the most difficult of terrains and in as little as two hours. With this move, Nigeria can expect an increase in broadband penetration which will generate employment, grant communities in remote and rural areas access to eLearning platforms and broaden SME’s customer base, among several other benefits. “We have registered nationwide and Africa-wide partners to ensure that Asta is available to consumers all over”, says Tayo Sadare, Service Delivery Manager at Coollink in a statement.“ C002D5556 BUSINESS DAY 17 MEDIABUSINESS MB Marketing: Ososo Carnival initiative signs MoU with Neomedia To properly harness the potentials and opportunities that the annual Ososo Festival in the Akoko-Edo area of Edo State, would offer, its organisers have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a marketing and event agency –Neomedia and Marketing to give this year’s edition an international outlook. Commemorate the partnership in Lagos, CEO of the marketing agency, Ehi Braimah, said the appointment of his agency was strategic to further entrench the mission and vision of the organisers of the festival among stakeholders. He also added that his agency, with experience in marketing of international brands and events would not find it tough in galvanizing necessary support that would make the carnival appeal to the world. “As a carnival that has already taken the life of its own and has appealed to necessary stakeholders, our job is to help the organisers attract potential sponsors and guests that would make it a revered Former MTN Nigeria CFO joins Terragon Group’s Board of Directors Andrew Bing The Board of Directors of Terragon Group has announced the appointment of Andrew Bing, former Chief Financial Officer of MTN Nigeria, as an independent non-executive director (NED) . The appointment, according to a statement comes against the backdrop of the company’s recent transition into a data and marketing technology business, its pan- African expansion plans as well as its need for practical carnival that everybody will identify with. It gladdens my heart personally that the proactive government of Edo State, under the leadership of Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki, has not only bought into the carnival; the government has created a good platform for its growth. With what is on ground, <strong>2017</strong> edition will be a watershed,’’ he said. Also speaking at the event, the state’s Commissioner for Arts, Culture, Tourism and Diaspora Affairs, Osaze Osemwegie-Ero said the state government would harness the potentials of Ososo Carnival as part of its plans to boost the state’s economy through the development of 58 newly identified tourism sites across the state. Also corroborating the Commissioner, Chairman(BOT) of Ososo Carnival Initiative, Emmanuel Agbaje, harped on the need for governments at all levels to begin the process of de-emphasizing oil as the economic mainstay of the nation by focusing on the development of other growth areas such as tourism. and extensive experience to successfully scale across some of the largest markets on the continent. In the statement, Elo Umeh, Managing Director, Terragon Group, said “We are honoured and humbled to have Andrew Bing accept to join our Board of Directors. We welcome his wealth of experience and look forward to his contributions which will definitely strengthen the governance and oversight functions of the Board”. Currently an active member of the Institute of Directors IOD – UK, Bing is an independent NED on other Boards, one of which is Extra Care, a company based in Northern Ireland. He is a Telecommunications professional with a well-rounded profile in financial, business development and strategic planning having worked for 19+ years within the MTN Group, 8 of those years as CFO of MTN Nigeria, the statement said. Bing joins an existing board chaired by Nneka Nwobi, Head - B1 Strategic Partnership Africa, SAP and Executive Coach.