The story of Diageo and Coca-Cola is spectacular in this regard. According to experts, one of the most successful celebrity-brand unions is the partnership between Sean “Diddy” Combs and Diageo Plc, the parent company of Cîroc vodka. Combs has promoted Cîroc since 2007, appearing in commercials and print ads, and notably creating an unofficial slogan for the brand.
The Financial Times once reported that sales of the vodka increased from 50,000 cases to 2 million annually under Combs’s ambassadorship. The deal is also incredibly lucrative for the hip hop mogul, helping him secure the top spot on Forbes’ annual list of hip-hop’s wealthiest artist for three years in a row.
Then there’s Taylor Swift and Coca-Cola. Back in January 2013, the superstar — one of the few recording artists still able to sell 1 million records in a week — signed a multi-year partnership with Diet Coke. Over the past year, Swift has starred in commercials for the soda and even released a limited-edition to support the brand.
Guinness Example
Like the Pope Leo XIII and Vin Mariani in the 19th century, handlers of Origin from the stable of Guinness Nigeria did the unusual recently when they visited the palace of the Lagos monarch, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, with their wave making product -Origin. According to the leader of the team and the Director, Corporate Relations, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Sesan Sobowale the visit was informed for two reasons; the relationship between the brand and African herbs and the position of the first class king as a custodian of African heritage.
According to Sobowale, Origin is an alcoholic drink blend with the flavours of African herbs and fruits, which were combined to give a refreshing bitter-sweet taste and wonderful feeling of satisfaction. He took time to explain to the traditional ruler that the company came out with the drink to tell the world that African herbs can add immeasurable value to healthy life styles of people within and outside the African continent.
While informing the king and his chiefs that consumers had already accepted the new product in the market, the director of corporate relations further assured them that the company intended to use the new product to raise the bar in the emerging bitter and alcoholic drinks market.
“Origin was a blend of African herbs, Nigerians have accepted it and in our tradition as a company that believes in quality, we will not relent, rather, we will reinforce our global experience in brewing to raise the standard and give Nigerians the best,” he said.
On the rumour making the round that Sodium Benzoate, a preservative component in the drink causes cancer, Sobowale said it is mischievous for anybody or organisation to cook such a story, stating that the constituent element is harmless and is a widely used food preservative that is present in most drinks consume every day. He also added that it has been approved for use and recognised as safe by NAFDAC, the World Health Organisation and U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other recognised bodies.
He also used the opportunity to clear the air concerning the recent misconception that the product contains a lot of sugar and the claim that it is medicinal.
He said: “The sugar content of Orijin is not more than other beers in the Nigerian market.
Again the claim that Orijin is medicinal, is not a claim that we have made as a company. But as you can imagine, consumers always have various experiences as they interact with any brand. For us, Orijin is an alcoholic blend with the flavours of African herbs and fruits, combined to give a refreshing bitter-sweet taste and we are proud and happy that Nigerians adore this brand so much.”
The peak of the visit was when Sobowale, assisted by the Head, Corporate Communications, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mrs. Olayinka Edmund presented the two variants of the product to the king and his white cap chiefs. The two variants are; the origin with bitter-sweet blend that is believed to be low in alcohol and the other one that tastes like other bitters in the market.
Responding, Oba Akiolu congratulated the company, not only for the herb-based product but also for its unique packaging, which he said could stand any market in the world. He described Guinness as a global brand with good pedigree and urged its management to keep the flag flying. He however appealed to the company to empower Nigerians, especially people in Lagos through employment opportunity and distributorship.
How it all began
Origin entered the market barely a year ago in a low key but within a short period it has punctured the market share of existing brands in the bitter market like Alomo, Osomo and Ogidiga.
At one of the early events in Port-Harcourt organised to introduce it to consumers, the company’s former Managing Director, Mr. Seni Adetu, under whom the product was developed, said Orijin was a drink that would appeal to the modern African who wanted to enjoy the best things of life while still holding on to their African roots.
“Guinness Nigeria has a tradition of continuously delivering great brands to our consumers and Orijin is a quality brand that will not only bring excitement to consumers but also give them the opportunity to connect with their heritage. It is a vibrant yet rooted brand - a celebration of modern African culture which embodies all that is alive and exciting in Africa today. With a refreshingly unique taste, Orijin is the flavoured alcoholic drink our consumers deserve,” Adetu stated.
Prior to the launch, various African drums were placed across Port Harcourt and different cultural troops entertained crowds at the ‘place of the drums’. The cultural troops were at their best as they displayed fascinating dance steps which enchanted the expectant crowd.
With its vast distribution channel, Guinness has in a short term, taken Orijin just about everywhere and has also succeeded in winning reasonable population of converts who turned themselves into advocates for the brand. In Lagos for instance, people have been seen buying cartons of the drink and using same for special occasions.
In what looked like a confirmation of the success of the brand, the brand recently won two awards; first from the Advertisers’ Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), and the other from the organisers of Marketing World Awards. Both organisations recognised and rewarded Origin for innovation.
Place of endorsement
Over the years, experts have agreed that what makes an endorsement trustworthy is the purity of the authenticity of the endorsement. It is believed that when a paid celebrity spokesperson talks about a product in an official capacity, consumers often dismiss the message as being un-credible. But if someone mentions something because they love it and want everyone to know about it, it’s a whole different ballgame.
This is where many observers think the acceptance of Origin by a first traditional ruler like Oba of Lagos will make a tremendous difference in the fortune of the brand in the market. Giving the way artists are falling over one another for monetary gain to endorse leading brands, the subtle approach by Guinness to genuinely approach a respected king may confer respect on the origin brand.
If the royal blessing achieved its purpose, then one can be sure that origin’s fortune will jack-up soon as that of Nike when it partnered Tiger Woods. Through the endorsement of Tiger Woods, Nike was reported to have been able to induce a significant portion of the population to switch to using their golf ball as a result of the extra utility attached to Nike golf balls.
In fact, as a result of TigerWoods switching away from Titleist to Nike in 2000, the study estimates that the Titleist ball division experienced a decline of revenue of 7.48% (-8.11% in profit).
However, it is too early to predict what the future will look like for Origin as competitions are watching keenly on what to do to humble the Almighty Guinness and its new brand but at the moment, the market appears to be theirs.
