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2011: The “Bulls” Shall Return
- By Ikem Okuhu
- Published January 11th, 2011
- BrandWorld
- Unrated
2011: The “Bulls” Shall Return
Year 2010 was not the best for most players in the marketing ad, marketing communications industry. But the New Year promises to hold a lot in the bag going by what is being observed in the arena at the moment, writes IKEM OKUHU
WE are already in the second week of year 2011. I was tempted to do this write-up for the last edition of BusinessWorld. But then we went on break. Even when we resumed, a few facts were not in yet to be able to drive an informed article. But I am certain now that those who are looking at crystal balls and consulting oracles would have been done with their predictions.
I have read and listened to a number of them over the past one week or two. While a lot of them were heavy on the nation’s political landscape, especially with regard to the coming elections, there are others that peeked into the fragile threads that are holding the nation’s security system together. From these star-gazers, there have been as varying predictions as there were the personalities looking at it and depending on the angles and perspectives.
Today we will gaze at the country’s marketing crystal ball to see what the market would look like in 2011. These are what I see in my ball:
Financial Services: The Nigerian banking industry has been in a sort of coma for the past two years. Those who did not lose jobs were being hounded for failing to pay debts. The remaining are the few who were being prosecuted for mismanaging most of these banks. If you did not fall into any of these categories, then you were not a banker in Nigeria at the time.
Banks were bad business last year. Jobs were lost, market shares plummeted and stories of doctored accounts were flying all over the place. Most banks reduced their advertising budgets to almost zero. All the bright beautiful branded cars that were “marketing” vehicles for these banks gradually aged and no one cared to replace them.
But in 2011, banks are bound to rebound. May be not as high octane as it was between 2005 and 2007 but the sector is already showing signs of being on the ascendency all over again. This is for a number of reasons. One the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria has taken off the banks the trillions of naira worth of toxic assets. Two, banks now know where and how they stand in terms of market competitiveness and can now make business pitches with “right size” in mind.
Although there would still be a lot of caution in the credits market, banks would look to be bullish in the year we just entered and the early birds in terms of taking positions would reap the most fruits. Already two of the banks are showing the type of steps they would take in the new year by launching new campaigns. While Diamond Bank and Fidelity Bank are the early birds with campaigns that are currently running across all media channels, a number of other banks are likely to follow suit early in the year to make the market more exciting. Agencies should therefore get ready as pitch invitations would soon start coming from this “dry” sector. Those who are not immediately planning for growth would also not want to be totally out of “mind”, so they would do all it takes to remain in the present.
Telecom: Since the telecom revolution that began in 2005 with the commencement of GSM services in Nigeria, this industry has remained the most vibrant in the economy. From a field of three key players, this grew to four, down to three and then four again. The fact that the CDMA operators now have national licenses adds to the excitement in the field. Competition here has been stiff. At a point, Nigerians feared the emergence of an oligopoly that would hold the reins and keep rates at abominable heights. But this was disproved last year with Etisalat, the youngest (and easily the most exciting) of the country’s GSM operators crashing call rates with a product called “EasyLife”.
Soon enough, Glo and Airtel (formerly Zain) followed. We are yet to hear from the leader of them all, MTN but with the speed with which people have been picking up lines of competition, it is clear this is a road that must be travelled or the brand dies in its cocoon of market indifference.
Telecom companies will do all to hold unto their subscribers. And this would be done through a number of creative means: new high octane events and sponsorship platforms would be unveiled in the coming year as players get used to playing long term with each subscriber. Why do we say this?
With SIM registration your phone number is yours for life. For this reason, it will be the business of the operators to infuse as much excitement in their operations as would make you not drop it in one trash can for competition.
Pricing would still continue being the issue and it will not be surprising if prices further drop later in the year. But the greater competition is going to be on the data market where internet services would be caused to spread and at an increasingly reduced cost.
Electronics/Home Appliances: Panasonic towards the end of the year launched a campaign it called “YUME” of “The Dream” in Nigeria. It also launched a television set designed for the Nigerian market specifically. This is the first sign that manufacturers are taking the new concept of “Glocalisation” very seriously. Although the Nigerian market is bereft of manufacturing concerns, global players will begin to segment the Nigerian market even more along the lines of individual preferences. This is called customisation but it will not happen immediately but signs of it would happen here in the year.
Phones: Nokia is the clear leader in the phone market in Nigeria. Samsung, LG, SonyEricsson and the rest have been struggling, playing catch up. But sincerely, it looks like Nokia is tiring of staying on top and if competition has sharp eyes, this is the time to strike!
I have studies creatives from Nokia in the past eight months and all you see is a tired, complacent leader that seems to have run out of ideas of what it takes to retain its leadership. I strongly suspect competition knows this and would step up communication in the coming year to give Nokia the fight here.
Breweries: Why are we looking the way of breweries at this moment? The answer is not far-fetched. In Nigeria, as in most parts of the world, we drink when we “hit it big” and as well to douse sorrows when times are bad. We are a fun-loving lot and party a lot. Any wonder we were the happiest people of the world a couple of years ago?
But this is just one part of the equation. In the course of this year, a number of drink brands tottered into the market. There was, Castle beer, its Milk Stout counterpart and as many as six others. Will this shake the titans, Star, Gulder, Harp, Guinness Stout? I do not think so. But I am certain they would make enough noise to rustle a few wings.
Agencies: There will be a lot of briefs for agencies this year. This is easy. It is an election year and politicians would have money to spend. Some of them might hire professional agencies to handle their briefs but the bulk, I am sure would go it the old way despite all the protestations from Apcon. But creative agencies will smile this year because what would drive the market is innovation and out-of-the-world responses to campaign briefs and activations. I fear, however, that there are many that might not get through the year and still remain in business. And then for those that are in the market already, get ready, because their would be even more competition coming from outside.
That is 2011 in a few words. Gird your loins and get into the ride!
Year 2010 was not the best for most players in the marketing ad, marketing communications industry. But the New Year promises to hold a lot in the bag going by what is being observed in the arena at the moment, writes IKEM OKUHU
WE are already in the second week of year 2011. I was tempted to do this write-up for the last edition of BusinessWorld. But then we went on break. Even when we resumed, a few facts were not in yet to be able to drive an informed article. But I am certain now that those who are looking at crystal balls and consulting oracles would have been done with their predictions.
I have read and listened to a number of them over the past one week or two. While a lot of them were heavy on the nation’s political landscape, especially with regard to the coming elections, there are others that peeked into the fragile threads that are holding the nation’s security system together. From these star-gazers, there have been as varying predictions as there were the personalities looking at it and depending on the angles and perspectives.
Today we will gaze at the country’s marketing crystal ball to see what the market would look like in 2011. These are what I see in my ball:
Financial Services: The Nigerian banking industry has been in a sort of coma for the past two years. Those who did not lose jobs were being hounded for failing to pay debts. The remaining are the few who were being prosecuted for mismanaging most of these banks. If you did not fall into any of these categories, then you were not a banker in Nigeria at the time.
Banks were bad business last year. Jobs were lost, market shares plummeted and stories of doctored accounts were flying all over the place. Most banks reduced their advertising budgets to almost zero. All the bright beautiful branded cars that were “marketing” vehicles for these banks gradually aged and no one cared to replace them.
But in 2011, banks are bound to rebound. May be not as high octane as it was between 2005 and 2007 but the sector is already showing signs of being on the ascendency all over again. This is for a number of reasons. One the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria has taken off the banks the trillions of naira worth of toxic assets. Two, banks now know where and how they stand in terms of market competitiveness and can now make business pitches with “right size” in mind.
Although there would still be a lot of caution in the credits market, banks would look to be bullish in the year we just entered and the early birds in terms of taking positions would reap the most fruits. Already two of the banks are showing the type of steps they would take in the new year by launching new campaigns. While Diamond Bank and Fidelity Bank are the early birds with campaigns that are currently running across all media channels, a number of other banks are likely to follow suit early in the year to make the market more exciting. Agencies should therefore get ready as pitch invitations would soon start coming from this “dry” sector. Those who are not immediately planning for growth would also not want to be totally out of “mind”, so they would do all it takes to remain in the present.
Telecom: Since the telecom revolution that began in 2005 with the commencement of GSM services in Nigeria, this industry has remained the most vibrant in the economy. From a field of three key players, this grew to four, down to three and then four again. The fact that the CDMA operators now have national licenses adds to the excitement in the field. Competition here has been stiff. At a point, Nigerians feared the emergence of an oligopoly that would hold the reins and keep rates at abominable heights. But this was disproved last year with Etisalat, the youngest (and easily the most exciting) of the country’s GSM operators crashing call rates with a product called “EasyLife”.
Soon enough, Glo and Airtel (formerly Zain) followed. We are yet to hear from the leader of them all, MTN but with the speed with which people have been picking up lines of competition, it is clear this is a road that must be travelled or the brand dies in its cocoon of market indifference.
Telecom companies will do all to hold unto their subscribers. And this would be done through a number of creative means: new high octane events and sponsorship platforms would be unveiled in the coming year as players get used to playing long term with each subscriber. Why do we say this?
With SIM registration your phone number is yours for life. For this reason, it will be the business of the operators to infuse as much excitement in their operations as would make you not drop it in one trash can for competition.
Pricing would still continue being the issue and it will not be surprising if prices further drop later in the year. But the greater competition is going to be on the data market where internet services would be caused to spread and at an increasingly reduced cost.
Electronics/Home Appliances: Panasonic towards the end of the year launched a campaign it called “YUME” of “The Dream” in Nigeria. It also launched a television set designed for the Nigerian market specifically. This is the first sign that manufacturers are taking the new concept of “Glocalisation” very seriously. Although the Nigerian market is bereft of manufacturing concerns, global players will begin to segment the Nigerian market even more along the lines of individual preferences. This is called customisation but it will not happen immediately but signs of it would happen here in the year.
Phones: Nokia is the clear leader in the phone market in Nigeria. Samsung, LG, SonyEricsson and the rest have been struggling, playing catch up. But sincerely, it looks like Nokia is tiring of staying on top and if competition has sharp eyes, this is the time to strike!
I have studies creatives from Nokia in the past eight months and all you see is a tired, complacent leader that seems to have run out of ideas of what it takes to retain its leadership. I strongly suspect competition knows this and would step up communication in the coming year to give Nokia the fight here.
Breweries: Why are we looking the way of breweries at this moment? The answer is not far-fetched. In Nigeria, as in most parts of the world, we drink when we “hit it big” and as well to douse sorrows when times are bad. We are a fun-loving lot and party a lot. Any wonder we were the happiest people of the world a couple of years ago?
But this is just one part of the equation. In the course of this year, a number of drink brands tottered into the market. There was, Castle beer, its Milk Stout counterpart and as many as six others. Will this shake the titans, Star, Gulder, Harp, Guinness Stout? I do not think so. But I am certain they would make enough noise to rustle a few wings.
Agencies: There will be a lot of briefs for agencies this year. This is easy. It is an election year and politicians would have money to spend. Some of them might hire professional agencies to handle their briefs but the bulk, I am sure would go it the old way despite all the protestations from Apcon. But creative agencies will smile this year because what would drive the market is innovation and out-of-the-world responses to campaign briefs and activations. I fear, however, that there are many that might not get through the year and still remain in business. And then for those that are in the market already, get ready, because their would be even more competition coming from outside.
That is 2011 in a few words. Gird your loins and get into the ride!
