With the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 now fully underway, the last 12 days have been the most active month for media and marketing communications in general.
Several brands across Nigeria and Africa, in general, have thrown their hats into the ring to compete for glued eyeballs. We now have a bigger view of brands who are sponsoring live broadcast of all the 64 matches that will be played during the Mundial.
Stanbic IBTC
Instead of harping on its moving forward slogan, Stanbic IBTC deliberately created a new TV commercial that shows various faces of its customers and why it is committed to partnering with them. The fact that the message was not related to football makes it different, however, the message might be off key given the audience and their affinity.
Chivita
As Nigeria’s largest maker of juices and milk-based beverages, the house of Chivita is not just one of the largest advertisers in Nigeria, the company has been one of the largest supporters of football through one of its flagship brand, Chivita 100% brand. With millions of Nigerians watching the World Cup in viewing centres and restaurants, Chivita’s decision is spot on.
Amatem
Known as the largest advertiser in the over-the-counter malaria drugs category, Amatem is also ceasing the opportunity the World Cup presents to push its brand promise. Being a rainy season when malaria infections are expected to increase, its presence is worth it.
BetKing, Betfarm & Betin
Nigeria is fast becoming the haven for sports betting and gambling brands who are taking advantage of the huge demand in the market for different odds. BetKing came in towards the beginning of the Mundial and has since increased its investment across the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 property. The duo of Betfarm and Betin are not yet in Nigeria but could be looking at entering the market by awareness spillage.
Coca-Cola and Pepsi
The rivalry between Coca-Cola and Pepsi has never been this accentuated. While the latter pulled a big one by creating a campaign to co-opt Nigeria’s national team and some of its top entertainment acts, the former took a similar route but sticking to the players with a sales promotion to go with it. The end result for both brands will become evident in their bottom lines after the tournament.
Opera News
As part of its commitment to gaining a foothold in Africa, Opera Mini has since increased its emphasis to gain more users for its mobile browsers and now its news app. With Google also pushing its Google Search app for news and information, Opera News is doing the necessary.
LG and TCL
While the former, LG, is a known brand for household and consumer electronics, the latter, TCL, is not really a known brand in Nigeria’s market but could be using the opportunity of the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 to enter the African market, including Nigeria. TCL is the world’s largest producer of TV sets, advertising in Nigeria for the first time during the World Cup is a decision that could give LG a run for its money.
UBA
One of the largest lenders in Nigeria, UBA has also decided to put its money where its mouth is. Joining the like of Stanbic IBTC, UBA is using the World Cup to push its USSD product. The dearth of financial services brands in this World Cup however, raised eyebrows as to whether the economy has really recovered from the recession.
Star
As the largest beer category advertiser, Star Lager Beer has not given up its position as one of the major supporters of Nigeria’s national team. With the incursion of Budweiser into the market. Despite appearing in the terrestrial feed of the broadcast, it is a decision that has to be made to stay put in the competition with its newest rival, Budweiser.
