Readily available tools to boost sales by brand owners are sponsorship, activation and advertising. But as the market becomes more competitive, existing brands introduce other marketing strategies to bond more with consumers.
Presently, there is keen contest for the leadership of Nigeria’s beer market. But for Nigerian Breweries Plc, owners of Heineken brand, the determination to remain on top has been reinvigorated. Through domestication of its global campaign at various local markets, including Nigeria, spin doctors working on the sustainability of Heineken’s leadership are daily raising the bar for the global brand.
In line with this, the Heineken brand has consistently leveraged its sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League to promote its brand essence and create a top of mind awareness among its consumers. In Nigeria, the brand raised the stake three years ago when it facilitated the coming to Nigeria of Spanish legend, Carles Puyol with the iconic UEFA Champions League trophy. Last month, the feat was achieved again when the brand, again, showcased the iconic Champions League trophy accompanied to Nigeria by football legend Clarence Seedorf. This was followed by tours held in the two cities of Lagos and Abuja.
The tour was accompanied by notable Nigerian sports personalities like Jay Jay Okocha, Daniel Amokachi and top Nigerian Music stars, led by the multi-award-winning superstar Davido. Just like strike partners with the sole aim of banging in goals, the performances of Davido and Reekado in Lagos as well as Peruzzi and Lojay in Abuja were exhilarating. In a way, the infusion of music into the tour simply demonstrated the affinity between music and sport in brand building.
Other music stars like MI and Darey Art Alade were also part of Team Davido and they did exceptionally well with the former getting on the scorer’s sheet and the latter dazzling the fans with his goalkeeping talents that should catch the fancy of clubs in and around Nigeria.
In both Lagos and Abuja, the fans were rewarded for their passion and knowledge of the game simply by answering simple questions about the Champions League.
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While in Nigeria, Seedorf said he was happy to be back ‘home’ with the trophy that meant a million things to him.“We have the opportunity to bring this trophy close to those who never imagined or dreamt about getting close to the trophy. It’s beautiful to send that message to dream big, work hard, stay away from drugs and be a person that believes in himself and this is how I came to realise my dream.” the football legend stated while addressing reporters in Lagos.
For Emmanuel Oriakhi, Marketing Director Nigerian Breweries PLC, he succinctly captured the importance attached to the Heineken Champions League trophy tour which remains one of the biggest events on the calendar of the international premium beer brand.
He said: As always Heineken always has something spectacular for Nigerians and once again we are doing this. A lot of people argued that maybe the timing would have been more perfect concerning the disappointment Nigeria suffered a few weeks back.
“But we are resilient as a people and we are always positive and believe tomorrow will be better. For those of us still disappointed not qualifying for the World Cup we have the UEFA Champions League.
“The UEFA Champions League is one of the best sporting events in the world and Heineken has been partners with UEFA for quite a while and in Nigeria, we have been activating this for a very long period.
While this is not the first time the UEFA Champions League trophy will be coming to Nigeria, there were a couple of fresh innovations that made this 2022 edition even more worthwhile.
Memorabilia, jerseys, balls and lots of other prizes were won by the fans and loyal Heineken consumers who danced to the sonorous tunes supplied by the DJs at the end of the match-days.
Beyond its investment in sports and entertainment, Heineken brand has also appointed sport personalities and music icons as ambassadors to boost its market influence.
Poised to tell a Nigerian story that will resonate through families and cultures across the country, the beer brand, had six years ago, teamed up with Nigerian-American singer, Jidenna to bond more with its patrons.
In a TVC , Jidenna was seen sharing gifts with his family after a trip back home, a perfect representation of the bond that is shared by many Nigerian families.
The signing of the music star as an ambassador for the campaign has since been described by many analysts as a classic move because Jidenna is seen as someone who believes strongly in the importance of family and has never hesitated to show off his own.
For a brand that has been the go-to beer brand in over 190 countries of the world connecting families and friends, the UEFA Champions League trophy tours have remained a landmark achievement. According to the company, the trophy tour was to enable the iconic sports personalities to rub minds with stakeholders in the beer industry and sports enthusiasts.
Aside from the glitz and glamour that was the hallmark of the trophy tour, Heineken through its loaded two-day activities also passed some salient lessons that would encourage Nigerian youth to aspire to achieve laudable set goals that can be likened to lifting the most-coveted trophy in global club football.
