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| Marketing Director Mr. Walter
Drenth, Managing Director Mr. Nicolas Vervelde, Sales Director Mr. Hubert Eze
and HR Director Mr. Victor Famuyibo, all of Nigerian Breweries Plc during the
re-launch of STAR Lager beer in Lagos. |
It has not
happened for a long time where you will see some of the best artistes Nigeria
parades at a single event to honour a brand, but that was exactly what happened
when Star lager beer paraded Tuface Idibia, D’banj, MI, Wizkid and Tiwa Savage
at the Star re-launch party. The Expo Centre of Eko Hotel and Suites where the
event held was filled to capacity with more than 6,000 consumers’ of
Star.
The first performance of the evening was from MI.
He thrilled the audience with his hit songs, ‘African rapper’ and ‘Action film.’
that made them request for more. The second performance was from the rave of the
moment music act, Wizkid who thrilled audience with songs like “Holla at your
Boy”, “Love my baby,” ‘I love my baby’ among other acts. Tiwa Salvage, a female
act with MARVIN records was not left out as she hit the stage with her Azonto
dancing steps that got applauds of the audience. She followed it with her
popular hit track, ‘Kele kele love.’
MI and D'banj
The audience was ecstatic when Tuface came on
stage with ‘Above and beyond’ which saw the award winning act mixing freely with
the crowd. As the audience kept on asking for more, Tuface dished out two of his
popular tracks, ‘Implication’ and ‘As you see me so.’ His act showed why he is a
popular artiste.
Just when the audience thought they have seen it all
and the curtain would soon fall, D’banj who made his first public appearance
after his issue with his former partner, Don Jazzy. D’banj appeared from the
midst of the crowd against the expectation of the audience who thought he’ll
appear like others from the stage. For close to an hour he held the audience
spelt bound with entertaining acts and songs that are ever green from his
collections. They include, ‘Oliver Twist’ and ‘Scape goat.’
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| 2face and
D'banj |
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| D'banj |
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| 2face |
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| DJ
Humility |
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| Wizkid and Tiwa
Savage |
A special new song titled “Let’s get the Party
Started” composed by the five artiste for Star lager beer sent the crowd
screaming and was followed by the highlight of the night, the unveiling of Star
lager beer new look by D’banj, Wizkid, Tiwa Salvage and MI. The new payoff of
Star lager beer, “shine on” was what was on the lips of fun lovers as they
savour the occasion with consumption of chilled bottles of star lager beer. The
new look Star now comes in a 3D authenticity logo watermarked with tiny stars,
it also has a re-designed back label with revised brand message and new crown
cork with upgraded 3Dlogo and logo ring, blue body label and neck foil.
Speaking at the star studded event which
attracted more than 6,000 select consumers’ Mr Nicolaas Vervelde, Managing
Director of Nigerian Breweries plc said there is no doubt that Star lager beer
is a distinct market leader that will always be there. “Star did not start to
shine now; it has always led the market. It was renewed in 1956 and in 1974 it
became the first beer brand to introduce neck label and in 2007, it took a bold
innovative stride by introducing packaging in Cans, so star has always been with
Nigeria.”
Walter Drenth, Marketing Director of NB plc,
who also spoke at the epoch making event said superior product quality has been
the driving force of Star; he added that consumers have come to trust the brand
because of its consistent quality over the years. The brand has the heritage of
being brewed under strict quality standards since 1949 and the consumer promise
remains uncompromised. Another factor is the strong distribution network. The
brand has a very strong distribution footprint which spans the length and
breadth of Nigeria. It is therefore not by accident that the ever refreshing
Star is widely distributed and readily available across the country and is
within the reach of consumers. The Star brand, right from when it was initiated,
has maintained a constant message of bringing “brightness” to its consumers.
This is always reflected in all its marketing campaigns.
Drenth stressed that another factor that adds
to Star’s equity is the fact that it has one of the best communications across
all media. This Communication has been consistent over the years. Again, this
does not happen by accident. It is a well thought out process that has made the
brand young and fresh despite the fact that it has been around for 63 years.
Star is one of the best run brands to come out of Nigeria.
Innovation, he pointed out, also plays a
fundamental part in the development of the Star brand over the years. Another
factor any discerned brand analyst can identify is that Star has been noted for
churning out adverts which has consistently projected the superior quality of
the brand over the years. Right from the beginning, the brand made a strong
statement, from the first campaign slogan of “Ah! Star – Beer at its
best” introduced in 1949 through the “Brightness” campaign of the 1970s/80s, to
the “Turn to Star – The ideal brew” campaign, unveiled in 1989, to the “Live the
Brighter Life In Style – Star Ahead on Taste” campaign of the 1990’s and then to
the campaigns of “Never A Dull Moment with Star”, “Share the Brighter Life”,
“Shine Shine Bobo” and “Let’s get the
party STARted”, it is clear that the advertising campaign development history of
Star has been consistent in creating a mythical halo for the brand. The
rave-making campaign that heralded the STAR Bottle change in 2000 is still fresh
in the mind of consumers. The ‘Star Dance’ and Shine Shine Bobo are equally award winning
materials.
On his part, Sampson Oloche, Senior Brand
Manager Star added that “As a brand with mass appeal, there is a need to
constantly engage with consumers in a bid to meeting their needs and
understanding their aspirations. Star relies on different media and stakeholder
touch points in order to reach its target audience. Our consumer engagement
platforms are some of the most robust in the country today. From Star Quest to
Star Trek to Star Mega Jam it is always meeting the consumer where he is and
always responding to his need to have a brighter life always. In fact, consumers
are charged with the responsibility of picking the foreign act they want to have
for the popular Star Mega Jam”.
Oloche added that the platforms that the brand
provides have been a veritable avenue for younger adults to express themselves
and showcase their talents. The brand is thus seen as giving back to the
society by empowering the youths, most of whom may never have had the
opportunity to know they even have hidden talents. “You remember KC Presh? They
were the first winners of Star Quest and they are still a force to be reckoned
with in Nigerian music today in their individual capacities. So the activation
provides a good platform for aspiring musical artistes seeking to make impact in
the industry.
On the onslaught of competition, he said “We
will always be steps ahead of competition because we have vibrant marketing
support which enables us to consistently rejuvenate the brand in all consumer
touch points i.e. packaging, communication, promotions and advertising to ensure
its relevance and authority. In arriving at this we rely on consumer and market
insight which in turn drives and leads to constant consumer-led innovations. You
have your winning formula when you have an effective distribution
network.”
23:30
