By Gilbert Alasa.
Nigeria’s large and growing population may be enough impetus for business opportunities but when one adds the nation’s searing weather to the list, there is little to wonder why soft, carbonated drinks continue to dominate the market for decades. The giddy nature of city life in the face of rapid urbanisation and poor power supply have all joined forces to increase the demand for cold, ready-to-drink products among many busy, on-the-go consumers.
Despite the infiltration of many fruit-flavoured drinks in Nigeria’s carbonated drinks industry, Fanta, from the stables of Coca-Cola Nigeria, has grabbed a substantial share of the market squarely on the strength of its character built around emotional levers and close-knit bond with its consumers through play, fun and excitement. These attributes, which resonate seamlessly with its target audience, have proven to inspire brand loyalty and emotional connection with the Fanta brand.
“The key attributes of the Fanta brand are play, fun and excitement. Our new campaign brings these attributes to life in a unique way and connects even better with Fanta consumers,” said Patricia Jemibewon, Marketing Director of Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd during the launch of its new communication campaign held at the Federal Palace Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The campaign themed “Play it better” was unveiled amidst excitement at the chilling ambience of The Marquee with participants engaged in various games and activities. The campaign, which is billed to run throughout 2016, is expected to feature an ensemble of four radio and television adverts, a cinema material, and three out-of-home executions. The radio ads will be translated from English into Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba and Pidgin.
Jemibewon said the overall objective of the campaign is to inspire magical moments and play in the world.
“Fanta personifies play, fun and excitement. As such, we continually seek ways to engage and excite our consumers. Leveraging the ‘play campaign’ platform, it is natural that the campaign has evolved into the next level which is ‘Play it better,” she said.
A striking takeaway from the Fanta “fun” campaign is its appreciation of how psychological appeals and emotions resonate seamlessly with consumers. By highlighting the experiential benefits of the brand to its customers like every other consumer-centric brand, Fanta is toeing the path of 18th Century auctioneer of Anchor Brewery when he said: “We are not here to sell boilers and vats, but the potentiality of growing rich beyond the dreams of avarice.”
Just five years ago, Fanta unveiled a thematic campaign predicated on play as an intrinsic component of a happy, maximised life with Todd, Tristan, Maude, Sun, Gigi, Floyd, Andy and Lola as brand characters. With its rich history as a product that emerged from the awful World War II, Fanta has grown from simply challenging the Max Keith team’s imagination to inspiring its sprawling global consumers to imagine and re-imagine happiness and play in new, fun ways.
With its brand characters now aged up to their early teens, Fanta rides on the crest of the new campaign to reflect how they navigate typical teen moments and pressure, seizing the good in every moment.
“In the new thematic campaign, these characters are featured in settings that are common to teens in their age. In the different phases of the execution, we see how their playful, cheeky personalities come through as they navigate through typical teen tensions and moments. We also observe that they always seize the opportunity to engage in their fun activities and interests anytime they meet up with their friends,” Jemibewon said.
In essence, Fanta’s vision of a playful world comes across perfectly as a soothing balm to the tensions and uncertainties that characterise not only the world of teens but that of adults. As most oil-centred economies slug it out with the vagaries of global oil glut amidst a flurry of micro-economic glitches, infusing play and excitement into an already tensed world could stimulate the needed vitality and optimism needed to face the slur of each day.
As a demonstration of its commitment to play and excitement, participants at the launch engaged in various games, including table soccer, PS-3 and various video and board games, winning assorted gifts in the process.
By emphasising play and inspiring excitement in our everyday lives, Fanta is shifting its consumers’ focus away from the uncertainties and tensions that roil in the landscape to the energy, glee and magic that colour the everyday narrative.
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