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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.”
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