Wednesday 24 April 2013

MTN vs ETISALAT : Who really Ported our Saka ?


Well, as a Professional, I wouldn’t want to respond to the Saka menace going on in town but then I keep getting emails upon emails from students, clients, fans and friends. People keep asking me several questions; why on earth did Saka port?
 
Relatedly, I went for a Strategic meeting with the Executive Board Members of a renowned bank, and the story came up again. In fact, they played the commercial and applauded the sheer brilliance of MTN. I actually heard one of the Excos saying ‘I’m going to port immediately.’  So I asked them: what worked for you in the commercial? Majority of them said ‘we just love this Saka man’
 
There’s nothing as powerful as that cultural connection and that humanness factor we display as brands. As I watch from a distance the recent Saka phenomenon  I can only bow to this timeless advertising principle. Culture eats Strategy for breakfast.  Hats off.


As the Creative Director who was privileged to have created the iconic Saka for advertising, I watch as this device takes on a life of its own and how it is gradually becoming a major case study in the history of Nigeria’s advertising.  However, before I go to major brand lessons this should teach us, I shall quickly correct some insinuations flying round in our ad circle. Ad people can be their own worst enemies. Don’t take my words for it. Go see  Mad Men. However, it’s good to have a first person point of view to this saga.

For the record.


First, Saka was not a celebrity used for etisalat. Rather, he was a character we at Centrespread designed for an ad campaign that has come to take on a life of its own. When we did create the character bible, we needed a talent that could act the role and he came in for the casting like any other person. Looking at the screen test later on, we had no doubt that Saka was the man we were looking for. You must give credits to etisalat to have approved of our direction and choice. It really was not their ‘type’ of advertising.  So, it was not a case of celebrity endorsement, it was a case of characterization. In Wendy’s ‘where is the beef’, the miniature old lady has become a phenomenon because of her characterization and Wendy wouldn’t dare joke with that.
 
Secondly, we must also quickly correct the impression that the ‘funny’ man was looking for money, hence porting to MTN.  While it is a fact that all of us on this planet would want to be better paid for our talent, I know personally, that Saka gave his very best to us on etisalat’s campaign. He was not signed on a contract. He was paid like any other 3-month model arrangement. He was not paid the proverbial gbem. For the brand then, it was more of a tactical usage. He didn’t fit their typical advertising look and feel. Remember etisalat is the hip, classy and swag brand. Like I said earlier, we must credit them to have approved of the Saka idea in the first place.  Although it was beginning to look like this was a devise that etisalat could own, going by the results it generated, Saka was treated like any other cast. I am very sure Banky W got more handsomely paid than our beloved Saka. Far far. But where is Banky W today?  He ported also. That is what you can refer to as celebrity usage. Saka was not treated as such.

Quickly onto major brand lessons.

1. Advertising people must realize that people don't really go all out to watch and listen to what we have to say. People don’t like ads. However, people love characters. Characterization is the holy grail of great storytelling. And if you are lucky to have one working for your brand, you’d better recognize and keep it like gold.  My friend Udeme. Mama na Boy.The Malboro man. The Michelin Man. The Morton Salt Girl. Some of these are animated devices, some are real cast. Whatever it is, it is the job of the brand to treat such characters as assets for brand equity.  In Africa, our type of storytelling is rarely animated. Hence, the place for human characters. I shall talk about this, another day.

2. We must come down from our high horses as advertisers and start recognizing local nuances and cultural elements in our storytelling. I don’t know where we got the theory that ‘looking good is great advertising’. Great ads may look good but that’s not their intentions. They normally have that verisimilitude to the lives of the people they serve. They are usually humanly populist, interesting and sometimes funny.  How professionally done is the Indomee song ‘mama you do good o’? It may be tough selling that to a boardroom of brand people who believe in certain types of music production and musicians. The Indomee song came to the market awash with on-air fake accents and stole the show. It mirrors what our people would do. It mirrors how our children would sing.




3. Lastly, and don’t take this personal as it’s commonplace not just to a particular brand. Ad people must begin to have a relook at how we treat our local talents and agencies. If we can go on to pay Kim Kardashian that insane amount of money as a country just to appear for a 3 minute talk, we must begin to have a relook at how we treat our local talents that deliver the numbers for us. Listen guys! Don’t like me.  Don’t even like my work but hey please, give me some credits if my work is delivering for you.  Ad people are mad people for a reason. They are awake all night thinking of ideas. They work and work to see their works deliver for their clients. It’s a two way street. The agency has the talents and the ideas, you have the budget and the brand. So, we need each other. Hence, we must respect each other. We must respect talents. When we lose, we lose together, and when we win, we win altogether.  Same goes for the agency. Do we really tell the truth to our clients? Are we honest with our proposal? I have lots of friends on the client side and I know how tough it is for them to deliver on their KPI. So, we agency people should not feel victimized. Everyone is under pressure. But we should always talk. 

When I tell you about communicating your proposition, you as a client should listen. It's what I have done for donkey years, and when you talk about your Marketing deliverable, I must listen very well. You always know better. No one is superior. In Insanely Simple, a book, Ken Segall went on to narrate how Steve Jobs cut off the unwinding long process for ad approvals. As far as Jobs was concerned, a product person did not and should not be consulted on advertising creatives. Jobs trusted Chiat to bring the magic on. No interference. This is  a must read for all clients and agencies:  Insanely Simple . How to create a brand like Apple. Sometimes, I don’t know if we tell ourselves real truths when we sit at those roundtables having coffee. AAAN and APCON, note.
 
4.  Marketing is a game of opportunities. You find a loophole in competitions and you quickly use it to your advantage. Dog eat dog. That’s the case of MTN. They did try the Saka phenomenon with Osofia and Mama Gee but they knew that if it’s not Saka, it’s not Saka. We all know this is a very strategic move for MTN for the portability season. However if I must warn that etisalat is a very spontaneous brand at times. You may expect a shocker. Guys at etisalat , it’s time to look within. There’s something inside of etisalat; locked up in there. The brand must find it. Every brand has a great story locked up within it. It’s our job to find it. It is often brutally simple that we overlook it.
 Ok, I need some Coffee please!
   



PS: note that that this writeup does not represent the view of an agency or a brand. It is entirely the opinion of the writer and hence should considered so. 

Join me on my Journeys into Great Brand Experiences as I launch my rested website soon. Watch this page or write to kennybrandmuse@gmail.com
  

60 comments:

  1. The advertising Don Dada on point...but ur grammer plenty sha.
    Fortune Ossai

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  2. Replies
    1. Damola Bamgboye24 April 2013 at 07:30

      Mr Austine..
      He really nailed it...

      Culture eats Strategy for breakfast!!!!!!

      Delete
  3. Interesting article Kenny, fast trending I must say; as I received a call from my friend who said I should read your viewpoint on 'porting Saka.' A quick correction though ( not a correction really, but a reminder), we specifically profiled Saka for the promo the SIM REG promo, part of the recommendation from put forward was to create a story around a character giving different viewpoints on the sim reg issue...thankfully but surprisingly, 'Almighty Akpo' bought into it....going back to the main issue, I think MTN is consistently having a big (last) laugh over others, Glo was the last culprit and now etisalat...are you porting?

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    1. ...thankfully and surprisingly? Akpo Daniyan understands the Characterization is the holy grail of great storytelling, she was part of creating the xters "My friend Udeme" & "Mama na Boy"...

      @KENNY, fantastic write up

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  4. Dis shud be a great lesson learnt by those who loose a phenominal due to their carelessness,Saka is a brand on its own n as such,can opt for better offer...lets be blunt here cos we're all human n every one is hopin for a better life ahead!

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  5. Thumbs up Kenny.......

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  6. Kenny Permission to spread the article?

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  7. Wow! Nice. Finally, the air is cleared. I was really wondering why Saka had to port and if it was going to have any adverse effect on his personal brand. Some of my colleagues feel he betrayed Etisalat. I'd show them this piece. Thanks Kenny

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  8. Insightful. Informative. Noooiiiice.

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  9. Great one! A wonderful perspective to chew on while we enjoy all the fun surrounding the Saka Saga.

    Nigerians like like to focus too much on the fun part alone sometimes. Nice one!

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  10. PERFECTLY said Kenny Brandmuse; I don't take this as an opinion, this is TRUTH; truth is never a matter of opinion because it is a global reality. This, right here, is the reason I don't take Kenny Brandmuse for granted. Thanks "My Oga At The Top!" MOATT

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  11. Hello ... I need to follow your website! And I need tips too!

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  12. Lovely view point Kenny, but I must say credit should be given to the creator of the ad and not Saka for his ability to create such a concept. Yeah! It looks easy, but who thought of it? The ad company was able to keep it a secret, create a song theme, shoot the ad and release it immediately NCC authorized the Number Portability Scheme. After all other telecom companies are yet to release any ad to enlighten GSM users on the no portability scheme, moreover NCC announced it about a month back and that’s enough time to develop any great ad
    As the bank executive who said he wants to port because he loves Saka; he actually wants to port because he loves the concept of the advert and thinks Saka snitched on Etisalat.
    Well, I love the ad and think it’s one of the strategies you will find in Sun Tsu’s ,”Art of War”

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  13. Nice article and correction. The way Saka was sweated across all media platforms for Etisalat made so many people think he is more of a brand ambassador than a model. Thanks for the clarification. We are watching what Etisalat is up to. Am sure MTN staff and the Ad agency are having a gig on the success of this ad. Keep up the great work boss.

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  14. Well said Sir. I'm motivated already. #Jedi #Kenny #Brandmuse

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  15. Nicely said kenny

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  16. The book Insanely Simple has been on my shopping waiting list for too long. I just preordered it! #MustRead

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  17. Nice piece, but correct me if am wrong, arent rules or policies guiding models or celebs moving from one brand to another competing brands.

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  18. smart talk, need to follow this up too

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  19. well said, but please remember that in Advertising. The best work even if it means running other dowN.

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  20. Hello Kenny, though you've just said it all.Has anyone ever asked MTN why they never created a concept that could accomodate a character like Saka in first place. They have been more reactive than being proactive

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  21. Massive article..And thanks for the clarification..

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  22. @ Ngozi, Saka wasn't a brand ambassdor for etisalat. he was just a model. As a model you can freelance.
    @ Kenny, Wow, guess you wrote this in the purple shrine at Mende. Nice write up. I guess the Ads world is becoming more competitive in Nigeria and end user are becoming enlightened about the essence of ads now we expect agencies to think out of the box. Use what others think as bullshit to become a Bull in the eyes. Nice work DDB, 141 worldwide get to boardroom expecting something creative from Bunmi and her gang.

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  23. I believe as a brand custodian you should have done more and envisage competition. You see following brand life from pioneering to rejuvenation you must protect whatever character you created that is giving you brand equity look at creation of star shine shine bobo and the artist it created from star trek they kept on promoting star not Guinness. You got a responsibility to protect your brand not loose it anyhow especially your created characters. We had a program in my agency then called war games where we plan strategies using real competitive brands to work against each other in creative and strategy for about a week the outcome is used for planning for the brand, hence we had a long lasting growing brand equity and life. I believe this is negligence on the brand consultants and nice move by MTN to capitalize on it. If am the marketing director i fire the agency and carefully pick my next agency that has pedigree.

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  24. Millions of nairas are spent on celebrity contracts each year by assuming that d benefits of using celebrities will exceed d costs. Its all a business strategy. How else can the port campaign trend without a "big fish" like Saka?? If they at etisalat had seen saka as a lifelong brand image and treated him accordingly this would be avoided..

    The Match-Up theory worked perfectly for the bank executive. There's a good fit btw the product and d ad character, hence a transferred likeness regardless of the product he represents.

    Kudos to MTN's PR/Brand & Comm dept.

    Thumbs up Kenny!

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  25. I feel this article needs a version 2

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  26. I feel this article needs a version 2.0.1. I love the concept of Characterization

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  27. Great piece Kenny. As one on the client side, i remember sitting at a bar one day with friends when the saka etisalat ad hit, and over hearing the arrogant other creative director of the etisalat agency calling it razz today he's running around like a head-less chicken doing extremely weak rejoinder ads. Consumers want what they can relate with not over the top, futuristic ads that make no sense or add to the bottom line. One thing i also noticed was it was locally done, again this goes to "THIEVISH" creative heads who believe they must go to CAPE TOWN to shoot commercials. Way to go Saka. To MTN nice one but go and fix your network and customer service. Good ads need good service to back it up.

    @Ngozi Osamor once your contract expires you are a free agent.

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    1. Thanks oo, 'Good ads need good service to back it up'

      Delete
  28. at first when i saw the advert i hated saka for it but on reading this article am more at peace with him. its not his fault etisalat could have bought him totally.

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  29. Nice write up and enlightening as well. In the end, MTN's gain. But more aptly, does it not raise the question; Is Etisalat MTN's closest rival? Has Airtel and GLO fallen off the radar? Whatever the answer is, i expect Etisalat to respond but not frontally. Revenge is best served cold.

    Another point is, a new character has been trending for a while and i wonder who will be used to bring it to life; can a corporate brand like Etisalat personalise Akpos? The response I envisage, will be massive!!

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  30. Nice write up and enlightening as well. In the end, MTN's gain. But more aptly, does it not raise the question; Is Etisalat MTN's closest rival? Has Airtel and GLO fallen off the radar? Whatever the answer is, i expect Etisalat to respond but not frontally. Revenge is best served cold.

    Another point is, a new character has been trending for a while and i wonder who will be used to bring it to life; can a corporate brand like Etisalat personalise Akpos? The response I envisage, will be massive!!

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  31. You know what? I feel sorry for anyone who hasn't taken a class/course at Orange. That is all.

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  32. Saka's deal was different from Banky's Its the deal not the Character, what i see in this is the agency try's to balance the Hip with culture, the middle class with the higher class to have a common ground to buy the brand, its a good thing by the agency its not easy.

    "it is the job of the brand to treat such characters as assets for brand equity"

    Mr Saka Enjoy your money Jo!

    Well done kenny.......i love this article.

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  33. aka's deal was different from Banky's Its the deal not the Character, what i see in this is the agency try's to balance the Hip with culture, the middle class with the higher class to have a common ground to buy the brand, its a good thing by the agency its not easy.

    "it is the job of the brand to treat such characters as assets for brand equity"

    Mr Saka Enjoy your money Jo!

    Well done kenny.......i love this article.

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  34. This is a sign of good advertising gone bad; now the attention is Saka on MTN or Etisalat while very little attention is on the message/product or service.
    Note,Saka wasn't created by any agency or Etisala. Saka is a brand on its own, had a life and character which people had come to recognise before Etisalat, what Etisalat did was to tap into that.You will observe that Saka didn't act or look different on the ad, its the same Saka we have always know.
    After all said and done, how do these ads translate to better service delivery to the audience/ customers? Its all noise no substance. Let's do a survey and tell us how many mobile phone users consider wheter its a hip and vibrant brand before the buy SIM cards

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  35. Nice One Bro, Anyway, i have a very great idea on how etisalat can counter MTN with with this saka buzz & im sure it will work Magic. Contact me on Ganysaad@gmail.com
    Check my blog
    www.FunnyPikin.com
    Thank You

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  36. Though, I know nada about marketing/advertising but this was a bombshell! Never heard/seen in the history of marketing in Nigeria as far as I'm concerned.

    Nigerians are just too sentimental; business is business. Even if "Saka" was an Etisalat ambassador, once his contract ends, he's as free as a bird to pitch his tent anywhere he deems fit.

    For me, I see the initial green colour representing Etisalat & Glo. Etisalat's loss= MTN's gain even though I highly detest the network.

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  37. This is one of the best brand analysis article I have read in years. You really nailed it all bruv. But from my own perspective, etisalat should have been advice to personalise their characterisation which will give room for them to use the character in various form on any ad development. Therefore, the fault is partly frm the brand agency...
    Nevertherless a kudos to DDB, Mtn and Saka...*but that does not mean that am porting frm my network*

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  38. Well said Kenny, but with the situation of things, value for money drives patronage. We have very many local talents that can create swift changes in perception of the people. It looks like MTN has pulled a fast one by using Saka, but it could still turn around. Its just a case of coining the message in another format and give it to the people using another person. Whoever, adds value to the services of anyone that decides to come their way would sweep the populace.

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  39. Great advert. But I dont see its value beyond entertainment. Will anyone port to MTN because of this advert?I dont think so. Saka has been profiled for raising awareness. Porting is a change issue and there is nothing in the Saka image that should motivate anyone to change. Much more, we all know MTN and their service. so what the heck?

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  40. Well written and thought provoking. Definitely looking at your other write-ups.

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  41. I like your comment and will share it if you don't mind.

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  42. Wonderful write-up! It's so thought provoking for Nigerian advertisers. Imagine going to South Africa to produce jingles with models trying to fake being Nigerians? We have great talents and our locally made jingles and models are the best I have seen. Nigeria's got great talents in advertising, PR and other spheres of lives. We only need to look inward.

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  43. Wonderful article,precise and concise. Once again,you have earned my respect with your undiluted analysis.

    Kudos big boss.

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  44. Etisalat has a lot of work to do.

    I have a free advice for them - Study the character, Akpos, you can come up with something big from this. Secondly, "My Oga at the Top", they can create a character from this.

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  45. Smart one MTN..... My only conern, does this worth the investment. The success story Saka had in Etisalat was not only because of the character called Saka but the efficient service delivery most subscribers enjoy using Etisalat Network. If MTN fails to improve on it service delivery,Baba Shakira will make little or no impact on MTN subscriber base.

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  46. Not to rain on your parade, but Hafiz Ayetoro has been playing "Saka", same character, same name, same mannerisms, on a Royal Roots production called House A-part since 2004. The show won Best Nigerian Comedy in 2005. And Hafiz won Best Actor in a Comedy seires with the same role at AMVCA earlier this year. Hard to see how you 'created' it. Just thought to point that out.

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    Replies
    1. I wrote this as a reply to a few people who raised the same issue, so I thought to just share with you.

      I'd like you to refer to my article where it stated clearly that 'we created the Saka character FOR advertising' And the 1st commercial we did , that brought the character out, did not use the name 'Saka'. You can please go check or ask the archive. We conceptualized a tv idea, and we wrote a character bible , and then we did casting. One of the people that came for casting happened to be your Hafiz [ who is my very good friend anyway] We had a production meeting where we had to check screen shots of other casts before we picked 'Saka'. And may I quickly school you that Advertising is different from SitCom. While the former is purely commercial, the other is art for art sake. Etisalat did not give us a brief to go look for a 'Saka'. What they wanted was a great Tv commercial. We did not also write a commercial with Saka in mind. Lots of brands have used actors for commercials based on the actors' portfolio of works e.g Funke Akindele, Osofia, Mama Gee, Kunle Bantefa etc.... These actors were contacted while the concept was going on. In this case, it's the opposite. What we wrote was a characterization. Saka was one of the casts that came for the casting. And it did fit. The character grew with the talent and the talent grew with the character for advertising purpose. While Hafiz must be praised for using his talent well in the commercial, we cannot credit that to Royal Roots as we did not borrow your script or idea. The cast only offered to use his stage name as we moved on with the series of commercial to reinforce his brand. It was his total discretion.

      Delete
    2. Ijeoma makes a fair point.
      You may have 'conceptualised' the tv idea. But you did not 'create' the iconic Saka for advertising or otherwise.
      Saka was a brand before the first Etisalat advert - perhaps with low brand equity but still a brand.
      But we do get your point.

      Delete
  47. Since Etisalat TA is the youth market, they should understand better that a typical Nigerian youth does not care about the content/info, but the swagger.

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  48. Since Etisalat TA is the youth market, they should understand better that a typical Nigerian youth does not care about the content/info, but the swagger.

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  49. Adetokun Adedayo25 April 2013 at 05:31

    Culture eats strategy....God bless you kenny B

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  50. Very good write, you are really a genius in your field. Have you tot of writing as another source of income? You should. We are also Nigeria's leading travel blog, you might wanna check us out.

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  51. Nice one Kenny! Well articulated, creatively presented as usual. Though, not without some little reservations but just in d usual creative-strategy standpoints.
    Well done bro, kudos!

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  52. I am not sure where you are getting your info, but great topic.
    I needs to spend some time learning much more or understanding more.
    Thanks for fantastic info I was looking for this information for my mission.



    Feel free to visit my blog - website now

    ReplyDelete

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