MARKETING COMMUNICATION DIGEST

Nokia 3310 2017 The Nokia 3310 has long been considered one of the world's greatest phones, and much to the delight of old school mobile users, the device made a comeback at the Mobile World Congress, MWC, in Barcelona this week. Expected to carry a $52 price tag when it hits stores later this year, the new and improved handset now sports a colour screen, rather than the monochrome display of old. Saying that, it still looks to please those that prefer the simple life - reminiscent of a time without the likes of disappearing selfie videos, emojis and augmented reality filters. Here are your first impressions of the new version: Design The funny thing about the 2017 version of the Nokia 3310 is that you find yourself liking the things that you'd usually hate in more modern smartphone offerings. I mean, it wouldn't feel like the 3310 if it wasn't made of a nice and cheap-feeling plastic, so I was oddly pleased with how ...

The folks over at BalogunMarket.ng are building an app that’ll make it easier for users to buy goods from merchants via chat. They call it BuyChat ; the private and public beta testing had already started since 2016. BuyChat was inspired by BalogunMarket.ng, a startup founded by Olayinka Oluwakuse III, after an epiphany at a restaurant. According to Yinka, “Nigerians will go online for what they know and are used to with just Word-of-Mouth advertising, or "Conversational Marketing" , if you like. BalogunMarket.ng is an online marketplace that was launched so users could buy goods from Balogun Market (that’s actually a market in Lagos, Nigeria) without having to go through the stress of visiting the market. Few months down the line, and Yinka and his team figured out a way to connect buyers and sellers on Whatsapp. Haggling is a major feature of commerce in Nigeria, and this new feature brought the entire experience online; hence the term, “conversational commerce...

We all want to find a dream job that’s enjoyable and meaningful, but what does that actually mean? Some people imagine that the answer involves discovering their passion through a flash of insight, while others think that the key elements of their dream job are that it be easy and highly paid. After a review of two decades of research into the causes of a satisfying life and career, and drawing on over 60 studies, not much evidence has been found for these views. Instead, six key ingredients of a dream job were discovered; and they don’t include income, neither are they as simple as “following your passion”. In fact, following your passion can lead you astray. Steve Jobs was passionate about Zen Buddhism before entering technology. Condoleezza Rice was a talented classical musician before she started studying politics. Rather, you can develop passion while doing work that you will find enjoyable and meaningful. The key is to get good at something that helps other peo...

Ad agencies often fire their best employees Not long ago, a Director of Human Resources sent me a person she called a star. I asked why she would be sending me such a high quality employee. Her response was startling - this person’s account was leaving the agency and she was so good that she wanted to help her find new work quickly. The person she sent me was an account supervisor; she was at a large agency where there were actually many, many people at her level. Surely she was better than others with her same level and title. When I asked why a star would not be placed on another account, I was told that that kind of move required too much effort. About two weeks ago the same thing happened with a much more senior person. He had been with his agency, one of the top ten, for about twelve years. He was promoted about every two years and was responsible for running several major accounts and had been rotated to run a new business pitch; the assumption w...

Uber is now not so new a word in the lexicon of Nigerian middle-class commuters. They relish it, they fancy it, they rely on it, and they recommend it. Uber has made commuting more reasonable, and a lot fair, more through its billing system, relative comfort, reliability and punctuality ; and especially for the convenience and ease of calling cabs unlike what we are used to. Just so I don’t feel too comfortable assuming everyone has experienced it, Uber is the “worldwide online transportation network company that operates the Uber app, allowing consumers with smartphones to submit a trip request which the software program then automatically sends to the Uber driver nearest to that consumer, alerting the driver to the location of the customer. The Uber app then automatically calculates the fare and transfers the payment to the driver .” T he service is now available in over 66 countries and 545 cities worldwide, including Lagos, Nigeria, where it might have started bein...

Lately, the media, old and new, have been awash with the talk of Big Brother Nigeria, BBN. Views from viewers have been divergent, all the while, from the old and the young. And sometime, when you remember that those who just turned 18, the qualifying age to watch BBN, were only just enrolling in Primary School by the last BBN staged in the second quarter of 2006, then you can be more understanding with some opinions. The raging question is why Big Brother NIGERIA is being staged outside Nigeria? When you tag something Nigeria, how could you take it out of Nigeria? What effrontery! That’s quite rational, right? Logically, we believe we’re taking this too on, just as we’re always quick to take on other contending issues. Much so, even the Information Minister had to call for an “investigation” into the matter, after his office was inundated with queries from his compatriots. For me, there’s only one position, only one explanation, and only one rationalisation: Big B...

The duo of Kola Ayanwale, Executive Vice Chairman, Centrespread Advertising, and Jimi Awosika, Managing Director, Troyka Holdings are reportedly in the final run-in for the vacant position of Council Chairman of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON). Information gathered by this medium sated that the Information Ministry has already sent in the names of Ayanwale and Awosika to the President for final selection. Kola Ayanwale The announcement of APCON Chairman, which, we learnt, will be made any time soon, will end the leadership vacuum created by the absence of a Council Chairman for the advertising regulator for over a year now. Jimi Awosika Mr Udeme Ufot, Managing Director of SO&U had been appointed to Chair the Council by the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration shortly before the elections and handing over of 2015, but he was removed from office when the then new government of Muhammadu Buhari dissolved the boards of agencies...

Here is the concluding part of the article "Is PR preferable to Advertising when launching a product?" 4. Product Modification Feedback is an important element in a PR launch. By launching the PR program ahead of the actual product introduction, there is enough time to modify the product or its price before it goes on sale. Supermarkets and other distribution outlets like to participate in the brand-building process. They will often make many good suggestions you can use to modify the product, the packaging, the pricing and even the PR. Advertising is different . Once a big-bang advertising programme is launched, a company is committed. There is little feedback and no time to change the product or service before it's introduced to consumers. 5.  Message Modification Feedback from a PR programme also allows a company to modify the brand's message for greater consumer appeal. The media looks at your PR messages from the consumer's point of vi...