Firms invest N500m in Nigerian celebrities for brand reach

Nigerian companies are increasingly leveraging the entertainment industry to cast their goods and services in better light and this has opened up a N500 million market for music artistes, actors and sportsmen. The fledgling ‘Brand Ambassadors’ market, BusinessDay investigations indicate, may grow to over a billion naira at the end of the year, following expected new brand associations with players of the Super Eagles, who recently won the African Cup of Nations in South Africa. A good number of Nigerian brands, especially in the telecommunications and banking sectors, are now associating with creative personages in music and acting, as well as sports, to further their brand reach to targeted audiences. The trend which started a little over five years ago, has gained more relevance as a result of increasing exposure to television and major sporting events in the world. The popularity of the Nollywood industry is also giving fillip to brand ambassadorship. Top celebrities in the Nigerian creative industry have in the last five years found this growing business a new way of making earnings. Acts like P-Square, D Banj, Davido and Whizkid have variously been endorsed by companies as brand ambassadors. A brand ambassador is a celebrity employed by a company to promote its products or services. The brand ambassador is meant to embody the corporate image of the company in appearance, demeanour, values and ethics. At the most basic level, he has the sole responsibility to represent the company in positive light and express the message of the company in a way that consumers can gain further understanding of the company. It is quite different from modelling which has been at the root of advertising. However, a celebrity who promotes the services of a company and is not paid for doing so is referred to as brand advocate.