Analysis
Adetunji Faleye
Love was undoubtedly in the air yesterday (February 14) when people the world over celebrated Valentine’s Day. It is usually a day Nigerians await patiently to express their love for their lovers.
This year’s Valentine’s Day was also spectacular as Nigerians in spite of all sorts of challenges in the country came out in their true selves to renew their love for their lovers.
Interestingly both MTN and Airtel did not allow the opportunity to waste without expressing their love for each other.
It was an awesome experience. A powerful banter and a marketing strategy for that matter that showed that brands can compete without cutthroat strategies. Both MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria have shown that you don’t need to be romantically involved before you show love. It is a matter of showing that you care and respect other competitors.
Powerful wish
After MTN Nigeria @mtnng shared a message on social media wishing Airtel Nigeria a happy valentine’s day, Airtel Nigeria responded with, “We feel it too so @mtnng, what are we doing today?”
A powerful wish received a powerful response. Airtel Nigeria took it to another level by expressing her love to the main chick and side chicks too.
MTN here is referred to as the main chick because the expression of love first came for MTN while other players in the industry are referred to as side chicks, hence the use of plural chicks here.
9mobile came from another angle and responded, ‘Wahala’ for who no get Valentine. One expected that the two other brands with almost the same green colour would also show love to themselves, but was not to be. They didn’t show hatred either!
Remarkably the love expressions from the brands yesterday drove brand love and talkability that aroused the curiosity of their target audience.
Can this be taken as daddy and mummy expressing love when their children watch in admiration? Who knows! MTN and Airtel are presumably daddy and mummy while 9mobile and Glo can be regarded as children.
In all honesty love between two brands is a unique connection that can be built through effective marketing strategies and campaigns. Creating a strong bond between two brands can be essential for their success. It can help boost recognition, reputation, and loyalty between the two brands.
How
One way to express love between two brands is to develop a joint marketing campaign. This can involve creating an eye-catching visual or video campaign, utilizing influencers, and creating a unified message that reflects both the brands’ values.
Another way to express love between two brands is to collaborate on a product or service. This could involve creating a special edition of a product, offering discounts to customers who purchase both brands’ products or developing a joint loyalty programme.
Finally, two brands can express love for each other through social media. This could involve creating content together, tagging each other in posts, and interacting with each other’s followers.
With a bit of creativity and the right marketing strategies, brands can create a powerful connection that can be beneficial to their success.
