MALTINA DANCE
HALL PROGRAMME AS A PUBLIC RELATIONS STRATEGY OF NIGERIAN BREWERIES PLC.
A BSC RESEACH PROJECT
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS AND
ADVERTISING
2014
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
For a long time, many organizations have
employed different strategies that would help project, positively, their
brands, products, services and the entire organization and above all, increase
the sale of such products or services. One of these strategies is the
Reality/Talent Hunt Programmes. The advancement in science and communication
technologies, today, has even encouraged the use of Talent Hunt Programmes as a
Marketing Communication Strategy, and as such, organizations are using the
strategy to increase the sales of their products and patronage of services.
This is because many organizations want to build good financial base for
themselves that would help create a platform through which they can improve the
company, increase the production of their products and services or even
diversify into the production of other products or services. Many
organizations, especially the profit-oriented ones, do not joke with their
profit base.
The reason for this is that, they
believe that the capital base or financial status of the organization, to a
large extent, would determine how much of the market they are able to capture
among other competitors. As a result, every organization wants to design or embark
on programmes that would increase the sales of their products and services,
especially when there are other strong competitors in the market.
Nigerian Breweries Plc (NB), six years
ago, celebrated its 60 years of operation in Nigeria, and its ability to have
withstood the thick and thin of competitive market lends credence to the fact
that the organization has a strong sales base. In spite of the achievements,
they don’t want to leave any stone unturned; they rather want to capture the
malt market and ensure total dominance. A popular maxim says “getting to the
top is difficult, but staying at the top is much more difficult. In other
words, nobody wants to get to the top and then, drops down. It is, therefore,
understandable why Nigerian Breweries will want to do everything to stay at the
top. The bid to achieve this feat, hence, gave birth to the programme — Maltina
Dance Hall.
The Maltina Dance Hall Programme is a
Reality Programme targeted at Nigerian families as stated on Nigerian
Breweries’ official website (www.maltina-nigeria.com). It is a Talent Hunt
programme, whose basic objective is to discover and promote talented Nigerian
families from years and above in the various music idioms.
With such a programme, the tendency for
the public to believe that Nigerian Breweries is concerned about the success
and future of Nigerian family is much higher. If a company solely picks up some
talented families with low financial status, and showcases them to the world,
many, to some extent, will readily believe that such an organization is good.
In the same view, a family, who has no visible hope of living a life of luxury
and comfort ability, but suddenly shot up to fame, honoured and celebrated with
face gracing the pages of newspapers, magazines, television, internet, cable
satellite and so on, will not only be loyal to the organization, but also do
the bidding of that organization. Such a family will begin to see the organization
as a divine channel of success. This would, definitely, have positive impact on
the sales of Maltina because ‘to whom much is given, much is expected.
That Maltina is striving for the top is
no news, and this is visible by the strife competition in the malt market. In
spite of this, the truth remains that Nigerian Breweries needs to sell the Star
brand, at least, if they must continue to dominate the malt market. Also, many
of the not-so- young generation knows and watch the programme — how the
contestants send electronic applications, how they are auditioned and
celebrated after wimiing. Although, their knowledge of the product (Maltina)
may not mean that they consume it, but that does not mean they are blind to see
or hear the encomiurns showered on winners. It, would, therefore, not be
surprising if they begin to buy the product so that they will also be
celebrated in such manner. In a way, it could be seen that through the Talent
Hunt Programme, Nigerian Breweries is already carving a future market for
itself because of the younger generation, who will, one day, want to be like
the families Nigerian Breweries are celebrating.
An investigation into the malt industry
shows that the consumption of malt has come a long way in Nigeria, and that the
main producers want to take control of the malt market. The product — Maltina,
had experienced and is still experiencing its own peculiar challenges,
especially in the areas of stiff competition. It is in rising to this challenge
that Nigerian Breweries like other similar organisations adopted the use of
Maltina Dance Hall, a Talent Hunt Programme in marketing both the industry and
the malt beverage. More so, the cost of initial organisational advertising is
increasing and there is a re-thinking in the whole reliance of adverts in
marketing.
Also, it is important to note that a
global shift from hardcore marketing and advertising is becoming more
prominent, while other key promotional tools like Talent Hunt Programme are
being employed. As a result, some companies have started using this marketing
communication strategy as a fast and reliable way of increasing the sales of
their products and services.
The company of study, Nigerian Breweries
was incorporated on the 16th November, 1946 under the Company and Allied
Matters. It is a public quoted company and a subsidiary of Heineken N.V, which
has 45.10 per cent interest in the equity of the company. In 2006, when the
company celebrated its 60 years of operation in Nigeria, it recorded an
unprecedented achievement, hitting 6.1 million hectoliters (hi) in production.
In terms of carton units, this would mean about 85 million cartons of Maltina
or better still, about three billion glasses of productions (Nibrewnews Issue
No.1, 2007).
Nwachukwu
(2006) posits that:
Nigerian Breweries and Guinness Nigeria, two key
players in Nigeria’s malt industry are now making the most of the opportunities
in the industry by engaging each other in a fierce competition with product
development.
This may readily explain why Nigerian
Breweries employed the Maltina Dance Hall Programme — to survive the
competition and continue to dominate the malt market.
Recently, there has been a remarkable
increase in the number of Reality TV Programmes, which organizations use to
make consumers and the general public accept and buy their products or services
in Nigeria. Many of these Reality TV Shows have become so popular in the
society and among the general public, who are prone to purchasing products or
services that identifies with their individuality and personal success. Some of
these popular Reality TV Programmes in Nigeria, today, include Shine Shine Bobo
for Star Lager Beer, Street Dance for Malta Guinness, Maltina Dance Hall for
Maltina, Star Quest for Star Lager Beer, Gulder Ultimate Search for Gulder
Beer, Next Movie Star for Amstel Malta, and Project Fame for MTN among others.
As stated earlier, Maltina Dance Hall
Programme like other Reality TV Programmes, is used as a Marketing
Communication strategy However, this study will examine and appraise the Talent
Hunt Programme as a Public Relations strategy of Nigerian Breweries. The philosophy
of the programme, according to Nigerian Breweries, is to discover and promote
talented Nigerian dancers and, and not to sell Maltina. Using, therefore, the
programme as a marketing programme could mean a derail from the primary purpose
of the Talent Hunt Programme and a clever attempt to manipulate the general
public to buy the product.
This study, therefore, seeks to convey
an understanding that the Programme, if employed as a Public Relations
strategy, could help promote both the Maltina brand and the corporate image of
Nigerian Breweries, while at the same time reduce the belief of manipulation.
It will also explore the significance of the Reality Programme in terms of sale
and acceptability. Also, the study will further investigate the perception of
the public towards the Programme.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Reality Talent Hunt Programmes could
have advantages when used as Marketing Communication strategies; but, one major
issue that arises with the use of Maltina Dance Hall Programme as a Marketing
Communication strategy is that some members of the society feel displaced in
participating in the programme because of their cultures and traditions that
may not be in line with the types of songs or dances the judges require.
Nigeria, undoubtedly, is a large heterogeneous audience with diverse cultures,
traditions, values and norms. But the rule of the game shows that Nigerian
Breweries do not usually pay attention to these differences, as any family that
is not able to dance or perform the song that is given is out rightly
disqualified.
And it is believed that an organization
that is less concerned with the ways of life of its customers lacks the sense
of social responsibility. This study, therefore, appraises Maltina Dance Hall
as a PR Strategy of Nigerian Breweries.
1.3 Purpose of Study
The
study, therefore, has the following as its objectives.
- To find out
the motives behind employing Maltina Dance Hall Programme as a Marketing
Communications strategy for improving the sales of Maltina and image of
Nigerian Breweries.
- To
investigate the reasons why Nigerian Breweries should use the programme as
a Public Relations strategy rather than Marketing Communications to
promote its products.
- To find out
the impact of the Reality/Talent Hunt programme on consumer preference for
Maltina.
- To
determine the perception of the audience about the Maltina Dance Hall
programme.
1.4 Research Questions
- What are
the motives behind the use of Maltina Dance Hall programme of the Nigerian
Breweries?
- To what
extent does the programme influence buyers of Maltina?
- To what
extent does Maltina Dance Hall programme build a good image for Nigerian
Breweries and create mutual understanding between the organization and its
customers?
- How does
the Maltina Dance Hall audience in Bariga Area of Lagos State perceive the
Reality TV Programme?
1.5 Significance of the Study
The findings of this study will be
beneficial to the following categories:
(a) Public
Relations Practitioners
PR Managers, especially those charged
with the responsibility of managing the organization’s corporate and product
image will find the result of the study very useful. It will assist
practitioners to have better understanding of Public Relations strategies or
programmes they can package, and will not offend people’s religious, values and
cultural beliefs. It will also serve to frame the way the public externally
perceive an organization and how PR could be used to achieve organizational
goals.
(b) Nigerian
Breweries
Since the study intends to x-ray the
Nigerian Breweries, staff of the organization as well as the management of the
organization will benefit from the study’s findings if they consider the
findings useful.
(c) Mass
Communication Lecturers
It will also provide a framework for
lecturing their students on the advantages of employing Reality TV Programmes
as Public Relation Strategy. This will help the students develop a creative
mind with which they would use to appeal to customers.
(d) Students
It will provide students the opportunity
of keeping themselves abreast of new developments in the Public Relations,
Advertising and Broadcasting industries. They will be able to know the
difference between Marketing and Public Relations and use the information from
the study for their research.
(e) Researchers
This will also serve as basis for
further research in the area. Findings from this study will contribute to
available knowledge in the fields of marketing, management and other related
disciplines.
1.6 Scope of the Study
It focuses on the role of Maltina Dance
Hall Reality Television Programme as well as its advantages as a Public
Relations Strategy rather than a Marketing Communication Strategy.
1.7 Definition of Terms
- Maltina Dance Hall: This is a
reality television programme solely sponsored by the Nigerian Breweries
with the aim of discovering and promoting talented Nigerian families and
dancers. It is a musical talent hunt show, where 10 families are ushered
into the fame land to compete with one another.
- Public Relations: For the
purpose of this study, I wish to adopt the Mexican definition that says
Public Relations is the art and social science of analyzing trends,
predicting their consequences, counseling organization’s leadership and
implementing planned programmes of actions, which will serve both the
organization and public interest..
- Strategy: It is the
basic scientific communication techniques adopted by Public Relations in
establishing and sustaining goodwill, reputation and understanding between
an organization and its publics. It is a communication tool employed to
create image for the organization.
- Public Relation Strategy: It is a
planned effort of employing a particular communication tool to boost
image, improve reputation and endure credibility of an organization.
- Marketing Communications: It is the
employment of all the promotional element of the marketing mix to promote
a product. This involves the communication between an organization and its
target audience, and all matters that affect marketing performance.
- Nigerian Breweries: It is one
of the leading brewery companies in Nigeria incorporated on 16th November,
1946.
- Maltina: It is a
brand of malt produced by Nigerian Breweries.
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