Globacom, Etisalat Splash Millions on Music Shows

By Victoria Ige

In case you haven’t heard, Globacom have signed a three year exclusive sponsorship deal with MNET for the music reality show Naija Sings. And just in case you haven’t heard too – Etisalat will, in a matter of days, announce its sponsorship of the first-ever Nigerian Idol. In addition, MTN has been bankrolling Project Fame for three years running, just as Zain (soon to rebrand as Airtel) is entering its third year as exclusive sponsors for MTV’s Africa Music Awards.

As the telecoms companies embrace different marketing strategies to retain existing subscribers and win new ones, brand managers are using music and entertainment to penetrate the youth market. And, apart from endorsement deals (which the Mike Adenuga-owned Globacom is mostly noted for), Awards sponsorships (HHWA (MTN) and MAMAs (Airtel), and campus storms, the companies can now all lay stake to at least one music reality show each.

A year after Zain sponsored the West Africa Idols, MTN picked up the bills for the Ultima-produced Project Fame West Africa Academy (PFWA). PFWA is now in its third season, with past winners Iyanya and Mike already becoming bonafide music stars.

‘Project Fame is one of the many ways we demonstrate our commitment to enriching lives and empowering young talents’ GM Consumer Marketing at MTN Kola Oyeyemi says in a recent statement.

Now, it would seem, MTN is not alone in that quest. On Wednesday September 1, Globacom announced it has taken up title sponsorship of the MNET-produced Naija Sings. The three-year initial deal will see the show rebrand as ‘Glo Naija Sings’ while the prize will be upped to $100,000 and a brand new SUV. Director of Special Promotions at Glo, Bode Opeseitan signed the contract papers on behalf of Glo while Biola Alabi, MNET Managing Director signed for MNET.

Meanwhile, as MNET was hopping into bed with Globacom, the right owners for Nigerian Idol were putting finishing touches to a sponsorship agreement with Etisalat. No one is willing to confirm this yet, but we have been assured by those privy to the negotiations, that Etisalat will announce its sponsorship of Nigerian Idol latest by mid-September.

What’s at stake here? Hundreds of millions; in exchange for all the benefits you can imagine – product placements, SMS revenue, title ownership, media leveraging, talent endorsements, consumer engagement, brand association, and what have you.

But the most important thing, is that lives, many lives, will be changed. It’s over a decade now that Psquare came tops at the Benson & Hedges Grab The Mic, over a decade since Sound Sultan won the same talent hunt. It’s nearing 10 years since KC Presh won the first-ever Star Quest… What do they all have in common? They were all wannabes, unsure of a path to achieving their dreams, before entering for and winning their different competitions. Peter and Paul Okoye are now bonafide members of the millionaires’ club and one of Nigeria’s biggest musical exports but it’s not only the winners that are making it big, Asa and Omawumi are two of the most promising talents from Nigeria today who were unsuccessful talent show entrants . While Asa did not go beyond the preliminaries of Star Quest in 2002, Omawumi lost the Idols top prize to Timi Dakolo in 2007.

Related posts:

1. Editorial: Another Season of Reality Shows
2. Talent Hunt Shows: Only A Beginning [Part 1]
3. Exclusive – Psquare in N240m Deal With Globacom
4. Banky W And Dineo To Host The Channel O Music Video Awards 2011
5. MTN ‘Working On’ 10th Anniversary Music Album

Tags: Airtel, asa, etisalat, globacom, HHWA, Hiphopworld Awards, Idols west africa, kc presh, mnet, mtn, mtv, naija sings, Nigerian Idol, omawumi, PFWA, project fame west africa, psquare, sound sultan, Timi Dakolo, Ultima, Ultima Studiols, Zain