Client: MTN

Project: MTN Project Fame West Africa

Synopsis: In August 2008, MTN in its drive at sustaining its strong hold on the Nigerian youth segment market of the Nigerian telecommunications industry, came up with an audience based youth empowerment and entertainment TV Reality show that is to be activated for four months. The programme, MTN Project Fame West Africa is an adaptation of a pan Africa reality television project that was first held in South Africa with viewership across the continent. It was a platform to re-launch the MTN XtraCool brand; and it is in tandem with the brand’s value propositions of content, contest and convergence.
The telecom giant needed a strong PR support to deliver the required impact for the programme, and also communicate an effective understanding of the MTN XtraCool concept as a whole to its audience The agency, having successfully managed such projects in the past, was given the task to manage the project.

Situation Analysis: In the Nigerian telecommunication sector, MTN Nigeria unarguably commands the largest share of the market in the GSM category. One of its flagship products is the Xtracool brand which is deployed for the youth segment market. The brand is built on youth entertainment and empowerment as its core value propositions. Music is one of the properties that the brand possesses and is poised to own all the available musical entertainment platforms that are available in Nigeria.
The telecom market in Nigeria at that time was quite competitively stifling. The three dominant players were exploring every available marketing opportunity to get larger chunk of the market. The brand was not unaware of the efforts of competitors in the market at contesting its leadership especially in the youth segment market but it continues to blaze the trail and raise the bar in its entertainment offerings for its subscribers. The organisation brought the Project Fame to West Africa as part of its market dominance strategies. MTN Project Fame West Africa focuses on empowering young, local talents through global best-of-breed culturing.

The Challenge: Create an effective and measurable platform of communication between the show and its primary target audience.
Create and sustain a high level of awareness for MTN Project Fame West Africa

Our Strategy: Arts/entertainment columns and pages in major publications were used to create a high level of general awareness. While campus based publications and other journals (i.e. Acada, HipHop World, Bubbles, Phat Entertainment, Glitz etc.) relevant to our target audience were used to stimulate interest and enquiries.

Our Tactics: The agency proposed a three pronged event activation medium to generate top of the mind awareness and media content that helped inspire and sustain target audience’s interest.
Pre Event: There was a pre event media stunt launch Event where entertainment journalists and showbiz personalities were invited for a mock stage performance by journalists. It was a singing competition and winners were made to go home with surprise prizes.
Intra Event: There was the opening Gala show where top entertainment personalities and entertainment media were invited to watch the contestants fight their way into the academy
On Air Personality & Studio Interactive: The thrust of this concept was an interactive: presenter hypes, live interviews, radio endorsement, studio (guests), audience interaction and feedback. It is audience engaging, phone-in on the platform of popular presenter, and programme most listened to per station. Contestants on probation were once in a week, taken to the radio and Tv stations to build awareness and plead for votes.
There was also the closing ceremony gala show followed by post event after party.
Post Event: Media content was built round the ultimate winner that was to be syndicated

RESULT

The project was acknowledged in the Guardian Newspaper and other national publications as the most watched entertainment programme on Tv. In 2008.
The turn out at the launch was unprecedented. It enjoyed positive media reviews as the most credible TV reality show sponsored by MTN
The communication strategy employed at the launch made it an interactive event that create content for PR support and credibility
Major influencers that attended left the venue with positive word of mouth
The pre and intra event news reports in the press totaled 221 while it enjoyed a total of 21 post event editorial mentions in top national publications.