What does your job entails as brand manager?
I lead the development and implementation of through-the-line winning marketing strategies for Premium non-alcoholic brands -Malta Guinness Trademark, Dubic Malt and Orijin Zero. I work in conjunction with the Diageo Global Brand Team to develop and launch brand campaigns leveraging on relevant local and global consumer insights and outputs from consumer trends and research. Inorder to drive physical availability for the brands, I collaborate with the Trade Marketing team in developing relevant trade strategies to reflect opportunities behind channel, shopper and consumer needs/insights.
Innovation is at the heart of what we do at Guinness Nigeria Plc, hence I manage the New product Development process for innovation brands in the Category- Latest project was the launch of the new Malta Guinness Variant- Malta Guinness Herbs Lite.
To bring all these to life, I Co-ordinate and manage all agencies (digital, creative, media, experiential, PR) to deliver on brands’ strategies for digital marketing campaigns, creative development, media communications, event planning, consumer experientials, sponsorships and public communication for each of the brands in the Category.
In addition, I manage the end to end monitoring and measurement of category performance through brands’ health indicators and key consumer KPIs (market share, salience, trial, distinctivity scores, etc.); providing solutions to shortfalls to ensure delivery of overall budgeted profitability for all brands in the category.
What were you doing before joining this organisation?
Just before joining Guinness Nigeria Plc, I was working withVisafone Communications as a Customer Care Consultant managing one of the retail Customer Care Outlets. Prior to that, I had worked with Guaranty Trust Bank as a Commercial Banking Executive managing corporate accounts sign on and driving exceptional customer relationship management and profiling key customers for specialized services. Delivered on all monthly balance targets with over five hundred (500) clients recruited as Customers of the Bank; some of the high clienteles introduced include SLOT Ltd.
Why are you so attracted to branding and marketing?
I would say I discovered the world of branding and marketing very early in life, I was drawn to adverts and brand packaging as a child, I remember how I used to compete with my siblings on reciting TVCs and radio jingles being played back then. However, my first formal introduction to the world of marketing was at Zus Bureau, where I had worked as an intern Trainee Coordinator at the age of 18 during my undergraduate first year summer holiday; The CEO of Zus Bureau- Chris Doghudje *also former APCON Chairman) schooled me on the tenets of brand management and marketing and I was privileged to access the trainings and materials most company brand managers and CEOs paid to attend as a trainee coordinator. It was at Zus Bureau I discovered my flair for marketing and I have nurtured this passion ever since then. So to improve on what I had learnt, I made a decision to find a placement in different companies during the summer holidays through my four (4) years course in Botany at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Hence I worked at Daily Independent Newspapers as a Marketing Executive for 3months during my 2nd year holiday and thenEquinox International Resources, Ikoyi as a Marketing Executive/Sales Analyst after my final year exams and all these experiences has helped to shape me as an exceptional marketing professional as at when I was ready to hit the job market.
What did you do to improve on the brand?
Malta Guinness being a premium malt drink has been the nations’ favourite malt drinkwith strong brand equity. To further improve the brand, I would say we have dialed up the emotional benefits of the brand by leveraging opportunities to showcase Malta Guinness as an enabler to fuel the can do spirit of Nigerians by walking the talk in our communication and brand activations. For example, we recently launched the Malta Guinness “Go Get It” National Consumer promotion to reward over 800,000 Consumers with N100,000,000. This is a platform we are providing for our Consumers to fuel their greatness- we know Nigerians are go getters, we have the can do spirit, so Malta Guinness is giving them the energy and the opportunity to achieve their dreams by giving out weekly cash prizes of N100,000 and N1,000,000 to lucky winners for thirteen weeks and also instant airtime and N5,000 cash prizes daily. In the past 5 weeks, Winners have emerged from different parts of the country and the cash prizes have helped many consumers actualize their dreams. Many of our winners are small scale business men & women; Farmers, Fashion Designers, etc, their winnings have provided opportunity for them to aim higher, expand their businesses and make it more profitable- This is what Malta Guinness exists to achieve- giving our consumers the opportunity to turn the Malta Goodness into Greatness!
Tell us more about the Malta Guinness Go Get It Promotion?
At Malta Guinness, we believe dreams don’t just run on drive, they require energy to sustain and make real, hence Malta Guinness will be providing Nigerians with the energy needed to make their dreams come true, turning the Malta Goodness into Greatness. We want to give consumers the chance to fulfil their dreams in the new Malta Guinness “Go Get It” Consumer promotion.This initiative is embedded in the brand purpose of Malta Guinness which exists to fuel the can- do spirit of every day Nigerians who relish their daily challenges with optimism; while focusing on their big dreams.
As an innovative brand, Malta Guinness is the first brand to launch an “Under the Can ring-pull” Consumer Promotion along with an “Under the crown” promo. This is to say we are the first to run a National Consumer Promotion on Cans and Bottles- making this promo accessible to all our Consumers, whether you like to enjoy your favourite Malta Guinness “on the go” in a can or you like to relax with a bottle of Malta Guinness, we have got you! The mechanics of the promotion is really simple, to participate in the Promo, simply look out for special promotional cans and bottles of your favourite Malta Guinness Variants (Malta Guinness Classic and Malta Guinness Herbs Lite), SMS the code under the crown or can ring pull with your name to 32011 for a chance to win a share of N100,000,000; for example: SMS 4ATY3UPW JENNIFER to 32011.(Just in case you are wondering how to find the can ring pull, it is the ring at the top of the can where you pull to open the can).
Every week, one lucky Winner will win One Million Naira and 3 lucky Winners will win One Hundred Thousand naira each. Furthermore, Consumers will win Five Thousand Naira cash prizes plus airtime worth millions of naira daily.Malta Guinness has partnered with Interswitch Group to deliver seamless cardless withdrawals using a Paycode and Pin on ATMs nationwide for the N5,000 daily cash prizes. So far, we are very happy to have held six weekly draws and are already fueling the dreams of our consumers. The winnings are a testament of our commitment and loyalty to our consumers and very importantly, it shows that the promo is genuine and winners will continue to emerge each day in the course of the promotion.
So far, Six (6) Millionaires have emerged, Eighteen people have won N100,000, over 400 people have won Five Thousand Nairacash (N5,000) and over Two Hundred Thousand Airtime Winners in the Malta Guinness “Go Get It” Promotion. This promo will last till the 6th of November, 2017, so hurry now and grab your share of the N100,000,000.
What did you find challenging about this job and how did you manage to surmount it?
Having to work in a dynamic organization with tiers of Internal and External stakeholders and getting everyone aligned to the business objective for the brand is very challenging- from the brief to the creative agency, to the media planning, PR, Digital engagement and the bringing to life the platform idea in our BTL activations; ensuring all are in sync and delivering on spelt out KPIs is challenging. I have had to bring in my project management and exceptional stakeholder management skills in leading these teams to deliver on called out objectives and consistently delivering great performance for the brand.
Tell me the bad, the good and the ugly side of your job
The best part of my job is the fact that I love what I do, I am simply following my passion hence work is as good as engaging in my hobby only that I get paid for it. I won’t really say I have an ugly side because my job is fun yet very tasking. I would say having to put in a lot of work into developing marketing strategies, planning and execution of campaigns and the desired spike in results does not appear immediately- sometimes it can be depressing but the consolation comes in the fact that some of the work we do as brand managers reap its benefits in the long term as brand building is not a day’s job, it’s a continuous evolving task especially in this dynamic new age where everything is changing so fast.
As a woman, what does it take to excel in paid employment?
You have to work twice as hard, be hungry for success, stay focused and grow yourself. Nobody will cut you a slack just because you are a woman- instead you must show them what you are made of and leave no room for mediocrity. Women are no doubt God’s special inventions- he carefully crafted us to handle more and that is why you see a woman being able to multitask- take charge of the home front, her marriage and her career and still stand tall. As a woman, I tap into my daily source of strength which is the Word of God to inspire and guide my steps; I then find motivation in the outcome of my work- hence I work diligently to achieve set targets and objectives. Constant improvement- either through formal trainings, education or skill acquisition goes a long way to open doors of opportunity, hence keep growing and keep improving yourself.
Unlike before, women are economically buoyant than men and more successful in terms of career, in your own opinion, what could have been responsible for this?
I cannot say categorically that the women are more buoyant than men nor more successful, however, there has been a significant shift from the days of our fathers where very few women had access to education and this can be attributed to increased awareness in the importance of child education and especially the sensitization around the girl child education. Parents are becoming more aware than before the need to give both genders an equal right to education, hence we see more women advancing into being career women. It has become quite evident that more and more women are advancing in the career world with great accomplishments all around the world- this definitely serves as a source of motivation to women to take on aspirational goals to become successful.
Tell us about your career in Guinness Nigeria?
Having resolved to build my career in marketing, I applied as a Graduate Management Trainee in Sales in Guinness Nigeria Plc in 2010 where I started as a Retail Development Manager for 18months where I made significant accomplishments and initiated the Malta Goes to Church/Mosque &Bazzaar Schemes which drove significant growth for the brand. Then I moved to Customer Marketing as a Commercial Planning and Activation manager where I managed the National In-bar Promotions and major BTL activations for the Guinness Portfolio brands for 2years. Then I got promoted to Portfolio Strategy Manager responsible for Developing and deploying winning Loyalty Programs for both Retail and Wholesale Channels (Guinness Collabo and Aspire to Profit respectively) to foster GNPlc’s competitive advantage in Market. It was a very successful rollout and has become an integral loyalty program and growth driver for GNPlc. On completion of the Guinness Collabo and Aspire to Profit Scheme Projects, I moved to another role- Channel Development Manager- Retail and Off-trade, where I must say that Guinness Nigeria Plc has given me the opportunity to grow through regular trainings and on the job experiences. I have been privileged to lead innovative projects, take on managerial responsibilities and grow through the ranks. The culture here is very inclusive and the value system is one that is unmatched in the FMCG industry. I have a proven track record of consistently delivering great performance having received several company awards and recognition to attest to the deep sense of professionalism and responsibility I bring to my work- some of which include:Nominee- Make a Difference Award- April, 2017, Marketing Award Winner –“Obsessed with Winning Category”- March, 2015, Guinness Nigeria- Dubic Star of the Quarter Award- June, 2012,Make a Difference Award- April, 2012, Super SalesMan Award- December, 2011, Nigeria- Hero of the Month Award- April, 2011.
Would you have preferred to do something different if you had the opportunity?
Chuckles… I don’t think so. Whatever I do will still be embedded in brand marketing. It’s the drive that gets me up in the morning and keeps me going. I will eventually retire to my own business which will ultimately require bringing together all these experiences and harnessing them to build a credible and profitable business.
Men are believed to be aggressive in your line of business, do you sometimes feel intimidated and why?
Intimidation can only arise when you are not good at what you do, for someone like me who is grounded in the crux of what I do, intimidation has no place in my vocabulary. When people get to experience what you have in the quality of your work output, there will be no need for any form of aggression, rather, what you get is respect and acknowledgement and sometimes- humility, as some will eventually approach you for guidance or to seek your opinion on ideas.
Why is it that most organisations prefer women as brand managers?
I do not think it is a gender race, although I do not think that might be true of most companies. However, it is no doubt that women are increasingly taking on more managerial positions and exceling at them. I believe women are becoming more involved and competing favorably in the job market- it is a case of “let the best candidate get the job”- and where a lady excels at the interview, it only makes good business case to give her the job because she is best fit for the role and not because she is a lady.
Tell me about your growing up?
I grew up with my 5 siblings and Parents in Lagos. I come from a Catholic background and attended St. Dominic’s Catholic Church in Yaba. I attended Junior Strides Academy Nursery and primary School in Lagos Mainland, and then proceeded to Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School, Yaba. I wrote Jamb twice- first one was because I wanted to be a Computer Engineer and the Second was to study Medicine in UNN, I scored 260 but did not hit the cut off mark for medicine for Anambra Catchment area, so I then resorted to choosing between Zoology and Botany of which I chose Botany. Luckily, the four years course took four years with no strike interruption and I graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Botany – Second Class Upper Division and proceeded to NYSC in Lagos 2009 Batch A where I led the camp female volley ball team to resounding victory to clutch the gold medal and Cup. All through my NYSC year, I was part of the volleyball team and represented Lagos State at the regional and National Volleyball competitions where we finished off as Silver medalists at the Abuja DG’s Cup Finals.Education they say is continuous, I have had to take on courses to constantly improve myself, some of which are the Chattered Institute of Marketing, UK Professional Certificate in Marketing, Modified Executive Professional Examination Certificate (MEPE)from the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria – APCON and being a lover of languages, having participated actively as a French Club member in school, I have had to enroll at Alliance Francaise to improve my French- In addition to French, I currently speak Igbo, Yoruba and English fluently.
What is your undergraduate experience you will never forget?
I belonged to a conventional Christian dance group comprised of close friends who shared like minds with respect to ministering to fellow students through dance. Dance was a cool thing and a major touchpoint for youths at the time and we used the medium to minister during school shows and different church and fellowship activities. It was really uplifting and good use of my time plus we had to keep fit to perform the different stunts required- I was the only lady in the group and it was very fulfilling- cannot forget the experience.
When your faith comes in conflict with your profession, what do you do?
I resort to “no compromise” with my faith. My self-integrity is most important to me and this has been inculcated in me since I was a child. I have had instances where I either turned down a job or walked away and I have never regretted my actions as it always pays off on the long run. It is important to stand for what you believe is right and like the bible says- “The Truth shall set you free”. Compromising will put you in perpetual bondage, so why trade your freedom and integrity for a cheap gain that does not last?
How do you balance your worklife with family?
I once asked a senior colleague how she achieves this and her answer was there is no balance, you only learn the art of prioritization. I have come to understand the glass ball principle and how one must cherish and value family above all other aspects of life. I work hard and play hard with my family. I have had to prioritize at different points to manage workload and family requirements and I must say that the only way I have been able to crack this is with the help of a very strong support system comprising of my ever supportive Husband and family and I have been able to manage both fronts pretty well.
How do you unwind?
I play volleyball to unwind with friends and colleagues whenever I can, I also spend time with family and friends.
You still play volleyball?
Yes, I still do; it is my safe haven when I need to cool off. I also recently participated in the female volleyball championship organized by Guinness Nigeria Plc in May, 2017. It is a yearly employee engagement scheme where Staff of Guinness Nigeria Plc come together to participate in different games ranging from Chess, Table Tennis, Volley ball, Football, etc and this all leads up to a final competition tagged “Guinness Cup”. My team of Volley ball players have bagged this Cup consecutively for the past 2 yearsemerging as the Most Valuable Player in the volley ball category. I also won the gold medal for Female Table Tennis championship during the last Guinness Cup 2017.
How do you remain young and youthful in spite of the stress of the job?
First, I am eternally grateful to God for the gift of life, I do not have the answers to how I have remained young and vibrant- it has been God all the way. On my part, I have tried to keep a healthy lifestyle and I engage in sports as often as I can- Table Tennis, Volleyball and Swimming. And of course I keep my Malta Guinness close- it definitely helps to fuel my energy and vitality giving me the kick to relish my daily challenges with optimism.
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