Nigerian Celebrities With Mega Endorsement Deal

Nigerian companies are increasingly leveraging the entertainment industry to cast their goods and services in better light and this has opened up a N500 million market for music artistes, actors and sportsmen.

The fledgling brand ambassadors market, business day investigations indicate, may grow to over a billion naira at the end of the year, following expected new brand associations with players of the  Super Eagles, who won the African Cup of Nations in South Africa.

 A good number of Nigerian brands, especially in the telecommunications and banking sectors are now associating with creative  personages in music and acting, as well as sports to further their brand to targeted audiences. The trend which started a little over five years ago, has gained more relevance as a result of increasing exposure to television and major sporting events in the world. The popularity of the Nollywood industry is also giving fillip to brand ambassadorship.

Top celebrities in the Nigerian creative industry have in the last five years found this growing business a new way of making earnings. Acts like P-Square, D’Banj, Davido and Wizkid have variously been endorsed by companies as brand ambassadors.

A brand ambassador is a celebrity employed by a company to promote its products or services. The brand ambassador is meant to embody the corporate image of the company in appearance, demeanor and ethics. At the most basic level, he has the sole responsibility to represent the company in positive light and express the message of the company in a way that consumers can gain further understanding of the company. It is quite different from modeling which has been at the root of advertising. However; a celebrity who promotes the services of a company and is not paid for doing so is referred to as brand advocate.

It all began when companies like the telecommunication giant, Globacom started appointing well-known names in the music industry and Nollywood as its brand ambassadors. In this write-up Dorin Ugonna, she highlighted some of the top musicians who are presently enjoying the fruit of their labour through ambassadorship.

Enjoy…

Wizkid and Tiwa Savage (Pepsi&MTN)

Wizkid and Tiwa Savage are two major acts that have been on top of their game for several years with so many hit songs to show for it. So, when the duo were confirmed as the new Pepsi ambassadors, it was definitely not surprising as they both represent a positive brand. It will also interest you to know that Wizkid and Tiwa were whisked off to an exotic location to film the TV commercials and print ads for the campaign. The “Blue, Bold & Beautiful” Pepsi ambassadors were unveiled at an exclusive event which took place at Likwid in Lagos. We scooped the contract involved a huge amount of money which is helping them in shaping their musical career. As if that was not enough for the duo, few weeks ago, Tiwa Savage and Wizkid also penned a new deal, reportedly worth close to N25m with MTN.

Don Jazzy And D’prince (Loya & MTN)

Loya milk, from the stable of Promasidor Nigeria limited officially unveiled Don Jazzy as its new brand ambassador at a breathtaking event which took place in Lagos. Don Jazzy, who was palpably excited about the appointment eulogized Loya milk for the honour and pledged to play his new role creditably. At the moment, Don Jazzy also doubles as MTN ambassador. The telecoms giant has now added the Pop producer, Don Jazzy and younger brother, D’Prince to the list of brand ambassadors for the company.

Saka Port From Etisalat To MTN

Hafeez Oyetoro a.k.a Saka’s deal can be tagged as the most controversial among all the deals that has been taking place in the Nigerian Entertainment industry as the talented comic actor ported from one  telecommunication to another which some of his loyal fans were not too comfortable with. Truly, he shocked most of the subscribers of Etisalat when he dumped the company and pitched his tent with rival telecoms giant MTN; and a new MTN ad campaign proves this fact. ‘I don port o, I don port go MTN. I don upgrade to MTN‘, Saka sings and dances. Music Excellence gathered that the comic actor was paid a whooping  N20m for this new deal.

9ice Begs DJs To Play His Songs On Radio

There is an adage that says the people you meet on your way up, you will definitely meet them on your way down. This notion is what best describes what 9ice the Gongo Aso master is passing through at the moment in his career.

Information has it that the talented cool dude whose musical career has been on the downstream has started begging some radio DJs to let go off the past in order to start afresh.

It was said that, the estranged husband of Toni Payne used one stone to kill two birds as he went for Alabi Pasuma’s 20years Anniversary that took place at Eko FM, Ikeja, Lagos.

He quickly met with some of the DJs that were around the premises and begged them to forgive and forget what had happened between them in the past, inside sources divulged.  Some of the DJs that were there include Dj Charlee Shee, Dj Turbo D and other notable ones.

In case you don’t know, the whole controversy started when he accused Ruggedman of having extramarital affair with his wife. As if that was not enough, the cool dude also scattered the Coded Tunes and left Cabasa that was behind the success of his debut album.

Another thing they said about the Ogbomosho born artiste is that, he’s a very tricky man that doesn’t normally fulfill his promise.

Nollywood Bob Manuel, Chika Ike In Ghastly Auto Crash (Photo)

These two Nollywood actors, Chika Ike and Bob Manuel recently engaged in an auto crash. The two Nollywood actors who bring smile to millions of Nigeria were rushed to a nearby hospital where they were been placed under intensive care unit.

GOD HAS BEEN SO FAITHFUL TO LIBERATION CITY AT TEN YEARS OF EXISTENCE-----Dr chris okafor

The man that see it all Dr chris okafor is in good mood now as his church mountain of liberation and miracle ministry aka, Liberation city marks Ten years of existence with lot of achievement recorded so far, in this interview the Oracle of God as he is fondly call bears is mind on the church at ten,the focus of the church and the state of the nation, enjoy the interview

How has the journey been so far?

In every task in life, whatever task, whatever endeavor, there is one or more challenges, but as a result of the God-given activity who has given the mandate not to fail, it is forceful for you, when you see obstacle, you see it as an opportunity for taking you to the next level, any man that wants to be great without obstacle it means the man is not really ready to go far. So obstacle is part of life, challenges are part of life; even Lion being the king of the jungle is still having some obstacles. It is the king of the jungle but some flies would still come around his ears, he would still have to wave them off.  These are challenges and obstacles in life by which no great man, nobody that want to go to the level of whatever call God has called him that would  not meet all these obstacles but the most important  thing is how you are able to turn the obstacles into testimony and this is nothing but the hand of God and with determination you will definitely get to where you are going to that is what we have to do.

Murder Mess: Pasuma Wonder States Side Of The Story

Stories that popular Fuji musician Pasuma Wonder was involved in a hit and run that killed one of his fans has been making rounds on the internet recently. According to the stories, the victim was a drunk ‘area boy’ who was desperate to get some cash from the music star. He had climbed on Pasuma’s car only to get killed when he fell off Pasuma’s car and was run over by Pasuma’s police escort. 
Denying that story, Pasuma released this statement: On October 24th I had a show somewhere around Idimu and as usual, there were quite a lot of people there. After my performance I made for my car after settling the area boys with a large sum of money. Definitely, I had to zoom off because I didn't want them to mob me. I left the venue and drove straight to my house. 

ASUU STRIKE: Schools May Resume On Monday After Emergency NEC Meeting This Weekend

Latest developments indicate that the five-month old ASUU strike, may be called off over the weekend. A source who pleaded anonymity, told newsmen that the NEC meeting, which was suspended indefinitely because of the death of Late Professor Festus Iyayi, a former president of the Union, maybe be reconvened on Saturday. He said that Iyayi’s death brought shock to the Union, especially as he was on his way to official assignment and the ASUU had to put the meeting on hold to honour him. “There is strong indication that the NEC meeting will be reconvened on Saturday,” he said. When asked if the strike will actually be suspended, he said: “I think so, judging by reports from the Monday congresses we held simultaneously, the union may suspend the strike on Saturday or Sunday.” 

My Friends Deserted Me When I Was Sick – Paul Play Dairo Opens Up

Bouncing back after a seven-year break, Paul Play Dairo recalls the medical challenge that affected his career. After a seven-year hiatus, ace music producer and artiste, Paul Play Dairo, is working towards staging a big come back. Having dropped a total of five singles since March, he says the response has been massive. In spite of the seeming lull in album sales, the RnB star who says he is up-to- beat with current trends in the music scene, still intends to drop a ‘luxury’ album.

“The idea is basically to fill in the gap since my last album and also sample people’s opinion. Thankfully, the online comments have been encouraging. So far, I have recorded 20 songs and some of them have already been released as singles. I am currently tidying my gospel and each track has an element of Nigerian flavor and pop.

“The bulk of the money is no longer coming from album sales because these songs are already online and people are downloading them. Music business is now streamlined to performance and endorsement. I am still going ahead with the limited edition album which will be expensive because that way I will be able to control and monitor the sales and distribution,” he discloses.