As Guinness deepens competition in stout market… comes with innovation

Wrap-arounds in newspapers are rare to come by because of its heavy cost but when organisations decide to bear the cost then it is for a major reason because of its impact. On November 4, 2013, Nigerians woke up to a Guinness sponsored wrap around campaign for its repackaged Stout brand in various newspapers. The wrap around campaign was a toast for its market innovation designed to create customer satisfaction.

In any competitive market, players are always in search of strategies and innovations to stay ahead. They always want to create surprises which consumers love. Recently, Guinness Nigeria plc relaunched its Extra Stout brand in a new label and created a golden wrap around the neck of the bottle, a whole package that makes the look and feel of the bottle and its unchanged content alluring to consumers.

The redesigning of the label on the bottle is part of series of innovations and campaigns coming from the house of Guinness but this particular novelty in addition to ‘Michael Power’ and ‘My friend Udeme’ advertisements will obviously remain indelible in the minds of Nigerians. The new label is bigger with bold signature of Arthur Guinness who started brewing from 1759 at the St James’s Gate Brewery, Dublin.

Innovation in a competitive market is contagious and according to analysts, it would not be surprising if competition comes out with different ideas to lift up their brands as Guinness has stirred the market.

Excited about the creation which added stimulating look on the bottle, the management of the brand organised a concert to reveal the new look. The show which had likes of Flavour, Kcee and P-square amongst others was simply electrifying as guests danced and savoured the drink.

Seni Adetu, managing director and chief executive, Guinness Nigeria plc, said redesigning a new label for Guinness Foreign Extra Stout is in line with the company’s tradition to continuously deliver quality to its consumers.

“At Guinness Nigeria, we are widely known for our consistency in delivering great brands with ground-breaking innovations and unique experiences to our consumers. Guinness Foreign Extra Stout is definitely a brand that has redefined the experience in our market from time past with dynamic innovations leading to this moment.

“The concert has been a wonderful experience with the array of talents paraded and we believe it is going to be the beginning of a new dawn in terms of satisfaction for our consumers,” Adetu said.

He said the contemporary and premium look of the new label is part of a global redesign for the Guinness bottle that will be rolled out in locations across the globe. The sophisticated style of the new Guinness bottle label is said to reflect the adventurous character of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout.

According to Adetu, the change of the appearance is part of “our value of continuous improvement to depict more style and more substance. Despite the change in our label, you can be rest assured of the same world class quality and content inside the bottle. Today is a historical landmark, as we unveil the stunning transformation of our iconic Foreign Extra Stout label design for the first time in Africa.”

In his comment, Austin Ufomba, marketing and innovation director, Guinness Nigeria plc, relished the prospect of the new label endearing the brand to more consumers. “The new design reveals a new level of connection and resonance with the brand for both new and existing consumers. The dark bottle reflects the quality of its contents made from the finest of ingredients. The beautiful metallic gold foil crowning the bottle simply makes it a drink for every golden moment,” Ufomba said.

Importance of Innnovation

Innovation based on consumer insight, according to analysts is a driver of sales, customer loyalty and profitability. In the view of marketing communication practitioner, “businesses exist to generate profit. Continuous customer satisfaction is the key to delivering this. To therefore deliver sustainable success, brand loyalty becomes germane.

Brand loyalty cannot happen without a thorough understanding of the consumer and a deliberate decision to satisfy and exceed the customer’s expectations via both core and Surprise values”. Guinness is on the driving seat in the stout market in Nigeria and it is likely that other competitions will join.

Other innovations

During the 2013 Nations Cup in South Africa, Guinness stood stoutly behind Super Eagles even when other corporate organisations were skeptical of Nigeria’s team performance at the tournament. To demonstrate its support, Guinness sponsored some Nigerians to the tournament to support the team. At the end, Super Eagles won the cup and other brands joined the dining table.

Apart from the actual sponsorship to South Africa of Nigerians, the event where the announcement was made was exquisite with presence of football stars and Super Eagles fans who rendered supporting songs that jolt players like Jay Jay Okocha and Kanu Nwankwo on the pitch.

The Packaging of the evening event by Guinness and its public relations agency was classy in many perspectives as fans equally had the opportunity to pose for photographs with ex-Super Eagles stars.

By: Daniel Obi