‘Saka’ is a popular character that was specially created to market
Etisalat by its ad agency, and was highly successful in that regard...
But quite suddenly, on the heels of the Nigerian Communications
Commission’s Mobile Number Portability campaign recently, MTN cleverly
got him to “port go” and thus he deserted Etisalat in a manner that
seems to have left a sour taste in the mouths of not just some people in
the advertising world but also many observers.
Yet, the question remains whether any real breach of professional ethics had been committed by either the artiste or MTN as a company, given the fact that ‘Saka’ is believed to have had no written or verifiable contractual accord with Etisalat. The lessons that could be drawn from this include: (a) the need for written contractual understanding or agreement to seal important business relationships between an artiste and his employer.
(b) The need to remunerate artistes adequately so that they would think twice in the face of tempting offers by competitors.
(c) The need to adopt impact measurement as a vital component of any major or successful campaign and
(d) The need to avoid the temptation to underrate any artiste because in a dynamic world like advertising, the least expected model may prove the ultimate ambassador of a brand.
But, above everything else, the dramatic “porting” of Saka and its impact so far on the latter’s portability campaign and the obvious shock and tremor it has left in the other camp count as a big plus for artistes generally who may henceforth no longer be taken for granted by those who hire them.
Nevertheless, having made great waves in so short a period, not a few observers believe that Saka’s time was really up, because any further campaign on the side of the same brand would certainly be affected by the Law of Diminishing Returns.
All in all, one should salute the regulatory wisdom of the NCC for wittingly or otherwise affording Nigerians an opportunity to let off steam and rewind via a veritable dialogue or discourse as an unexpected result of the introduction of the long-awaited Mobile Number Portability campaign.
Yet, the question remains whether any real breach of professional ethics had been committed by either the artiste or MTN as a company, given the fact that ‘Saka’ is believed to have had no written or verifiable contractual accord with Etisalat. The lessons that could be drawn from this include: (a) the need for written contractual understanding or agreement to seal important business relationships between an artiste and his employer.
(b) The need to remunerate artistes adequately so that they would think twice in the face of tempting offers by competitors.
(c) The need to adopt impact measurement as a vital component of any major or successful campaign and
(d) The need to avoid the temptation to underrate any artiste because in a dynamic world like advertising, the least expected model may prove the ultimate ambassador of a brand.
But, above everything else, the dramatic “porting” of Saka and its impact so far on the latter’s portability campaign and the obvious shock and tremor it has left in the other camp count as a big plus for artistes generally who may henceforth no longer be taken for granted by those who hire them.
Nevertheless, having made great waves in so short a period, not a few observers believe that Saka’s time was really up, because any further campaign on the side of the same brand would certainly be affected by the Law of Diminishing Returns.
All in all, one should salute the regulatory wisdom of the NCC for wittingly or otherwise affording Nigerians an opportunity to let off steam and rewind via a veritable dialogue or discourse as an unexpected result of the introduction of the long-awaited Mobile Number Portability campaign.
