MTN Splashes Millions On Brand Ambassadors

In line
with its commitment to enhancing the lives of Nigerian musicians by providing
platforms through which they can get lucrative value for their intellectual
properties, leading ICT Company, MTN will spend millions on its brand
ambassadors in the next one year.

MTN’s
GM, Consumer Marketing, Richard Iweanoge, made the announcement on Thursday
while also unveiling Cobhams Asuquo, as the latest addition to MTN’s brand ambassadors.
He would be joining Davido, Don Jazzy, Tiwa Savage, Dr. Sid, Sound Sultan,
Iyanya, Chidinma, Banky W, KCee as well as Saka, Osuofia, Mama Gee and others
who all renewed their contracts with MTN.

As
was originally conceptualized, the ambassadorship will continually evolve to
accommodate new talents and cater for diverse segments. This year, we are using
a segmented approach and there will be ambassadors for each segment of our
market. Using this criteria, new artistes like Cobhams Asuquo will be coming on
board the MTN Ambassadorial family.

However,
for 2015, artistes like Timaya, Wizkid, sean Tizzle and a few others will no
longer be ambassadors for the brand even though the relationship continues in
other areas in which MTN enables artists to monetise their work.

‘’Although
there is a finite number of brand ambassadors we can have at any point in time,
Nigerian Artistes can continue to monetize their intellectual works through our
distribution channels such as the Caller Tunez and Music Plus platforms.” he
said

“With
billions invested so far in Nigeria’s music industry, MTN remains one of the
biggest supporters of the music industry. We have a track record of
consistently providing the stage for some of Nigeria’s biggest artistes to
shine and express themselves. For MTN, we see the growth of the music industry
as a continuum and not a destination. That is why we will continue to engage
and support our local artistes so that they can find full expression for their
talents.”

According
to him, “When we talk of our ambassadors, we have amongst them Iyanya, Praiz
and Chidinma, three past participants in the Project Fame. MTN not only gave
them the platform to express their talents through the music reality TV show,
but we have consistently supported them over the years by making them our
ambassadors. We can safely say that our investments in them have paid off
because now they are counted among Nigeria’s biggest music acts and we are
truly proud of them.”

Going
further, Iweanoge said that while the Brand Ambassadorial platform remains a
crucial part of MTN’s contribution to the music industry, the company also
makes significant contribution to the industry via its music related Value
Added Services.

“For instance, through our Caller Ring Back
Tunez (CRBT), MTN has become the largest music distributor in Africa. Through
the platform, we rescued Nigerian musicians from the scourge of piracy. They
are able to make good money as a result of their hard work. Also, as Nigeria’s
most innovative telecoms company, we have been able to deploy music as a
platform to give other value added services to our teeming subscribers, which
have also proven to be a significant source of revenue for the artistes like MTN Music+ app and a host of other platforms.”