Disclosing reasons for choosing Don Jazzy as brand ambassador for Loya Milk, the Commercial Director, Promasidor Nigeria, Mr Kachi Onubogu, said a brand ambassador assists the brand further in reaching its target audience.“Our choice of Don Jazzy as brand ambassador is driven by the brand essence and its proposition to its target audience. Loya premium milk is a brand with class and taste; it is a brand with distinction and excellence that constantly rewards its loyal consumers,” he said.
Mr Kachi made it known that “Don Jazzy is recognised for his charitable works. He is a multi award winning Nigerian record producer,singer/song writer and current CEO of Mavin Records and was rated recently as the 36th most powerful celebrity in Africa by Forbes magazine,” He concluded.
I. agree with Mr Onubogu on the fact that “a brand ambassador assists the brand further in reaching its target audience,” but what I do not agree with is if Don Jazzy is the ideal person to carry-out that assignment effectively. Don’t get me wrong - I do not have any personal issues with Don Jazzy; I have never met him before neither do I have any problem with Promasidor for that matter. In fact, I am one of the biggest admirers of Don Jazzy’s works..
My reasons for disagreeing with the choice of Don Jazzy?
1. There is no synergy between the brand and its ambassador. While the brand is targeted at the general public with emphasis on the family, Don Jazzy is a ‘hippy’ personality that only appeals to the youths with little or no buying power or time, as they are pre-occupied with other activities. The few of them who do have time to patronize this product already grew up with older brands like Peak milk and Cowbell milk already entrenched in their sub-consciousness.
2. Don Jazzy has just come out from a well-publicized brick-bat with his erstwhile partner, D’Banj. The bad blood generated from the constant back and forth in the media by both of them has rubbed off on them negatively. An allegation of Don Jazzy cornering all the financial benefits accrued from a deal with Samsung is still fresh in my memories. The proceeds from the deal, according to D’Banj’s media representatives, were supposed to be shared by both personalities – D’Banj and Don Jazzy - as it was obtainable before then. Despite the allegations being unverified, Don Jazzy has never openly denied them.
3. Don Jazzy is not a known talker. Many Nigerians will remember how Don Jazzy used to whisper into Dbanj’s ear in major concerts and award ceremonies while Dbanj ‘interprets’ to the audience. Despite his massive presence on Twitter, Don Jazzy is not known to be sociable; he is media shy, never attends events, and is hardly seen in major shows except when his artistes are involved. This is very much unlike serial brand ambassadors like BankyW and Kate Henshaw, who use every little opportunity to push their brand. Methinks Don Jazzy will just recoil back to his studio, tweet about Loya Milk, go for photo-shoots and attend their events when called upon. He simply can’t push the brand.
Ok! This is where I have to stop before I’m termed a HATER! I might be wrong in my analysis as I am not a brand expert. But it is my opinion and I have made my point. After all, it is my blog. *smiles*
