Giving the eNaira Crusade a Refreshing, Celebrity Touch, by Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

 

Using celebrities to advertise, market, sell goods and services or advance a cause or an idea is as old as modernity itself. Just like the French revolution, the first recorded attempt to make a popular person the face of a product or a cause happened in the 18th century.

Celebrity branding or celebrity endorsement, as it is more professionally called, is a form of advertising, campaign or marketing strategy which uses a celebrity’s fame or social status to promote a product, brand or service, or to raise awareness about an issue. Marketers use celebrity endorsers in the hope that the positive image of the celebrity endorser will be passed on to the product’s or brand’s image. Non-profit organisations also use celebrities since a celebrity’s frequent mass media coverage reaches a wider audience, thus making celebrities an effective ingredient in fundraising.

Celebrity endorsement of products has a long history. It dates back to the 1760s when pioneers like Josiah Wedgwood started using royal endorsements as a brand-building tool. Wedgwood, producers of fine chinaware, used royal endorsements as a marketing device to show value in the company and promote their product. Since then, athletes and celebrities from the entertainment industry have dominated endorsements in the US.

 

Another landmark in celebrity branding was recorded in the late 19th century when in 1882, London socialite and West End stage actress, Lillie Langtry, became the poster-girl for Pears Soap, making her the first celebrity in history to endorse a commercial product. Around the same time, trading cards were also introduced, a card with an image of a celebrity and a product description which was either given to the customer or inserted in product packaging. Cigarette companies gave away baseball cards as part of a customer loyalty scheme, and the increased demand to buy cigarettes in order to collect entire sets of baseball players was not missed by marketers. Early endorsements of this kind didn’t always have the permission of the celebrities to use their image.

In the 1930s, the trend moved towards athletes and the first celebrity athlete to be paid to endorse a brand was Babe Ruth and the brand was Red Rock Cola which is a beverage company.

At the end of WWII in 1945, the trend changed gradually to movie stars. In 1965 when colour television was introduced, television personalities and entertainers became the celebrity endorsers. In the 1980s, companies started making products around celebrities, for example Nike using Michael Jordan to boost their brand to international megabrand status.

In the 1970s, with the advent of free agency, the value of celebrity endorsements escalated, and correspondingly the pay of the athletes by their teams. By 1989, 75% of all sports-related products were using athletes for endorsements, and by the 1990s sports endorsements were being announced with press releases. This led to celebrities becoming spokespeople and brand ambassadors for companies. Product revenues increased dramatically, as did the value of the endorsement contracts. For example, Tiger Woods’ first contract with Nike was worth $40 million; it was renegotiated in 2000 for a 5-year contract valued at $125 million.

At the moment, Cristiano Ronaldo earns 24 million dollars per annum from Nike alone which is just one of the many billionaire companies he deals with. Lionel Messi’s current boot contract with Adidas is worth a whopping $19.2 million annually. This is in addition to the lifetime deal he signed with the company in 2017, estimated to be worth $1 billion over a long period of time.

In a nutshell, celebrities have over the centuries proven to be the game changers in terms of making products and services as well as ideas acceptable to a mass audience. No matter how good a product is, no matter how effective a service is, no matter how brilliant an idea is, celebrities are like the icing on the cake that completes the job and complements the production process of anything at all.

Over the centuries, multinationals and corporate organisations have realised that the charisma, integrity, credibility, believability and crowd-pulling capacity that celebrities bring to the table are priceless. That is why they keep courting the singing sensations, movie stars and sport icons to help their goods and services break the barrier of acceptability.

For a completely new concept like the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) popularly called eNaira, the advocacy has in the last two years been robust and far-reaching. The eNaira sensitisation team has been to every part of the country to enlighten Nigerians on the benefits of creating an e-wallet, move their transactions online and begin to accept the inescapable reality of Nigeria’s cashless future.

But if it is the same serious-looking, tie-wearing and cap-wearing CBN officials that keep talking to Nigerians on the same issue, people are likely to find the engagements boring and monotonous. That must be the reason the apex bank decided to embrace the idea of bringing in celebrities that will add spice and fun to the sessions and pull crowds to the venues.

So as part of efforts to recruit traders and students in Akure, Ondo state, into the eNaira train recently, the CBN engaged a popular, rave-making thespian to give that celebrity edge to the sensitisation workshop organised for them.

Gabriel Afolayan is one Nigeria’s most talented and versatile entertainers whose fame across the country and visibility among the youths are remarkable. He is a thespian of repute, singer, songwriter and composer who hails from the prominent Igbomina-speaking Afolayan family of Kwara state, the family that produced some of the best movie actors in the country. His father, the late Adeyemi Josiah Afolayan, popularly called Ade Love, was one of the pioneers of the modern film industry who reigned supreme in the 70s and 80s. Gabriels’ eldest sister, Moji Afolayan, is also another prominent actor who is married to another film icon, Rasak Olayiwola aka Ojopagogo. Gabriel’s elder brother, Kunle Afolayan, is one of the best movie producers in Africa, renowned for big budget, award-winning movies. Another of Gabriel’s brothers is Aremu Afolayan, a famous movie actor. Arguably the most famous Afolayan alive is Toyin Afolayan known in Yoruba movie circles as ‘Lola Idije.’ She is an auntie to Gabriel, Kunle, Aremu and Moji being the late Adeyemi Afolayan’s younger sister.

So in choosing a celebrity to join the eNaira advocacy train, CBN chose the best entertainer available, a superstar that has showbiz in his DNA.

Addressing an enthusiastic crowd of youths, students and market women in the Akure event recently, Gabriel said that the eNaira platform would add value to Nigerian currency beyond what the physical naira could do.

Afolayan described the platform as a brighter initiative that would enable Nigerians to move around without being scared of the dangers of carrying plenty of physical cash.

He asked Nigerians to embrace it and use it, saying it was the only way to seamless transactions.

The words that went round town days before the event was that Gabriel was going to be around to entertain and dazzle the people of Akure. So, more than half of the young people that attended the event were there because of him without knowing what eNaira was all about. But none of them left the venue without downloading the eNaira app and opening their respective e-wallets. That is the power of celebrity branding!

He also entertained the crowd with his jokes, dance steps and theatrics thereby, putting them in the best mood and right frame of mind to listen to CBN officials who briefed them fully on the usefulness of the eNaira.

Mrs Mary Fasheitan, the Special Assistant on Payment to the CBN Governor said the usage of the digital currency called eNaira was the solution to the cash crunch that Nigerians recently suffered and the best alternative to the burden of carrying physical cash around.

She said that CBN, in collaboration with the Bankers Committee in the state, organised the sensitisation for people to understand all the benefits that eNaira brought to the banking system.

According to her, it is a good opportunity to key into the initiative, saying it’s seamless, without network problems and can be done anywhere. She also added that the sending and receiving money with the eNaira come without the charges customers pay in the case of traditional banking.

Also speaking, one of the users of the eNaira wallet, Mr Kenneth Batusi, described eNaira idea as laudable, saying it enabled him to save more and that money transfer was easier on the platform.

Similarly, Mrs Esther Adesola, another user of the platform, said that she had criticised the initiative but later realised its superiority over physical currency. Adesola stated that the digital currency is fast and it will aid Nigeria’s transition into a cashless society.

Earlier, the CBN team had visited the Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, to seek his royal blessing for the success of the sensitisation workshop.

The Acting Branch Manager of CBN in Akure, Mr Samuel Giwa, told the traditional ruler that the policy was an initiative spearheaded by the CBN which aimed to reduce the physical cash in transactions and promote the adoption of digital payments.

Giwa added that the policy, which was introduced in 2021, would increase financial inclusion, reduce corruption and money laundering, and improve the efficiency of the financial system.

According to him, the new digital currency will improve the way Nigerians conduct transactions.

“The eNaira is not just a currency, but an important step towards building a more robust and secure financial ecosystem.
It was designed to make transactions easier, efficient, and more secure.

“The eNaira has indeed become a critical part of the Nigerian financial ecosystem, and a reliable, alternate channel.
It will not only support the Ondo State economy, but Nigeria as a whole; it is a symbol of progress and innovation and will pave the way for a more secure and efficient financial system,” he stated.

The acting branch manager said as a people-focused central bank, the regulatory bank understood the current challenges associated with the implementation of the series of cashless policies of the apex bank.

“We therefore urge the people of Akure and Ondo State in general, to download the eNaira Speed Wallet for easy payment for goods and services, as well as have convenient access to other banking services,” he said.

Still on the gains of the digital currency, Mr Victory Otoba, who represented the Deposit Monetary Banks (DMB) in the state, explained that digital payments would reduce the risk of theft and losses and as well make it easier to track and monitor transactions.

Otoba said that with the eNaira platform, individuals and businesses could access financial services even if they did not have a traditional bank account.

In his response, Oba Aladelusi applauded all the alternative means of financial transactions introduced by the CBN, urging the apex bank and commercial banks to provide reliable and efficient infrastructure to make the policy work perfectly for Nigerians as they transit into a full cashless economy.

The monarch said that Nigeria could not afford to be stagnant but advance with the rest of the world in digital banking.

It is as clear as day to all and sundry that the multi-faceted approach adopted by the CBN in promoting the CBDC is the reason the digital currency is gradually becoming a household name in Nigeria… A multi-stakeholder approach involving the media, celebrities, civil society groups, traditional leaders, youth, student and women groups among others… For a policy that was introduced in October 2021, the eNaira has over-achieved in terms of its reach and the millions of Nigerians who now have e-wallets and are already benefiting from cheap, seamless and easy transactions.