Airtel responds to MTN’s 5G welcome message
By Abimbola Mohammed
The customary marketing rivalry between MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria is not showing any sign of abatement. Rather, both brands continue to seek opportunities to shade and creatively outdo one another in their marketing communications. It is therefore not a surprise for Airtel to respond to MTN’s 5G welcome message depicting crimson telecoms brand as playing second fiddle, using the social media.
The pictorial message from Airtel Nigeria reads: “Thank you @MTNNigeria . Truly, you’ve done a good job but we know we can do better. We’ll take it from here.”
In the graphics of the message as shown above, Airtel featured a baton with two colours, yellow and red to symbolize both brands. The creative shows a hand receiving the red part of the baton from a hand holding it from the yellow part signifying taking over of the 5g baton from MTN.
It could be recalled that on Monday MTN Nigeria shared a welcome message to Airtel on the launch of its 5G network saying: “Yellow Airtel, we know it’s no small feat to join the 5G league. We’ve made everything easy for you, so welcome to the amazing world of 5G. To outdoing ourselves, MTN Nigeria.
The pictorial message, which was posted on the MTN Nigeria’s Instagram handle @mtnng, featured two hands with colours yellow and red, exchanging a handshake. The yellow colour hand was up while and stretched toward the red hand as if helping it to attain a good stance.
Recall that during Valentine celebration this year MTN Nigeria did a creative greetings to Airtel Nigeria that featured two love-shaped balloons with colours, yellow and red, held together by a tiny string at the bottom. The caption that followed was “Love is in the air. Happy Valentine’s Day @airtelnigeria.
Netzens have since the rivalry message between the two brands share their excitement about what the brands are doing.
@gen_fateemah said: “Now this is the real comeback, lol.”
@ighochristianaanita commented on an Airtel Instagram post saying: “Finally, the clap back we have been waiting for! Ori mi o! E enter.”
@mtnng you shouldn’t take this, put @airtelnigeria in their place. Vio vio violence.” Idafumpaul wrote.
@kamalarita wrote: “Since val you guys love is something else, with laugh emoji.”
@clickshots1 wrote: “This is hilarious.”
@chidinma28 wrote: “Why does this feel like Coke and Pepsi beef that year, lol.”
@tee_spires said: “Nobody can tell me otherwise, MTN and Airtel graphics designers use to be lovers, lol.”
@its_sammysnow said: “New and old cat romance … .wahala fun other cats oh, lol.”
Airtel Nigeria in its response to MTN Nigeria featured a flower bouquet with red roses with a single yellow rose. The message reads: “We feel it too, so @mtnng what are we doing today?
The St. Valentine message between the two telecom brands was seen as a good gesture, which demonstrated a sportsman spirit rather than bitter rivalry coming from the fact that it was the season of love.
Maurice Ugwonoh, creative director at Noah’s Ark Communication, at that time on LinkedIn post said: “Something way cooler transpired yesterday. On St. Valentine’s Day, two iconic Nigerian brands displayed a profusion of love that one rarely sees in the Nigerian Marketing and Brands Communications space, and it not only burned up the online ‘trendster’ meter, but excited Nigerians on just about every chat platform.”
Airtel Nigeria, got its 5G spectrum license early this year at the sum of $316.7m, which is payable in local currency of about N142.5 billion. The money was paid to NCC for 100 MHz of spectrum in the 3500MHz band for the deployment of a fifth-generation network and 2x5MHz of 2600MHz to boost its fourth-generation coverage in the country.
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