How Amber became the toast of energy drink consumers in Nigeria
By Kasim Bakare
The Amber story is indeed an epic one considering its grand entry and disruption in a market many spin doctors had predicted was a settled one. It is even more intriguing that the launch of the premium energy drink came at a time economic and social activities were at their lowest ebb due to the Covid-19 global pandemic.
For a brand that was launched barely eight months ago, it remains the eighth wonder of the world that it has gained traction in such unimaginable terms, driving sales in the Nigerian burgeoning Energy Drinks market with the product rapidly penetrating major stores and trade outlets in Lagos.
The emergence and penetration of Amber in Nigeria’s energy drink market has raised many questions for watchers and stakeholders of the market. How did the brand endear itself to its consumers and Nigerians? What special campaigns and programmes made the energy drink the brand of choice?
MARKETING EDGE, Nigeria’s leading brand-focused magazine’s market intelligence review, reports that there were several campaigns and initiatives embarked upon by the fast-growing brand which aided its journey and meteoric rise to a seat at the top of Nigeria’s competitive energy drink market.
The introduction of the product, Amber Energy Drink, a premium brand from the stable of Amber Energy Drinks Ltd. was hall-marked by glitz, glamour and panache. The ubiquitous presence of the drink at most of the high-brow shopping malls, chain-stores and top of the league super markets in the Lagos metropolis and suburbs, excited target consumers.
Unlike other energy drink brands, Amber Energy Drink is enhanced with potent herbal blend of Guara, Amino acids and vitamins. Guarana is natural Caffeine used in beverages. In an interview with MARKETING EDGE during the launch, the brand owners of Amber noted that Guarana was added to Amber to ensure that, alongside all the vitamins and nutrients packed in the can, consumers stay alert, energized and healthy. As a health-focused brand, the nutrients and vitamins in the drink was to ensure a healthy living for Nigerians. This was the beginning of a journey that has consistently created the expected affinity between the Amber brand and the Nigerian market
Having engrained itself in the minds of customers few weeks into its entry into the market, Amber embarked on a strategic move to reposition the fast growing brand through the acquisition of a new corporate office and warehouse. The corporate facility which houses many corporate offices of senior management staff and sales officers of the company, according to the suave debonair General Manager of Amber Energy Drinks Ltd, Ms. Lola Adedeji, was to ensure more accessibility of its products to consumers and distributors.
Hear her: “As a responsible corporate entity, one of the major things we wanted to reiterate is that we don’t compromise on quality and it is important the way we portray ourselves to the public. So, it was important we put a lot into what our head office and warehouse look like. Because we tell our distributors that the warehouse has to be in a certain way, we have to be able to show them what we want. So, it took us time and resources to achieve that, but we have them in here now.”
The new corporate office houses many corporate offices of senior management staff and sales officers of the company. An expansive warehouse with a high capacity for millions of its products is also situated within the premises. The location of the new office is strategic considering its accessibility to its teeming customers and distributors.
She continued:“I feel the location of our new corporate office is strategic because our product is both aspirational and accessible. It’s very important placing your product where your head office is. The masses are on this axis but the aspirationals are on the other axis (our former location). An expansive warehouse with a high capacity for millions of its products is also situated within the premises”.
Concerned by the traditional trademark of traffic jams, long queues and endless wait by commuters at bus terminals which often result in high transportation costs, Amber introduced the Free Bus initiative to ameliorate the hardships of Lagos commuters. The hellish and sometimes nightmarish experience for residents coupled with the ever increasing population of Lagos metropolis, the situation had become precarious. In July, 2020, Amber Energy Drink came to the rescue through the launch of Amber Free Ride Initiative.
At select BRT terminals, commuters got a free BRT ticket after buying Amber Energy drink.The initiative kicked off at select BRT bus terminals which included Leventis, CMS, Oyingbo, Fadeyi, Maryland, and Ojota, Oshodi, Obalende, Marina, Ojuelegba and the conventional Lagos yellow buses.
Commenting on the novel initiative, a Lagos State civil servant, Mrs. Abimbola Ojulari who boarded the bus at the Oyingbo terminal after the day’s hectic work at the railway station had said: “Commuting within Lagos metropolis has never been this fun, rich and exciting”, adding that the Amber Energy drink BRT Bus Ride activation has changed the face of social life at bus terminals from the monotonous and sometimes awful long wait on long queues to buy tickets and board the buses. This initiative is quite commendable”. Kudos to Amber! She added.
Another initiative of the makers of the premium energy drink that resonated with its consumers and Nigerians in general is the Amber Empowerment Scheme (AES). The scheme launched at the height of Covid-19 was aimed at improving the standard of living of Nigerians, especially at the critical period of the national economy. According to the brand owners, the empowerment program is designed to empower students, retailers, startups and unemployed Nigerians.
At the maiden class, organized for 400 hundred Nigerians in the Start-up loan’ and two hundred Nigerians in the ‘Business Support’ program, Adedeji pointed out that with the current situation of the economy, Amber Drinks found it necessary to alleviate the pain of the average Nigerian by providing the opportunity for Nigerians to own and grow their businesses through soft loans and business support initiatives”.
She continued: “Since the first day in the market, our determination is to grow the brand and grow the trade partners, hence the empowerment scheme through which we are lifting up our brand as well as the businesses of the patrons of the brand,” General Manager of Amber Energy Drink Ltd, Ms. Lola Adedeji, had stated at the 2020 flag-off of the empowerment scheme which was designed to create a bond between the brand and consumers.
Commenting on the scheme, a beneficiary, Obi Darlington, expressed his excitement on the opportunity of becoming a business owner.
“I graduated from university about five years ago and since then I have not been able to get a job. Words are not enough to express how I feel. My advice to other brands in Nigeria is to emulate the noble initiative of Amber to lift many Nigerians out of poverty”
To further demonstrate its love for Nigerians, the proudly Nigerian brand recently flagged off a campaign it tagged #AmberDeyForYou. The campaign resonated via Below the line(BTL) and Above the Line(ATL) platforms across the country.
Meanwhile, the energy drink commenced a three-month radio campaign on the #AmberDeyForYou theme in no less than nine radio stations in Lagos State. The campaign is currently running in English and Yoruba languages. Feelers revealed that the campaign is being planned to run pan-Nigeria.
In the same vein, Amber recently launched the campaign on its social media platform, Twitter. The brand ignited the campaign with a tweet.
The tweet reads“We’ll go first, AMBER DEY FOR YOU!!!”
Amber noted that it was sending love to its customers who can get creative to stand a chance to win an Amber Love Box during the Valentine.
Announcing the giveaway on its Twitter handle @drinkamber, the company stated that customers can win the Amber Love Box by sending 5 most creative/funniest comments to someone they love and also saying the reason behind their love for the person. The promotion enjoyed a lot of interest and talkability and interest on the brand’s twitter handle. Many lucky Nigerians won love boxes from this promotion.
For the humble and soft-spoken GM of Amber, the future of the brand is promising in the burgeoning energy drink market considering its exploits so far. The serial entrepreneur also believes the brand is focused on being a legacy brand in the nearest future. Her words: “The amazing thing is that Amber is barely eight months old in the energy drink market in Nigeria. When you ask about it, you almost get a response of a drink that is like two years old. That tells you we have started making our marks. Our goal is to make amber a legacy drink and that is why we are not rushing to do anything.
She added: We are taking it step by step to ensure we are engrained in your life. Amber is available in at least six other states outside Lagos and we are enrolling more states afterwards and then Pan-African”.
For the love of its teeming consumers, the Amber energy drink train recently moved to the neighbourhoods with the new open market by its dynamic, efficient and hardworking sales force. Kick-starting the exercise, the energy drink, while parading a galaxy of well-cultured, radiant and passionate sales force, demonstrated the vision and mission of the energy drink to be in the consumer’s journey in the ever competitive Nigerian energy drink market.
It also served as a veritable platform to activate the value of Amber energy drink while connecting it with consumers on the emotional level.
A statement by the company on its website noted that “ the focus of the initiative is to build on the long-term emotional connection between the consumer and the brand”. It stated further that at the end of the exercise currently running at the popular Mushin/Shomolu, Ajeromi/ifelodun, Amuwo-Odofin areas of Lagos, consumers would have a more favourable and strong opinion about the brand due to the personal interaction as they will share their experience with others about the brand.
With several campaigns and initiatives in the offing, it is therefore no surprise to anyone that the fastest growing brand in Nigeria’s energy drink market has warmed itself to the hearts of its consumers in Nigeria. Amber’s campaigns and initiatives have shown that the premium energy drink is leaving no stone unturned to become a legacy brand in the next few years. Remarkably, it is evident from the brand’s trajectory that the realization of that dream may be sooner than later.
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