Mixed reactions trail brands that failed to associate with Amusan
By Abimbola Mohammed
Mixed reactions have trailed brands that failed to show support to Tobiloba Amusan before she became a world record breaker. Amusan, who shattered 100m hurdles and raced to victory at the semi-finals, finished with a time of 12.12 seconds during the just concluded World Athletics Championships in Oregon, United States of America.
A LinkedIn post on the ‘Invest in Her’ campaign made by Tega Onojaife, Founder, Ladies in Sports International has generated mixed reactions among global experts in various sectors of the industry.
In the post, Onojaife said: “Last year, I approached some brands with an “Invest in Her” campaign, targeted at women athletes in Nigeria. Some of them were hair brands. None of them agreed to take up the offer. At this year’s World Athletics Championship #oregon2022, we have a World record Holder/Gold medalist, Silver medalist and the 4x100m relay team that hold the new African record. Some of these ladies were a proposed part of that campaign.”
Since Amusan’s victory, some big brands in Nigeria have congratulated and associated with her on her success stories by posting her picture on their social media handles. Meanwhile, before her success at the world athletics meet, these were the same brands that rebuffed the campaign targeted at investing in her and her colleagues.
While some experts opined that brands miss out on opportunities because they refuse to support talent, preferring to explore readily made success for easy gain, others called for the government to provide incentives for companies that invest in local talents.
Sabuni Kamal, CEO K.S Pro Darts Championship Series, in a LinkedIn post, wrote: “Local companies should take the lead in supporting athletes (all sports). You usually find international brands based in Africa not supporting our own because they have already invested in their sports personalities abroad. This should change to local presence with local support. The government could help with incentives to those companies that invest in our local talent (and their ecosystem) from grassroots to professionals.
Mariame Diakite, Managing Director at Diam Partners/ PR Expert on LinkedIn wrote: “It’s sad that some brands shoot themselves in the foot. In general, they are already looking for people with an established reputation instead of accompanying those who have potential. It’s even more serious when it comes to women’s sports. That’s a shame.”
Richard Wanjohi, B2B Business Development/Market Researcher, on LinkedIn, wrote: “It’s always tragic how brands miss the mark with budding sports talent to leverage their brand equity and reach the masses.”
According to Tom Vernon, Founder Right to Dream, Kenya has produced countless female repeat world and Olympic champions who achieve very low (if any) commercial sponsorship value. It’s actually similar for many of the men.
“It’s a tough sport to justify the exposure and therefore Return on Investment (ROl) to narrowly focused short term orientated CMO’s which, through no fault of their own, is common in Africa. I have met so many of these CMO’s who would love to invest long term in sports development and leveling up.
“But shareholder expectations do not allow it and therefore fake dreams/quick wins marketing campaigns prevail. To make it commercially as an African athletics star, I believe you need one of two things – a serial winner and an extraordinary off track personality (Bolt, Kipchoge) or a European/American passport (too many examples to mention).
“This is a sad reality today in a sport where Nigeria and Africa could dominate and play a part in rebranding nations and the continent,” he said.
Emmanuel Mogaji, a university lecturer and researcher, in his LinkedIn post, expressed hope that things will change and brands will see the need to key into talent discovery and development.
“It’s a shame that the huge prospects of sportswomen as international brands are seldom explored. Hopefully, things will keep changing for good.”
Johnson Bada, Product Management/Blockchain Strategist, also in Linked, noted: “Sports investment is capital intensive but extremely lucrative. Nigeria is genealogically blessed; a well-run/funded sports programme will be churning out world beaters like “pure water”. You need investors who can commit to a 10 years programme focusing on track events where I believe we have a naturally unfair advantage. Separating politics from our selection process, there are many Amusans hawking on our streets.”
Ufuoma K Edijala, Operational Risk Manager at Standard Chartered Bank, noted in his LinkedIn: “It is time for these athletes to brand and become the face of Nigeria to the world. These brands have missed out in the opportunity of sharing in the grass to grace story. They did not believe in the project. However, it is never too late. Don’t give up.”
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