dO bRanDinG the #ShareaCoke wAy

Yesterday i was privileged to attend a summit on branding at the Intercontinental Hotel. The seminar had leading Communication and Marketing Execs from the Banks, Major Online companies,  and more and for me it was a 50-50 experience partly, not too many new things were said for me, I also probably got irritated at the fact that some of the presentations were just half researched scripts off the internet. This brought me to one conclusion, 'We still have a lot to learn about the concept of branding' as we are yet to scratch the surface of branding in country. I decided to use a case study of a recent Cocacola campaign (#ShareaCoke) to educate some aspiring entrepreneurs on how best to build a global brand-

Cocacola, the world’s most recognizable brand has been around for about 125yrs. It is also the 3rd most valuable brand w/ a brand value of $54.9B behind Apple and Google.

with over 500 brands across 200 countries, the company has a market cap. of $177.89B as of this morning and with a staff strength of over 136,000 the current CEO is Muhtar Kent.

without going into too much history, let me share a little about a recent campaign they embarked on  which they titled #shareacoke. 
In 1881 Cocacola barely sold just 9 bottles, fast forward to 2010, they sold 1.6Billion bottles, the #shareacoke campaign basically involved exchanging the world’s most recognizable brand with  popular consumer names. In other words the company through a process of co-creation worked with fans to create personalized versions of the coke bottles with their names on it.

The "Share a Coke" campaign was first launched in Australia in 2011, with the local executives and the ad agency Ogilvy coming up with the idea. Before then,  about 50% of teenagers and young adults had not tasted a coke in Australia. since then the campaign has spread to over 70 countries. The  campaign was a clever and bold attempt at brand ‘co-creation’. This campaign had mass personalized product, consumer involvement, implementation timing (summer) and social and offline strategies as its major strengths. Though this campaign was largely successful and helped boost sales it made some consumers unhappy (especially because they were made to feel inadequate because their names were not deemed popular enough to make the cut), it was also costly to implement according to some sources. The company hasn't come out with an official figure for the cost of the campaign.

In Australia alone- 5 agencies, 25 risk assessment meetings, 4000hrs of talking to Cocacola Armadale stake holders, 4weeks to find the machine that could print the names on the can, 225 trademark searches, 2,302 artworks are just some of the resources that had to be invested to make the campaign come alive just in Australia. After more than 10yrs of steady decline in sales, sources say turnover is up 2.5% from this campaign. Cocacola had an Ad budget of $3.3B in 2013 and has decided to increase its budget by 1B in the next 3yrs. lets take a look at some of the direct benefits this campaign had on the brand-

-Online- over 29,000 online posts, 12million media impressions, and Cocacola Facebook traffic was up 870%

-Offline- Free Press & ample word of mouth

-There is no doubt the campaign humanized the brand & gave teens a positive impression about cocacola. In summary the #shareacoke campaign had key underlying attributes:

1. sharing

2. Measurability

3. Personalization/Relationship

So for aspiring entrepreneurs i felt the need to use this campaign as a case study to help us build generational global brands instead. First of all we all need to come to the realization that global brands are no longer in the business of managing perceptions in branding but managing meaning. So here are 5 lessons from the campaign we can all adopt to build our global brands:

1. Have a clear vision and Message of your brand for your team and the world.

2. Engage your customer base via Co-Creation to help build a stronger brand

3. Design your brands ideology to be global and then localize your brand expression for each location you operate in.

4. Let all your chosen brand visualizations tell the story of your company.

5. Deliver on your brand promises no matter the costs.

I hope you enjoyed reading this, kindly let me know your thoughts in the comment box below.

- @gozzim

Sources: Adweek, Youtube, Cocacola, Interbrand

mOrE wEsteRn EboLA frenzy

In this very interesting video about Ebola, Howard Russell, makes light of the frenzy, ignorance and fear Americans and the western world generally are dealing with. This video only goes to prove that their has to be a lot more orientation about this disease and how it spreads.

The level of ignorance is alarming even among prominent government officials.

-@gozzim

In this week's Podcast..

Post by HolyHolla.

-@gozzim

SavE tHe DatE & make plans to #tunein

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MakiNg eBoLa tHe gOLden gOOsE!

7 days ago i posted a piece about people and companies who were making a killing from the Ebola outbreak. It turns out our number two on that list Jon Schultz (owner of various disease domains like 'ebola.com', 'birdflu.com' and 'H1N1.com') did make a killing yesterday after he sold the Ebola.com domain name to a Russian owned company called 'Weed Growth Fund' for over $200,000 approximately 33,400,000 Naira. According to his SEC filing, Mr. Schulz received in cash the sum of $50,000 and 19,192 stocks in a company called Canabis Sativa Inc. a company owned and managed by former New Mexico governor. Jon Schultz who initially bought the ebola.com domain name for $13,500 was initially hoping to sell the domain name to a pharmaceutical company for around $150,000 but went with the Weed Growth Fund company. Any business that nets you 1481% profit has to be good business right??

But would you say this is really good and ethical business? let me know your thoughts in the comment box below.

- @gozzim
sources: Verge, SEC, google images

iTs a BiRd, oH no iTs gOOgLe's V.P

meet Dr. Alan Eustace, Google's V.P for knowledge and the only man crazy enough to jump and free fall 135, 908feet. He set a world record today. I have just one word to describe him- 'BALLZ' if thats even a real word. It may not be a big deal to some until you remember that commercial airplanes fly most of their journey at 30,000 feet.

- @gozzim

tHe aNtoine FuQua stoRy- #bEiNspiRed

Antoine Fuqua- Actor, Producer, & Director- photo credit LA Times

Today i would like to share an interesting and inspiring story about someone i believe to be one of the most consistent, but underrated film directors in the world.

Meet Antoine Fuqua, a very talented but also very creative Director, Producer & Actor. You may not recognize him or even have heard his name before but i am certain you have seen his work. Training Day, The Replacement Killer(1998), Shooter (2007), King Arthur(2014), Brooklyn's Finest(2010), Olympus has fallen(2013) & recently The Equalizer  (2014)  are just some of the movies Antoine has directed in addition to directing music videos for Tony Braxton, Prince, Stevie Wonder (Find your love, 1995), Usher(Bedtime, ver. 2), Lil Wayne (Mirror, 2011), and wait for it Coolio (Ganster's paradise, 1995) yeah! He also has a few TV Commercials to his credit which include: Pirelli Tires (The Call, 2006), Reebok, Toyota, Armani.. I could go on and on but you see what i mean by 'underrated'

I found his story particularly inspiring, because like him, a lot of us started our chosen career paths with nothing. He used his 'lack' as fuel and motivation to make something out his his life. 

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on the 19th of January 1966, He credits his big break and turning point to getting Shot at the age of 15-(Did i hear you say weird? keep reading..). Yes at 15 he got shot on the streets and he says that pushed him to stay away from the streets and engage in everyday activities like going to the movies and playing basketball. This probably set him on his artistic course.

Before long he landed a Basketball scholarship to study Electrical Engineering at the West Virginia University, He did not graduate- (Lesson: though a degree gives you some level of social standing and job market leverage, it doesn't determine all you can be in Life, because if you lack the strength to impose your terms on Life, then you deserve the terms Life imposes on you). 

His first major influence in directing was from Akira Kurosama, the director of 7th Samurai, shortly after he put his rent money into a short film called 'Exit' a story about a drug dealer and his illusions of Stigma and suicide. He sent it out to major record labels who didn't know what to make of it. Not long after that, he got a call from the legendary Jerry Bruckheimer who invited him to make a music video with Coolio, for a movie he was working on. He recalls being sent on coffee runs by people he was supposed to be meeting who mistook him for a production assistant and who didn't realize he was the director presumably because he was black. 

His fire comes from the believe that sometimes unfortunate things happen to people in Life, you have to take those experiences and use them as leverage to propel yourself to your dreams and not go backwards. Burn that bridge behind you so the only way for you is forward, Believe in yourself, Open up your mind to better ways of doing things.

Antoine Fuqua is married to Lela Rochon also an actor. He currently has an estimated net-worth of about $18,000,000. He says if he wasnt a film maker, he would be in some Government Military organization. He hates the 'black' label some media people attach to his personality or achievement. He feels that movie making should be about elevating the idea of what we are and who we are as people in the cinema, and that movies like 'Soul Plane' keep dragging us back down. 
..lol

What would you say has marked your turning point or biggest leverage in your career that has propelled you to an even greater path?  let me know in the comment box. thank you for reading along.

- @gozzim

sources: MyFirstBigBreak, Wikipedia, IMDB, bbc.co.uk

50k PluS tHaNk YoUs..

If you have been reading my posts for some time, you would recall i produce and cohost your favorite sunday morning show on Rhythm93.7fm. A few weeks ago we celebrated our first anniversary on the radio show HOLYHOLLA. its been 56 weeks of exciting and inspiring experiences and an evolution from one good news to the other.  

This time your favorite Sunday morning show is celebrating over fifty thousand follows on google plus. We have continued to grow exponential growth on that platform and we have you all to thank. We hope to keep bringing you inspiring guests on the show and help you straighten & grown your spiritual life. 

If you haven't yet, please follow us on twitter @holyholla, Facebook.com/holyholla, or Google plus- google.com/+holyhollaradio. 

Finally you can find most audio podcasts of our previous episodes here- www.hulkshare.com/swagcraft 

- @gozzim

LeCraE iNteRviEw..

In this on air interview with Rosenberg, Ebro & Laura at Hot97fm, Lecrae talks about his life, coming up, getting molested as a kid and his preference for practical christianity.

I found this interview particularly inspiring because in a world of ever increasing secularity and christianity and religion seem to be the new immorality, people like Lecrae with their real life experiences and open minded approach to spreading the gospel end up reaching a lot more people.

You would recall that a few weeks ago, Lecrae had the number one Album on the Billboard charts for about 3weeks. If you want the world to pay attention to your gospel speak a language they can understand.

These days once you start out a convo with you love for christ people put up mental defenses. it has become apparent that in this present age ample tact is required to spread the gospel. Look to share & care before you preach have a wonderful weekend.

-@gozzim

Credit: Hot97FM Youtube

TRiPLee on His bRand of RaP..

i couldnt resist the urge to post this video of rapper Triplee. a christian, pastor and a rapper he explains his perspective of the kind of christianity he subscribes to. Not want to be boxed in just so that a wider audience can enjoy the gospel he preaches. I hope you enjoy it like i did.



- @gozzim
credit. BET

mAkiNg a KiLLinG oFF of #Ebola

Some people sure know how to make a living off of people's fears. for those who truly understand the concept of capitalism, its easy to understand why people make money either in an uptrend or downtrend, and in good times or bad times. There is alway money to be made. But before i make my point i would like to state expressly that i am in no way endorsing any of these individuals i am about to mention.

Ebola was discovered about 38yrs ago and since then there hadn't been a worldwide course for concern until now, especially after the full on outbreak in West Africa and subsequent exportation to the western world. 

It makes logical sense that after several decades of discovery there ought to have been a vaccine or even an outright cure for this disease, but not everything about business is logical. Global Pharmaceutical companies simply did not see viability in developing treatments for a disease that was just a flash in the pan and particularly confined to a certain part of the world until now.

From ZMAPP to all other forms of potential cures/vaccines there is no short supply of 'geniuses' world over claiming to have a cure, after all there is money to be made right. Allow me share 3 cases of shrewd business people and a company that have and will make a killing over the real effects of the Ebola outbreak.

1. Meet Todd Spinalle, currrently making a killing with his FDA unapproved anti Ebola wafers. this utterly ridiculous jerk claims his wafers are a food supplement with about 544% of Vitamin C and his 'EBOLA-C' wafers can prevent or make customers immune to Ebola. Another classic case of preying on people's fears. Spinelli has so far sold 14,000 units of his poison at $34.95 each. Fear is money!

2. Meet John Schulz a cyber squatter who specializes in buying Disease domains. He owns the domain 'Ebola.com' which he bought for $13,500. He is looking to sell that domain to a pharmaceutical company for $150,000 (its business don't take it personal). According to him the domain name already has at least 5000 hits per day just from curious visitors. Schulz previously owned 'birdflu.com', 'fukushima.com' and 'terror.com'. Foresight does pay!

3. Finally a company called 'Giant Microbes' that makes stuffed toys claim to have sold out their stuffed Ebola Virus toys. This company apparently had created long ago stuffed versions of the HIV virus, Gonorrhea, and Herpes. I guess they would claim it was for instructional purposes, which ever way in their case a Teacher's prop maker's reward is right here in the midst of the Ebola outbreak. lol

Lets not forget manufacturers of disposable Hazmat suits which in the last few weeks has become a massive hit. If you invested in a publicly quoted company that manufactures these you would be a boss right now. Especially since health regulators advice Drs. change these 7 times daily.

I guess depending on how you choose to see it certain principles hold irrespective of location and social constraints. The principles of Demand and Supply, or sowing and reaping will never fail even in some extreme cases as seen in Gen. 26:14 where Isaac sowed in the midst of famine and reaped a 100 fold. I guess the world would never run out of ways for people to make a living either legally or illegally.

So do you think people like Todd Spinalle or John Schulz qualify as legal business men? let me know your thoughts in the comments box below.

- @gozzim
credits: mediaitedotcom

hApPy biRtHdaY Mr. HuGhes (SOKLEVA)..

In celebration of Mr. Hughes of the RooftopMC's birthday, whom i like to refer to as Elder, i would like to share this video. For over a decade Sokleva Hughes and his band mate Snatcha have showed us a different side of the faith walk through their sweet sounds. You are deeply appreciated and i Pray for many more grace filled years for you. Have a good one!

#HOLYHOLLATOP5 this week..

Post by HolyHolla.

thEsE CoMpaNieS wiLL pAy yOU to Not hAve kiDs.. yEt!

picture courtesy The Sunday Times, U.K

some call it technological advancement, but i find it particularly baffling that the world is becoming even more at peace with the idea of suspended Motherhoods. Last night i read on NBCnews.com website that two tech giants: Facebook & Apple have programs that allow female personnel to get paid for freezing their eggs. Yes! you read that right 'FREEZING EGGS'.

To put this in perspective, what this entails basically is that people are getting incentives to put career building ahead of child bearing. So say you work for a great company and you are looking to build a career by staying relevant to the company without the 'burden' of motherhood, both companies now offer up to $20,000 to women under the Fertility/Surrogacy benefits program of their individual companies.

I think the world is going mad a lot faster than it should. This constant need to do away with the natural order of things is becoming quite too much for me to bear. According to that NBC article, freezing eggs doesn't come cheap at about $10,000 per round and a $500 annual storage fee this whole endeavor seems to be a potential goldmine for the medical industry.

But here is my problem with this way of thinking, as the Millennials keep coming up with these 'bright' ideas i wonder sometimes if they ever stop to consider long term consequences, or if they realize that for as long as humans are involved anything could go wrong. soon some cotton wool brained scientist will come up with the idea of implanting human embryo in animals. 

I think this idea is stupid especially for women who have no challenges with conception or cancer, but then again it all kind of makes you wonder if freezing eggs isn't better than aborting babies career women never planned to have. 

The blessings of the Lord makes one rich but He adds no sorrow with it. God is the only inventor who creates fully aware of all possible consequence. Humans will never get to that point, the best we can do is fix consequences as they appear. While it may be convenient for career women to freeze their eggs and have long careers, you cannot deny the fact that the risks of fertilizing deformed eggs still exist or that there are crazy scientists who wont hesitate to experiment on humans.

- @gozzim

tHe aLBum & tHe tWiNs..

Last night i received with great excitement news that TY Bello put twins to bed in the U.S. 

You would recall that about three days ago she put out her sophomore album after so many years of waiting and to be honest i am gently easing into the the awesomeness of that album. 

TY Bello has given so much of her self either through photography or through music one way or the other, but i must say that even though i am yet to meet her in person she has had some positive influence on me especially with regards to my perception of God's sovereignty. I pray that God grants her the grace to be the be the perfect Mother, and Wife. Just incase you haven't downloaded or listened to her new album please visit her website- www.tybello.com or do that below. Kindly let me know your thoughts on the album as i would be featuring some of these tracks on my sunday morning show on rhythm fm- HOLYHOLLA

- @gozzim

HOLYHOLLA Podcast #54 with Modele

Post by HolyHolla.

kindly leave your comments below after listening and follow on twitter at the handle below.

- @gozzim

dOoRs..

Imagine for a minute that your mind is a heavily guarded (skull) fortress with various entrances (eyes, nose, ears, etc..). Also imagine that your very existence and quality of Life, depended on how well you develop and protect this very mind.

When you think about it, every possible man made convenience from Aircrafts, to something as simple as a spoon, to the tallest skyscrapers on earth; these were once a product of some innovative mind. Everything in existence were once intangible in the human mind so much so that a persistent belief in the possibility of its existence pushed individual inventors to bring  these things to life.

What exactly do you believe about yourself?
What kind of thoughts do you encourage?

Indeed whatever the mind can conceive, the hand can achieve, for the fact that your very mind could it is enough evidence of the inherent possibilities.
You are and will forever be the architect of your own fortune or worse - misfortune. The God given power to make choices is what ensures that in addition to His freely give grace to excel in Life we have to make conscious efforts to make a difference in every situation we find ourselves. So every chance you get to develop your mind or shield it from any form of social trauma enough to make a difference in Life should be embraced. Guard your thoughts with all diligence..

-@gozzim

#HOLYHOLLATop5 tHis WeeK- 5tH OcT. 2014

Post by HolyHolla.

tHiS sUNdAy (12th Oct. 2014) on #HolyHolla..

we host the amazing Modele on our show..

Post by HolyHolla.

JuMokE ADenOwo, rEdefiNes beiNg dRiveN..

Mrs. Jumoke Adenowo 2nd from right, Gozzim extreme left, Diddy, and Arthur

Last sunday we played host to a very inspiring woman who has thrived in a male dominated profession. Mrs Jumoke Adenowo, a spectacular architect, business woman, wife, mother and founder of AD Consulting, Awesome Treasures and the convener of the National Women's prayer Summit, has been and continues to be an inspiration to young people and women generally. She has been a conference speaker at the Harvard Business School (African Business Conference), London Business School and her events have inspired over 50,000 individuals within and outside Nigeria. This very driven woman came on our sunday morning show and she had a lot to say. I hope you enjoy this podcast.

- @gozzim

#HOLYHOLLATOP5 this week..

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tHis SuNDaY..

Post by HolyHolla.

LiViNg oN bORRoWeD tiME

Some mornings i wake up feeling like i'm living on borrowed time. Well maybe i am 'cos these days it all seems like one minute you are making jokes with friends and then the next minute you read from on a blog that your friend is gone. 

There has to be more in this Life than just subsistence. Yeah i said that, no matter how much wealth you have amassed for yourself or are hoping to amass, if you haven't given any thought & action to how much that wealth will touch or change the lives of people in your sphere of contact (and not just your family) you are just subsisting.

I have come to learn that 'our time here on earth is indeed a transaction'. You have breathe in exchange for a chance to live a life of impact using your gifts as a means of basic exchange and a chance at Eternal Investment. A typical scenario:

You are a gifted singer, somehow you rise to fame and become a world renowned pop icon, and the big bucks roll in faster than you can spend it, Yes! you have arrived but there is indeed a lot more that you can do than buying cars, paying sibling school fees, or even hooking your friends up. The best courses are the ones that outlive you and your gifts. People are dying every second in Liberia, Guinea all from Ebola, perhaps there are communities who before the Epidermic were followers or your music, but these people don't trust the government agencies perhaps adding your voice to that of the government will help them listen to how they can survive this epidermic. Surely having a million followers on social media is not just for bragging rights...

You see it may all seem like 'YOLO' and 'One life to Live' and then death, but i'm sure most doubt that you won't give account of the time you have spent here on earth. So as you go about your activities remember that every second of every day you are privileged to be alive you should constantly seek to exchange that breathe for a life of impact. You only live Once but if you live right Once is enough.

-@gozzim