From Echefula to A ha Gi Efula, 7Interactive takes Hero Lager on a Journey of Home-Grown Solutions

ABInBev, makers of Hero Lager has unveiled a new TV campaign to continue to advance the cause of its Hero brand and further entrench its positioning and market share in the South-East and South-South of Nigeria.

The brand which has in the last couple of years earned a sizeable share of the market especially in the East where it’s has risen to become the dominant larger brand, has established its leadership status and continues to reaffirm the same through insightful marketing campaigns such as #Echefula, conceived and executed by 7Interactive.

Echefula which means “Never forget” struck a chord with the target audience especially people of Igbo extraction. Since, 2019, it’s been no stopping for the brand as the various adaptations of the campaign online and offline perfectly sync with the market. And the journey isn’t stopping either.

According to findings, ABInBev, the client and its agency, are poised to taking every logical step to further enhance the bonding that exists between the brand and its consumers while also seeking to bring prospects in the fold.

Like a hero, the many heroic deeds of the Igbos are in no contention. Hence, the new campaign tagged “Aha Gi Efula” (may your name not be forgotten) which unveiled last week across different media channels, indicates a logical progression from #Echefula.

According to Ndukwe Onuoha, Creative Director, 7Interactive, the new campaign derives its storyline from the Igbo culture of apprenticeship which is quite innovative and has been helpful in driving economic empowerment and innovation among the people.

Hinging the creative on this well-established Igbo culture helps to drive home the brand’s message in alignment with the individual’s economic vision and the so much craved financial independence, the Creative Director further explained.

“As a beer that has made its home in the South-East and South-South regions of Nigeria, Hero owes a great responsibility to those that have taken it in, to tell their stories”, said Ndukwe while further rationalizing the strategic fit.  This perhaps explains why the Hero lager brand strives to push established Igbo cultures at every available opportunity.

The big idea for the new thematic campaign, “Aha Gi Efula” is to inspire consumers never to forget the highest accolades one can ever attain – a name and a legacy that is forever etched in the memories of one’s people, chirped in Taiwo Agboola, CEO, 7Interactive while making a comment on the new campaign.

“This is because Hero not only celebrates its core customers but invests in telling their stories and making sure that they become a staple the world over.  With this thinking and the already-stated ambition of pointing customers to the highest attainable ideals, the apprenticeship culture became an obvious choice of the story of these people that must be told to drive success and inspire heroism”, said Mr. Agboola while corroborating the Creative Director.

This is why the lead cast vividly remembers his source, tells about his humble beginnings and was indeed very willing to pass on the legacy.

Unlike most commercials that poke the brand in the face of viewers from the blast of the whistle, 7 Interactive creatively delayed the appearance of the images of the brand till the dying seconds of the commercial, while allowing viewers to savour an inspiring story.

This style aligns with a research finding which claims that “people do not want to be sold to”, or else they will switch off immediately they sense the message is fighting hard to do just that.

Analysing the Hero’s campaigns – Echefula and Aha Gi Efula, reveals they are never about selling, but connecting with the target market. The success of the agency’s consistent storytelling approach as relates to the Hero brand campaigns, according to the CEO, indicates there has never been a better time than now to celebrate home-grown solutions to global problems.

“And this is what Hero is about – celebrating those things that make us unique as a people and a gift to the world”, he added, while revealing the campaign is multi-faceted and 360 degrees in approach including digital, radio, outdoor and TV documentary among others.