As Globacom Raises Competition Bar

In any perfect competition, consumers are always the beneficiaries because of its impact on product offering and quality of service. In over two decades of the deregulation in Nigeria’s telecommunications market, competition has enhanced value for money, writes Raheem Akingbolu

The Nigerian market is not new to competition, especially in the fast moving consumer goods, food and drinks and financial sectors.  Since 1999, when the country returned to democracy, market competition became a springboard for the nation’s economic growth. For instance, the marketing communication industry steadily increased in fortune and development as a result of its contribution to the building of local brands, especially in the telecommunications sector. 

Until 2001, when the telecommunication industry was deregulated, the highest spenders on Advertising, Public Relations and other legs of marketing were players in the financial and manufacturing sectors.

The advent of the Global System of Mobile (GSM) communications was to later change the status quo because of the impact of creativity on the growth of telecommunications brands.  In particular, the emergence of a local operator, Globacom, sent an instant wake-up call to other brand owners to look outside the box in arriving at their marketing solutions.

Prior to the introduction of GSM telephony into the market, the number of connected phone lines in the country was a mere 450,000 for an estimated population of over 120 million people at the time.

Also, the level of investment in the telecommunications sector was put at $50 million. Between 2001 and now, the sector has remained a major revenue earner to the federal government. 

At the beginning, the battle was solely between MTN and then Econet Wireless Nigeria, while Mtel, owned by Nitel, was also struggling to add its voice. In 2002, a fourth Digital Mobile License (DML) was issued to Globacom (Glomobile).

In what look like a deliberate attempt to strengthen the competition in the market, in 2008, the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), the regulatory agency of government in charge of the sector, took a step further by awarding licence to Emerging Market Telecommunication Services Limited, otherwise known as ‘Etisalat’.

Since that moment, the operators have left no stone unturned in building desired equity status for their brands.

Glo as Game Changer

However, Globacom’s entrance into the market turned out to be the best and most revolutionary epoch in the annals of GSM mobile business in Nigeria.

The brand, which came with a bang in a market already dominated by two leading brands, launched out with an offensive strategy that almost caught already established operators gasping for breath with ambitious and popular per second billing.

It was the most revolutionary offer in the market which instantaneously paved the way for the brand Glo in the market.

This brand initiative was launched with the thematic campaign: ‘Magic Ball’. Since the launch, the brand’s advertising theme campaigns have been reviewed and adjusted over the years.

Some of the strong creative platforms the Glo brand have been positioned since launch in the market place are: ‘On your marks’; ‘Turning dreams into reality’ (Documentary); ‘Glowing continent’; ‘We live where you live’; ‘Rule your world’; ‘We’ve got people talking’; ‘Glo CAF’; ‘Football made in Africa’; ‘Marathon’; ‘The more campaigns’; ‘More technology’; ‘More people’; ‘More friends’; ‘More millions’ and ‘More youth’.

The brand is obviously the most unique GSM brand that has experimented with a plethora of advertising agencies and has equally savoured the creative edges of these agencies than others.

Quite a good number of advertising agencies have had a bite of Glo’s juicy jumbo advertising account. Some of these agencies are: Insight Grey, Bates Cosse, LTC and lately Verdant Zeal. The brand, which presently but quietly engages the services of some avant-garde creative shops is also said to have nurtured an in-house creative team headed by Joe Atunwa.

Driving Digital Future

At a time, complacency appears to have set in for the promoters of other brands, Globacom, as a leading digital solutions provider has come up with another game changing strategy.

At a well attended event on Monday, the brand unveiled two new products- Glo TalkMasta and Welcome Bonus for both new and existing subscribers. The new products are part of Globacom’s commitment to enhancing communication experience and delivering value far beyond customers’ expectations.

The new products are part of Globacom’s commitment to enhancing communication experience and delivering value far beyond customers’ expectations.
Glo TalkMasta offers additional free minutes on calls to encourage customers to have enriching conversations. The second product, Welcome Bonus, is a game-changer for every new subscriber joining the Globacom family. As the GLO line is activated, there is an instant welcome gift – a bonus on calls.
During the product launch, Globacom representative, Ande Abdulrazaq, stated, “For Globacom, the launch is not just about infusing new products into the market but it is about delivering on a promise.” Abdulrazaq explains the rationale behind the launch of the two products. “We understand how important it is to stay connected in today’s fast-paced world. Communication is the bridge that keeps us in touch with people and moments that matter the most. With these new products, we are making sure that connection is not just affordable but accessible, seamless, and enriching.
“As we march into the digital future, Globacom will not just be about technology or numbers but also about people. Our mission is about connecting hearts, building relationships, and enabling dreams. With Globacom, you are never just a subscriber; you are a part of a community. And with that, we invite you to be part of this journey with us,” Abdulrazaq said. Also speaking, the Head Marketing, Data, Devices and Digital at Globacom, Viju Unnithan, gave an insight into the product and services offered by Glo, noting that the telecommunications company’s aim had always been to add value to the lives of their customers. According to him, “Any new customer will be welcomed with a two thousand Naira free ‘welcome bonus’. This is doubled from the initial one thousand Naira offered before. Customers also get 25 minutes free airtime instead of the 10 minutes offered before and 1GB data instead of 250MB,” he said, stressing that the offer remains unlimited. Unnithan further explained that the second product tagged, Glo Talkmasta (Talk your talk with Glo Talkmasta), is innovation taken to the next level. “Every minute you call, you get 1 minute free. In addition, you get free data. 6 minutes in a day gives customers 6 minutes free calls instantly plus 50MB data bonus,” he said.
To benefit from the new products, Unnithan, who disclosed that the new tariff is exclusively available for Glo users in Nigeria, explained that new customers need a new Glo SIM and are to dial *606# while existing subscribers are to simply dial the code. Customers are free to switch to other tariff plans anytime.
A radio campaign jingle was also unveiled during the event to push the products to every corner of Nigeria.

Peep into the Past

Looking back into the market, one cannot but give it to Glo as a market disruptorIt. For instance, its crashing of the cost of acquiring SIM cards from about N25,000 to just about N200 and pioneering of the Per Second Billing system are primarily responsible for the massive telephone penetration in the country.   

Prominent among the innovations Glo pioneered in Nigeria are Blackberry Services, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), Magic Plus, Glo Direct, International MMS, Inflight Roaming, Prepaid Roaming, Glo Mobile Internet, GloFleetmanager, M-Banking, Glo Mobile Office, Glo TV,  Glo Cloud, Glo Always On, and Glo Berekete.   

Besides, the company is the only operator with a wholly owned submarine cable, Glo 1, which connects West Africa directly to the United Kingdom and the rest of the world. It also connects 14 nations in the West Africa sub-region, including some of them that are landlocked. This ensures the availability of bandwidth to Wholesale, Enterprise & SME customers in West Africa. The undersea cable delivers a much faster and robust connectivity for voice, data and video with some of the lowest latencies between Africa and its gateway in London. It unleashes limitless opportunities for global and other African carriers, global content and digital media providers, government and corporate bodies in Nigeria and West Africa.

With new offerings and a promise of value for money for its subscribers, it’s obvious that the music goes on for Glo in the Africa market