Brand extensions: Is Orijin Zero a worthwhile gamble?
Buoyed by the commercial success of Orijin, Guinness Nigeria Plc , in March, 2016, introduced a brand extension of the herbal drink. This time, without the alcoholic content but a charge on consumers to “rethink’ their soft drink, in obvious reference to the target market it has its eye on.
For a brand which within two years of its introduction into the market pushed up the earnings of the foremost brewer at a time its bottomline was going South and in so doing won a number of awards, including ADVAN Brand of the year and Marketing World Award for Marketing Excellence in the Innovation Category, stretching the equity of Orijin would,on a face value, be the smart thing to do, afterall, a local adage says, ‘when yam porridge is delicious, it calls for more servings.’
Moreso, in Nigeria, a country with a growing crowd of teetotalers whose philosophy of alcohol abstinence is informed by gender, religion, and health considerations. The World Bank puts Nigeria’s female population at 49.9 % of the total population. Recent statistics also show that Muslims constitute 45% of the country’s population even as Pentecostalism is spreading like wild fire and with it, the gospel of alcohol abstinence.
Given all these, is the quick move by Guinness to milk Orijin’s success expedient? How have precedents fared in the market? It could be that as the Nigerian trailblazer in this emerging market category, Guinness is pre-empting its competitors who may want to reap where they did not sow. Apart from being created by companies in the hope to leverage brand loyalty of an existing product to increase company’s profits, brand extensions are born to keep a competitor at bay or counter a competitor’s marketing manoeuvres. A brand expert and lecturer at the Pan African University, Dr Chris Doghudje once suggested that, “It (brand extension) helps to prevent someone else coming up with something similar.”
However, most brand extensions are a big gamble wired with risks. Evidence in the Nigerian market shows that in most cases, after initial ‘rush’ driven by heavy advertising and marketing support to push them, most line extensions become stillbirths, with millions of naira spent in their research, development and marketing, going down the drain.
In the 80s, soft drink giant, Coca-Cola, introduced Diet Coke and Fanta Chapman but the duo died premature. Currently, Coca Cola’s latest effort with Coke Zero is still hanging in the balance as the new product is struggling in the market.
Similarly, Nigerian Breweries introduced Guldermax and Starlite, younger siblings of Gulder and Star, respectively. Both are dead. The brewer also berthed Heineken Magnum, a line extension of Heineken which suffered the same fate.
NB’s major rival, Guinness once offered beer consumers, Harp lime, an extension of Harp but it died soon after birth.
In all the instances listed, it became clear over time it was just a ‘crush’ that drove the initial excitement as consumers soon returned to their old love, due to their inability to distinguish the old from the new. A lot of times, rather than compete with their brand owners’ competitors, brand extensions tend to compete in-house as more often than not most people who experiment with them are consumers of their forerunners.
What do the consumers, experts say?
Beyond judging the prospect of the new drink from the experience of its predecessors, Business Hallmark team went to town to gauge the pulse of consumers and beverage retailers. E also spoke with analysts. Consumers were also engaged on the social media.
The team visited some shops, parks, eateries and joints and other stockists of non-alcoholic beverages in different locations in Lagos and observed that the brand is yet penetrate the market. Except for parks like Agege, Berger, Oshodi where it was sighted, most hawkers who sell in traffic to on- the-go consumers are stuck with Orijin classic. The Bar Manager of Paradise Garden and Hotel, Ogba, Lagos, a hotspot in who would not want to be identified told Business Hallmark he knows of Orijin but has not heard of OrijinZero.
Consumers who spoke have varied views. Some women and men who do not take alcohol are warming up to the brand. One of them, Hammed Daramola enjoyed Orijin Zero because of its unique taste and low sugar content. Another consumer, Ken Obasi said: , “On the evidence of my taste, the drink is a clear departure from the everyday soft-drink.” Another new convert, Seyi Imah liked Orijin Zero because it is ‘mild.’ “At least milder than the earlier version which I didn’t care for so much,” he said.
Chukwuka Okeke and Chika Obieze in separate chats told Business Hallmark they have experienced both Orjin and the new Orijin Zero, but would rather stick with the former. Dr Habeeb Salami who was introduced to the drink by his wife said that he is not likely to try it again. “ I am not sure I will try it again. I don’t take alcohol but the problem is I am sweet-toothed. I like sugary things,” he said. His reaction to his Orijin Zero experience aligned with the position of an industry analyst, Ikem Okuku, believed that OrijinZero has no chance in the dogfight by sitting on the fence.
“You cannot convert people who drink alcohol to Orijin Zero. You also cannot convert people who don’t take alcohol to Orijin Zero. They will rebel because of the association,” Okuhu argued on his platform, BrandDish.com.
However, a brand expert and CEO, Harmonee Concepts, Kayode Oluwasona, insisted that Orijin Zero has a good chance at succeeding because of the distinct position it occupies in the marketing space.
“I think its survival is 100 percent if the brand owners will do the right thing. It occupies a clear marketing space. Unlike brand extensions of alcohol beverages that we have seen in the past, it actually is in a different market category. It is a soft drink with a concept resonates with consumers; herbs and African roots, the concept that it is healthy, it is herbal, it is non-alcoholic.”
Efforts to get reaction from Guinness proved abortive. Emailed enquiry sent to Yinka Edmonds of the company’s corporate/ media relations department , was not responded to at the time of filing this report.
