One of the most “craziest” CEOs in America in recent memory was the CEO of T-Mobile. John Legere was annoyingly funny. But check his numbers: he rebuilt T-Mobile and redesigned the US telecommunication market. The man will run crazy in front of hotels, attracting attention, just to get local TVs to cover his brand. He pioneered no-contract mobile plans and did many things that changed how AT&T and Verizon, the industry leaders, engaged with customers.
according to Ndubisi Ekekwe, the story of the moment in Nigeria: I am from Abia but I have many contacts in Anambra. If you work with them, you understand the pursuit of perfection and excellence. In the Igbo Nation, the Anambra kinsmen have a different playbook.
The Obi Cubana and his pals run hotels and clubs. Using public data, I know they hold the exclusive distribution of many wine brands in Nigeria. As they serve these drinks in their clubs and hotels, they build a customer base. Not only wines but many things. In short, they run the One Oasis strategy, capturing massive value using the Double Plays.
The Cubana team has been doing shows in their own ways! They went to Scotland and wowed the company board to seal the exclusivity of the Glenfiddich. They put on a show and the Scottish press recorded their presence; they brought the deal home.
Do not be deceived, these are men going for alpha. In the Igbo Nation, the world is a market, and they are in the market now. If you can, try to understand what they do. According to rumours, the total worth of their hotels, clubs, etc would be in excess of $1 billion which means only 3 banks in Nigeria are worth more!
Has been waiting for Ndubuisi Ekekwe comment on this. This is just it. What about looking at capitalism its cons and pros. Capitalism is the breeding home of corruption, crime, and oppression. Lesson well learned on branding but thinking out loud on the societal effect.
This was exactly what I told someone last week. These guys are re-thinking brand advertisement and marketing. And it’s a win-win for them. Every quarter or so, make some noise with a few million, get free TV and newspaper coverage, grow your social media presence, become a household name. To those who see this as lavishing, you’re not their target customer. They are strategically positioning the Cubana brand for their next growth phase.
When they went to Scotland, the press covered them. I do not like nightclubs and alcohol (yes, Scripture Union boy) but as I read them, I see why they run a business that is bigger than most banks in Nigeria on market cap. Most of the drinks are served in their clubs and hotels, they hold exclusivity to distribute them. That is a double play on One Oasis!
I agree with you on their branding methods; a few years ago I was in Owerri and all that was talk of the town was a child dedication ceremony which was in billboards all over town. This caught the attention of many as to who has gone to this length to have just a child dedication for a little boy; that was the announcement of “Cubana Chief Priest”, the self-proclaimed ‘Celebrity Bar Man’ and he has gained so many followers online ever since then.
The guys are good in their branding, I give it to them
Ndubuisi Ekekwe and @Ibe Marcus, I totally agree with your take on the Cubana branding approach. I remember telling a friend that for us to understand the Oba saga in Anambra State, we need to look past the showmanship and focus our attention on the socio-economic implications of the whole event on their personal brand, the community (Oba), and Nigeria.
Obi Cubana and his Cohorts were the most talked about brand on the internet, looking at it from the market point; their MPS would have skyrocketed leading to an all-time high market capitalization.
Anambra State, Oba community, and its inhabitants have been exposed to the world. With visibility comes more opportunities.
On a national scale, let’s watch out and see the ripple effects of the Cubana showmanship.
Whoah! They are deep thinkers and robust entrepreneurs
The problem here is that those with little or no knowledge of business and branding are quick to give their opinions, only to end up advertising their ignorance.
The same ‘give to the poor’ mantra Judas flashed, and Jesus rebuked him? The poor will always complain about how the rich spend their money, only that they cannot become rich, so their lot is to frown and complain.
Why do Coca-Cola and others spend millions of dollars on campaigns? Obi and his group just threw up another playbook for business gurus and branding experts to study, only that they didn’t patent it…
Many people pontificating haven’t heard of Obi or Cubana until Oba happened, and yet still think the open display of affluence hasn’t done its job? The fact that a lot of people are talking about it makes it a hit! Millions of dollars of ad buy on both traditional and digital media won’t deliver such ROI.
No wonder so many people are poor because they are incapable of learning business lessons.
Cubana is empowering about 300 youths from his community with N1m each. If about 30% of these youths succeed in turning around this sum it means there will be about 90 millionaires in that community in the nearest future. My point is that as they’re branding, they did not leave out charity.
Doing the extraordinary to be visible. Their aim is to be the talk of the town. They got the attention they craved for. I guess this whole show was engineered by Cubana Chief Priest, approved by Obi, and executed by the entire crazy team
as an Igbo man that grew up in the East this is not new. It has been there in the 80s, & 90s, that’s why Late Olivier sang Ogiliga with some of their names. When they come to show the stolen the show with money. I can’t forget a man that wanted to bury his mother along with a brand new ambulance he bought that conveyed the corpse home because of too much money…the elders rejected that. This is the Internet and social media age things are very different. They are in the entertainment and show biz, doing their things in their own way…..
Generally, an average Igboman knows how to fine-tune things in business by adding little excellence to have an edge. Some of them have Franchises in Asia and India with companies and products selling globally.
Just watch for season 3….maybe someone taking the corpse of his mother to the moon for burial.
Ndubuisi Ekekwe, you nailed it. Some people are busy complaining about how a private individual will spend his wealth without knowing that the man is selling and advertising his brand. I’m from Anambra State but have not heard about Obi Cubana until the recent drama. When I saw what was going on in Oba, I didn’t follow the view that the business tycoon staged a platform to showcase his wealth because I have always known that our people think and do things differently. Even if what happened at Oba is a massive show of wealth, I will advise everyone to think and legitimately work harder to accumulate wealth.
This branding has been going on for a long even before Cubana, Kcee has been doing this to E-money, every show and concert E-money is a household name, he is a brand to identify with. same way every comedian also does the same, no wonder every ibo event where there is a wealthy or prominent man, he always wants the artist to promote him by calling his name and his brand. The Cubana crew took it to a whole new level.
In retrospect, looking at their outfit in Scotland to seal the Glenfiddich whiskey deal; just reminded me of the science of persuasion.
One of the components of the science of persuasion is “LIKING”….. Research has it that there is this kind of fast agreement between two parties if there is a common like between them…
Wearing a kind of Scottish national attire pattern was crazy and on point for me.
If you are in the entertainment/hospitality industry – your real business is showbiz and your criteria is ‘show fullness showmanship just as a lawyer real business is how he can be eloquent’😱.
Mute the noise and understand what the lyrics are about.
Publicity pays -either positive or negative and the Cubana gangs leverage it to the max.
Do you understand what your real business is?