The Bigi carbonated soft drink brand from Rite Foods Limited, has been at the forefront of promoting talent discovery in various spheres, especially in the entertainment sector where young Nigerian singers and songwriters are deeply committed in making a career in music to become superstars.
According to the management, the brand, which made entrant into the Nigerian beverage market with a portfolio of products that now consists of 13 variants for the needs and preferences of consumers, is poised at connecting them through worthy initiatives aimed at adding value to life. This is why its credence has been behind many entertainment platforms since its inception, intended at paving the way especially for young Nigerians to attain their dreams as music icons.
From the sponsorship of the ‘Prophetess’ movie premiere in Lagos and Ibadan, which showcased the attributes of uniting the nation, connecting families and communities, to the debut of the ‘Progressive Tailors Club’ movie, a film built around the nature of Nigerians, but from the tailors’ perspectives as they come up with different characters which are sometimes funny and provocative, the Bigi brand has helped to power exciting events that have taken the entertainment to an enviable height.
Indeed, together with other projects in the country, Bigi’s efforts have also contributed to the burgeoning entertainment sector in Nigeria, which is expected to rise from $4.46 billion in 2018 to $10.5 billion by the end of 2023.
This is also evident in its massive support as the headline sponsor of the widely popular reality singing competition, Nigerian Idol, sponsored consecutively for the last two years, which has kept music lovers and fun-seekers entertained during the 10-week duration of the show.
Given that, the company’s Managing Director, Mr. Seleem Adegunwa, pointed out that the Bigi brand will continue to promote talent discovery in music through the Nigerian Idol series while espousing the company’s interest in the creative platform where abundant talents thrive in the country.
He said the sponsorship would ensure that talents are nurtured and stars are produced that would make the nation proud, like other megastars at global events.
To further deepen its resolve towards the enhancement of the Nigerian Idol sponsorship, the Bigi brand, before the commencement of the Nigerian Idol Season 6, held a mini-Idol show christened the ‘Bigi Media Idol’ for content drivers, music critics, and entertainment enthusiasts to have an in-depth understanding of the show and to announce the brand’s sponsorship of the musical platform.
Fascinatingly, the major highlight of the event was the 13 Bigi carbonated soft drink variants’ microphones stunt which got the audience astonished by the creativity adopted by the beverage market leader, an act that aroused commendation by brand enthusiasts and critics who applauded the product’s aggressive and inventive approach to equity building.
However, for a consumer-centric brand, analysts believe that the adoption of the platform for marketing advantage is laudable as a major player in the industry, connecting with its youth demographics, and according to Rite Foods’ boss, Adegunwa, Bigi’s inclusion in this act of young Nigerians is not only considered a well-thought decision, its exploitation is driven through innovation and unusual brand activation against the pedestrian approach other organisations would have applied.
The Rite Foods boss posits that it was one of the most creative ways of using visuals to illustrate commitment to sponsorship marketing, which is all about putting a brand’s message in the heart of consumers for top-of-mind recall.
Against this backdrop, the company’s Brand Manager, Boluwatife Adedugbe, explained that the 13 Bigi variants mics at the Bigi media lounge of the Nigerian Idol show depicted the brand’s involvement and investment in musical talents and discovery which starts from the ownership of the mic leading to the soothing of the throat with the premium products.
She further averred, “the connection between Bigi and the musical talents is very strong, that as the singers guzzle their favourite brand, their throat is soothed and refreshed for it to let out the natural gift of voice for great performances. So, as Bigi goes down the throat, the voice let out the song and our consumers continue to enjoy the great products and sterling act from the young singers”.
Consequently, its disruptive innovation being strategically and consistently employed to cause marketing disruption for competitors while offering value for money.
In the light of this, brand enthusiasts believe Bigi has blazed the trail with the creativity attached to the Nigerian Idol sponsorship, thus causing a serious upset against what some age-long foreign products have done, as the ‘Media Idol’ event trended and rivalled the Champions League games played the same day with Twitter conversations, which slightly edged it when the tournament started.
Certainly, the Nigerian Idol shows were full of electrifying moments; from the audition of thousands of candidates to the live contest, where the contenders demonstrated their musical prowess to get the audience and judges mesmerised with stunning performances which led to standing ovations for the young singers.
The talent discovery platform had celebrated stars in the entertainment sector as judges, as those in Season 6 comprised Thomas Amar-Aigbe, a Nigerian-Hungarian-born disc jockey, popularly known as DJ Sose; Deborah Oluwaseyi Joshua, a British-Nigerian singer, songwriter, and actress, professionally called Seyi Shay; and Obi Asika, the creative industry entrepreneur.
In season seven, the popular music superstar, Dapo Oyebanjo, widely known as D’Banj; the singer, songwriter, and actress, Simisola Bolatito Kosoko, best recognised by her stage name Simi; and Obi Asika presided as judges, while the top-notch radio and television On-air personality, Ikponmwosa (IK) Osakioduwa, acted as the host of both editions powered in 2021 and 2022.
Indeed, it was a fun-filled grand finale of the Season six show which culminated on 11 July, 2021, where the 24-year-old Bayelsa-born Kingdom Kroseide, who was identified with the ‘Bigi table water’ during the contest, his favourite brand, and was crowned the Nigerian Idol for displaying an enthralling dexterity that swayed millions of votes at the grand finale of the singing competition, thus clinching the prize of a recording contract with a leading record label and N50, 000,000 (Fifty Million Naira) worth of prizes.
Also, the Nigerian Idol Season seven produced Progress Chukwuyem, after 10 weeks of electrifying performances by the top 12 contestants, thus clinching N100,000,000 (One Hundred Million Naira) worth of prizes.
The 21 years old singer, songwriter, and performer, from Ika South of Delta State, defeated Zadok Aghalengbe, age 27, from Edo State, at the grand finale on Sunday, May 22. The victory was after a heated contest, as both demonstrated their musical dexterity with stunning acts that got the judges and audience thrilled, but in Progress’ favour, who was declared the winner with the highest vote from the 45 million recorded for the week, as part of the over 220 million votes for the entire show.
Progress represented the ‘Bigi Orange variant, his choice of the Bigi product portfolio, which stands for fruitfulness which, according to him, invigorated his stunning acts on stage. Before his victory at the finale show, the young singer performed AJR’s ‘Bang’ which led to a standing ovation by the judges and the audience, a stunning rendition that was well applauded.
The act by the winner was greeted with comments from Progress’ father, who was present to witness what lies ahead for his son, Overwhelmed with joy, he averred “what l see today is like a dream. When he went for the audition, l told him that the Lord is with him and here he is, the Nigerian Idol.”
According to Progress, if Bigi had not sponsored the show, he would not have attained the fame already gotten since he won the musical contest. “Bigi is why the world knows me now and I am glad about that, I thank Bigi for the great support, for making the show worthwhile.”
Other highpoints of the shows were the visits to the sponsor, Rite Foods’ Bigi, at the company’s head office in Lagos, by the top seven contenders in Season 6 and top six in Season seven. The top six contenders received cash prizes of N200,000 alongside expensive customised presents.
This magnitude of support by a corporate brand, according to industry watchers, deserves accolades and with sustained encouragement from the corporate world as been done by Bigi drinks, could catapult the whole Nigerian entertainment industry to enviable heights on the world stage.
