Mobile subscribers in Nigeria can ‘opt-in’ to receive advertising messages and marketing offers from the brands they value the most
Paris and Lagos, August 14, 2012 — Etisalat Nigeria, the fastest growing and most innovative mobile service provider in Nigeria, today announced the launch of a permission- and preference-based mobile advertising service, in collaboration with Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU).
Etisalat Nigeria is to deploy Alcatel-Lucent’s 
Optism, the software-based mobile marketing solution which allows subscribers to share their interests and preferences with their mobile operator and ‘opt-in’ to receive personalized, relevant advertising and special offers on their mobile phones from their favorite brands.
On behalf of Etisalat Nigeria, Alcatel-Lucent has created a local ecosystem made up of key players in the advertising value chain (including advertisers, brands and media agencies), while positioning Etisalat Nigeria as the enabler of interactive dialogues with a large group of mobile phone users with very detailed consumer profiles. Because Optism is afully hosted, full-service solution, it provides a fast, efficient go-to-market with a low cost of entry.
During a limited initial launch in the beginning of 2012, more than 800,000 subscribers opted in to participate in the service. Etisalat Nigeria has seen very impressive results from all of the Optism-supported campaigns that have run to date. What is noticeable, is not just the high degree of engagement and interaction that the audience has with the promotional messages but also that the campaigns have all successfully driven high levels of quantifiable actions – levels way in excess of those seen via other digital channels:
- In line with its mission statement to “[…] delivering superior enjoyment and brightening all social occasions”, Nigerian Breweries promoted their “Star” beer brand by inviting a well-targeted audience of males between 18 and 25 years old to be part of a series of music concerts – called “Star Trek”. With a response rate of more than 30%, and a click-through rate of almost 9%, the campaign created an avenue to reinforce the brand’s spirit of fun.
- Coca-Cola offered an ‘Open and Win’ campaign which encouraged people to look under bottle caps for a code which they would then text to see if they had won free airtime. Participants were also encouraged to forward the campaign link to friends – adding a viral, social media element. The campaign had an almost 35% response rate among the 18-25 age group, a highly desirable target audience for beverage companies, and a 6.5% click-through rate.
- Sprite offered a ’Triple Slam’ campaign focused on basketball, dance and music – key interests for young people. The focus of the campaign was not to win a prize but to get people to show the world their talents and to ’like’ Sprite on Facebook. In this campaign, there was a 22% response rate and an 18% click-through rate to the Sprite Facebook page.
- The British Council ran an effective two-month campaign to encourage young people to study in the UK and used the chance to win a tablet PC as an enticement. The campaign had a response rate of almost 40%, and a click-through rate of more than 20% – pre-registering people for an education exhibition about studying in the UK.
Chief Commercial Officer of Etisalat Nigeria, Wael Ammar said: “Optism is enabling us to achieve a number of exciting and important objectives. First, we are bringing the power of permission-based mobile advertising to the Nigerian market with our EasyAdz service. This simply means that we will provide customers with advertising content relevant to their specific locations and choices. We are also providing a large and highly profiled audience base for brands and advertisers as well as creating an avenue to connect with our most important asset – our growing base of over thirteen million subscribers.”
Amr El-Leithy, head of Alcatel-Lucent’s business in the Middle East & Africa: “We are very enthusiastic to again be working with the Etisalat group to bring a more personalized and compelling experience to their customers. After a successful launch of Optism in the UAE it is extremely gratifying to have another member of the group choose our solution for permission-based mobile marketing. We see this as a solid endorsement of the way we are meeting expectations.”
About Etisalat
In just about 3 years of operations, Etisalat Nigeria has become a major industry player with a growing subscriber base of over 13 million in a highly competitive market. Its portfolio of voice and data-centric products include – easy starter, easycliq, easyblaze and easybusiness; all tailor-made to meet the needs of its customers. For its outstanding performance, it has won several awards including ‘Brand of the Year’, ‘Best Telecom Customer Service’ Telecom Innovations Company of the Year, and ‘Most Innovative Corporate Social Responsibility Company’, among others. Etisalat Nigeria is one of the 17 operations of the Etisalat Group that spans across Africa, Middle East and Asia serving over 135 million subscribers; and it is committed to delivering innovative and quality services to its growing subscribers.
About Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU)
The long-trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments around the world, Alcatel-Lucent is a leading innovator in the field of networking and communications technology, products and services. The company is home to Bell Labs, one of the world’s foremost research centers, responsible for breakthroughs that have shaped the networking and communications industry. Alcatel-Lucent was named one of MIT Technology Review’s 2012 Top 50 list of the “World’s Most Innovative Companies” for breakthroughs such as lightRadio™, which cuts power consumption and operating costs on wireless networks while delivering lightning fast Internet access. Through such innovations, Alcatel-Lucent is making communications more sustainable, more affordable and more accessible as we pursue our mission – Realizing the Potential of a Connected World.
With operations in more than 130 countries and one of the most experienced global services organizations in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach. The Company achieved revenues of Euro 15.3 billion in 2011 and is incorporated in France and headquartered in Paris.
For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com, read the latest posts on the Alcatel-Lucent blog: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/blog and follow the Company on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Alcatel_Lucent.
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