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.
That takes me to the story of the moment in Nigeria: check Tekedia, my piece on Oba Cubana is trending #1. In other words, in less than 4 hours, its traffic is bigger than the cumulative 7-day averages of other articles. This is the piece, and it has been well received by many.
I am from Abia but I have many contacts in Anambra. What people may not know is that even though some of these men might not have gone to school, they do not play with education! Anambra state is now ranked top #3 (if not #1) in JAMB and WAEC in Nigeria with literacy rate above 95%. If you work with them, you understand the pursuit of perfection and excellence: “Prof, you will lead this presentation for our company and we are sending a business class ticket for you to arrive in Nigeria over the weekend”. Yes, they are ready to spend millions of naira to get someone to have the best delivery.
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The Obi Cubana and his pals run hotels and clubs. Using public data, I know they hold 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 in Nigeria. They put on a show and the Scottish press recorded their presence; they brought the deal home. In business, open your playbook but it needs to align with your grand plan.
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!
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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.
Obi Cubans is a known man all over the world.