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Gboyega Akosile Floats Broadcast Academy

M2 — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:04:16 +0000

Blessing Nwobodo
Following a successful career in broadcast journalism spanning over 10 years, Gboyega Akosile has berthed a broadcast academy, City Broadcast Academy. The Academy is aimed at bridging the technology gap within the industry, provide on hand professional trainings to upcoming broadcasters and build more entrepreneurs in the television and radio production.
Speaking on the Academy, Akosile comments that in recent years the singular revolution that has occurred in the world of communication has contributed not only to a profound shake-up of the roles and specificities of each given media but also to a considerable redefinition of what it means to be a modern journalist. “ the world of communication has greatly been redefined with the introduction of more newer and savvy technology specifically deployed for a particular broadcast need, this is why the City Broadcast Academy has created training cycles adapted to each specific media and whose goal is to break the information-reporting process down into its most basic attributes.
According to him the various modules, whether theoretical, technical or practical, offer a concrete framework for understanding, learning or reconversion within the media industry, taking into account new developments big and small, and the increasingly vast role of a modern journalist and the professional norms of information-reporting structures. “80% of our resources, both human and material will be channeled into operations. we are employing first class and highly experienced and exposed broadcasters, which include producers, journalists, directors and cinematographers to give hands on and qualitative training to students at the Academy,” he states

25th Anniversary: Emzor To Unveil Wellness Foundation, Targets WHO Certification

M2 — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:59:51 +0000

Emzor Phamaceutial Industries is set to celebrate its silver jubiee anniversary of building an oak of an industry from the humble mustard seed sown 25 years ago at Fola Agoro, Yaba, Lagos as a chemist shop.
Speaking at a pre anniversary press conference at the company’s head office in Lagos, The Founder/Group Managing Director of the company, Mrs. Stella Okoli, OON, reveals that outside the usual annual thanksgiving dinner the company organizes as a tradition, “We have an even greater reason to thank God and our different stakeholders as our company attains the silver Jubilee as we consider ourselves an established, mature and reputable organization to the glory of God”
An important part of the activities will be the official unveiling of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative – The Emzor Wellness Foundation. This will seek to consolidate and build on Emzor’s various humanitarian programmes which include Mass deworming for school Age Children, Advocacy for Preventive Therapy of Malaria in Pregnancy and Support for orphanages and Schools among others.
According to the Group Managing Director, the road has been rough with both economic and environmental challenges, Emzor’s staying power and continuous improvement is hinged on its people’s commitment, passion, character, drive for excellence and energy. We also owe a lot to our distributors and consumers who she promises products that will continue to deliever unlimited wellness .
The chemist shop in Fola Agoro had sprung into a colossus in the pharmaceutical sector with five subsidiaries. The group has branches outside the shores of Nigeria and provide direct employment for over 600 people and multifold of this in indirect employment. The company has the highest installed capacity in its sector producing over 5 billion tablets and 3 billion litres of syrup per year in its two factories in Lagos.
Unwilling to be complacent with its achievements and the International Standard Organisation’s status of ISO 9001:2000 in 2009 which was upgraded in 2009 to the ISO 9001:2008 in 2010, the management has challenged itself to attain the World Health Organisation (WHO) certification in due course as there are currently no pharmaceutical company in Nigeria this certification.

Mr Bigg’s Excites Children with Santa Claus

M2 — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:57:31 +0000

Blessing Nwobodo
As part of its brand commitment to adding value and excitement to the lives of its core target, Mr Bigg’s has unveiled plans to host children to a three-week period of unlimited fun this Yuletide season in a promo tagged Afro Santa Gifts Spree.
Derrick Van Houten, Divisional Managing Director, UAC Restaurants while announcing the plans stated that the promo is a re-enactment of fond memories of Santa Claus and his grotto which over the years has gradually waned. According to him the affordability of this promo is so that children from all walks of life will have the chance to experience Santa Claus just like in the years past. “We are bringing back the fond memories of Santa Claus and his grotto, which our parents enjoyed and were not able to relate to the children of today,” he opined
To deliver on the promised fun and excitement, Van Houten stated that over 160 Santa Grottos will be deployed pan Nigeria in all of the Mr Bigg’s outlets including the Chicken Inn and Pizza Inn Counters.
To share in the exciting moments, children are encouraged to walk into any of the Mr Bigg’s Outlets between December 12, 2011 to January 1, 2012 to get a special treat of the Santa Claus meal for as low as N600. The treat earns a child a ticket to see Santa Claus in his mini Grotto, sit on his lap, take pictures with him and get a free gift from him.

Unilever Pushes for Safe Drinking Water with Pureit

M2 — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:49:14 +0000

To curb the health problems that arise due to lack of clean water, Unilever has introduced a unique, scientifically proven complete germ kill water purifier called “Pureit”.
Pureit works with a break-through “Germkill Technology” and has an advanced multi-stage purification process which provides water that’s completely free from all harmful germs, thus giving 100 per cent protection from all water-borne diseases. It provides high quality water at an affordable price.
Speaking at the launch of Pureit, the Managing Director, Unilever Nigeria Plc , Mr Thabo Mabe said more than one billion people in the world do not have access to Safe Drinking Water. In the developing world, more than 80 per cent of diseases are water related. Almost 2.2 million lives are lost due to diarrheal diseases, with more than four billion disease episodes, globally, every year. It is in this context, United Nations, has established the MDG of halving the number of people without access to Safe Drinking Water, and reducing by two-third the mortality of children under five years, by 2015.
The benefits of drinking clean water daily, scientists say include the improvement of many health conditions such as chronic exhaustion, poor nutrient absorption, impaired toxins removal, poor nutrients circulation, angina, heartburn, hypertension (blood pressure), impaired immune system and many more.
He added, “other benefits of clean drinking water daily are related to better functioning of the kidneys. Kidneys need water to filter out waste and toxins from the body. A lack of clean water would allow the kidneys to dump their work to the liver and what happens next is that the liver will not perform as well by not metabolizing the fat as it should do and consequently leads to an impaired immune system.”
He noted that Pureit provides water with “Complete Germ Protection” which ensures freedom against all water-borne diseases like jaundice, diarrhoea, typhoid, cholera etc by removing all harmful viruses and bacteria from your drinking water. It provides water that meets the safety norms of one of the world’s most stringent regulatory authorities, i.e. of Environmental Protection Agency (USA), without needing any running water or electricity and at a fraction of the cost of dispenser bottles and boiled water. Pureit is the only in-home water purifier in the world that provides you with assured safe drinking water in the comfort of your home and in affordable and hassle-free manner.

Amaka Igwe’s Premiers a Movie on Rape

M2 — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:45:35 +0000

Nze Eunice
As part of its social responsibility towards creating awareness and seeking solutions to the issue of rape in Nigeria, Amaka Igwe Studios premiered a short film on rape and sexual abuse, last week at the Silverbird Galleria in Victoria Island, Lagos,
The writer of the film; Chris Ihidero, who also happens to be the director, features actors Yemi Adeyemi, Zara Abimbola Udofia, ‘Tunbosun Auyedehin and some others. According to Ihidero, the project was embarked upon as his personal contribution to society.
“We decided to make a film on rape because we believe that, for our society to truly combat this abnormality, we need to lay our collective shame bare. We need to strip off the layers upon layers of coverings that hide the realities of rape and sexual abuse. We believe that we all need to come clean and accept the blame for whatever part we have played, consciously or not, in ensuring that rape victims continue to lack support and justice, and lives continue to get ruined. We fear that unless we collectively do something quickly, anarchy may be let loosed upon us all in the very near future’, says Ihidero who is a writer. He said.
The film is about a young woman who is at the crossroads. A victim of rape and sexual abuse by a family member from childhood to early teenage years, her life has become marred by the scars of the past. A gloomy future lies ahead as the scars that she bears continue to threaten her future possibilities…’‘The big questions is: ‘What would she do?

M2 Continues To Show Appreciation

M2 — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:43:54 +0000

M2 Magazine is set to show appreciation to its ever loyal subscribers, as it prepares for its upcoming annual party tagged M2 Bafana Bafana 6, a traditional way of saying, thank you in M2′s world. Like the previous event, Bafana Bafana is an avenue for people of the corporate world to come together to network and have fun. The party has been scheduled for the 9th of December 2011 from 5pm.
The biggest networking party, where managers and industry players on the cutting edge of business come together takes a different turn from last year’s edition. This year’s Bafana Bafana will take place at Time Square, Ajao road, off Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja, Lagos. It will feature the return of 100 M2 models on the runway of fire.
Bafana Bafana 6 is going to be in two sessions, the first session includes games and the red carpet, followed by the 2nd session which will include the fashion show and merriment. It promises maximum fun as there will be lots of music, dance, games, fashion show, hot chops, drinks and lots of prizes to be won in a raffle draw.
In addition, there is going to be a party within the party featuring a highly exclusive run down of high class entertainment. Though restricted, the lion den is targeted only at those who seek to go the extra length in relaxation.
This year’s Bafana Bafana is christened the “happy Friends” invitees are thereby encouraged to come with friends and loved ones to make the usual memorable event a day to remember.

Making Marketing Count with Digital Media

M2 — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:44:32 +0000

Blessing Nwobodo
Consumers’ attitude of spending less time watching TV and reading newspaper while spending more time on their phones and Internet has created a need to realign marketing efforts. Since 2008, Internet penetration in Nigeria has quadrupled to 43 million. The growing Internet penetration is not only increasing Nigeria’s population on the web space but also offering a high-impact distribution channel for many businesses. To this end, Digital Media has become an increasingly vital part of the marketing mix to help businesses reach new audiences and look after existing customers in a personalised way.
As the day rolls by, customers are becoming more sophisticated in the way they use their mobiles, e-books or iPads. Today consumers’ passions range from music, movies, technology, socialising, career, sport, fashion and gaming. These passion points are platforms digital media has tapped into, to deliver maximum brand-consumer engagement. Brands stand a good chance because technology and methods to reach customers and potentials are developing at a fast rate.
Gone are the days when everything needed to boost your sales was to run a couple of TV, radio or print ads (no offence BTL professionals) and watch your phones ring off the hook. Today’s customers want a lot more value; a lot of your attention and ironically are willing to pay the lowest price possible.
However, in order to achieve the desired result with Digital Marketing, it is pertinent to understand how it works. Each growing brand manager or business owner needs to focus marketing efforts on targeting the right people, not just passing the message to a large number of people. How can a brand accurately target the right people in need of it?
Abasiama Idaresit, Managing Director, Wildfusion Limited, a digital media sales company says that there are technical hurdles that need to be tactically approached in order to achieve desired results.
He narrows down the key advantages into what he called the three ‘Rs’ – reach, relevance and returns on investment. ‘Reach,’ over 43 million Nigerians are online, making her the largest country in Africa and the 10th largest in the world by number of Internet users. Nigeria is also the largest country in Africa by number of mobile phones, (with over 90 million active mobile lines). ‘Relevance,’ which he explains as ability to target ads by a number of criteria including: age, sex, location, language, education level, browsing history, online activity etc, as well as serving ads, when people are actively searching for your product/service; and ‘Returns on Investment,’ which he says ‘is the ability to make real time decisions, access to real time analytic reports, ability to fine-tune or optimize your campaigns, manipulating budgets, timeframe, even change ad creatives, all in real time.’
He maintains that every business is unique and its marketing formula should be unique as well. ‘Regardless of your business, you can always find the right platform or integration of platforms to find, keep and engage your customers,’ he says.
Idaresit reveals that to better educate brand managers on the existing media possibilities, Wildfusion is putting together an event tagged ‘The Role of Digital Media in a Dynamic Media Landscape.’ The event will be facilitated by both local and international partners.
Wildfusion is one of the front runners in the online advertising industry, serving highly targeted advertising on online platforms, such as Google search and display, Yahoo, mobile ads, facebook, twitter, linkedin, BBC.com, CNN.com amongst other premium online destinations.

Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR) set for induction ceremony in Lagos

M2 — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:41:59 +0000

Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR), a formidable network of career women is set for another glittering event to celebrate the graduation of its second stream of successful mentees, the induction of the third stream of new mentees and the launch of the new WISCAR website.
The three –in one event will take place on Saturday, December 3rd, 2011 at Elion House Hotel, Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos at 10am.
Hon. Justice Aloma Mukthar, CON will be the Special Guest of Honor while Mrs. Uwa –Osa Oboh, the Chief Responsibility Officer of Restral Limited and Nike Ogunlesi, Managing Director, CEO, Ruff “N’ Tumble are Guest Speakers.
Speaking on the rationale behind the establishment of WISCAR, an NGO which aims to institute an effective career mentoring frame work, the founder, Mrs. Amina Oyagbola, Human Resources Executive, MTN, says “the goal is to initiate and promote the emergence of a highly motivated and talented female work force that are not only valuable role models, but are agents of positive cultural and policy changes within their respective organizations and Nigeria’.
According to Mrs Oyagbola, “taking cognizance of the roles women play in nation building, we have taken it upon ourselves to bring together a steady pool of successful career and progressive entry / mid level women to be mentors and mentees respectively.”
WISCAR provides one-on-one guidance and practical counseling, ensuring documented feedback and careful monitoring of progress. It also designs and implements programs that provide first class, practical career and business guidance.
The NGO seeks to entrench gender-sensitive policies in corporate organizations through several senior female professionals who are part of the WISCAR network.
Commenting on the subject, Mrs. Oyagbola revealed that “WISCAR is at the vanguard of encouraging that organizations adopt progressive gender targets in the context of a merit based system”.
The event is sponsored by MTN Nigeria, I0 Furniture, Stanbic IBTC Bank and Access Bank Plc.

Google Partners Brandforum on 2nd Anniversary

M2 — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:40:52 +0000

Blessing Nwobodo
As part of activities marking the 2nd anniversary of Brandforum, a free brand enlightenment initiative aimed at educating and assisting Nigerian entrepreneurs, Google Nigeria has taken up responsibility to educate entrepreneurs on how to set up free websites for their Business.
Oluwaseun Ogunleye, initiator of the forum, disclosed this at a press conference to announce the launch of her book e-book, ‘Basics of Branding’ set to unveil at the event on December 9, 2011.
According to her, the book, is aimed at providing entrepreneurs with branding know-how and also assist them in getting their businesses properly branded. “BASICS OF BRANDING is a product of my passion and desire to add value to Nigerian businesses in the area of branding. It is a well-researched book that contains an assemblage of key branding terms, concepts and possible solutions to common branding problems faced by entrepreneurs. It therefore serves as a brand glossary, handbook and reference material at the same time. Basic of Branding is a brand-building companion for all entrepreneurs who will not only find the e-book enlightening, but also helpful in making sound branding decisions as the need arises,” she stated.

Havana Donates To Ibadan Flood Victims

M2 — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:38:24 +0000

Simisola Shitta
This year’s proceed from the Havana Music carnival will go to victims of the Ibadan Flood disaster, organizers of the event has informed.
Speaking at a press conference to announce commencement date for the event, Shuaib Abdulrasheed, The Sigma Chief, organizers of the Havana music carnival comments that the purpose is to provide a carnival with unparalleled opportunities to engage the town and gown with intellectual display and glamorous entertainment accompanied with captivating musical talents.
According to him, the Havana musical carnival is a means for fostering oneness as seen in its success story. “Havana Music Carnival has been able to record the success of bringing together over 30,000 participants consisting of Nigerian students from all tertiary institutions, academic staff, working class citizens and fun loving Nigerians together,” he states
Explaining further he noted that the objective of the carnival is to elicit capacity building among the youth, recreate the consciousness of unison, love, charity and hope among the student and the youth. “Havana Music Carnival serves as a relaxation avenue for both staff and the students of higher institutions and the overwhelming multitude of pilgrims usually from all part of the country,” he explains
The 45th edition of the carnival is a four days event that will commence 13th of December, 2011 at the Trenchard hall, University Ibadan. Activities lined up for the event includes, Community Service and free Medical Check-up, Fashion Parade and the Havana Concert.