By Merit Ibe
O’Mpa, as Hero Lager is fondly called, especially in the South-East, launched the “Ka Anyi Wa Oji” campaign to celebrate its teeming loyal consumers who have patronized the premium brand for the past 10 years. As part of the consumer celebration, Hero Lager unveiled O’Mpa Kola, the largest kola in the world, and will be engaging in a series of consumer reward activities that will cause the brand to visit consumers in different cities across Nigeria.
The Hero Lager’s 10th Anniversary was used to launch the “Ka Anyi Wa Oji” campaign which means “let’s break kola”. The launch of the campaign and unveiling of the O’Mpa kola nut took place amidst a large crowd of Hero Lager consumers who converged at the International Breweries Plc (IBPLC) Onitsha Plant. There was a cultural unveiling of the O’Mpa Kola by the Obi of Onitsha’s representatives: Chief Samuel Okechukwu Chukwudebe and Chief John Abutu. The giant kola when opened revealed a large bottle of Hero Lager.
Speaking about the brand’s impact on consumers over the years, Marketing Director, International Breweries Plc, Tolulope Adedeji, said “Hero Lager is a deeply cultural and altruistic brand. For 10 years Hero Lager has been at the forefront of recognizing and rewarding its consumers who are passionate about working hard and leaving a legacy. Hero Lager is saying let’s break kola. We are here on behalf of Hero Lager to celebrate its 10th Anniversary, a big milestone. Ten years ago, a brand was born, and it has grown to become the pride of the east, the people’s HERO and we are so thankful to our consumers all over Nigeria.”
“Hero Lager is a proudly Nigerian product, and we source our materials locally except in cases where it is not produced locally. The Hero Lager 10th Anniversary consumer celebration will continue, and we are giving back to the consumers a lot of goodies to say thank you for being loyal to the brand,” she concluded.
Kola nut is an integral part of Igbo culture and is a token of hospitality across many cultures in Nigeria. “Hero Lager’s “Ka Anyi Wa Oji (Let’s Break Kola)” campaign is an avenue for the Hero Lager brand to celebrate its consumers who have been loyal to the brand since its launch.
Since its inception, the brand has been at the forefront of championing several laudable initiatives that have impacted its consumers and community at large. Some of these include; the Igba-Boi Hero initiative which has empowered so many young apprentices in their course to become business owners someday, and the brand’s League of Heroes platform promotes domestic football by sponsoring football teams from the East who play in the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL), and to alleviate the economic impact of Covid on consumers, Hero Lager launched the Rise like a Hero consumer promo to provide aid and reward to numerous consumers.” Tolu said.
The event featured one of the most prominent Igbo celebrities and Hero Lager brand ambassadors, Nkem Owoh, who stole the show with a sterling performance that sent the audience reeling for more. Cultural dancers were on the ground to display acrobatic footsteps to the excitement of the audience.
According to the Nollywood legend, known as “Osuofia”, said “Hero Lager has done a lot of amazing and impactful campaigns Igba Boi, Nwanne Connect, Echefula among others. As an influencer before promoting any product, I must test it to experience the quality. For Hero Lager I find it near perfect, you know they say nothing is perfect that is why I said almost perfect which is why I am the brand ambassador of Hero Lager because I endorse quality brands. I want consumers to keep patronizing Hero Lager so that the brand can do more for the consumers.”
There was a panel of discussants made up of the Marketing Director, IBPLC, Tolulope Adedeji; Corporate Affairs Manager, IBPLC, Damian Igwe; Hero Lager Brand Ambassador, Nkem Owoh; Procurement & Sustainability Director, IBPLC, Fayanmira Akintunde, and Brewery Operations Director, IBPLC, Tony Agah. They all gave tribute to the milestones achieved by the Hero Lager brand in 10 years.