" ITREALMS: Changing lives with Yello’ Love

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Changing lives with Yello’ Love

Features of the week:

MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, recently concluded its Yello Love Bug promo and has commenced presentation to winners. REMMY NWEKE reports that the telco is changing lives of Nigerians with this initiative.

Introduction:

Penultimate Sunday, the morning sun began to emerge like a beautiful bride, few hours later the rain began to fall in what observers at the presentation ceremony of the brand Toyota Corolla cars to some winners of the MTN’s Yello Love Bug promotion, tagged ‘showers of blessing’.

The venue was the popular Protea Kuramo Waters, Victoria Island, Lagos, where winners and well wishers especially life partners defied the rain fall and trooped out to receive their prizes after spending a wonderful moment at the resort.

Although the telecommunications giant and Third Generation (3G) compliant telco, MTN Nigeria, in the bid to keep up and sustain its subscriber-base, appreciated them by introducing the Yello Love Bug promo in commemoration of this year’s Valentine’s Day, which was precisely held on February 14, of which the love emanating thereof, changed some subscriber’s lives.

Remarkable is that till date, MTN has lived up to its promise giving the two presentations so far made with regard to this promo. While the first presentation took place at Protea, the second was held at The Palms, Lekki, Lagos, just as each of the 14 winners that emerged were packaged to include a N100,000 wardrobe makeover and lunch during their special weekend preceding the presentations, would go home with Toyota cars to wrap it up.

While the star prize winner gets BMW 1 series in addition to a weeklong trip to Paris with a partner and the sum of $3,500 for a change of wardrobe.

The journey so far:

The General Manager, Consumer Marketing at MTN Nigeria, Mr. Ikechukwu Kalu, while speaking recently at the last draw in Lagos, disclosed that the promo witnessed tremendous participation of about 93 million subscribers.

The winners, he said are being led by star prize winner and an Akure-based civil servant, Mr. Biodun Ogunwoya, who would soon ride home with BMW 1 series wagon car. That is, after he had expended a week-long trip with his partner to Paris.

MTN decision to present some of them with their brand new cars, is in fulfilment of the telcoms promise, recalling 72 subscribers on the network, won N100,000 each at various electronic draws for the promotion as well as four journalists, 10 other subscribers benefited by having a weekend trip to any resort in the country for two in addition to their ownership of new Toyota Corolla cars respectively, whereas additional four cars were added after the promo was shifted by few weeks based on its impressive outing.

“The MTN Y’ello Love bug promo was a Valentine campaign launched by the telco to avail its subscribers the opportunity to win BMW 1 series, a trip to Paris for two plus $3,500 cash, 10 customers won weekend trip to a resort in Nigeria in addition to a Toyota Corolla and N100,000 for wardrobe make over,” he asserted.

Another 50 customers, he said, went home with N100,000 each, 100 customers were treated to a special Valentine’s day dinner with free hotel accommodation, yet another 5000 subscribers won N5,000 airtime each and 500 customers won exquisite hamper for the season.

The coming of MTN:

MTN Nigeria prides itself as a leading cellular telecommunications company, which launched its GSM operation on May 16, 2001 in the country.

Since its commercial launch in August 2001, MTN has steadily deployed its services nationwide covering over 223 cities and towns, more than 10,000 villages and communities and a growing number of highways across the country, spanning the 36 states of the Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Many of these villages and communities are being connected to the world of telecommunications for the first time ever.

In the winners’ world:

Obviously the excited winners in the Yello Love Bug promo, were unanimous in declaring that MTN Nigeria has been the best customer-friendly brand.

These praises, according to some of them were not unexpected as they declared that MTN is the leading communications company, hence it’s living up to the customer-centric nature of a good leader expected in this sector, whilst moving its customers ahead always.

The first presentation took place on Sunday, May 26, while the second batch was held on June 2, 2007, where various set of winners were handed over the keys to their cars, at a brief ceremony.

A winner and member of the Kebbi State House of Assembly, Alhaji Sani Wara, was full of praises to God for His immense blessing, and said he began to believe the promo when he followed the directive from MTN, to visit the telcos website and eventually saw his number.

This came as a businessman and one of the winners, Alhaji Bala Danladi from Minna, Niger State, told newsmen after receiving his car keys that the event would forever remain indelible in his mind as it marked the realisation of his dream of visiting Lagos.

“I have never been to Lagos all my life. So you can see my surprise when I was called to come down to Lagos. I thank MTN for the car and this wonderful experience too,” he declared.

For a Benin city-based businessman, Mr. Courage Osayi, who was overwhelmed with joy, beamed with smiles alongside his fiancée, Ms Favour David, the weekend sponsored trip and treat at Grand Kuramo Waters was accomplishment of thier forthcoming wedding plans.

“I have never experienced this kind of treatment before. It was like a trip to paradise because MTN has played a big role in my planned marriage by organising a honeymoon for us before the real thing. They even gave us a brand new car for the wedding,” he said.

Mr. Osayi expressed gratitude to MTN for giving his life a big lift, stressing that himself as a living proof, would be heading to his base, Benin city, to assume the position of MTN goodnews evangelist and how much the company could go in touching the lives of its loyal customers.

Yet another winner, Miss Vivian Okoro, a youth corper, currently serving in Abuja, described her emergence as an act of God, noting that the recent theft of her mobile phone turned out to be a big blessing.

“I just started using MTN in January this year when my mobile phone was stolen. My boyfriend then replaced it but rather gave me an MTN Subscribers Identification Module (SIM),” she said,thus, she was very sceptical on getting the news that GSM line has won a car and accompanied fortune.

Reacting to her three-day stay in Grand Kuramo Waters Resort, Ms Okoro, commended MTN for the ‘royal’ treatment accorded her, adding, “See how MTN has turned me into a Princess; from the wardrobe makeover to the brand new car, the company has transformed me for the better.”

Equally for a caterpillar driver, Mr Sharafadeen Jogunola, MTN is God’s vehicle for the transformation of his life. While applauding the telco, Mr. Jogunola said that MTN has rewritten his life story; from rags to riches.

“I never imagined myself owning a car for now. But as you can see, when big men ride in their cars, I will also cruise in mine because MTN has made me a ‘big man’ and shown that the promo is real,” he asserted excitedly.

Commenting at the presentation, MTN Corporate Services Executive, Mrs Amina Oyagbola, congratulated all the winners for making MTN their network of choice.

“MTN is a socially responsible company which has continued to touch the lives of its customers in very many ways and Y’ello Love Bug promo is one of such programmes it has put in place to reward these customers for their unflinching patronage,” Mrs. Oyagbola noted, stressing that MTN is currently investing several billions of Naira into infrastructural expansion of its network, and described the recent commencement of 3G services by the company as a proof of this as well as consolidation of its market leadership.

Additionally, GM Consumer Marketing, Mr. Kalu, pointed out that the promo was coherent with MTN’s policy of placing high premium on its subscribers, and described the presentation as another promise fulfilled and leadership delivered.

“We promised our loyal customers a mind-blowing Valentine’s celebration and the presentation of these cars have shown that we have delivered completely and totally, which is a mark of responsible leadership,” Mr. Kalu said.

He reiterated the telco’s commitment toward providing unmatched service quality to its subscribers so as to move them ahead everywhere they go, just as MTN would soon present additional two brand new cars to winners at a ceremony to be held at its Ikoyi office.

Champion Infotel gathered that though the redemption billed to end before this month of June runs off, would see MTN giving out a total of 15 brand new cars and N100,000 to scores of customers, the truth is that despite every odd brought about by lack of infrastructure, a telecom operator like MTN is ready for the impending 3G competition.

Like Alhaji Sani and Danladi charged the telco, this good step should be sustained.

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