THISDAYonline

Maggi Sokoyokoto, the innovative television programme dedicated to good cooking, excellent nutrition and proper dietary habits recently introduced by Nestle Nigeria Plc has once again demonstrated the effectiveness of drama in driving home message to target audience.

The programme which has been running on NTA Channel 10, the Lagos Television and other stations covering Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara States has also shown that visuals created by drama could be impactful in delivering messages.

Sponsored by Maggi Cube, the flagship product of Nestle Nigeria Plc, Maggi Sokoyokoto shot in front of a live audience is interactive in nature and features selected popular artistes such as musicians and movie actors and actresses who display their ...culinary skills by actually cooking for a surprised and ecstatic audience.

Translated as in English, the Yoruba word, Sokoyokoto, simply means "make the husband happy? According to the Group Product Manager (food), Nestle Nigeria Plc, Mrs. Iquo Ukoh, the programme is a paradigm shift in the company's policy of building the Maggi brand.

Determined to create an enduring programme that will perpetuate the message of Maggi in the minds of the audience, more than the transitory commercial and other efforts of the company like the Maggi family menu, cooking competition among others, Nestle Plc embarked upon a research to find out how to make cooking more entertaining and didactic on television.

In this regard, the company segmented the country into three regions, East, North and South West, with a view to building the brand around the cultural dispositions of the regions.

The research findings showed that in the Southwest area showed a strong affinity for innovative and entertaining programmes produced in local language and promoting local culture.

Thus the best way to reach out to the consumer is through the Yoruba language, the dialect that is accepted by all South West States of the federation.

The detailed research, she said, was conducted to arrive at an understanding of wants, aspirations and expectations of consumers in the area.

This led to the development of Sokoyokoto which has now proved to be the correct strategy to meet specific communication and entertainment needs of the people.

In her words ,"a decision was therefore made for Maggi to come up with something unique that will entertain while educating Yoruba speaking audience about food, good cooking and the benefit of a wholesome diet, which have been the major focus of the brand in all its communication efforts over the years.

The innovative nature of the programme , THISDAY learnt, is said to be causing acute excitement among the usually ecstatic studio audience who get to taste the meals prepared by their favourite artistes and get to testify to its good taste and authenticity as well as all classes of television viewers who have seen the episodes in the past six weeks of the programme.

Popular artistes who have featured in the programme are Papa Ajasco, Bukky Wright, Segun Arinze, Mama Rainbow, Yemi Shodimu and Gbenga Adewusi, others are Mama Awero, Richard Mofe-Damijo, (RMD), Salawa Abeni, Madam Kofo, Baba Wande, Jide Kosoko, Omoladun, Gbenga Adeboye, Daddy Showkey, Kunle Bamtefa (Chief Fuji) and Lagbaja.

The viewers are kept to keep guessing who among the artistes will feature in the next episode to titillate them with a new dish. This has increased the viewership of the programme as house- wives and young girls are said to abandon all they are doing to watch the programme. The various artistes bring their acting or musical trade -mark gambits into the cooking; leaving the viewers to regale with laughter.

The programme combines information, education and high profile entertainment by popular artistes who make up the core of the programme.

Maggi Sokoyokoto also brings out the artistes in a new light as the authentic and ordinary aspects of their humanity and character in the programme.

According to Mrs. Ukoh, Nestle does not stop at calling people to buy Maggi cubes, but it goes further to suggest for them what they can do with it. The latest move which gulped about N20 million she said, is aimed at consolidating the leadership position of Maggi which controls over 60 per cent of the billion seasoning market.

While the programmes for the East and the North are being fine- tuned, Ukoh said the reactions and feedback the company has got since then is a strong indication that the message embedded in the drama and culture of the people will perpetuate the message in the minds of viewers.

The drama, seems to be the company's respond to critics who change that advertising in Nigeria, (Nestle inclusive) does not contain enough information to guide prospects in making their decision but are rather over loaded with superlatives as almost all ads claim that the product in questioned to be "the best, newest. The stance of most advertising messages, they claim, leaves the prospect bewildered to choose on the basis of the commercial.

But Sokoyokoto, a 30 minute weekend programme gives the viewers ample time internalise the cooking procedure laced with the theatrics of the artiste. Because the artistes cooking before them, the viewer's attention is not diverted to other things unlike when a commercial is running. Advertisers now go for drama, these days because through interesting, logical, and easy flowing series of pictures and scenes it creates in the viewers mind he grasps the message easier than the commercial which comes like a flash in the pan.

Research has also proved that people rarely sit down and wait for a commercial message to be drummed into their minds.

In choosing drama, Nestle realised that Nigerians are busy people , it therefore came up drama as the right form of communication to get the attention of views who ordinarily are busy with their TV remote control changing the dial for a better programme. With the longer use of sight, sound and motion in Sokoyokoto the company passes on the message in an entertaining way to a captive audience compared to the commercial that comes and goes before the viewer blinks an eye.

Apart from that, Nestle appeared to have understood the message that using words to plead the case of Maggi in commercials may well be a risky business.

Reason: words are dangerous in instruments and at times go astray in the advertising business.

According to Robert Greene, in his 48 laws of power, the words people use to persuade the consumer virtually invite them to reflect on them with words of their own ,mull them over, and often end up believing the opposite of what the commercials say.

That is why critics often say that advertisements contain little information but superlative persuasion which often appear to be half truths.

But the visual, on the other hand which the drama creates, short-circuits the labyrinth of words. It strikes with an emotional power and immediacy that leave no such gaps for reflection and doubt. Like music, drama (visual) leaps right over the rational, reasonable thoughts and the compelling spectacle speaks eloquently more than words.