MTN Nigeria officially celebrated the Group-wide brand refresh with a press briefing on February 27, 2022, at the Eko Hotels & Suites Grand Ballroom, Lagos. The company announced its brand repositioning using a contemplative slogan — “What Are We Doing Today?” It also articulated the context behind the new logo many had seen since 16 February 2022.
Present at the event were key members of the MTN leadership
team, celebrities and well-established opinion leaders across relevant
industries, media stakeholders and high-value customers.
This is the second brand overhaul since the MTN Group was
founded in 1994. Back in 2004, the changes made to the brand resulted in MTN
taking ownership of the colour yellow that is now synonymous with MTN.
Importantly, it also helped to elevate the brand to where it is today,
recognised as the most valuable in Africa.
The Company’s new logo forgoes the italics, the red
underscore and the solid coloured oval present in the previous logo for a
minimalist look that retains the oval (now represented as a solid outline) with
the letters M-T-N nestled in it. These can be used against a sunshine yellow or
plain white background in either black or yellow font colours.
The rebranding is an extension and visual representation of
MTN Group’s refreshed strategy, dubbed Ambition 2025 and premised on Leading
digital solutions for Africa’s progress. Through the delivery of this strategy,
MTN aims to accelerate growth by building the largest and most valuable
platform businesses and driving its industry leading connectivity operations.
The Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola,
explained that the rebranding exemplifies MTN’s commitment to continuously
create value for all its stakeholders, with the new logo contextualising the
company’s identity as a digital citizen, open to change, young at heart,
inviting, digitally dynamic and progressive.
“We want to play our part in harnessing the potential and
supporting the progress of our people by driving digital and financial
inclusion. It is a well-known fact that the youth are central to achieving this
potential. Whilst we remain focused on all our customers and stakeholders, our
brand evolution demonstrates an enhanced focus on the youth,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, Adia Sowho, MTN Nigeria’s Chief
Marketing Officer, expressed her excitement with regards to the brand refresh,
emphasising the company’s predilection for building digital platforms that
enable Africa’s progress.
“The new brand identity is modern, simple, bold and
digitally dynamic. It kicks off with a provocative and simple question, “What
are we doing today?” With a clear and concise brand strategy that Opportunity +
Energy = Progress, MTN understands that to truly unlock the full benefits and
potential of the digital world people require a combination of drive,
progressive thinking and the right tools,” she said.
“This rebrand highlights MTN’s commitment to continuously
evolve and explore innovative initiatives that provide value to all our
stakeholders. A pioneer of progress from the beginning, MTN looks to drive this
progress further through action and doing. In delivering its vision, MTN aims
to drive a positive shift in Africa and harness the continent’s boundless
opportunity,” she continued.