Amidst the battle to contain the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, efforts were made by individuals, groups and corporate organizations to support the government’s drive for people to stay indoors. These efforts manifested in communication aimed at encouraging the citizens to key into the government’s campaign. Many of them made social adverts and campaigns to urge Nigerians and their customers to comply with government directives.
One firm that seems to have caught my attention as a strategic communication expert is Quickteller. The financial solution company has been sending out highly creative direct messages that not only fit in their services to the current situation but also preach social distancing and safe health practices. One of such is the email sent on March 26 during the first half of the lockdown in Lagos, FCT and Ogun States. The message titled Hello Rasheed, Are you Home?, the company seeks to know how their customers have been doing and fulfilling their basic needs such as electricity, entertainment, information and remote social, work and financial needs. A part reads:
No! We were not planning to visit you, just checking to know that you’re taking all precautions.We’ve been working from home as well and it’s not been easy, but as you know, staying safe is priority right now.
The safety of your loved ones is more important than anything that might be tempting you to go out. Just to tell you how we’ve been coping with the compulsory isolation. We preloaded our electricity, it’s a bad time not to have power. And every time we are tempted to go to the cinema, we stream movies instead.
With an active data bundle and airtime, everything is possible, including virtual meetings, video calls and chats to keep in touch with colleagues, friends, and family.
It’s important that you stay informed, so we recommend renewing your cable TV subscription too. You might also want to stay away from cash as much as possible. If you must exchange money with anybody, transfer it online.
The direct marketing message achieves its main objectives. It pitches the company’s services and also calls for the observation of health directives to curb the spread of the disease.
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Again on 18 April, 2020, when the second half of the lockdown is on, Quickteller again came up with another personalised email urging its customers to brace up and that it has got their back. The email titled It’s Another 14 Days reads:
It’s another 14 days of the lockdown and while we can’t tell you when the lockdown will be over we can tell it’s more expenses for you.You’ve probably run out of foodstuff and will have to stock up more, you’re consuming more data than you usually will, you’re burning more power and there’s a high chance it’s telling on your pocket.
Well, we’ve got some good news; Quickteller Loans has got you. With only a few clicks, you can access our loans and get credited within minutes.
We also understand another 2 weeks at home might be quite boring, but you can make your stay at home worthwhile by subscribing and catching up with your favourite shows on DSTV. Of course, you will have to pay for electricity to enjoy this to the maximum.
And don’t worry, if you need to catch up with the news online or reach out to loved ones, you can always buy data and airtime here.
While we hope that the lockdown will be over soon, please remember to wash and sanitize your hands and stay safe.
The message is reassuring. The offerings from the company were clear. Loans, offer of data, airtime and subscription opportunities are well captured. The direct messaging technique employed is a fusion of marketing and public relations. While calls to action were made, a call to responsibility was as well included. The marketing team has a good strategy of scanning the environment and generating messages that resonate with the situation at hand without neglecting marketing needs of the company. It is a thumbs up for the company. It is easier to conclude that the firm could pull this feat simply because the situation readily keys into its niche of business. But, there are a thousand ways available to say the same thing differently.
Editor’s Note: The content analysed was pulled from the Quickteller’s email to the author.
