Telcos Dump Lottery, Repackage Promos

To tone down public outcry over some exploitative promotions (‘promos’) run like lottery schemes, telecommunications companies in the country have redesigned their loyalty and reward “promos” with padded baits and are now offering subscribers real value for their money, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now reveal.
Instead of asking subscribers to use their airtime (credit) to enter for draws, telcos are now urging consumers to recharge their phones and qualify for draws to win exciting prizes.
Investigations further revealed that the companies have carefully packaged the promos to retain subscribers’ attention, their time, and their naira on their networks.
Globacom, Zain, Etisalat, Multilinks and Starcomms have already rolled out new and repackaged promos and are in the market battling for the soul of the consumer.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek recalled that the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) had warned operators against sending subscribers any SMS, prompting them to participate in any lottery.
The Commission had also warned operators to take due care in the timing, frequency and content of their multi-cast messages to subscribers to reduce nuisance associated with their messages.
It would be recalled that the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) had also proposed that 50 per cent of the proceeds from sales promotions by telcos should go to winners in a bid to restore confidence in promos that have gone under severe criticisms.