Big Brother Naija, formerly Big Brother Nigeria, is a Nigerian reality competition television series based on the Big Brother television franchise.
Big Brother is a reality show in which a group of people called housemates are brought together in a large house isolated from society while being watched constantly by cameras. It is a social experiment borrowed from George Orwell’s fictional dystopia of Oceania.
They compete for a large cash prize and gifts to avoid being evicted by the viewers.
It’s a show where the winner takes all. This show is popular among Nigerians because of the escape channel it presents.
Nigerians, although resilient, are confronted with challenges, like most countries in the world.
These challenges are sometimes monetary, insecurity, Government Actions, and inactions, which strain the mind.
As society has long discovered, Humans tend to ignore their problems when engrossed in other people’s problems. Reality TV shows like BBNaija offer this escape by commodifying and unfolding the dramatic lives of others.
Seeing these people win or lose in public provides entertainment, intrigue, and drama. It makes us connect with them because some of their everyday choices and struggles mirror ours.
Much has been said about the record-breaking 240 million votes garnered by the “Pepper Dem Gang” fourth season of the Big Brother Naija reality show in 2019.
Amidst all these conversations, most people have failed to realize how the show created a platform for businesses, brands, and companies to make money and provide employment for thousands of Nigerians.
There have been conversations about the social impact of the franchise on Youths and Children. Although Nigeria might be secular, some religious and moral biases still exist.
People raised many points about the morality of the show; there were panics among parents, teachers, and guardians, especially on issues about sex, nudity, violence, cheating, and voting unfairness.
Yet many African audiences, especially the youth, have continued. Several calls have been made demanding its ban and censorship.
In 2007, the Nigeria House of Representatives issued a directive to the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission to discontinue the airing of any clip or debate on the Big Brother reality show.
Recently, there were rumors about the Minister of Information and Culture asking the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission to ban the season 5 Lockdown reality show.
Although the minister has debunked these rumors, this didn’t stop BBNaija from sponsoring ads teaching DSTV and GOtv users how to block channels to appease those who think the show is too vulgar and remind them they have a choice not to watch.
Despite these outcries and moral panics, the reality show has neither improved its moral tone nor reduced its viewership.
The reality show has contributed immensely to Nigeria’s economic growth. To fully understand these financial benefits, here is a breakdown of how BBNaija impacted the country’s economic and social landscape.
Provision of Clout for Associated Brands
As Mark Twain said, “Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.”
This is the case of the brands and companies that, by taking turns sponsoring rewards for the weekly tasks organized for housemates, brands like Heritage Bank, Oppo, Darling Hair, Betway, Pepsi, Bet9ja, Innoson, Zaron, Legend, Gulder, Lumapil Forte, Indomie, among others, have enjoyed increased visibility, clout, and maximum exposure as millions of viewers in Africa tuned in to watch the show daily.
The non-stop social media engagement has guaranteed that the show has benefitted all brands connected with the Big Brother Naija reality show.
According to a 2019 report by The Future of Work, a data analytics, training, and consulting firm, seven brands had 206,905 Twitter mentions in conversations about the show.
These brands include Bet9ja MunchIt, Oppo, Heritage Bank, Pepsi, and Dano. Of the seven, Bet9ja was recorded to be the most talked-about, largely because it was a title sponsor and supplied the hotly contested game coins to the Season four housemates.
Economic Opportunities
A few days to the end of the Big Brother Naija season four of the 2019 “Pepper Dem Gang” show, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, the host, shared a picture on Twitter of not less than 100 crew members who worked day and night behind the scenes to bring the show to live viewers. “Just a few crew members who made the #PepperDem season work. It does take a village,” he captioned.
That Twitter post is a clear indication that Big Brother Naija has grown to become an employer of labor, engaging youths and media/production personnel every season.
The show has also unlocked the gateway for future economic opportunities by employing several ancillary and freelance staff.
The crew members can now leverage the BBNaija experience gained from the show to get more lucrative gigs.
In another instance of a ripple effect, the employers will now be in a better position to negotiate better when engaged for future projects because they helped produce a largely hitch-free show of such size and importance.
The show also employs several indirect employees, such as security guards called Ninjas, janitors, carpenters, interior designers, and accountants.
Provision of Visibility Do Vendors and Service Providers
Every week, while the show is on, vendors and businesses are hired to supply the contestants with necessities such as food, toiletries, and clothes.
The BBNaija platform provides a ready market and advertisement for many such entrepreneurs, particularly those in the fashion industry.
In many cases, the clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc., supplied to the housemates for their parties and special events became very popular on social media, with the vendors often running out of stock due to the surging demand from viewers.
This was severally recorded with Season four, “Pepper Dem Gang” contestant Natacha Akide, popularly known as Tacha.
These small and medium-scale businesses, usually Instagram businesses, saw their products receive a higher degree of patronage and interest from Nigerians and citizens of other African countries.
Revenue and Publicity for Entertainers
What better way to get complimentary publicity than to take your show or product to the BBNaija platform? Several popular celebs gained from the show in this regard.
Innocent ‘2baba’ Idibia visited the house during his ’20 Years A King’ anniversary celebration, where he used the platform to launch his first product, the Oraimo Neckband In-Ear Bluetooth Headphones.
Recently, an upcoming artist named Laycon, a Season Five lockdown contestant, experienced a surge in Streams and Brand visibility by talking about his music in the BBN house.
In addition to publicity, different artists and disc jockeys are hired to perform every week during the Saturday night parties and live eviction shows. Over 30 DJs and entertainers are engaged during the 99 days of the show.
The Long-term Effect
The show’s essence had always been to give upcoming creatives and entrepreneurs a platform to sell their products and skills to the world.
Once they achieve that, several of the contestants are expected to go on to set up businesses and scale up already-established brands.
As the ex-housemates businesses grow, they are expected to become employers’ labor, generate revenue, and ultimately contribute to improving the country’s economic landscape.
In previous seasons, ex-housemates like Mike, Gedoni, and Tacha never missed an opportunity to promote their businesses and brands.
At the same time, Jackie and Seyi’s likes always informed the world of their plans. Some current housemates, who are artists like Laycon and Vee, emulate this.
So, apart from contributing to reducing the unemployment rate by employing Nigerians, the BBNaija platform also serves as a foundation for many businesses and brands to spring up and thrive.
