Lipton is the biggest tea brand in the world, with a presence in over 110 countries. With an inspiring heritage, Lipton has grown into a loved, purposeful and social brand that creates moments to uplift people’s bodies, minds, and spirits. The mission of the brand is to awaken the world to quality connections and fight hidden loneliness much of which can start over a cup of Lipton Tea.
The partnership with Mrs. Betty Irabor is one of the sustainable ways Lipton supports women. In 2018, Lipton partnered with the Hope for Life initiative to support 1,000 widows, driving awareness of the need to remember socially disadvantaged women in society.
Last year, Lipton partnered with Femme Africa for an “Only” “female performer concert. This year, in celebration of International Women’s Day, with the campaign theme “Break the Bias”, the brand went further to acknowledge biases as it relates to mental health. This led to a #LiptonBreakTheBias campaign for the entire month of March.
Gleaning from Mrs. Betty Irabor’s life story and achievements relating to mental health, it was pertinent for the brand to partner with this icon. It became absolutely important to shed light on how years and years of subtle and unconscious bias can tell on our mental health and how the stigma of talking about mental health in itself is a BIAS WE HAVE TO BREAK!!
During the course of the campaign, Lipton Nigeria and Mrs. Betty Irabor released videos within the month of March encouraging women to take breaks and prioritize their mental wellbeing.
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On Thursday, March 31st, Lipton hosted the ‘Ultimate Conversation with Betty Irabor in partnership with GoSlo; this event took place at the Wheatbaker Ikoyi. The goal of this event was to create a safe space for women to have candid conversations to take stock of their current mental health and gain valuable advice on how to improve it.
GoSlo’s contribution to mental health leans on providing an escape for young Nigerians from life’s difficult phases. Part of the brand’s call to action is ‘taste life slo’ i.e. take out time from your busy schedule to enjoy life or create little joyful moments and celebrate small wins. GoSlo tends to achieve this through partnerships that drive conversations around mental health.
Given Lipton & GoSlo’s acknowledgment of mental health, It was natural for these brands to work out bringing to life a safe space for women to share, learn and express their experiences with mental health along the lines of biases.
The event was intimate and filled with candid conversations between Mrs. Irabor and the guests in attendance. The room was filled with inspiring women who continue to Break The Bias. Guests such as Toyosi Etim-Effiong, Adenike Oyetunde, Kaylah, Oniwo, Simi Drey, Powede Awujo, and Taymesan Emmanuel were in attendance.
Motunrayo Babalola (Marketing Lead, Ekaterra – Lipton) addressed the women in attendance.
She said “In March, we partnered with the legendary Mrs. Irabor to share her journey of breaking through stereotypes and taking charge of her mental health as she built her career and family over the years.
“We also teamed up with the Lipton brand influencer Taymesam Emmanuel to support some female SMEs with a grant of 200,000 Naira. My life has personally been changed by listening to Mrs.
“Irabor’s story, her nuggets, and some of her tips on identifying triggers. I sincerely hope that you have found it helpful and that you can refer to some of the videos when necessary. Today we wrap up. We are here to unwind with authentic conversations, make quality connections, and have some Lipton Extra Strong.
“My charge is to have fun, smile, take pictures, be present at the moment, and please spill the tea on your social media pages #LiptonConversationswithBettyIrabor. #LiptonBreakTheBias.”
This event also showcased five women who won Lipton’s 1 Million Naira grant for Female entrepreneurs, in partnership with Brand influencer Taymesan. These women were gifted with a cheque by Zainab Abbas (Brand Manager, Lipton) and Taymesan.
Zainab admonished the women with these words: “Today, we are delighted as a social brand to have this moment where we uplift and celebrate women around us.
“Everything we’ve done this month is out of the desire to sustain our connections and drive awareness to the impact of women in our society. It brings us great joy to have this become a reality and to be in the presence of such women this evening.”
Rounding up the event, Jennifer Balogun (Marketing Manager FanMilk – Danone) expressed that “We are here today as part of the GoSlo moments with Betty Irabor partnering with Lipton to essentially just have conversations as women. It is the last day of International Women’s Day and we are also having the opportunity to celebrate Aunty Betty.
“For us as the GoSlo brand, I think it is a very apt opportunity when we think about ourselves as women and as men in Nigeria I think our focus is very much on our hustle and never about the reward and the opportunity to take life slowly.’’
