Made in Nigeria

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The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve www.thesparkng.com FEATURES My entrepreneurial journey in Nigeria Khadijah Mobolanle Okunnu-Lamidi I still remember quite vividly the thought and anxieties that went into drafting my resignation letter, dated March 14, 2016 - it was my ticket to board the entrepreneurship train. My foray into the world of brand consultancy and advertising was driven by an innate passion to be a part of the rebranding of Nigeria. I had worked in varied capacities within the Lagos State government and recognised the obvious truth that what Nigeria requires for genuine and sustainable growth is a stronger private sector driven economy. It is the role of government to regulate economic activity in the public interest, however, while the strong systems, checks and balances ensure stability, these bureaucracies tend to rise to a sometimes obstinate state which disrupts and impedes genuine economic activity. The entrepreneurial journey, however, disallows for the attainment of any such state. It is fuelled strictly by reputation and business strategy. The ability to translate these two elements gives your brand its value. Working towards a desired reputation while continually adapting in strategy is the key to survival in this constant dynamic global economy. The brand essence of SLICE MEDIA is Nigerian innovation and patriotism. Belief in the ingenuity of our businesses and the global value of our own brands compels us to struggle for autonomy, and to empower others on a similar Nigerian journey. This line of thought negates any sort of reliance on government for the sustenance and survival of economic development. As we have found at SLICE MEDIA, the currency for survival of our citizens lies in harnessing our core talents, celebrating them and honing our intangible skills. In this lies our differentiation strategy. It never wavered, even when our branding and advertisement strategy did. With a yearning passion, amplified by a lineage of patriotic empaths; the sanctity of the Nigerian state is a very natural ideal to be pursued ardently. An autobiography by my father Olufemi Okunnu (S.A.N, CON) titled ‘In the Service of the Nation’ is an in-depth narration of his lifelong contribution to the National discourse in The Federal Republic of Nigeria with an insight to solutions proffered in servitude. This intangible asset of his, has fuelled my innate drive towards finding progres- sive solutions for all issues especially in the context of my beloved country. To thrive, amidst the serial disruptions of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Nigeria must invest more in intangible assets, like design, branding, and software; than intangible assets, like machinery, buildings which are being rendered redundant with each new technological disruption. As with any business, the ability to deploy assets that one can neither see nor touch is increasingly the main source of longterm success. One of the reasons we have been experiencing economic inequality and stagnation in production is because we are constantly trying to import expertise otherwise known as ‘intangible assets’ when we have it in abundance. Unfortunately, the unusual economic characteristics of intangible investments ensures that fundamentally, the expertise cannot be replicated but can only be exploited to the benefit of the expert. Nigeria is rich in Arts and Culture beyond comprehension. It is the fabric design of our country. As we must and should know, these forms of Art are peculiar to our imagination and cannot be replicated. We also have a population leaning towards 200 million with over half being a dynamic youth population, we must understand that we have reached our prime as a Nation. These numbers ensure that we have billable data at our disposal, software investment is key to harnessing this value. As the creative lead of Slice Media, my goal is to highlight how branding across a diverse spectrum of industries, from start-ups to super-star brands, to niche businesses and non-profits can enlist the characteristics of an intangible age fused with innovation to drive contextually pertinent communication. Our services strive to bridge the awareness gap in any given industry and expand the opportunities provided by this medium. As an Advertising Consulting Firm, we are consistently enlisted into strategic committees with roles primarily to advise and assist in the development of mass media activities for our Clients. We are a team of highly skilled campaign communicators and offer unique access to markets throughout Nigeria. Our experience, buying power and unbridled creativity helps us deliver exceptional value to match clients looking to solve their long-term Brand visibility needs. As the Leading Traditional Media Practitioners in Lagos; also known as Outdoor Advertising, we provide High Impact Brand Awareness for clients looking to navigate this dynamic media space. We know what works, and deploy this knowledge and experience to effectively tailor client needs. 38 fli @thesparkng
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve www.thesparkng.com START-UP Made in Nigeria brands are literally catching on and displacing foreign brands in the minds of Nigerian consumers. A cursory glance at trends in Nigeria’s creative industry justifies this reality. Nigeria is currently the second-largest producer of movies in the world. Nigerian music is also incredibly popular within the country, in most parts of Africa and in the Caribbean. The Nigerian art market is fast becoming a premium market for art lovers in the world. Put together, these trends suggest that Nigeria has the potential to build, project and export strong indigenous brands. However, it is puzzling to note that none of Africa’s indigenous brands made it to Africa’s top ten lists of consumer brands in 2018. Another exciting puzzle is that no Nigerian brand or personality made it to the top three most searched celebrities in Nigeria on Google in 2018. Instead, Alexis Sanchez, a famous football star, was the most searched personality on Google in Nigeria last year. These puzzling trends demonstrate that Nigeria has a mostly young demographic audience that is enthused by global sports, music and fashion brands. The exciting insight that one could draw from this reality is that indigenous and foreign brands are competing for a share of the Nigerian consumer’s mind. Nigerian consumers want brands that offer value for money, whether local or international. The implication is that being domestic is not enough to win a share of the Nigerian consumer’s wallet. A lot of effort needs to go into building indigenous brands that can stand the test of time in the minds of Nigerian consumers. A few tips would help local brand builders to grow stronger made in Nigeria brands. First, builders of indigenous brands must think global when creating local brands. In other words, it is essential from the beginning to aim towards building a brand that will have a universal appeal. The way to achieve this objective is to carefully select brand values that appeal across cultures rather than one region. Local brands that are limited to projecting narrow cultural values of a particular area run the risk of stagnating rather than growing. For example, the makers of a famous noodles brand in Nigeria found that the brand could not increase market penetration in Northern Nigeria. The situation was mostly because the brand projected values that were acceptable in Southern Nigeria but not acceptable in Northern Nigeria. Things changed when the company decided to reposition the message of the brand to have a broader appeal. Indigenous brands can also acquire robust appeal when the brand values link up with the values of subcultures. Subcultures are groups of individuals that share a common interest that they express through social media activities. Examples of such groups include cheese lovers groups, music enthusiasts, food recipe groups, etc. Brands that associate their values with the positive values of subcultures reinforce their presence in consumer’s minds. An interesting example is the case of Onga seasoning, an indigenous food seasoning brand. This brand made a strong come back to the market by crafting its brand campaign around a social media celebrity that appealed to the recipe subculture. Indigenous brands will only grow to have a universal appeal if they are credible and consistent. Brands must walk the talk. There is nothing more deceitful to a consumer than finding that a brand does not live up to its promise. The experience of patronising a brand must match up to the campaign messages that support that brand. Several times, Nigerian consumers get disappointed with local brands because of inferior product and service quality. Attempts to address these problems would offer a massive advantage to indigenous brands. Globalising Local Brands When foreign brands are easily accessible, local brands must do more work Finally, indigenous brands can acquire a stronger local and global appeal when there is substantial investment in making the brands available and accessible. Consumers remember what they see and hear frequently. The implication is that local brand builders must be ready to invest in building a robust distribution channel to support the efforts of advertising campaigns. As Nigeria prepares to celebrate 59 years of democracy, it is an ideal time for brand builders to reflect on what it would take to globalise their brands. Being local alone would not sustainably attract Nigerian consumers. More work is required to secure a larger share of the consumers’ minds when foreign brands are easily accessible. The experience of patronising a brand must match up to the campaign messages that support that brand. Uchenna Uzo fli @thesparkng 39
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