The Nation Newspaper

Category: Brand week

  • Nigeria set for Cannes Lion Festival

    After intensive tutoring, brainstorming and competition, Chini Product, a representative of Cannes Lion International Festival in Nigeria, has unveiled a group of creative young admen that will represent Nigeria in the Young Lion category of the global advertising festival holding in June in France.

    Though Nigeria has not been able to produce a winning entry at the global festival since it started participating in the global award, a situation that still worries experts, considering that countries, such as South Africa, Kenya and some African countries have become regular winners in the competition, but industry have been making effort to ensure that delegates from Nigeria to the global advertising festival continue to increase yearly.

    However, for this year’s award, talented, young and highly creative professionals have emerged winners across various categories in the just concluded 2014 National Competition, which climaxed at the Cannes Lions Nigeria Dinner and Awards held at Planet One, Maryland Lagos.

    The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chini Production representatives of the Cannes Festivals in Nigeria and organisers of the event, Nnamdi Ndu said it’s been a busy week of competitions for the Young Lions, Roger Hatchuel Academy and the Miami Ad School Scholarship candidates and their handlers.

    However, he said the organisers and the various juries are encouraged as the quality of materials received and judged keep going up every year, a great sign that the industry is making progress.

    “We must stop seeing world-class as western. I must say that judging from what we’re seeing from materials created by the Young Lions and even students in Roger Hatchuel Academy, there is hope. Year after year, we see bolder and more creative presentations from our youth. I hope that as the world gathers in Cannes this year, our voice will sound stronger and louder and our story will come through the clutter,” he added.

    As Nigeria prepares for the festival, Nnamdi advised: Storytelling should be the focus. “Even in our digital age, this ancient art is well and alive. And that is because it’s an expression of our humanity.’’

     

     

     

     

  • That Dangote Cement ‘Big Boss’ campaign theme

    The marketing communicaion industry has seen a lot of interesting campaign themes for brand positioning. As appealing as the themes are, they have become an anthem among consumers. Though the intention of the brand engineers is to use the themes to position brands ahead of competitors, those themes also show new value propositions being introduced into the market with the brand.

    In the brewery market, some campaign themes, such as ‘Chairman,’ ‘Honourable’, ‘Legend’, ‘Oga’ have been adopted to confer market leadership on some beers to show their niche, and when at the bar for drink, consumers often call for their preferred brand with the names. However, such campaign theme has not really been common in cement marketing communication until recently when Dangote Cement unveiled Dangote 3X 42.5 Grade, a newly repackaged cement brand from the staple of Dangote Cement, with a campaign theme, “BIG BOSS”, a style brand experts believe is strange in cement market.

    In the past, when unveiling their market offering, most of the known cement brand often come with a campaign theme that only communicates brand promises without making an assertive theme that is daring while their packaging, which often bore the users with some content names that are too botanical to understand, hardly communicate the value propositions in their product information. For instance, Lafarge Type M Cement ad was crafted with a campaign theme, ‘A new Solid Look’ across all the media. Also, Dangote Cement had weaved past campaigns around a theme ‘A promise of strength’ campaign theme.

    Also, in their packaging, Larfarge Cement is labelled “Larfarge Cement, Portland Limestone Cement” with other product informational and regulatory quality assurance information without touch of creativity, the same way its presented other cement brands from its stable.

    A top manager at a global marketing research firm, Mr. Mike Umogun said brands use these themes for different reasons, part of which is to hype the major values associated with the brands. “Brands use these names for various reasons, but the major reason is to hype the major value associated with the brand. This attribute may be real or imaginar; what is important is the believability of the name or claim. Brand users inspire some of these name to personify the brands,” he explained.

    However, in a latest move to capture the market, perhaps, as a result of overall instability and weakness of the market, Dangote Cement Plc is offering a new creative approach to cement marketing in Nigeria, from packaging, labelling, value proposition, to the campaign creatives and use of the media.

    In its latest unveiling of repackaged Dangote Cement, the group is adopting new style and assertive or bold campaign theme, BIG BOSS to launch onslaught against competitors whose brands have been in the market for longer time.

    As daring as the campaign theme is, Dangote Cement has also redesigned its product packaging, crying out with its ‘3X’ value proposition, which, according to the Group Chief Marketing Officer, Mr. Oare Ojeikere, means “Xtra strength; ‘Xtra life and Xtra yield.”

    Beyond that, the brand in its communication of the unique value proposition is entrenching its brands essence by telling the end users and building contractors that against the backdrop of concurrent collapse of building, desperation to optimise profit at the expense of molding quality blocks using enough cement, the brand is offering the market a 42.5 grade cement which gives higher yield than the 32.5 available in the cement market.

    Ojeikere said: “In our latest campaign, product unveil for Dangote 3X, we are offering the market a lot. 3X’s means higher strength characteristics with 42.5 grade cement which gives higher yield than the 32.5 available in the cement market. We will explore 360 degree communication to promote the new market offering. We will be using radio, TV, press, billboards and other platforms to promote this unique brand.”

    On the campaign theme, he said: “We have decided to use the theme ‘Big Boss’ to differentiate our brand from others in terms of leadership, values and quality such that if you go to the market, all you just need to ask is I want to buy the Big Boss.”

    Describing the features of the “The Big Boss, Dangote 3X 42.5” cement, he said there is difference between the 32.5 and 42.5 cement grade. According to Ojeikere, 42.5 cement grades is 30 per cent stronger than the 32.5 cement grade, adding that the 3X is designed according to the block maker’s specification.

    He said a higher grade of cement is vital to ending building collapse in the country, adding that it is about time Nigeria joined other countries in the sub-region to move away from 32.5 cement grades to 42.5 cement grades.

     

     

  • For adverts, consumers swing to smartphones

    A survey by a global adverts research firm has shown that Nigeria multi-screen users spend more time on smartphones before switching to other devices for advert receptivity, reports ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.

    How many times did you start reading an email on your phone while commuting, and later continued on your laptop at home? Or you saw a commercial for a new car and began searching for its specifications on your tablets? If these sound familiar, that is because they are part of the new norm in multi-screen behaviour which influences how the media select the medium to channel the advert budget and deliver returns for investors.

    To help advertisers and their media buyers understand this behavioural change, a global advert reseach firm, Millward Brown, in a survey, quizzed consumers across 30 countries, including Nigeria to know the screen device that engages their time more and understand the motivations that drive sequential usage across screens in order to give marketers an insight into the market. Of the 30 countries sampled, one of the findings revealed that Nigerians spend more time on smartphones than other screen devices to get market information with 193 minutes per day, 31 per cent higher than the global average of 147 minutes daily.

    In its report, Millward Brown’s 2014 AdReaction, the firm noted that for advertisers to reach more Nigerians, they must explore the smartphone. According to the firm, consumers in Nigeria spend more time on smartphone screen than other countries. The move to digital screen can become a threat to traditional media, such as television, radio, newspapers and magazines and outdoor publicity.

    According to Millward Brown, multi-screen users spend five hours daily consuming seven hours of screen media, hence, providing opportunities for advertisers and marketers to connect with people and drive brand growth.

    “All screens, though, are not created equal. The study analyses multi-screen use and behaviour across 30 countries, and explores consumer receptivity to advertising on television, smartphones, laptops, and tablets.The findings help marketers build integrated media plans that take advantage of each screen’s strength and drive brand growth. While we know intuitively that people are spending more time multi-screening, we analysed both the quantity and the quality of screen use to uncover specific insights to help marketers optimise media investments,” Millward Brown’s Global Brand Director for Digital, Duncan Southgate, noted.

    “Understanding how much time consumers spend with each screen, alone and simultaneously, combined with their receptivity to adverts is critical to building a media plan in today’s multi-screen world,” he added.

    According to the survey, simultaneous multi-screening accounts for 35 per cent of screen time, and includes a mix of “meshing”, the use of television and a second screen for related content (14 per cent), and “stacking”, the use of television and a second screen for unrelated content (22 per cent). At 65 per cent of screen time, “shifting”among individual screens throughout the day remains the dominant form of screen use. The study noted: “When consumers port an individual task across screens, they most often begin on television and move to a Smartphone, but all screen sequences are possible.”

    With consumers simultaneously using multiple screens, it was observed that “just one-third of the time, marketers’ larger opportunity is delivering consistent, integrated campaigns as users shift between screens.”

    While revealing how consumers behave in relation to specific screens, each screen has its own advantage, which brand managers can adopt to suit the consumers they want to target. The survey noted that “TV remains strong for brand building, and in particular drives salience and affinity.” While it is no longer the most consumed screen globally, it was revealed that “TV delivers strong reach and enjoys the highest advertising receptivity. It does remain the most used screen in the UK, France and Spain.”

    Smartphones remain the most used screen globally including Nigeria. “With strong daytime use, Smartphone are good for delivering salience, difference and setting trends. While they deliver only moderate advert receptivity globally, attitudes towards Smartphone adverts are much more positive in Kenya, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. Multi-screen users in Nigeria report the highest time spent on Smartphones, at more than 193 minutes per day, 31 percent higher than the global average of 147 minutes per day,” the survey revealed.

    Besides television and Smartphones, the survey noted that laptops deliver salience and relevance for marketers as trends in some countries showed. “Consumers report 108 minutes of use per day on laptops, the majority (71 percent) being exclusive. However, laptops deliver only moderate advertising receptivity. They are the top screen for multi-screeners in Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic,” the survey showed.

    Tablets reportedly deliver difference for brands, and nearly half of the tablets used is simultaneous with television accounting for 49 per cent. “Peaking during the evening, tablets deliver difference, but only moderate receptivity. Receptivity to adverts on tablets was notably high in Kenya, Nigeria and the Philippines,” the survey said.

    The study also showed that “consumers are most receptive to micro-video; television adverts with interactivity; and television adverts promoting mobile apps, Facebook pages and websites. Marketing that delivers more entertainment and rewards are generally preferred over multi-screen campaigns which simply offer more information.

    “We know that media and technology will continue to evolve and that consumers are leading the way. Marketers who adapt and embrace this change – and understand how to effectively and consistently reach and engage people in a multi-screen world – will benefit from brand growth,” Southgate added.

    To stay ahead of the new market challenge, as revealed by the survey done through Smartphone, among 12,000 multi-screen users between 16 and 44 years, the Managing Director of MediaShare, Mr. Dele Odugbemi, told The Nation that going digital would help the media that could be affected negatively by digital revolution.

    “Radio and TV continue to thrive because they have incorporated digital media into their offering, so a radio station can interact with its audience via its facebook page or twitter account. Digital media raises the game. Media Innovation is a noteworthy reason for the increase in media spends in Nigeria,” Odugbemi added.

     

     

  • The Nation’s Correspondent wins global media award

    The Nation’s Correspondent wins global media award

    A Senior Correspondent of The Nation,  Adedeji Ademigbuji and  Birame Faye,  reporter at Le Quotidien newspaper, Senegal have been declared joint winners of the maiden edition of media awards on Electrical Counterfeiting in Africa.
    According to a statement from the African Press Organisation (APO) Thursday Ademigbuji, won with the story “Checking the menace of fake electrical products”   while Faye’s winning entry  in French was titled  “Electricité – Usage des produits contrefaits : De l’insécurité dans notre confort domestique.”
    The award is sponsored  by Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management  to eliminate counterfeiting of electrical products in Africa.
     “Schneider Electric is extremely proud to award the very first Media Awards on Electrical Counterfeiting in Africa. We were very impressed by both the quantity and quality of entries, judging was an incredibly difficult process but we were unanimous in our decision that Adedeji Ademigbuji and Birame Faye were worthy winners. On behalf of Schneider Electric, and personally, I would like to express my warmest congratulations to these two very talented journalists,” stated Mohammed Saad, President of Schneider Electric in Africa.
    Both winners will soon be invited to France to receive their prizes during a ceremony which will hold  in the presence of Mme Tracy Garner – Global Anti-counterfeiting Manager – Schneider Electric.
    Ademigbuji is the winner of the 2013 Social Enterprise Reporting Award, SERA, in the CSR Category and the Nigerian Media Merit Awards, NMMA, Coca-Cola Prize for the Brands & Marketing Category.
  • Sustaining a nostalgic brand

    Sustaining a nostalgic brand

    Since Nigeria became an independent state, many brands have come and gone. But in the banking sector, the ability to reinvent and rebrand have made some old generation banks to become a heritage brand. ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI examines how the old banks have transformed to blend with modern market demand.

    Sustaining old brands in the challenging modern market could be a task. For a country that has faced market challenges over the last 100 years, seeing some old brands that are even older than the country itself around, could be a mystery, considering the notion that the nation’s operating environment makes brand life transient.

    While some brands have gone into extinction, conforming to the product lifecycle principles, which argues that products transit from introductory, growth, maturity, decline to death stage, some brands have continued to sustain their brand essence, innovating along modern market realities to sustain and uphold brand equity.

    With competition becoming stiffer than the days of old, some of the brands have remained market leaders through constant innovation, strategic foresight and dynamic brand building efforts. These have made them to become the industry benchmark for competition. That doesn’t come easy in a market inundated with growing consumers, unstable social economy life.

    A brand expert, Jamie Gordo of North Start Hob, United States while citing how Levi’s attained a heritage brand status and a century of category leadership, saidLevis is one of the few (if not only) brands that have existed since the dawn of industrialisation in America.

    He said: “While they have been adept at reinventing themselves from a product and marketing perspective over the years to be in line with changes in consumer culture, Levi Strauss & Co. has never strayed from their core identity as influenced by the original 501 – “superior quality and fit for all.”

    “Levis’unparalleled accessibility means that regardless of your demographic realities, or function versus fashion inclinations, if you walk into a shop to buy a pair of jeans, you can be guaranteed to find a pair of Levis that fits your price range and preferences. What’s also notable is that, as at their 140th anniversary, they will have remained a stable corporate presence in an ever-changing consumer landscape.

    “You can probably count on one hand the number of global brands that can make such a claim.”

    Like Levi, since the amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914, only a few brands that have existed before 1914, are still around. As UAC and Unilever have been the only surviving consumer good firms, Lintas Advertising to the advertising industry, so are UBA and FirstBank the only banks that have continued to sustain their brand equities despite turbulent marketing landscape across the century.

    The industry, which used to parade once-upon-a-time brands, such as Nigerian Mercantile Bank Limited, Nigerian Farmers and Commercial Bank Limited, British and French Bank (which transformed to UBA), the Agbonmagbe Bank in 1945 (which later transformed to WEMA Bank) and African Continental Bank. But for FirstBank, which traces its existence to 1894 as the Bank of British West Africa, the bank has sustained its brand equity to the country’s largest bank by assets.

    Anchoring its success and brand sustainability on value creation, resounding dynamism and relevance, some brands have gone with the bank for relying on mere slogan rebranding which failed to sustain their market share.

    The Group Managing Director of SO & U, Mr. Uffot Udeme, said rebranding goes beyond logo recreation and sloganeering, but about creating value and respect. “Branding is not arrived at through sloganeering, it cannot be conjured through any wishful thinking, it must be delivered through actions and attitudes that have been shaped by values and principles that are held dear. Those values over time become a part of the culture of the people,” he said.

    But formerly perceived as slow-paced in service delivery, shrewd with old marketing concept that drives away modern customers, FirstBank after various strategic acquisition of some banks to get ready for global market frontiers, this year is marking 120 years of brand sustainability and used the occasion when the country is celebrating centenary to refresh its corporate identity, 10 years after the previous attempt.

    The brand, synonymous with blue and iconic elephant, kept the elephant, but with a few changes. The elephant’s head has been lifted, the tusk is larger, the forehead wider, the ear’s less pointy, the trunk longer and the eyes, looking upwards. More noticeable in the refresh identity, is the absence of the hind legs of the elephant which has instead been replaced by the company name.

    According to the bank, the raised head of the elephant in the refreshed identity is a promise to customers that with the bank in their corner, they can face challenges with their head held high. The new deep blue, on the other hand, represents momentum, innovation and evolution.

    With the new logo, recreation of its iconic elephant logo, it has not been an easy one for an old brand to break the jinx of corporate culture. “There has always been a major contention surrounding the bank’s logo, which has always featured a walking African elephant. Although the use of the elephant signifies its leadership position as the first financial institution in the country, as well as its legacy of permanence, confidence and dependability, for many critics, the brand symbol of an elephant also suggest sluggishness. A brand’s logo is its birthmark and is a way to be recognised subliminally. They advise that consistency should be adopted, which perhaps explains why FirstBank is being tactical not to do away with the elephant element in its logo. The bank understands the need to retain the elephant, which has always been, from time immemorial, a vital object in its positioning and imagery,” brands analyst critique.

    The FBN Holdings Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Folake Ani-Mumuney, said the refreshed identity embodies the group’s internal values and the direction the group was headed for. She added that the group is on a mission to build a strong global presence to reinforce their leadership position while constantly striving to find better ways to service customers and drive growth.

    “In 120 years, FirstBank has built a heritage on courage, foresight, innovation and dynamism. As far back as 1912, we showed business leadership through our acquisition of the Anglo African Bank, the first of its kind in the region and a testament to our resolution for longevity,” the bank said.

    The bank takes pride that as a heritage brand, it has produced formidable minds. “We have produced formidable minds, that have gone on to become other bank MDs, MDs of government organisations, commissioners, ministers as well as prime ministers; our story of success can only be told through the successes of our people,” the bank added.

  • APCON, NBC to rejig trado-medical marketing communications

    APCON, NBC to rejig trado-medical marketing communications

    The Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria(APCON) and National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) are to restructure trado-medical marketing communications to sanitise their advert space from unwholesome messages in their campaigns.

    APCON made this known during a stakeholders’ forum with trado-medical practitioners.

    Its Chairman, Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi, said the council had been making efforts to address violations of adverts code by trado-medical practitioners.

    With realisation by the government that the two regulating agencies need to do their job well, Akinwunmi said the bodies should be involved in the trado-medics since it launched the new APCON code.

    “The government does not want to stop or completely control the practitioners in terms of advertising, but it is part of the government’s responsibility that the communication being dished out is true, honest and credible,” he affirmed.

    Akinwunmi urged the practitioners to partner with APCON. “We are going to organise seminars so that people who are spoilers of the credibility of the genuine practitioners are not allowed to operate. So we need your support,” he said.

    The Minister of Health, represented by the Director of Traditional Medicine in the ministry, Mr. Moshood Lawal, maintained that new move is in the interest of all, especially the practitioners.

    Also, the Minister of Information, represented by the Director-General, NBC, Mr. Emeka Mba, said there are guidelines for broadcast of trado-medical programmes and maintained that nobody could stop the practitioners from advertising.

     

  • Airtel showcases customers’ elite club

    Airtel showcases customers’ elite club

    Airtel Nigeria has launched the Airtel Premier Club, a special VIP programme designed to offer exceptional and personalised services.

    The event attracted several important dignitaries, including the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Akinwunmi Adesina; Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Shri A. R. Ghanshyam; former Governor of Cross Rivers State, Donald Duke; wife of Ogun State Governor, Mrs Funsho Amosun, foremost British Economist, Jim O’neill and Arsenal legend, Ray Parlour.

    Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya, described the club as a platform for offering exceptional and personalised service to High Networth Customers and VIPs.

    According to Ogunsanya, customers who enrol in the Airtel Premier platform will enjoy several benefits, including dedicated helpline, exclusive emails and website, dedicated Relationship Manager, enrolment into Airtel Rewards Programme, exclusive access to designated service points at Airtel showrooms and access to over 600 premium lounges across the world, among other benefits.

    The event, however, hit a high point when the Airtel Premier logo was unveiled.

    Ghanshyam commended Airtel for turning threats into opportunities and for leveraging on innovative mobile telecoms solutions to empower the local communities it served. He cited how the mobile phone revolution transformed the lives of poor farmers in India, making them complete entrepreneurs.

    On his part, O’neill urged the government to pay attention to education, saying it is only a skilled population that can bring about the level of productivity that will improve an economy.

     

     

  • Coca-Cola unveils World Cup campaign

    Coca-Cola unveils World Cup campaign

    Coca-Cola Nigeria has unveiled its marketing communication plans for the 2014 FIFA World Cup holding in Brazil. The company unveils local adaptation of its global TVC using local artiste, Waje, MI to connect with the local consumers in the spirit of the FIFA World Cup 2014. The firm also plans to fly lucky winners of its promotion to the competition.

    The Marketing Manager, Colas for Coca-Cola Nigeria, Bolajoko Bayo-Ajayi, described Coca-Cola as the ideal brand to connect consumers with the best global soccer entertainment. “This campaign is our way of inviting the consumers to participate and celebrate with fans worldwide as they experience the Brazil World Cup.”

    The World Cup theme song, “The World is Ours” was performed by a Brazilian born artiste David Correy, Brazilian Percussion group Monobloco for football lovers to celebrate and bringing the World Cup to the world. There is a Nigerian version of the song that featured MI & Waje.

     

  • AAAN expects higher revenue from politics, telecoms, banking

    Politics, telecoms and banking will propell growth of advertising spend in the year, the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) has said.

    The association believes that with political campaign kicking off in preparation for 2015 election, the industry will experience boom in ad spend while telecoms and banking sectors are expected to also further skyrocket growth over last year’s figure.

    AAANPresident, Mrs. Bunmi Oke, said though a projected N20 billion to be spent on political campaign might not pass through the organised private sector, the projected increase in the banking sector would be due to the new banking regime and rebranding exercise.

    In the breakdown of last year’s advert spend, it was revealed that N66, 250 billion was spent on TV; N22, 500 billion on radio; 23,750 billion on outdoor and 23,500 billion on press. The total was put at N125 billion, which is about 37.3 per cent increase compared with advert spend in 2012, which was about N91.8 billion.

    Oke said: ”Licensing of new DISCO Companies will increase advertising spend in the energy sector while the business outlook for the 2014 portends some potentials for practitioners and agencies. It is believed that advertisers will also increase spent and operate within the framework of law, ethics and best business practices.”

    She, however, further explained that the industry contributions to the economy goes beyond offering marketing communication services to the private sector but extends to fully engendering proper understanding of government policies and revealing to the public ways by which they can participate benefit and contribute to the growth of the economy.

    Oke, however, suggested that efforts must be aimed at building the profession to the level of what everybody understands to better engagement. This, to her, is why the local industry must be supported and shielded from undue foreign patronage. She condemned the recent engagement of a foreign agency by one of the major political parties to help it positively project its image.

    According to her, marketing communications agencies are more than qualified and capable to handle such task besides having a better understanding of the dynamics of the country and its people.

    On the National Conference, where the association would be sending a representative, she said because it is a collaborative effort the body is discussing with all stakeholders to collate opinions in order to have a well-informed position that would drive the industry forward and to greater height.

    Events being proposed by the association for the year include the 41th AGM/Congress; agencies funfair; Women in Advertising Seminar and an International seminar on the persuasive power of advertising to win elections.

  • Stakeholders divided over who abused consumers most

    The President of Advertisers Association of Nigeria, who is also the General Manager, Consumer Marketing, MTN, Mr. Kola Oyeyemi has undermined the proposition that consumers are helpless in their bid to seek protect against violation of their rights, saying corporate consumers are more helpless than individuals.

    Oyeyemi stated this during a symposium by Brand Journalists Association of Nigeria to commemorate the World Consumer Day.

    According to him, consumers are not helpless despite some of the challenges they face, such as erratic power supply, man hour loss, economy, security concern, traffic burden, among other family facing them.

    He said consumers, who are believed to be oppressed, depressed and difficult to please, have become knowledgeable, demanding and absolutely disloyal as a result of access to social media, mobile telephony which makes them to search for alternatives and voice their grievances against any marketer, producer or service providers.

    Oyeyemi noted that with the cosmopolitan nature of consumers, corporate consumers are more endangered than the individual consumers as a result of challenging operating environment which also further put pressure on pleasing the consumers at high cost.

    While defending the corporate organisations, Oyeyemi noted that with the level of consumer’s sophistication and discerning mind, corporate organisations are forced to break their bank to please the consumers who are inundated by many social issues.

    “When I see corporate Nigerian and helpless consumers as an issue I become worried that are consumers really helpless? A day in the life of consumers is actually full of issues such as home front challenges, power, traffic, work pressure, security, armed robbery, kidnapping and the economy challenges. For manufacturers, you know your highest cost is power. Imagine you want to market to these consumers, you had better prepare for war. With lots of adverts to capture his mind, you will do a lot to get him amidst his social issues which has made consumers oppressed and depressed individual and difficult to impress. Whose fault? Definitely not corporate.

    “However, I am not sure consumers are really helpless. There is tyranny of new consumers, which had made them knowledgeable, very demanding and absolutely disloyal. These are dangerous combinations. You mess up with them, they port to another brand, and he takes his money elsewhere. He is a potential porter. He doesn’t have emotion, sentiment; life has already beaten him. The little money he brings to the market he wants to maximise and with the weapon of social media and mobile telephony accessibility at his disposal, he can access the worldwide web to search for alternative brands, hence, making advertisers to loose their huge ad spend which was produced to capture his mind.”

    Oyeyemi lamented that the marketing game has turned to blood-letting in an attempt to please the consumers.

    However, the President of Consumer Advocacy Foundation, Sola Salako irrespective of the problems corporate organisations are facing, consumers are still at the receiving end as brands factor in some of the challenges in their pricing which are passed to consumers.

    “We can’t deny the fact that corporate is facing such challenges but corporate consumers oppress individual consumers who are at disadvantage more. No matter what corporate people say, at the end of the year, they will declare N7billion profit and as a result pass price to consumers.”

    Also, the Head, Lagos office of Consumer Protection Council, CPC, Mr. Tam Tamunokonbia said CPC is aware of some of the challenges and have called on chief executives of service providers in relation to poor service, illegal deduction, but they have failed to come to the roundtable to address some of the issues.

    However, the Marketing Director, Unilever Nigeria, Davic Okeme urged the government to encourage the real sector. He urged consumer advocacy groups to advocate for corporate consumers so that the government can address some of the challenges that make them helpless to satisfy consumers.