Going Global - 2008-10-13

After months of preparation, the world of marketing finally berthed in Nigeria last week for the Global Marketing Strategy Conference and launch of the country chapter of the Global Marketing Network. In this piece, Ralph Tathagata, with assistance from Dumbiri Frank Eboh, documents the seminal outpourings of some of the best branding and marketing brains around the world at the epoch-making event otherwise known as Lagos 2008, and reports that this is one development which is capable of radically changing the face of marketing in Nigeria in the 21st century. 

The seed of a revolution was sowed on the Nigerian marketing scene last week. That, perhaps, is the best way to describe what happened when M2 attracted some of the best known authorities on marketing in the world to Lagos for the launch of the country chapter of the Global Marketing Network and the Global Marketing Strategy Conference.

The event attracted a coterie of high profile participants, among them chief executives, marketing directors, finance directors, business professionals, leading business academics, marketing communication professionals, and brand managers.

Lagos 2008, as the event was tagged, kicked off with a cocktail last Tuesday at the Sheraton Hotel & Resorts Lagos, venue of all the activities. Day Two witnessed the launch of GMN in Nigeria, and the climax came on Wednesday with the international conference designed to give Nigerian companies useful tips on how to go global.

The lead speaker, Svend Hollensen, Professor of International Marketing, University of Southern Denmark, and the author of 'Blue Ocean', a marketing best-seller, raised some thought-provoking issues on branding and marketing. He expertly dissected the coinage 'Glocalization', which may soon become a buzz word. Professor Hollensen explained the word as a new marketing strategy aimed at harnessing and localising marketing opportunities in different parts of the globe.

Hollensen also spoke on value-chain management and brand heritage. He stressed that this technique cannot be ignored in the building and management of any solid brand in the world today.

Speaking on brand heritage, the erudite professor prowled into the untapped and unexplored brand building region as far as brand heritage is concerned in Nigeria. He acknowledged the fact that Nigeria is not broadly perceived as a positive brand abroad, pointing out, however, some opportunities that could sell Nigerian brands abroad.

“I must confess that there are vast possibilities and opportunities through which the Nigerian brand could be built into a global brand. Some of these opportunities and possibilities could be your rivers, your cultural heritage, your past heroes and legends and many other positive things that Nigeria could be associated with,” Hollensen stated.

He challenged Nigerian marketing and branding professionals present at the workshop to identify these opportunities and many more in order to take advantage of a global market that is lacking in Nigerian brands.

Using Heineken beer as a case study, Hollensen explained that the brand from inception was built around the heritage of the two countries with which its founder was associated. “Gerard Heineken was a German citizen who settled in Netherlands. But in building the Heineken brand, he fused the cultural heritage of Germany and Netherlands. I believe the cultural diversity of Nigeria is pretty tremendous for any body to anchor a local brand that could metamorphose into a global brand,” Hollensen, who conducted three sessions, stated.

 But it was Mr. Bola Akingbade, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer, MTN Nigeria, who got the biggest applause. He literally swept the full house of participants off their feet in his speech, which lasted over one and half hours.

Akingbade, who was described as a role model by Darrel Kofkin, Chief Executive of Global Marketing Network (GMN), and as a guru by Associate Professor of Marketing, Dr. Temi Abimbola, showed why he merited such plaudits. His speech covered a wide gamut of marketing, borrowing heavily from his rich experience as an accomplished marketing strategist with multinational giants such as Nestle, Nigeria Breweries and now MTN.

The marketing strategist defined a strong brand as an asset that conveys values, ethos and purpose all within a context that must have appreciable significance and relevance in its ability to meet the basic needs and aspirations of the target customers. He made it clear that, as a rule, a strong brand must be underpinned by a concept statement that barely indicates the manner in which it intends to meet the intending needs of customers.

Akingbade, however, highlighted that the concept of a brand must be seen in the purpose it exists to share. “Every successful brand must have its reason for existing,” he stated. “And this must be well thought out and properly articulated. It should be well researched and established in such a way that relevant customers will find strong enough to address on current mechanics. The brand must indicate the tangible and intangible benefits it intends to give customers.”

He emphasised the need to build brands on what he called the four pillars on which a strong brand must derive expression, relevance and sustainable equity. “A weak brand is synonymous with weak pillars; they will crumble very easily under any measure of appreciable pressure,” he stressed.

 Professionally, a good product is expected to represent the concrete essence of the brand. Akingbade, however, brought in a deeper dimension, describing a brand as a living entity that possesses a soul, a conscience, as well as a discernable character trait. He said that looking at brands from this perspective will enable corporate organisations to understand their brands better and prepare them to manage it properly in times of strength and weakness.

The marketing guru also stressed the need for brand builders to have an awareness and appreciation of their heritage. Drawing attention to Amstel brand, he explained that people in the West associate the brand with exciting things that agree with their lifestyle.

 As Akingbade put it, “If a brand delivers on its strong promise, consumers can hardly exhibit divided loyalty. Take the telecoms industry for an example. It is not unusual for Nigerians to subscribe to more than four lines on different networks believing that any one that delivers will serve the purpose for that occasion.”

He urged indigenous companies to aim to produce only top quality goods and brand them around positive national heritage so as to gain international acceptance. His words: “If, for instance, we are developing a local brand in Nigeria that we will want to have a global relevance in the future, and if they say the brand is from Nigeria, many people, even Nigerians, will have negative mental picture because, globally, the mental associations of Nigeria is not very positive. But when you look deeply about what Nigeria really is, apart from the word 'Nigeria', there are things you really can get out of it that will reflect the kind of positive things that Hollensen was talking about in this country, which people cannot deny. If you can identify those things and use each to identify your brand at the global arena, particularly now that there are not very many Nigerian brands beyond the shores of this country, I assure you that the brand will flourish.”

Akingbade urged Nigerian marketing experts to up their game by taking a closer look at the heritage values of the local market. This, he maintained, could go beyond brand building to position Nigeria as a great country.

Like Akingbade, other speakers also dwelt extensively on brand personality, reiterating that the personality of a good brand must evoke positive images in the mind of consumers, if the brand is to succeed.

The last presentation for the day was made by Dr. Temi Abimbola, Associate Professor at Warwick Business School, UK, who also compered the event. The Nigerian-born marketing and research specialist decried the negative brand image that is associated with Nigeria abroad and in the same breath raised hopes by concluding that in a nation of 150 million people, everybody cannot be a crook.

“We don't have the critical mass market in Nigeria, which is why GMN is brought to this country,” she said, adding: “In market segmentation, there are two levels; the micro and the macro. The micro we all know has more to do with the local market while the macro has to do with a mass market that cuts across national boundaries. And I must tell you that Nigeria as a nation is not yet there. So for us to build brands that can stand the test of time in global arena, we must reinvent our branding and marketing values. We must start by inculcating those values that drive long term success in branding and marketing the world over.”

As day turns into night and night into morning, so do time and space change with every that exist in them. In this regard, Dr. Abimbola reminded participants that every successful brand must be ready to change with time.

She made it clear that the choice of consumers has gone beyond Coca Cola vs. Pepsi as multiple brands are now scrambling for their attention. In the light of this, Temi said that “big brands engage us to buy because they engage at a deeper psychological level.”

Temi urged marketers to redouble their efforts to achieve results because “if the marketing guys do not make the money, the accountant would not have anything to count.”

In his remarks, an elated Kofkin, Chief Executive, Global Marketing Network and Founder, London School of Marketing, expressed joy that Nigeria has now joined the GMN family. He urged those who are yet to join GMN to contact M2 for assistance in this regard and went on to itemise the benefits that come from membership of the global marketing family.

Kofkin, who praised the quality of presentations at the conference, also chipped in some words of marketing wisdom. A sampler: “Consumer appeal is unending, therefore brand and marketing experts must think long and hard while building and marketing brands that are expected to attain global status.”

The GMN Nigeria launch, which took place the previous day, similarly witnessed insightful presentations. Chaired by Chief Akin Odunsi, Chairman of Rosabel, it had Mr. Olu Akanmu, Divisional Director of Retail Banking at BankPHB, as main speaker and was graced by a host of marketing experts.

In her opening remarks, Temi said that the global marketing scene is changing at a pace which local practitioners cannot afford to ignore. She stated that with the whole world coming together as one communal globe, the traditional segmentation of markets into regions is no longer applicable.

“Nigerian marketers should see themselves as part of the global marketing network. They should be able to buy into the knowledge base of the global network and impact their practice positively,” she said, adding that marketing is not just about theories but must be practice oriented.

Kofkin, while welcoming participants to the launch, gave a brief history of the GMN, which dates back to 2002, when he set up the London School of Marketing, he later sold to venture capitalists in order to set up the GMN, which he finally did in 2005. He said his passion for Nigeria started during his lecturing days, when he got in contact with Nigerian students who showed extraordinary zeal for the marketing profession.

Kofkin praised marketing professionals in Nigeria, saying that with the level of passion and enthusiasm he saw in the local practitioners, the profession had a very great future.

Akanmu, in his presentation, revealed some changing concepts in marketing, anchoring them on what he referred to as the three “Ds”  Democracy, Deregulation and Digital development. According to him, nobody should be isolated from the fundamentals of marketing because, with globalisation and mobility of consumers across borders, there is nowhere to hide for substandard products. He told those in attendance to no longer see globalisation as an American thing as countries like China and Japan are competing seriously on the global front.

“The trajectory of our economy is positive and will remain so for a very long time because markets like China and India will always be there for us. We are witnessing a reemergence of a middle class of consumers whose sophisticated taste will play a vital role in the marketing industry,” Akanmu stated.

He identified such areas as global cultural convergence, rapid diffusion of technology, cultural revolution and a host of other things as some of the changing concepts in marketing.

Earlier in his address, event chairman, Odunsi, had stressed the fact that since nobody is an island, it is not enough to think globally and act locally. One should think globally and act globally, he said, enjoining marketers in Nigeria to seize the opportunities presented by GMN to be abreast of global standards.

All who drank from the fountain of knowledge that flowed during the launch and the conference went home refreshed and bubbling with ideas. In the circumstances, it may be safe to predict, in time to come, the emergence of strong Nigerian brands on the international arena. When that happens, just remember where the seed was sowed: At the M2/GMN 2008 Global Marketing Strategy Conference and launch..