‘Repositioning Brand Nigeria demands commitment from political leaders’

Marketing and public relations practitioners, Lampe Omoyele and Bolaji Okusaga, have advised that with the increasing competition among nations for capital destination, global, regional and subregional influence, as well as product and cultural export, the need to create a deliberate and consistent purpose for the Nigerian brand has become imperative.

As lead speakers at the recently held second edition of BRANDish Meeting of Minds, on the theme ‘In Search of the Right Purpose for the Nigerian Brand’, they argued that since Nigeria has failed in three previous branding projects, the first being the ‘Giant of Africa’ project during the Yakubu Gowon era, the second being ‘Heart of Africa,’ during the second coming of Obasanjo, and the third being ‘Good People, Great Nation’ campaign, during Yar’Adua’s era, they said branding Nigeria campaigns must be such that do not make demands on citizens without extracting commitment of political leaders, as they must be champions of the project.

“Emotional appeals on citizens must be balanced with practical and demonstrable commitment of leaders on the project, ” they said.

Omoyele said Nigeria’s failure in previous branding campaigns was due to faulty premises, bureaucracy, politicization, inconsistency, poor investment, lack of clear and shared purpose and sustainable vision, which led to poor execution. He said the challenge had been how to effectively reposition Nigeria to conjure positive awareness, perceptions and imagery across the world, starting from within Nigeria itself.

“However, negative perceptions about Nigeria can be overcome, with differentiated repositioning through conscious and concerted efforts that help to change the narrative,” he noted.

According to Omoleye, the Nigerian spirit is captured by the word ‘Naija,’ which connotes ‘strength and smartness’. Within these words, he said, lies the Nigerian brand and ingredient for repositioning.

According to him, “For a work-in-progress positioning statement for Nigeria, ‘We are Nigeria, the land of opportunity for the brave, the strong and the smart, the land of adventure and hope, ‘Naija, where anything can happen. The positioning wheel for Nigeria is enterprise, hope, opportunity, enthusiasm and energy.

“Of course, I am aware that good marketing cannot always make up for negative product perceptions, or observable negative reality on the long run, so we would need to fix what is wrong about Nigeria such as addressing infrastructure deficits, ease of business, the increasing poverty line etc.”

The marketing guru stated that there was need to reposition Nigeria as a land of hope and opportunity for business and investment, adding, “the development, involvement and strengthening of the private sector is important. The most successful nation-state positioning strategies have been driven by public-private partnership.”

Omoleye advised that effective use of the internet could help change negative perceptions about Nigeria, saying, “There is a constant exchange, interaction, import and export of cultures in the digital space. Impressions are made and perceptions formed about our lifestyle; the power of the people now rests in their hands, on their smartphones. The major drivers of this revolution are digital natives, not tribal natives, the youths, who are willing to collaborate and fight for a common cause. They embody the ‘Naija’ spirit, and can be veritable ambassadors for the repositioning of Nigeria in the global space.”

Okusaga, on the other hand, stated that branding Nigerian must take the form of a precise purpose statement with clear emotional and commercial opportunities, noting, “Such precise purpose statement must embody and be a functional summary statement reflecting the direction the country wish to go. Nation branding is usually a long term project that outlives the government of the day. Nigeria must therefore design it in the form of national development plans to ensure the aggregation of economic opportunities as well as the intangible emotional selling propositions.”

He also stressed that communication was critical to the success of nation marketing project, adding, “Effort must be made to ensure information reaches the right targets such as investment communities, multinational companies, business clubs and Chambers of Commerce as well as fund managers, venture capitalists and private equity firms in target countries.

“A body consisting of professionals in the field of marketing, diplomacy, economics, information technology, and business must be set up to midwife the project. Such a body must be insulated from political influences and given tenure to ensure seamless execution, evaluation and monitoring of project progress.”

Meanwhile, Analyst-in-Chief, BRANDish, Ikem Okuhu, had earlier stated that it was difficult to create a brand out of a nation without building all the structures and fittings that are critical to delivering the promises and purposes ascribed to the brand.