‘Previous branding Nigeria efforts failed because they lacked supporting structures, political will ‘

Branding Nigeria appropriately has been a challenge due to varied factors and in this discussion, Ikem Okuhu, Analyst-in-Chief, BRANDish proffered some of the reasons. He has also devoted the 3rd edition of ‘Brandish Meeting of Minds’ platform scheduled for August 4, 2017 to assemble experts to discuss the challenges and prospects in branding Nigeria. Excerpts

Nigeria has not made progress from its several marketing campaigns in the past. What do you think is responsible for this?

The challenge facing Nigeria’s efforts at properly and profitably positioning Nigeria is primarily the same challenge facing Public Relations practice in the country. Everyone thinks they are capable of delivering on it irrespective of whether they are professionals and have the experience and competence or not. When a country decides to market itself before the world, the very first thing to do is to conduct a thorough need evaluation research so as to identify the right proposition. It is not a matter of a few people sitting down in a room and choosing a theme that is no more than an emotional appeal to the citizens and the global community.

If Brandish Meeting of Minds is still looking for the right brand Nigeria, what went wrong in previous exercises?

First, they were designed without full professional input and management. Secondly, they were designed as knee-jerk responses to the myriad challenges of corruption, nepotism, poor leadership among other ills that have plagued the nation over the years. Thirdly, they were too emotional to make the real business of nation marketing happen. Another reason is that there was nothing on ground in terms of structures, infrastructure and even political will to make the campaigns live beyond political sloganeering, created probably to reward friends of government.

Not to give too much away, in your point of view, how can Nigeria creates a good brand for itself?

It is in being sincere with ourselves by looking for anchors that strategically fit what we want to become. It is unnecessary to pretend that we are the greatest. It is also needless to struggle to be the greatest when we know we are not. What is important now, especially in the light of global competition for and of capital, is for us to take a realistic view of where we are and then choose a purpose that suits where we have sincerely decided we are going. I keep giving the example of India. India is not one of the most loved nations in the world. There is a terrible caste system that ordinarily is enough to make the country unattractive to the world. They also have very ugly cities and traffic jams like we have in Nigeria. But India over the year, invested in the IT space and did well to also build capacities in manufacturing. Having looked at this and the status of China as the factory of the world, India created a proposition known as Make in India, which is more of a message to the world that India does not even wish to be known as the country of brand origin.

Tell us why the theme ‘In search of the right purpose for the Nigerian Brand” for the second edition of Brandish Meeting of Minds?

We have chosen this theme because of the need to get professionals and experts to join the discourse geared towards finding the right, made-to-fit purpose for the Nigerian brand. We are not the experts but we are convinced that those that will be lending their voices to the conversation are as experienced and knowledgeable as are capable of creating a framework that will help the government adopt what will work best for us.

The first edition was on banking industry, can you share it gains and challenges?

When we decided to focus on the Nigerian banking industry for our very first edition of BRANDish Meeting of Minds, it was with a view to, not just have another talkshop, but to find solutions to the challenges the financial institutions are increasingly confronting.

By every consideration, that was a success. The two speakers selected for the event, Femi Awoyemi of Proshare Nigeria and Lolu Akinwunmi of Prima Garnet Africa were able to raise critical questions and solutions to the challenges and that is essentially what we are out to achieve with this platform.

Besides corporate and individuals involvement, what is the role of the government in whose interest you are doing the?

You know in Nigeria, it is very difficult to talk to government. The bureaucracy is a bit unwieldy.  But what I can tell you is that we are not talking to government alone. We are talking to Nigerians, every Nigerian, with the belief that once we have a strong message like we did in the first edition, and government will listen.

When and where is the event holding?

The second edition of BRANDIsh Meeting of Minds, which has at its theme, In Search of the Right Purpose for the Nigerian Brand” will take place on August 4, 2017.