Nigeria Content Online

The economic
meltdown has indeed posed enormous challenges to the marketing
communication industry. The harsh economic realities have forced
several companies and brands to abandon marketing communication
platforms. It is true that the global economic meltdown comes with
harsh realities, but this should not force companies to shrink budgets
or in extreme cases, jettison marketing communication campaign in its
entirety. The reason for this is the long term value and benefits that
this brings over a specific period.

It has indeed
become expedient for brands to remain visible in the market place
during the recession. It is not being suggested that budget may not be
reviewed, but it would not get to that point that adverse effects
become noticeable on building and sustaining brand equity. The economic
recession can be a good opportunity for companies to rethink their
marketing strategy and explore new platforms to retain market share.

Some companies have
actually adopted a number of strategies that cannot deliver on brand
success in the past and all they want to do now is to drastically do
away with marketing communication. This is not the way out, as such
firms should go back to the drawing board and engage professionals to
develop workable strategies for them. It is pertinent to state that
brands will suffer in the long run when the effects of economic
recession thin out.

The economic
recession offers companies the opportunity to gain a deep understanding
of consumer behaviour. This includes purchase decisions, what motivates
consumers, what is the current lifestyle of consumers, even during
recession, and what value does the consumer want? All these are key
consumer insights that will go a long way in helping the brand achieve
market penetration in times of recession.

It is indeed
crucial for brands not to leave any gap for competition during times
like this. There is the critical need to communicate continuously and
also focus on internal re-tooling on such areas as quality, service
delivery, consumer bonding, packaging, production, channels of
distribution, etc. This is also without losing sight of the financial
margins in business.

In our clime in
Nigeria, despite the economic recession, people still expend a lot of
money on social events. There are some brands that still thrive, in
spite of all odds. For instance, a soft drink manufacturing company.
Some marketing team have been following up on churches where wedding
ceremonies take place regularly. That is a strategy that has worked
over the years as the brands are sold through a direct marketing
strategy. This is one effective way to increase bottom line while also
supporting the brand with communication.

It is even during
economic recession that some brands adopt other tools of marketing
communication to build share of voice and gain the consumers mind. It
has now become a warfare strategy for brands to battle to occupy a
larger percentage of the consumers mind.

This is exactly
what is happening with two major detergent brands: OMO and Ariel. The
brands have developed a strategy that will ensure that the consumers
have direct connection to the brands. It is also aimed at demonstrating
to consumers the need to prefer one brand to the other. The open market
activation, which has a celebrity as the anchor person, has endeared
the brands to the consumers. This is strategy that focuses on
increasing the bottom line and sustaining market share. The brands
adopted the experiential marketing approach to build brand equity
during the meltdown. This should be the focus of companies, rather than
taking harsh decisions that, in the long run, would affect the fortunes
of the brand.

Some days ago, the
managing director of a major QSR with foreign affiliation informed me
that they could not afford any communication now. He even went further
to state that they have just closed down one of their outlets. This,
for me, is not the solution. I believe a marketing strategy that should
target the potentials consumers around that axis of the outlet should
be developed.

There are some
major offices and residential homes around that area. All the company
needs to do is to utilise a direct marketing approach and reach out to
the consumers. For instance, the strategy could be to serve breakfast
to the consumers and this will win them over. Everything is not about
the recession alone, but the marketing communication channel to adopt.
Some companies are also in his shoes and over time, the brands suffer
while competitors take the centre stage of winning their consumers over.

The meltdown can
indeed be a veritable platform for companies to project brands and
achieve success in the market. The key imperative is to identify the
marketing communication tool that will leverage visibility for the
brand to succeed in the marketplace.