by Queen Nwabueze
Somewhere in Lagos, a brand-new CEO just gave a speech that ended with this banger: “We need marketing to do wonders. Let’s make noise, go viral, and move from 3% to 50% market share in one quarter.”
Cue the eye-rolls from the marketing team.
Ladies and gentlemen, let us address a nationwide epidemic – the dangerous belief that marketing is juju. That all a company needs to blow is one billboard, one influencer post, one campaign with a fine slogan and boom: Miracle!
It doesn’t work like that.
Dear CEOs, Marketing Is Not Photoshop. Marketing is not a Christ Jesus that turns water into wine. If your product is bad, marketing will expose it faster than Instagram can drag a failed date.
If your sales team is untrained and undermotivated, your distributor network is weak and your staff are uninspired, marketing cannot rescue you.
We’ve seen it too many times. A bank wants a viral youth campaign but still can’t reduce account-opening queues. A drink brand wants to do #DettyDecember but their beverages are hotter than December sun because fridges and chillers are always faulty in trade.
Marketing amplifies what is there. If there is nothing there, it will amplify that too.
Flashback: That One CEO in Yaba
Once upon a recession, a local FMCG company in Yaba brought in a new MD. In the first week, he called the head of marketing and said: “We need a campaign that will double our sales by next month. And it must trend on Instagram. We don’t have a budget, but we have a dream.”
Jesus didn’t die for this.
But this is real life in many Nigerian companies. CEOs under pressure from shareholders, board members and dwindling revenue suddenly turn to marketing like a ritual priest. They want quick fixes. Fast fame. Zero to hero. Miracle without process.
The result? Marketing plans that are unrealistic, ungrounded and unsustainable. Teams burned out trying to impress overzealous executives.
Your Problem Is Not Marketing, It’s Misalignment. Let’s be honest. Sometimes, the problem isn’t marketing. The problem is business misalignment. You want to be a premium brand, but your customer experience screams “roadside seller.”
You claim to be innovative, but your website hasn’t been updated since Jonathan was president.
You say you want to attract Gen Z, but your Instagram grid looks like a PowerPoint presentation.
Marketing doesn’t fix this. Strategy does.
Nigerian CEOs and the “Do Something” Syndrome na five and six. In downturns, many CEOs resort to what I call the “Do Something” syndrome. Business is slow? Just do something! Any campaign. Any discount. Any influencer. Just look busy.
But random activity is not strategy.
That’s how a telco once spent N70 million sponsoring a music concert with zero product visibility or conversion plan. No lead capture. No promo code. No signage. Just vibes.
Marketing is not performance. It is precision.
Stop Chasing Viral, Start Chasing Value, I say again. The most overused brief in Nigerian marketing: “We want this campaign to go viral.”
Great. Viral for what?
Because if you go viral for the wrong reasons (hello Twitter clapbacks), you’ll get the attention but not the traction.
True marketing success is not a trending hashtag. It’s increasing your top-of-mind awareness, building brand equity, nurturing trust, growing share of wallet and driving actual conversion.
If that doesn’t sound sexy enough, maybe you’re not ready for real marketing.
Let’s Talk Timelines. Real marketing takes time. No be beans.
You cannot plant tomatoes today and harvest jollof rice tomorrow. You want awareness, affinity, AND action all by next week? Sorry, that’s not a campaign. Even witchcrafts can’t deliver that.
Think about great Nigerian brands:
• Gala didn’t become a household name overnight. It took years of consistency.
• Peak Milk has been pounding its “Strong Body” narrative for decades.
• Even Opay rose through years of aggressive yet strategic on-ground presence, community immersion and laser-focused product innovation before becoming the fintech sweetheart.
There is no shortcut to resonance.
What Real CEOs Do?
Real CEOs understand the science and the spirit of marketing. They don’t just demand output, they collaborate for outcomes. They:
• Join consumer immersions.
• Attend field activations.
• Sit in marketing review sessions.
• Drive KPIs
If your CEO doesn’t immerse himself in driving “conversion funnel” or “lifetime value,” you don’t have a marketing problem. You have a leadership gap. Yes, because accountability flows upward.
Marketers in Nigeria are tired. Tired of being miracle workers. Tired of getting blamed for poor business outcomes when foundational issues are left unaddressed.
The next time results are flat, maybe don’t start by asking the marketing team what went wrong. Ask the executive team what they failed to fund, fix, or forecast.
The Real Magic? Alignment + Time + Truth!
If you want marketing to work, here’s the real secret:
• Alignment: Get every department especially finance (e get why), aligned with the marketing objective.
• Time: Be patient enough to let brand equity grow.
• Truth: Let your brand proposition be based on real value, not hype.
Magic happens when there is substance.
Final Words for the C-Suite? Here: If you want miracles, go to church. If you want marketing that works, start with vision and be ready to fund it.
And then, trust your marketing team enough to do their job. Not overnight. Not under pressure. But with the clarity and courage it takes to build something that lasts.
Because real marketing isn’t magic. It’s mastery.
