By Queen Nwabueze
Ladies and gentlemen, we must talk about the epidemic of non-brand people running brands.
In the chaotic, colourful world of Nigerian marketing, there exists a curious breed of brand strategies that make you pause, squint, and ask yourself: “Who approved this thing?”
You look at the campaign and wonder: Is this a brand trying to engage consumers, or is this HR trying to motivate staff on a Monday morning? Because what does “Delivering Excellence Through Synergized Commitment” have to do with selling moi-moi in a pouch?
In many Nigerian companies, a brand manager is not always someone trained in brand management. Sometimes, they’re a former HR staff who “has a creative eye” or an admin officer promoted because they once coordinated end-of-year party souvenirs.
No disrespect, but brand management is not vibes and PowerPoint transitions.
To manage a brand is to manage meaning, perception, emotional connection and consumer experience. If your idea of brand building is sending staff birthday messages and planning TGIFs, then you’re not doing brand management, you’re doing HR with hashtags.
Real brand strategy is rooted in consumer insight. It’s about understanding what makes the market tick, what drives purchase behaviour, what earns loyalty.
But when the person leading your brand has never entered trade markets, never spoken to a real customer and doesn’t know what a consumer journey map looks like, what you get is theory.
That’s how we end up with brands in Nigeria saying things like:
• “We promote integrity and harmony”
• “We are committed to gender balance and employee wellness”
• “We stand for growth, grit and greatness”
Fantastic. But what are you selling again? Bread or a TED Talk?
Real Brands Speak Human.
Look at the brands winning today in Nigeria:
• Fearless Energy Drink: Loud, unapologetic, deeply connected to the street.
• Moniepoint: Not trying to sound like a Harvard fintech case study. Just solving real business and financial pain points with solid distribution.
• TomTom: Rebranding itself for a younger audience without losing its deep-rooted connection to breath-freshening nostalgia.
These brands are not confused. They don’t need a mission statement to say they’re innovative. Their marketing shows it.
Meanwhile, some other brands are hiring celebrity influencers to promote a product nobody understands, using captions that sound like LinkedIn quotes. And when it flops? They say, “Marketing didn’t work.”
No, dear. What didn’t work was the person leading the brand.
Brand management is not admin work. You can’t reduce brand management to logo approvals, memo writing and buying t-shirts for staff.
Brand management is:
• Knowing your competitor’s weaknesses and capitalizing on them.
• Crafting a positioning that consumers can remember and repeat.
• Making sure every touchpoint, from signage to social media tells the same story.
It’s psychology. It’s anthropology. It’s commerce. And yes, sometimes, it’s even spiritual because consumers believe what your brand represents.
Dear Nigerian companies, respect the profession. The Nigerian marketing space is growing. Our consumers are evolving. They’re online, exposed, sharp, and picky. You can’t afford to play brand management like it’s secondary school social prefect work.
Hire trained brand people. Send them for ongoing training. Pair them with data, creatives and trade insight. Let them interact with real-life consumers.
Stop giving your brand to someone whose only consumer experience is approving flyers on Canva.
Because When It Works, It Works.
When real brand people run brands, magic happens:
• Products gain traction not just because of price, but because of meaning.
• Campaigns connect not just because of reach, but because of resonance.
• Consumers become evangelists, not just customers.
And then, you’ll no longer need to beg people to engage your posts. The market itself will carry your message.
Therefore, if your brand strategy feels off, disconnected, or like a motivational speech with no market sense, ask yourself:
Who’s your brand manager again?
Because real brand management is not about sounding smart. It’s about knowing your market, knowing your message and delivering meaning consistently.
If you’re not doing that?
You’re not doing brand management.
You’re doing HR with better fonts.
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