There’s a growing disease in corporate Nigeria. It’s not malaria. It’s not fuel scarcity. It’s not even the viral “soft life” syndrome. It’s the epidemic of aesthetics over strategy in our marketing departments.
If you step into the average marketing team in Nigeria today, you’ll find a battalion of graphic designers, video editors, UI/UX folks, and one or two people with Canva open 24/7. Beautiful flyers? Check. B-roll videos? Check. Motion graphics with jazzy transitions? Of course.
But ask for a strategic roadmap, consumer insight document, customer journey map, or even something as basic as a SWOT analysis and suddenly, everybody is doing awoof giveaway on WhatsApp.
Marketing has been reduced to “make it fine.” Pretty Doesn’t Sell. Strategy Does.
Remember that viral billboard on Third Mainland Bridge? The one with the sleek visuals, punchy slogan and glowing product shot? You probably do. But can you remember the brand name? Or worse, have you ever bought the product?
That, right there, is the problem.
We are spending too much time and budget on looking good and too little on being good. That’s why your competitor with the ugly Instagram page and blurry product shots is outselling you because they understand distribution, demand and differentiation.
Design catches attention. Strategy keeps it.
Recall the unbeatable street value of Alabukun.
Alabukun doesn’t really do Instagram. It doesn’t have a media plan. The logo looks like it was designed in 1901 (because it was. Lol.). Yet, it’s in every street corner in Nigeria. Why?
Strategy.
Alabukun understood long before us that distribution beats decoration. While modern FMCGs are arguing over Pantone colours and brand manuals, the Alabukun brand was mapping out grassroots pharmacies, pepper soup joints and churches.
You don’t need a brand refresh. You need a market plan.
Honestly. Strategy has become the orphan in Nigerian marketing. Everyone wants to be the face. Everyone wants to design the next viral carousel. But no one wants to sit down and ask:
• Who are we targeting and why?
• What market tension are we solving?
• Where is our customer and how do they shop?
• What does success look like?
Instead, briefs are written in a hurry. Objectives are vague. And KPIs are sometimes just “go viral” or “make it sweet.”
You can’t Canva your way out of poor strategic thinking. That’s not branding, it’s distraction.
In a country where power supply is unstable, logistics is war and inflation is eating the naira, brands that win are not the most beautiful. They are the most intentional.
Take Moniepoint, for example. Their campaigns aren’t just creative, they’re strategic. They speak directly to POS agents. Their messages are localised, their tone is familiar and their value proposition is clear: Reliability.
They’re not trying to win awards at Cannes. They’re trying to win markets.
If you’re building a marketing team and your first instinct is to hire a graphic designer before you hire someone who understands business models, customer segmentation or positioning strategy, you’ve already lost.
Your first 3 hires should be:
1. A market strategist – who knows where the brand stands in relation to competitors.
2. A customer analyst – who knows who you’re talking to.
3. A channel optimiser – who knows how to distribute effectively.
Design comes after. Message before media. Clarity before colour.
What Strategy Looks Like (For the Uninitiated)
• Insight: Nigerian students want data, not just fast internet.
• Tension: MTN’s bundles are expensive.
• Brand Promise: Glo gives you more data for less.
• Campaign Idea: Glo overload. Simple. Strategic. Selling.
This is why Glo, despite its network wahala, still commands love in certain markets. Strategy wrapped in simplicity.
How To Break the Cycle? Follow these steps:
1. Write Better Briefs
Most briefs are either laundry lists of desires or vague instructions like “We want to trend.” A good brief should start with a business problem, define your audience, outline key insights and end with a measurable goal.
2. Stop Copying Multinationals Blindly
You don’t need a global brand guideline when you’re still struggling with regional penetration. Local context trumps imported processes.
3. Train Your Team
Invest in strategic thinking. Send your people to brand planning workshops. Make them shadow sales teams. Make strategy sexy again.
4. Hold Strategy Reviews Like You Do Creative Reviews
Before you approve that video script or carousel post, ask for the strategy deck. Ask why. Ask what success looks like. Ask how it ties to revenue.
No one is saying good design doesn’t matter. It does. We all love a sweet visual. But design is the end, not the beginning. It is the expression of strategy, not a substitute for it.
Nigeria needs fewer brand makeovers and more brand overhauls.
Stop hiring vibes. Stop approving campaigns based on goosebumps. Stop calling content creation strategy.
Because in the end, the most beautiful billboard on Third Mainland Bridge won’t fix your bad retention rate.
