Brand building is not just about advertisements — Aiyesimoju
By Zion Rufus
Although advertising has a central role to play in the development of a brand’s image, emerging trends have redefined how brands should establish emotional connections with their target audiences; and this runs deeper than advertising.
Expatiating the above premise while delivering his keynote presentation at the breakfast meeting of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce, Group Managing Director of UAC Foods, Fola Aiyesimoju who urged FMCG companies to restructure their operations to align with emerging trends in the industry and prioritise quality and availability of products ahead of fanciful advertising and publicity, said: “Most people believe that building the brand is how fancy your adverts are, and so you see people spending incredible amounts of money on celebrities and catchy adverts, but we found that, by far, the most important thing for brand-building is consistent quality and availability.”
Buttressing that brand building is ultimately about the creation of customer value and a lasting perception in the market Aiyesimoju continued: “Can you get your products out consistently at a good quality? As an FMCG company, you write an exam every single day. Everyday people buy your product, and every single day, you must pass the test. Is the quality the same or better than yesterday? It is incredibly difficult to achieve this.”
“Many FMCG companies get tempted to go to the easier side of above-the-line marketing versus getting this right. If you succeed in getting the same shape, taste of the product, the second thing now becomes, is it available? One thing consumers don’t forgive you for is buying a product on Monday and Tuesday and then running out of stock on Wednesday. So, consistent quality and availability are the holy grail of FMCG.”
In his final submission, the GMD noted that companies are more vulnerable when they are more successful and must ensure that standards are not compromised as a result of momentary market dominance.
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