Experts charge businesses to rethink strategy & model @MARKETING EDGE stakeholders’ summit
By Kasim Bakare
The focus was on the need for businesses to rethink their strategy and business model to navigate stiffly competition especially at a critical time of Covid-19 imposed realities and harsh economic woes faced by businesses and consumers.
The 2021 MARKETING EDGE Marketing Stakeholders Summit themed “Rethinking the Blue Ocean Strategy in Uncertain Times” which held virtually on 26th August, 2021 lived up to its billing again as critical stakeholders in Nigeria’s Integrated Marketing Communications(IMC) proffered solutions to the challenges facing the industry in a 9-hour virtual session.
The event had 22 speakers which include global thought leaders, academics and outstanding professionals from the marketing communication industry and beyond. The speakers which cut across a broad spectrum of stakeholders in marketing communications including Advertising/Creative, Digital, Advertisers Group, Public Relations, Media Buying/Planning, Experiential Marketing, discussed the need for businesses to review their “blue ocean’ strategy.
Leading the discussion was the Guest Speaker, Vikas Mehta, who made a robust contribution through his detailed and well explained presentation focusing on the history of what is widely known as the “Blue Ocean” strategy. While reiterating the need for businesses to play in uncharted markets as a mark of ‘blue ocean”, he averred that every business is vulnerable to disruption. He therefore charged today’s disruptors to remain consistent in order not to end up being disrupted, too. The Ogilvy Africa CEO noted that the essence of having a blue ocean strategy is to disrupt a market through innovation. He cited several global brands in Europe like AirBnB, Johnson & Johnson, who took advantage of a gap and need in their sector/market to create a disruption of world acclaim.
Also speaking on the theme, Tunji Adeyinka, President, Experiential Marketer Association of Nigeria (EXMAN), and Managing Director of Connect Marketing Services, stated that the business environment is competitive as every organization thinks of staying afloat, which leads to head-to-head competition. He noted that such competition cannot yield growth, and may lead to Red Ocean, adding that value innovation is key prism of Blue Ocean which means reducing cost and creating product differentiation
Mr. Adeyinka added that in creating Blue Ocean, brands need to find ways of reducing or eliminating cost entirely by working on two dimensions which are cost and value through innovation or price reduction.
According to him, there is need to focus on market and consumer. The market and consumer of today are not that of yesterday, you don’t have the linear progression as it used be. Today’s consumer is looking at every dimension, so in focusing in the market, look at the experience that is appropriate for the consumer.
In a similar vein, Baba Awopetu, Strategist at Stragmar, a U.K based marketing consultancy firm, while supporting the need for businesses to re-think the blue ocean strategy also charged marketeers to re-think their marketing in order to meet the ever evolving ccustomer needs which require new response.
Also speaking, Otis Ojeihkoa, Managing Director, Brand Optimal advised on the importance of sustaining and progressing in Blue Ocean lest it becomes Pink or Red Ocean. He added that innovation is key to creating Blue Ocean in businesses.
“To experience giant leap that will disrupt and create new opportunities, we have to look into ways that can drive new market or service delivery options where value is the driver and not cost.”
Rita Ezenwa-Okoro, Chief Creative Officer at ROC, on her part, observed that there has been a drastic consumer shift propelled by the pandemic, while noting that nothing in Nigeria is certain in all ramifications. She argued that brands that want to create Blue Ocean strategy must be ready for the risk involved or be ready to be swallowed.
“If you want to do something differently, you have to explore discovery of our local talents in the way we have never had it before,” she advised.
Ezenwa-Okoro urged brands and agencies to create campaigns in a more unconventional ways, noting that in charting the path for the Blue Ocean strategy, brands must be fearless in order to stand up for the cause of a worthwhile change.”
Marie Okorie, TM, Internal Communications and Digital Media Partner, UBA reaffirmed that brands have to creatively aggressive to meet up with consumers’ pace in change of preference and behaviour. Urging brands to follow trends to evolve, the digital media expert advised that they must recreate and innovate, while noting that apps such as WhatsApp has evolved with the pandemic trend by increasing its number of participants.
“The new behaviour created by the pandemic is the Blue Ocean that we need in Nigeria. You have to understand what needs to be created or recreated through various platforms to drive consumer’s journey. You must understand the environment by paying attention to what content the consumers are engaging in, and then think on how you can add new customer needs to existing ones”.She stated.
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