Humanise your marketing communications, Jude Odia tells marketers
Jude Odia, Managing Director, Starcom Media Perspectives, has advised brand managers and brand owners to see the customers as human beings and humanise their marketing communications. He canvassed this position during his presentation at the Advertisers Association of Nigeria’s (ADVAN) Market Outlook 2021, held today at Sheraton, Ikeja, Lagos State.
According to the seasoned marketer, consumers have seen through the marketing gimmicks and now know that all marketers are after is a share of their wallets. “The consumers have seen us as captors. It is time we were conscious of the perception of the consumers. Now, what they are saying is: ‘it is those (brands) that know us we will buy’. Therefore it is time we saw the consumers as human beings who, beyond relating with our brands, are faced by the socio-economic pressures we are well aware of,” Odia enthused.
He therefore advised brands to rise up and be the mouthpiece of the consumers, to identify with them, pick up their cause and promote empathy. According to him, brands that spoke out during the EndSARS protest, brands that identified and brought succour during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown and those that didn’t have seen consumers’ response in their books.
“It is time to unlearn what we learnt in our various marketing schools and be streetwise. The notion that brands that are doing well do not do promotions does not apply any longer. This is the time to give consumers incentives. As we have been told by earlier presenters, the pressure on the consumers’ purchasing power is enormous such that they are now buying predominantly what are essential for survival. This is time to prioritise conversion marketing,” he said.
Meanwhile, there were other presentations on various aspects of the theme, 2021 Consumer Engagement and Interaction – A Post-Covid Opportunity. Opeyemi Dairo of IPSOS dwelt on the understanding the consumer behaviour and purchasing pattern pre-Covid, during Covid and post-Covid. He was able to show, with statistical evidence, that consumers, starting from the Covid period, have been survivalist in their purchases going for essentials like food, package food and personal care products.
In his presentation, Kevin Orifa of Emblue, dwelt on the opportunities that this challenging times have presented for marketers. According to him, consumers’ fluidity across culture clusters has shown that they are always on the move, and marketers should move along if they do not want to be left behind. He emphasised the need for automation of communication delivery through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). According to him, a better 2021 is where customer engagement is optimised through data and insight, using Consumer Data Platform (CDP) to manage consumer behaviour.
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