Marketing in the age of less: why resourceful innovation is winning

By Mofeoluwa Awe

The most successful brands today aren’t always the flashiest or most expensive ones. In a world where people’s attention spans are shorter, budgets are tighter, and spending is more costly overall, no one is more inventive than they are.

Welcome to the era of resourceful innovation. Here, limits become opportunities, and ease of use is not a weakness but a strength. Many people associate innovation with large budgets and “moonshot” research and development. However, today’s most innovative marketers demonstrate that having an impact doesn’t have to be expensive. Creativity, furthermore, thrives best when it serves a purpose.

From Big Ideas to Smart Solutions

In growing markets such as Nigeria and other regions of Africa, we are witnessing a seismic shift in how people perceive innovation. It’s no longer about dazzling features or high-end technology. Instead, it’s about solving real-world requirements in simple, scalable, and sustainable ways.

Consider reusable items, expensive goods packaged in sachets, digital tools that function optimally offline, or mobile-powered solutions that work even when the internet isn’t stable. These aren’t watered-down options; they are answers designed to work with real-world limitations.

Why Marketers Should Care

When marketers try to increase awareness of their products or services, they often get sidetracked by new and innovative campaigns or cutting-edge tools. But what if the real growth is right in front of you, in the daily pain points your customers face?

Because of resourceful creativity, brands need to:

Have a good understanding of the local situation (for example, not all users have internet access or credit cards).
Design with understanding, not with excess.
Instead of overpromising benefits, make it easier to get to the value.

When you focus on these ideas, marketing stops being just a department that tells stories and starts fixing problems.

Global Brands Are Taking Note

This trend isn’t limited to new brands on a small budget. Even big companies are changing:

New small-pack ideas from Unilever helped the company grow in Asia and Africa.
PepsiCo’s tests of environmentally friendly packaging began in areas with lower incomes.
Google introduced Android Go and YouTube that work offline, initially targeting new users.

These are examples of clever creation on a large scale. Furthermore, the marketing behind them praises both form and function.

The Mindset Shift

Marketers need to change their thinking to do well in this day and age:

From a high value for output to a high value for customers.
From focusing only on goals to putting ease first.
From general words to stories that are relevant to the situation.

This doesn’t mean that feeling, quality, or desire goes away. In this case, usefulness turns into the most important thing.

Constraints Fuel Creativity

Resourceful innovation isn’t about doing less. You have to get more done with less and do it better. When money is tight, infrastructure is limited, and consumer standards are changing, brands that solve real problems will win a lot of trust.

For marketers, this is a wake-up call: Lean in. Listen hard. Create smart. Because in the age of less, resourcefulness is the ultimate marketing edge.