Navigating 2025: mediaReachOMD unveils marketing, consumer trends for sustainable growth
By Felicia Nwosu
Nigeria’s business and marketing landscape is at a critical crossroads, demanding strategic recalibration to achieve sustainable growth in 2025. This was the focal point of discussions at the “Top Trends in 2025, Unlocking Insights: Media, Consumer, and Markets” webinar, where Prof. Uchenna Uzo, Professor of Marketing and Faculty Director at Lagos Business School, dissected the challenges and opportunities shaping the industry’s future.
Now in its fourth consecutive year, the event was organized by mediaReachOMD Nigeria, in collaboration with Lagos Business School, GeoPoll, amongst others. It provided industry leaders with key data-driven insights on Nigeria’s media, consumer behavior, and market dynamics. Under the theme, “Thriving in the New Normal: Nigeria’s Marketing and Economic Outlook,” the session addressed critical concerns around technological disruptions, consumer expectations, return on investment, and business expansion.
The transformative session also reinforced the need for data-driven, consumer-focused strategies to navigate Nigeria’s evolving marketing and economic landscape, equipping brands with the insights required to thrive in an increasingly competitive market.
The marketing guru highlighted the stagnation many businesses faced in the past year, posing a crucial question: “Do we expect growth in 2025?” While Nigerians remain inherently optimistic, he stressed that hope must be anchored in well-defined strategies. He pointed out a stark contrast between consumer aspirations and economic realities, citing research that showed individuals earning less than 30,000 Naira monthly still envisioning luxury lifestyles in estates like Banana Island within five years.
He identified five pressing issues confronting marketing professionals in 2025: the role of technology, sustainability, consumer loyalty, return on investment, and the right trajectory for business expansion. He underscored the importance of looking backward to connect past successes with future innovation.
Discussing Nigeria’s innovation landscape, the veteran marketer noted that packaging-led innovations have driven up to 72% growth over three years. However, he cautioned that not all innovations thrive, attributing failures to inadequate consumer insights. He emphasized that businesses must take a deep dive into evolving consumer behaviors to create products and services that resonate with real needs.
He further described Nigerian consumers as “hustlers” engaged in multiple economic activities, leading to increased brand-switching behavior. The LBS professor warned that brand loyalty is eroding as consumers become more sophisticated in their purchasing decisions. For businesses to succeed, he advised brands to remain agile and responsive to shifting consumer expectations.
Another major challenge he highlighted was weak brand positioning, but he argued that this misalignment, calls for brands to refine their unique selling propositions (USPs) and enhance communication strategies.
“Research conducted on top-performing brands in Nigeria revealed that only 56% of consumers could accurately identify a brand based on its positioning statement. The banking sector stood out, with only 20% of First Bank’s customers correctly associating the brand with its positioning, instead linking it to competitors like GTBank, Zenith Bank, and UBA.”
The renowned business leader projected that 2025 will be defined by “conscious innovation,” urging businesses to disrupt the market by addressing consumers’ real pain points. He called on brands to revisit their core strategies, ensuring their messaging and market positioning remain sharp and relevant.
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