Winning in the Nigerian market is often the yardstick to evaluate success in Africa – FrieslandCampina WAMCO Marketing Director

Having worked for multinational brands across most markets in Africa, Chris Wulff-Caesar, Marketing Director at FrieslandCampina WAMCO, explains why the size and sheer diversity of the Nigerian market pose both difficulties and opportunities for brands in an interview with MARKETING EDGE’s Anietie Udoh, Joseph Ekeng and Ogechi Odigbo

You have worked in the Alcohol beverage Industry and now Dairy; how would you compare both worlds?

There are quite as many similarities as there are differences. A general similarity is that I am still developing and nurturing brands for Nigerians to love, grow a commercial franchise and to enhance shareholder value. The actual consumer base we may talk to will differ when comparing alcoholic beverages to milk and dairy. Whereas beer and alcoholic beverages will usually target adults above 18 years, milk and dairy is universally acceptable by everyone. Also noteworthy is the fact that the consumption of alcoholic beverages is a lifestyle choice, but having milk and dairy products as part of one’s diet is a necessity. This distinct trait of each of these industries ensures that I assume a switch in mindset in the planning and execution of our brand propositions.

Marketing is commonly regarded as challenging because the bottom-line of the company pretty much relies on you. So what inspires you in marketing?

I am personally a believer in achieving more through the cultivation of the right relationships. As you are aware, attracting and keeping a consumer/customer is the core essence of business and it’s the only way to grow the bottom line. Even though you and I may be meeting for the first time during this chat, it is absolutely critical that we maintain a relationship until this publication is finally read by your audience and my perspective on the subject matters have been appreciated by your readers. This sort of relationship is what business drives with consumers or customers and in your case is the only way you can ensure future growth of the Marketing Edge franchise. Marketing is about turning these relationships into commercial, mutually viable bonds between business and consumers.

The strength of any relationship is determined by our ability to know more about the other person. It is like peeling an onion bulb to get to what lies beneath and I find that very exciting. This deep level intuition is sometimes referred to as Insight. The excitement of gleaning more knowledge about our consumers in order to maintain their relationship with our brands is my real inspiration. This information can be used to get consumers to either buy more or pay more for your brand which leads to bottom line growth. Sometimes we think we know why a consumer behaves in a certain way; but we don’t, simply because most of the time we do not live in their world. But our job as marketers is to probe, discern, immerse, and delve into the consumers’ world until we get our AHA moment – our insight. Insights are what drive businesses; insight is currency and insight is what gives you competitive advantage.

What do you consider as challenges within the dairy market in Nigeria and how do you plan to overcome them?

In an economy which is slowly recovering after a significant downturn, consumers are still making the most rational of choices based on available disposable income. They even currently consider whether or not to include milk and dairy products in their current purchases. Affordability is one of the key considerations in making this choice. For us at FrieslandCampina WAMCO our purpose is to nourish Nigerians with quality dairy nutrition across all life stages. Thus our challenge is ensuring that fine balance of affordability and the delivery of the quality nutrition we will not compromise on.

The benefits of having milk and dairy products as part of our diet are also sometimes lost on consumers. There is a lot of natural goodness in milk which makes a big difference in the lives of all consumers – children, adults and even the elderly. Milk and dairy foods supply energy and are a significant source of protein and micro nutrients. Our business is a global player in dairy and we have an obligation to ensure all our consumers understand the role of milk and dairy in their lives. To overcome this knowledge gap, our brands will continue to educate and promote the goodness of milk in diet with our packaging, communication as well as retail advocacy.

It is also important that consumers fully understand and appreciate the various kinds of dairy options available and their nutritional content (Full Cream Milk, Filled Milk, Skimmed Milk etc) so they can make more informed decisions on choice. Thus, it is mandatory that all industry players specify and communicate the right nutritional contents of their products.

What is your assessment of the Nigerian market, whether it is dairy or the general market?

After living and working in Nigeria for the past 6 years, my assessment is that Nigerians will reward your FMCG business if your product is of good quality and has a very competitive price. This means businesses must not take consumers for granted irrespective of the situation. Once you mess up one of the above i.e. quality or price, they will surely leave your brand. Your pricing strategy is just as important as your product proposition and route to market strategies. As business people, we must remember that pricing should not just be a unilateral approach to enhancing profits; it should be based on sound insights of the opportunities in the market. Similarly, on quality, businesses and brands need to constantly re-evaluate their product promise in the context of the evolving market landscape. If your product promise has been clearly stated to the consumer, you better let it be like that all the time even in tough economic times because that’s when consumers with limited income need this assurance the most.

The second thing I absolutely love about the Nigerian market is its vibrancy and influence. The Nigerian market is vibrant to the extent that what happens in this market is usually a yardstick, (if you are a big FMCG player in Africa) to determine success in other African markets. If you can win in Nigeria, there is the likelihood that you will be able to weather the storms everywhere else on the continent. There is never a dull day in doing business in Nigeria and one needs to be knowledgeable and resilient to be ahead of the challenges facing most businesses.

How do you place the Nigerian market side by side with every other market where you have worked?

First off, it is the sheer size of the market. We are talking about close to 200 million mouths to feed; 200 million people who need to wash clothes, cook food or even enjoy a service. The size and scale of Nigeria is definitely going to be an attraction to every multinational that intends to conduct business in Africa. Every business must consider its own capabilities in determining if they can effectively cover and reach the whole country all at once. Sometimes it is prudent to approach the country either by region (states) or by segment and categories.

The excitement of Nigeria also stems from the diversity of the people (our consumers). Nigeria is like many countries in one location (depending on the countries you want me to compare with). Travel across different parts of Nigeria and you will experience varied cultures and way of life. Businesses have to understand these differences to tailor the appropriate propositions and business systems required to win in all these different locations

Finally, businesses must have a real fighting spirit to win in Nigeria. No one will hand you the diadem of success unless you are willing to go the long haul in the fight for the wallet of the consumer. You will need to ensure that you have the right people who believe in this fight working for you at all times.

What are your other guiding principles as a marketer?

Apart from building relationships that I mentioned earlier in our conversation, another important guiding principle is integrity on the part of everyone associated with our business. Integrity describes our essence and virtues as either individuals or as a collective. It is also about reputation management for self, team or overall business. One of the previous companies I worked for articulated this principle as “Our reputation is indivisible.” This principle of integrity is usually enshrined in the purpose and values of most reputable organizations to provide clarity for everyone. Leaders have a role to play in ensuring that it is alive in our people, brands, processes and even partners of the business. Employees and teams in the business must be committed and ready to deliver business objectives within the framework of what constitutes personal integrity. Our brands must deliver on their promises to consumers at all times and our processes must ensure transparency in all situations. It even extends to ensuring that our suppliers and business partners are operating to the same ideals as our organization. As you are aware it is very difficult for businesses to bounce back from reputational damage.

Usually, when a new marketing director comes into an organization they are pretty much expected to shake up the system by taking a look at the agency roster and perhaps, do some shake-ups to introduce new agencies with new ideas. Is that something that you are contemplating?

I cannot tell you in absolute terms what I am going to do else I will be giving too much away. However, if you are the leader of any function or business, you become directly accountable the very day you assume the role. It is important to give yourself enough time to understand all the moving parts before making any changes. If you don’t effect changes that means you have assessed the situation and you are sure it’s right. From then on, you cannot blame your predecessor on things that do not go right because you are now in charge.

With regards communication, I am currently working on great brands i.e. Peak and Three crowns. These two brands have attained a strong heritage based on the equity built over many years; in the case of Peak, over 60 years. I can also tell from my interaction with consumers that these brands are not just respected but also loved, which is always a great place to be. That is, they are not just in the minds of Nigerians but also in their hearts. My role is to fully utilize this relationship with consumers to drive our organization’s agenda for the next phase of our journey in Nigeria

I have a young and dynamic marketing team and also believe we are working with probably the best agency partners in Nigeria on creative, media, PR and activation, so we can only get better.

Let’s put the spotlight on you. People seeing you will probably think you are Igbo. So can you give us a short profile of yourself?

Hahaha, I get that all the time at the Airport. When I present my passport they take one look at me and say “no you are not from Ghana, you are Nigerian.” I have been living and working in Nigeria for about 6 years now. It’s become home to me and my family. I was born, raised and educated in Ghana but have always kept a close relationship with Nigeria all my life for various reasons. I have also been a marketer and commercial leader for most of my career and over the last 20 years have had the chance to work with some top global multi-national businesses and now FrieslandCampina WAMCO.

A value I cherish is winning, whether it is in football or business. Losing actually takes a little bit out of me. Winning is really all I want to do and if we lose, I cannot wait to take the learning, change tactic and head back to winning. I do not believe in the adage of “work life balance” but rather I regard work as part of a bigger purpose of existence i.e. life. I therefore do not compromise on my family for work. As a leader, it also means creating a working environment where everyone can do their best work within their overall purpose in life. Externally, I am also involved with a few organizations that provide academic support for gifted and needy children.