Sunday Ehigiator
Kantar, the world’s leading marketing data and analytics business, has harped on sustainable products and understanding consumers’ concerns and trends as a prerequisite for growing brands in the Nigerian market.
This was stressed at a recent event themed, ‘Brands of Tomorrow – Making Growth Real’, where the company hosted its brand specialists and experts in the Ikeja, Lagos state.
The event focused on how insights can be turned into actionable strategies that fuel and accelerate growth, even in trying times. Kantar also launched its Sustainable Transformation and Strategic Consulting Practices in the Nigerian market at the event.
Speaking, the Managing Director of West, East and Central Africa at Kantar, Ndeye Diagne, said: “We live in a poly-crisis era. In Nigeria, the volatility of the macroeconomic environment coupled with severe currency fluctuations further impact consumer’s purchasing power.
Yet the rules of brand growth remain the same, despite the ‘noise’. Kantar, however, has a blueprint for sustainable brand growth and winning marketers are those who implement their growth strategy effectively.”
Also speaking, Kantar’s Account Director & Brand Consultant, Nigeria, Akinola Afere, unpacked how to bring growth home.
He said: “Nigeria is a strategic balance of pressures, opportunities and growth. Understanding consumer concerns, trends and drivers in this market will help brands better harness opportunities for brand growth. So, hold your nerve and continue to invest in your brands.”
Kantar’s Chief Growth Officer, West, East & Central Africa, Daniel Oseman, who spoke about ‘Grit and Growth – Navigating Tough Economics’, noted that, “tough times call for tough brands.
“While value always matters during economic disruptions, a cheaper price isn’t always the answer.”
He added that Kantar’s syndicated brand equity study, Kantar BrandZ, identifies the following five vital signs as the success drivers for growth: Purpose, Innovation, Communication, Brand Experience and Love.
On his part, Kantar’s Director of Customer Experience, Sub-Saharan Africa, Mark Molenaar, said that brands need to focus on creating emotional engagement through a meaningfully differentiated brand experience.
“This means creating experiences for customers at any point in their journey that reflect the values and identity of the brand and create lasting and distinct brand memories.”
Molenaar went on to add: “a brand needs to be Meaningful, Different and Salient to stand out and grow and that in today’s omnichannel environment, a brand’s strength and appeal is now overwhelmingly linked to the customer experience.”
Kantar also used the event to launch their Sustainable Transformation Practice, which is led by Kantar’s Sustainable Transformation Director, Middle East & Africa, Astrid Ricketts.
Kantar’s Account Lead and Innovation Specialist, Nigeria, Blessing Onyebuchi, posed the question “Does sustainability matter for brand growth?” Onyebuchi went on to say that sustainability has increasingly become a priority for businesses and brands and plays a vital role in brand growth.
“For brands to build and maintain brand value, and ultimately survive and grow, they must focus on societal and environmental issues and shared value creation. Growth then becomes less about profit versus purpose and more about profit with a purpose.”
Similarly, Kantar’s CEO, South Africa, Ivan Moroke, introduced Kantar’s Strategic Consulting Practice to Nigeria and went on to say that the consulting practice will bring a new dimension of strategic insight to brand growth stories in Nigeria and across the West, East & Central Africa region.
“Demand-led growth is a key lever for companies to accelerate shareholder value. Kantar’s Meaningful Different Salient (MDS) framework measures the value of brand equity accumulated in the minds of consumers and impacts penetration, market share, the willingness of consumers to pay a premium as well as future growth potential. Using this framework, the strategic consulting practice will help businesses and brands connect deeply with consumers, creating breakthrough value and increased market share.”
