#BrandTori4Town: Kobo360’s TechCrunch article made me write again.
I have struggled to write these last couple of weeks. I think I have missed two Mondays of #BrandTori4Town, and doing personal articles, apart from work-related demands and my daily newsletters, has been pretty difficult.
However, the time is 10:39 pm (WAT), and I am forced to open my note app to start writing about what I think is a fantastic effort and documenting the journey of a notable African startup.
I opened the note app on my first read.
Now, to conclude this article, I will take a pause, read again, and immerse myself in what I think is a very instructive play, not one that is common in this part of the world and a plot I will follow, cos I want to see how this unfolds for Kobo360. You can do that, too, here.
First, the article took us to the start of what it meant to be a logistics startup on the continent. Then, a major setback — Covid-19, talent, hard pivots, co-founder leaving, emotional roller coaster etc. And then, having taken us through the ranks of what was, the storms that happened in the middle, they introduced a climax of the next direction for the company — a model example for textbook storytelling.
Do you know people who have shared the story the most? Founders and other operators! Cos, they can relate to and understand the handwork you need to put in to build in this market and the different twists and turns that come with the process.
“Most times, your investors and board are present when it’s working. When it’s not working, it can get lonely. At one point, I took leave from work and went for some leadership courses to see if I could figure out how to improve my capacity because I felt like I didn’t have enough ability to run the company anymore,” he said.
I love the piece! And, it is one of the best stories I have read from TechCrunch — big ups to Ulonnaya.
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About a year ago, Twitter was agog with one of a Nigerian traditional ruler’s most widely watched coronation ceremonies.
It was the Coronation of the 21st Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III.
Many people, including me, were glued to our TV screens as we witnessed what we felt was a breath of fresh air in the socio-political dynamics of the country.
Even before we got to the D-Day of the coronation, I could literally sing the “Omo oba Tsola” anthem that greeted the airwaves across different platforms.
Mehn! He caught our attention.
Apart from maximising multimedia comms effort (you should check his IG for more), he has carried himself and the Kingdom he represents with so much grace, elegance and honour as deserving of the royal stool of one of Nigeria’s richest cultural heritage.
And yeah, have you heard him speak?
I am not from Warri, but I felt a sense of pride during his coronation. I still visit his page from time to time to get a sense of the amazing efforts he is contributing to the traditional leadership landscape in Nigeria.
Long live the king!
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Oraimo has unlocked something, and I love to see it. A few weeks ago, I went to get something in one of the malls, and I stumbled on a flagship electronic store with only green packaged merchandise.
I visited Ibadan, and I saw billboards too.
From a partnership with 2Face that worked massively (it was so good, people thought he owned it) — that effort should be studied on how to properly integrate brand influencer efforts that can significantly influence the bottom line.
I was scrolling through Twitter one day, and someone retorted, “Is there anything Oraimo is not doing”, cos I think I have seen hair clippers too.
It is crazy, but understanding a market and connecting with it beyond just the fancy announcements here and there intrigues me. To do the work in major gadgets and electronic hotspots across the country, iterate fast in response to what people like but cannot afford the big bucks (even though you gradually make available your premium line), is a big gain.
Transsion's distributed play in how it deals with the Sub-Saharan market is something to understudy — the different brands have different systems of comms, and thinking about it this night as I write wows me.
It betrays some bit of what I have learnt in branding over the years but shows what intentional thinking can achieve.
I hope I can write next week. Till then, I hope this has been an exciting and not so much of a long read for you. Let me know in the comment section.
