#BrandTori4Town: Maybe we switch up the light a little bit more.
I was driving to Lekki a few days ago, and a WhatsApp Ad flashed on the big LED screen at the tollgate for a few seconds.
The first thing that came to my head was, “Why is WhatsApp doing an Ad?”
On Lekki/Epe expressway, for that matter. It is interesting how some of the biggest and mainstream brands in the world are still spending so much on comms/advertising/loyalty programs.
This is not even the focus today, so let me take a quick detour. It was not until I visited Lagos in 2016/17 and started learning more about the ecosystem that I got to know that Interswitch was a Nigerian company.
I was in town to interview for a role with a company. And their office was on the famous Interswitch street. For a young boy out of school, it scattered my head that the different sub-brands had their buildings on that stretch of road. I had never seen anything like that before for a digital company.
Then I saw Verve.
My first interaction with ATM cards was in the University (2009/10); GTCrea8 was in top gear, and it was in-thing to have a Mastercard. I remember I asked about Verve and Visa, and the sentiment that was communicated was that these other ones are not top-tier.
And this stuck. It was not until a few years ago, after learning more about the ecosystem and building comms for fintech startups, that I got to know the proper differences and advantages of the different card types.
Quickteller
For a long time, we paid for everything digital on Quickteller. I mean, as at 2008, when we were learning and still very excited about the many fintech innovations, they owned the space of what is possible.
Fifteen years after, they are still here and strong.
However, for a typical person who is not in the ecosystem, when you hear Interswitch, what comes to mind?
What picture?
There is that sense of stability when you finally connect the products you have used to the infrastructure that makes it possible. But you need to know to begin to unravel this fantastic package.
I agree that strategic stealth is a model, and I love it, cos, on getting to know where they stand in many development conversations in Sub-Saharan Africa, you cannot but appreciate the importance of this legacy brand.
But the brand storyteller in me thinks there is more that can be done in beaming the spotlight on one of the continent’s most impactful success stories.
