I will never sign off on a “Made in Nigeria” campaign.
I hope you do not feel so much unpatriotism in the title!
Like why would he? I mean, we should all support “Buy Naija, Grow the Naira” now! After all this is our country and no matter the issues we face, in the long run, it will be to our benefit if this is a collective sentiment shey?
Yeah! That is true.
But when was the last time you bought something because you were nudged by a “Made in Nigeria” campaign? Or, do you love Nigeria well enough for the patriotic tags to be top of the scale of preference on yardsticks that help you make buying decisions?
“I will have to be impressed about what you are selling before the “Made in Nigeria” conversation is strong enough to nudge a buying decision…”
Victor Fatanmi.
Next stop
Have you ever been guilt-tripped into buying something “Made in Nigeria” and you ended up regretting the decision? How many times have you been told that “This one is different and original…” and you get home to discover that the promised experience is not true?
Do you get the drift now? Why should you go through a messaging route that has a lot of baggage when you can sell the experience of your brand in compelling, relatable and engaging stories?
Would it have been better to sell quality, comfort, convenience, vanity or any of the other relatable experiences and allow people to make the connection to Nigeria after when they have used it? I mean, it becomes “And it is even Nigerian sef…”, at this point, the sentiments have moved from doubt to excitement, a feeling of pride or something sort of a conversation starter. Like, it is Nigerian, it is good and I have used it.
How you sell it will determine how we receive it.
Except you are selling this conversation to Government agencies who enjoy the razz-mattaz that come with romancing “Patriotic campaigns”; maximizing your messaging to connect with your target audience with their experiences and not just patriotism, especially if it is ‘Nigeria” shouldn’t be overemphasised.
Quick Questions:
Is it good enough?
Why should we care?
Who are the amazing kind of people that should be enjoying what you offer?
Is there anybody that people respect that uses this?
Who are you (the personality of the brand)?
How do people who buy/use you feel?
What do you promise?
I mean, if your messaging has one goal, it should be to reach consumers/target audience at the moments that influence their decisions in a way that is compelling enough to make them act or reinforce an earlier positive experience/mindshare.
So what do you do or what will I sign off on?
For me, I am more interested in campaigns that mirror the experiences of the customers or target audience. Especially questions that answer what they want in a way that they want it and where they really need it.
The hack for me is tailoring campaigns to the different stages of the consumer experience.
Is this relevant to them?
Does this fit into their lifestyle?
Will they engage with this?
Does this solve their problem?
Is it an experience that they can connect with?
So many questions yeah? Yeah, that is where the answers are found.
Hence, while I am in total support of building compelling products out of Nigeria, selling it in the context that is relevant to the target audience is more important to me. In the end, since the “Buy Naija, Grow the Naira” comes with so much sentiment that can affect how people receive the product or service that is being sold, I choose to stand with naija by selling in a more compelling way — the customer-centric way.
