If you have had any reason to use most Nigerian Airports in recent times, especially the very busy ones like MM2, MMIA, NAIA, Abuja (I haven’t used PHIA, or KIA in a few years) you would have noticed the ‘deafening’ attempts at generating income that has almost turned our airports into advertising marts. The drive to make money is so great that every available space is plastered with some advertising message from either the banks or the telecom rivals especially of the GSM variant!
While the concept of public-private sector partnership is welcome, the execution of the idea is fast becoming offensive in our airports and is a testimonial to the lack of creative initiative on both the FAAN team and the brand management teams of the brands on display. How can the Chief Executives of both FAAN and its ‘branding customers’ walk thru such clutter in the name of branding and feel any sense of achievement or cost effectiveness? (Maybe as ‘big men’, they don’t use the ’popular’ check-in, arrival and departure lounges that ‘common’ Nigerians like me have to use)
Every inch of the airports have become fair game to hang all kinds of messages, wall-to-wall outdoor posters, lintel strips of brands struggling to outdo themselves to be the first to welcome the already mentally tired passenger to Lagos, Abuja or Nigeria depending on which airport you are. The cacophony of colors and messages has become a mental assault on the passenger’s psyche. The situation is a clear case of mental and emotional harassment of the Nigerian consumer and it is getting out of hand!
Major culprits are Intercontinental Bank, Glo Mobile, UBA and MTN and the worst airports are MM2 and Murtala Mohammed International Airport both in Lagos, especially MM2! It’s like walking through Oshodi Market pre Fashola! Everything is s-c-r-e-a-m-i-n-g at you. In fact, the adverts are so big they have crowded the valuable signs that should direct the passenger to the appropriate points for service. The visual impact creates more confusion as you are constantly distracted and confused as to what to fix your eyes on while transacting business in these airports.
(By the way, whoever approved the MM2 as a finished project should be thrown in jail! The finishing of the structure leaves a lot to be desired. I can almost bet my bottom naira that the airport will be ready to fall apart by the time the ‘Consessionee’ hands it over to FAAN in 30yrs! Can you see it still standing like the International Airport after the usual Nigerian culture of zero maintenance? I don’t. I can list at least 5 flaws that are tell- tale signs to my aesthetically untrained eyes…just look closely at the ceilings or the floors when next you are there…)
Back to FAAN’s quick money ‘branding’ strategy; just this week, I noticed that FAAN has started branding the exterior of MMIA too since there is no more space to ‘sell’ on the interior (except maybe the floors and ceilings because even the chairs in the departure lounges are ‘branded’ with various corporate colors depending on which brand is financing it.) The tower at the international airport now ‘belongs’ to Glo! Can you imagine; even THE TOWER?!
Maybe the Minister for Aviation should hire the Lagos State Advertising and Signage Agency (LASAA) to ‘visit’ Nigerian Airports and ‘sanitize’ them like they have done Lagos streets, so consumers can use the airports without getting a headache or fudgy brains from trying to process the assault on our mental and emotional psyche. While the brands have a right to advertise their wares, FAAN should also remember that consumers do have a right to their privacy in some supposedly ‘public’ arenas especially when we pay taxes to use those public places too.
FAAN should please take time to understand the psychological impact of its trade and take that into consideration in its aggressive attempt at making extra money at all costs. After all, passengers already pay airport taxes for the use of the same airports or are we being taxed so we can be ‘deafened’ with the visual ‘noise’ and clutter of these brands and their adverts? The ones we are bombarded with on the streets free of charge is not enough, we now have to pay FAAN to deliver us as a ‘captive audience’ to the mental ‘terrorists’ who want to take over our psyche by force or tulasi by ‘branding us red, green, blue or yellow!
Travelling in the Nigerian airspace is nerve racking enough with the various uncertainties about the quality, standard and capabilities of equipment and human resource but FAAN seems bent on further escalating our unsettled nerves with all kinds of messages screaming at us as soon as we enter the airport environment! Haba! The confines of a departure lounge (or immigration areas on arrival at the international airport) should be kept as serene and nerve calming as possible as the passenger has either just survived a harrowing mental experience of flying or is about to commence on one.
From the execution of this concept, it is also clear that the FAAN team seems to have no understanding of the principles of Branding or is it that the FAAN brand has no essence of its own that it can afford to sell away every opportunity to project its own brand values to other brands? With this untidy style of commercializing its space, FAAN may be whittling away at its brand equity thus consumers will have no recognition, appreciation or expectation of the FAAN brand. Or is that the corporate strategy? (Maybe as long as FAAN is ‘faceless’, it can get away with shoddy service delivery?)
Really, how much is the FAAN brand worth to its custodians? The long term implications of this strategy on the FAAN brand may be worth much more than the short term benefits of quick money. By the way, what does FAAN do with all the airport taxes paid on every single ticket purchased to fly out of its airports? Not to mention the rent charges to the airlines. Why is it difficult to maintain the facilities without “consessioning” it out to brand advertisers on this scale? Even the toilets are either overflowing or lack water. On Saturday, I saw a lady about to use the female toilet and a young man sitting at the entrance handed her a roll of toilet paper to take a few plies to use! An embarrassment and invasion of a consumer’s privacy! Why can’t the roll be placed in the cubicles? Is that too expensive or does FAAN need someone to ‘brand’ the toilets too?
The Minister of Aviation needs to pay closer attention to the ‘soft’ services of FAAN while he is grappling with hard core aviation issues because it is all part of service delivery. If the people on the job don’t have the prerequisite appreciation of their job functions, he should please approve the services of consultants to help manage brand image and customer care processes. After all, his ‘been to’ experience must have contributed to the President’s decision to appoint him or maybe he has joined the bandwagon in Abuja who seem to feel Nigerian consumers don’t deserve world class service. Let’s hope I’m wrong about that. Honorable Minister Sir, please help minimize the adverts in Nigerian airports! Or is this part of Aunty Dora’s ‘Rebranding’ Drama script?
Section of MM2 Departure lounge
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Throwing a Shoe at the “Rebranding Nigeria” Project
My friend and long time colleague, Maero Ozako had created a group on Facebook (we belong to the ‘Agbayas on Facebook Clan”) titled “Throw a shoe at the Rebranding Nigeria Project” (a la the Iraqi Journalist who pelted past President Bush with his shoes recently. Incidentally, I find that ingenious act very amusing and strangely satisfying. If I was as bold as that guy, there are a few ‘leaders’ in my home space I would be ecstatic to pelt with rotten tomatoes and eggs as an expression of my disgust with their supposed leadership roles. Many times, crimes of passion like this help release the tension of frustration… A note of caution though, no one can try that here or else, their trigger happy police guards would have massacred everyone in that press conference! Jungle Justice.)
Back to the main discourse; I couldn’t join the group fast enough because the concept of embarking on a wasteful exercise like “Rebranding Nigeria” at this” injury time” of economic uncertainty has exasperated me for some time. To assume that this was the silver bullet that would attract foreign investment to Nigeria and earn us the much desired respect as holders of the dreaded green passport sounded very naïve and out rightly pedestrian! Especially if you have learned, researched, taught and made a career of branding as a concept of marketing for more than two decades like we both have. Could one dare wish that the President will rethink this impending colossal waste of scarce resources and veto this project? My post on that group page is as follows:
“Maero, I not only want to throw shoes; my bag, wig, and everything I can immediately grab will follow suit! What kind of rebranding do you do for a product that the essence hasn’t been defined yet? Rebranding presumes we have a brand. What is the essence of that brand? Is it just the name "Nigeria"? Is that the brand? Let Madam Minister and the hawks who are advising her as consultants please define Brand Nigeria for us and tell us what its USP is...what is its mood, promise, core values, essence, and distinct message?
As much as I respect Madam Minister's achievement at NAFDAC, someone needs to tell her she is way out of her league here. Methinks some people are bent on cutting her down to size so they push her in this direction. She is expending her personal brand equity fast and if not careful, can end up a spent and confused brand herself. While I may accede to the fact that she doesn’t need to be a professional to head the Ministry, she should seek counsel from the honest practitioners in this business. There are principles that define the exercise she has embarked on and the current state of Nigeria violates every principle that guides the process of branding.
I really would like to know the supposed “Consultants” who are advising the Honorable Minister on this project. It is a sharp testimonial that all they are about is milking the nation at such a crucial point in our economic well being. No professional branding consultant worth the paper his/her name is written on would counsel a Client with a brand as sick as Nigeria is, to embark on a rebranding campaign.
In case these “Consultants” are from outer space, may we remind them that Nigeria still defies every definition of nationhood? Internal distrust, ethnic, tribal and religious intolerance and communal supremacy are the current core values of this nation as is. We barely understand each other and we all insist our cultural ways are superior to our neighbors. Our values are sometimes at variance with each other; we are separated by age, tongue, cultural orientation and social expectations.
We have gross attitudinal issues to work and community; we are a conglomerate of individual fiefdoms where everyone seeks to exert his/her supremacy over their neighbors. Our sense of communal interdependence is grossly eroded. The concept of Nigeria means different things in the East, West, North or South.
We are not a people driven by the common good; rather we are motivated by personal or parochial gains. The only seemingly common denominators in the Nigerian project today are Lawlessness and Corruption. There is gross indifference, callousness and outright wickedness towards our fellowman as we display obscene wealth in the face of extreme poverty. We walk by and turn the other way at a corpse on the street. Our streets are full of able bodied beggars and destitute who have no social security or recourse.
Basic rights of life are either nonexistent or grossly inadequate. Healthcare for women, children, the disabled or the elderly does not exist. Education is more of a privilege than a right. Shelter is scarce, in most cases, grossly inhuman and inordinately expensive! Food and water are scarce and expensive. Our sense of value for the human life is close to freezing point. Security of life and property is only available to the highest bidder. We have an underfunded, unmotivated and ill equipped police force who leads the blatant disregard for the law in simple things as traffic violations and pedestrian harassment.
Our roads are relics of the past generation; public transportation is either an experience in claustrophobic incarceration or temporary insanity (kombi bus or okada). Our busiest airport was built when I was 6 years old… I am now 42 and no improvement, extension or even consistent maintenance has gone on through the years. Core social values of integrity, honesty, respect, selflessness and empathy has been sacrificed on the platter of popularity, politics, “Bigz Boyism” (a la Jenifa, the movie) and power at all costs.
Avarice is a common strain in our DNA. We have had the misfortune of over 4 decades of selfish leadership and self centered followership. After almost 50 years of independence, we are still unable to ensure power supply consistently in our most urban centers not to mention the rural communities. ( I write this with electricity powered by my tired and overworked China generator…one of the three I alternate to ensure some power in the heart of Ikeja, Nigeria’s foremost industrial district!)
Industry is grinding to a total halt because the infrastructure required to sustain it has regressed over the years. We are a nation that produces nothing …except oil ( that is a discourse for another day) we import almost everything...even our social values and culture. There is barely any part of the Nigerian society that is sustainable in the long term…we appear plan less, disoriented and confused.
Governance specializes in tokenism. We are expected to be grateful for getting our due as a citizen of a nation. Our leaders expect us to hero worship them or else we are cut off from the ‘national cake’. A military man believes he is above the law…a politician assumes the federal purse is his family’s pocket book from which he spends without accountability or recourse to public scrutiny. Our children learn on bare floors in dilapidated buildings. Our teachers are constantly disrespected and cheated until they go on strike.
The National Assembly’s primary concern seems to be to legislate on their remuneration and witch hunt in those sectors where ‘settlement’ is rife. Our laws are so obsolete that the penalties for grievous crimes sometimes are a ridiculous fine of N50! (They were written in the days of Lord Lugard when N50 was equal to N500k!) And depending on who you know, you could get away with murder. We operate a constitution that allows a man who rigged an election to become a governor, get another chance to rig again ( the current Ekiti scenario is a case in point). Election malpractice is no longer a criminal offence…if you are caught, all it will cost you is a few months “suspension”, then you get another chance to repeat the exam; no big deal!
This is the Brand Evaluation Report of nation Nigeria. This is what the Honorable Minister is planning to repackage and wrap in positive, exciting and attractive visuals and slogans to present to a world that is very aware of all its inconsistencies. Who would willingly buy an attractive package when they have facts that the content is rotten? No amount of creativity can achieve that feat…at least not repeatedly.
At the risk of sounding condescending, may I counsel the Honorable Minister and her team that the most potent tool for a successful brand is customer experience and satisfaction? How does the Honorable Minister hope to deliver on the brand promise when Nigeria is in the state described above?
Another principle of successful branding is Internal Branding. A successful brand must first achieve internal buy-in within the organisation before selling itself to the public. If Nigerians don’t buy the brand, how will we represent it to visitors who come based on the Rebranding Campaign? The Honorable Minister must remember that she will not be the first person to welcome potential investors or tourists; the average Nigerian will. If her campaign is not successful at home enough to change our attitude and adjust our psyche, her external campaign will be futile. All 140 million Nigerians are potential ambassadors for Brand Nigeria. If the government does not focus on making Nigeria work for us, it will be difficult for us to represent the ‘new’ brand since we are not experiencing it. It is not rocket science; just simple logic.
So if this administration is really serious about rebranding Nigeria, then the place to start is not the campaign. That is like starting to build a house from the roof without a foundation. Let Madam Minister start by fixing the little things first. Make Nigeria work for us and we will be willing evangelists for Brand Nigeria. Put the proposed billions for this campaign in one aspect of the Nigerian experience and you will get better ROI than paying the CNNs and Sky News of this world (after all the banks are already doing that, so why duplicate efforts?)
Finally, may I recommend ‘The Tipping Point’ by Malcolm Gladwell to the Honorable Minister as a great reference book in her efforts at social reengineering? The basic principle for a successful campaign is taking care of the little things first. Please the right people and they will do the tenuous job of reaching the multitude for you. To transform New York City from the Mecca of crimes to one of the safest megacities in the world today, the Giuliani team started by fixing the little things first; a broken window here, cleaning the trash there, wiping off graffiti from the subway carriages, and arresting people for not paying their fare on the subway. Seems too simple in the face of thousands of murders and robberies in the 70s, but it began one of the greatest social revolutions of this generation.
Do I believe in Nigeria? With all my heart. That is why the Minister must read this, because there’s too much at stake to trivialize it with another tokenism like the planned jamboree called ‘Rebranding Nigeria’. The solution requires more depth than that and I believe if there is anyone who can achieve it, it is the Honorable Minister. Her track record speaks volumes in her favor. In fact, Honorable Minister, you did more for rebranding Nigeria as NAFDAC DG simply by doing your job…ensuring the safety and wholesomeness of food and drugs in Nigeria. Let everyone else do their jobs too and we won’t need to embark on this unnecessary campaign. The Lagos State Government example proves that Nigeria can work. The question is, is the Yar’adua administration committed enough to make the necessary sacrifices? The jury is still out on that.
Sola Salako is a Branding &PR Consultant and a Consumer Rights and Protection Advocate based in Lagos.
Back to the main discourse; I couldn’t join the group fast enough because the concept of embarking on a wasteful exercise like “Rebranding Nigeria” at this” injury time” of economic uncertainty has exasperated me for some time. To assume that this was the silver bullet that would attract foreign investment to Nigeria and earn us the much desired respect as holders of the dreaded green passport sounded very naïve and out rightly pedestrian! Especially if you have learned, researched, taught and made a career of branding as a concept of marketing for more than two decades like we both have. Could one dare wish that the President will rethink this impending colossal waste of scarce resources and veto this project? My post on that group page is as follows:
“Maero, I not only want to throw shoes; my bag, wig, and everything I can immediately grab will follow suit! What kind of rebranding do you do for a product that the essence hasn’t been defined yet? Rebranding presumes we have a brand. What is the essence of that brand? Is it just the name "Nigeria"? Is that the brand? Let Madam Minister and the hawks who are advising her as consultants please define Brand Nigeria for us and tell us what its USP is...what is its mood, promise, core values, essence, and distinct message?
As much as I respect Madam Minister's achievement at NAFDAC, someone needs to tell her she is way out of her league here. Methinks some people are bent on cutting her down to size so they push her in this direction. She is expending her personal brand equity fast and if not careful, can end up a spent and confused brand herself. While I may accede to the fact that she doesn’t need to be a professional to head the Ministry, she should seek counsel from the honest practitioners in this business. There are principles that define the exercise she has embarked on and the current state of Nigeria violates every principle that guides the process of branding.
I really would like to know the supposed “Consultants” who are advising the Honorable Minister on this project. It is a sharp testimonial that all they are about is milking the nation at such a crucial point in our economic well being. No professional branding consultant worth the paper his/her name is written on would counsel a Client with a brand as sick as Nigeria is, to embark on a rebranding campaign.
In case these “Consultants” are from outer space, may we remind them that Nigeria still defies every definition of nationhood? Internal distrust, ethnic, tribal and religious intolerance and communal supremacy are the current core values of this nation as is. We barely understand each other and we all insist our cultural ways are superior to our neighbors. Our values are sometimes at variance with each other; we are separated by age, tongue, cultural orientation and social expectations.
We have gross attitudinal issues to work and community; we are a conglomerate of individual fiefdoms where everyone seeks to exert his/her supremacy over their neighbors. Our sense of communal interdependence is grossly eroded. The concept of Nigeria means different things in the East, West, North or South.
We are not a people driven by the common good; rather we are motivated by personal or parochial gains. The only seemingly common denominators in the Nigerian project today are Lawlessness and Corruption. There is gross indifference, callousness and outright wickedness towards our fellowman as we display obscene wealth in the face of extreme poverty. We walk by and turn the other way at a corpse on the street. Our streets are full of able bodied beggars and destitute who have no social security or recourse.
Basic rights of life are either nonexistent or grossly inadequate. Healthcare for women, children, the disabled or the elderly does not exist. Education is more of a privilege than a right. Shelter is scarce, in most cases, grossly inhuman and inordinately expensive! Food and water are scarce and expensive. Our sense of value for the human life is close to freezing point. Security of life and property is only available to the highest bidder. We have an underfunded, unmotivated and ill equipped police force who leads the blatant disregard for the law in simple things as traffic violations and pedestrian harassment.
Our roads are relics of the past generation; public transportation is either an experience in claustrophobic incarceration or temporary insanity (kombi bus or okada). Our busiest airport was built when I was 6 years old… I am now 42 and no improvement, extension or even consistent maintenance has gone on through the years. Core social values of integrity, honesty, respect, selflessness and empathy has been sacrificed on the platter of popularity, politics, “Bigz Boyism” (a la Jenifa, the movie) and power at all costs.
Avarice is a common strain in our DNA. We have had the misfortune of over 4 decades of selfish leadership and self centered followership. After almost 50 years of independence, we are still unable to ensure power supply consistently in our most urban centers not to mention the rural communities. ( I write this with electricity powered by my tired and overworked China generator…one of the three I alternate to ensure some power in the heart of Ikeja, Nigeria’s foremost industrial district!)
Industry is grinding to a total halt because the infrastructure required to sustain it has regressed over the years. We are a nation that produces nothing …except oil ( that is a discourse for another day) we import almost everything...even our social values and culture. There is barely any part of the Nigerian society that is sustainable in the long term…we appear plan less, disoriented and confused.
Governance specializes in tokenism. We are expected to be grateful for getting our due as a citizen of a nation. Our leaders expect us to hero worship them or else we are cut off from the ‘national cake’. A military man believes he is above the law…a politician assumes the federal purse is his family’s pocket book from which he spends without accountability or recourse to public scrutiny. Our children learn on bare floors in dilapidated buildings. Our teachers are constantly disrespected and cheated until they go on strike.
The National Assembly’s primary concern seems to be to legislate on their remuneration and witch hunt in those sectors where ‘settlement’ is rife. Our laws are so obsolete that the penalties for grievous crimes sometimes are a ridiculous fine of N50! (They were written in the days of Lord Lugard when N50 was equal to N500k!) And depending on who you know, you could get away with murder. We operate a constitution that allows a man who rigged an election to become a governor, get another chance to rig again ( the current Ekiti scenario is a case in point). Election malpractice is no longer a criminal offence…if you are caught, all it will cost you is a few months “suspension”, then you get another chance to repeat the exam; no big deal!
This is the Brand Evaluation Report of nation Nigeria. This is what the Honorable Minister is planning to repackage and wrap in positive, exciting and attractive visuals and slogans to present to a world that is very aware of all its inconsistencies. Who would willingly buy an attractive package when they have facts that the content is rotten? No amount of creativity can achieve that feat…at least not repeatedly.
At the risk of sounding condescending, may I counsel the Honorable Minister and her team that the most potent tool for a successful brand is customer experience and satisfaction? How does the Honorable Minister hope to deliver on the brand promise when Nigeria is in the state described above?
Another principle of successful branding is Internal Branding. A successful brand must first achieve internal buy-in within the organisation before selling itself to the public. If Nigerians don’t buy the brand, how will we represent it to visitors who come based on the Rebranding Campaign? The Honorable Minister must remember that she will not be the first person to welcome potential investors or tourists; the average Nigerian will. If her campaign is not successful at home enough to change our attitude and adjust our psyche, her external campaign will be futile. All 140 million Nigerians are potential ambassadors for Brand Nigeria. If the government does not focus on making Nigeria work for us, it will be difficult for us to represent the ‘new’ brand since we are not experiencing it. It is not rocket science; just simple logic.
So if this administration is really serious about rebranding Nigeria, then the place to start is not the campaign. That is like starting to build a house from the roof without a foundation. Let Madam Minister start by fixing the little things first. Make Nigeria work for us and we will be willing evangelists for Brand Nigeria. Put the proposed billions for this campaign in one aspect of the Nigerian experience and you will get better ROI than paying the CNNs and Sky News of this world (after all the banks are already doing that, so why duplicate efforts?)
Finally, may I recommend ‘The Tipping Point’ by Malcolm Gladwell to the Honorable Minister as a great reference book in her efforts at social reengineering? The basic principle for a successful campaign is taking care of the little things first. Please the right people and they will do the tenuous job of reaching the multitude for you. To transform New York City from the Mecca of crimes to one of the safest megacities in the world today, the Giuliani team started by fixing the little things first; a broken window here, cleaning the trash there, wiping off graffiti from the subway carriages, and arresting people for not paying their fare on the subway. Seems too simple in the face of thousands of murders and robberies in the 70s, but it began one of the greatest social revolutions of this generation.
Do I believe in Nigeria? With all my heart. That is why the Minister must read this, because there’s too much at stake to trivialize it with another tokenism like the planned jamboree called ‘Rebranding Nigeria’. The solution requires more depth than that and I believe if there is anyone who can achieve it, it is the Honorable Minister. Her track record speaks volumes in her favor. In fact, Honorable Minister, you did more for rebranding Nigeria as NAFDAC DG simply by doing your job…ensuring the safety and wholesomeness of food and drugs in Nigeria. Let everyone else do their jobs too and we won’t need to embark on this unnecessary campaign. The Lagos State Government example proves that Nigeria can work. The question is, is the Yar’adua administration committed enough to make the necessary sacrifices? The jury is still out on that.
Sola Salako is a Branding &PR Consultant and a Consumer Rights and Protection Advocate based in Lagos.
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