The civil war from 1967 to 1970, the aborted Miss World beauty pageant in 2001 and the current insurgency in the North East have been identified as three major events which have thwarted Nigeria’s effort to reposition itself as a global brand.
Murray-Bruce (left) and Oyeyemi at the event.
Silverbird Group Chairman, Ben Murray-Bruce, made the point at an Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) marketing evening in Lagos, where he delivered a paper titled “From local to global, building the Nigeria brand.”
Over the years, he recalled, Nigeria has made unsuccessful efforts to become a global brand because of the inability of the government to explore the media to win some of the battles rattling its global brand valuation.
“What is happening today in Nigeria about Boko Haram and the negative publicity it generates for us has happened three times without an appropriate way to manage the crises through the media,” Murray-Bruce lamented.
In his view, the civil war was the first of the three events that showed how Nigeria failed in the use of the media to douse the effect of propaganda on its reputation.
He said the late Biafran warlord, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, used the media effectively to dent Nigeria’s image and got the support of the France.
His words: “Nigeria won the war but Biafra won the battle using the media, Radio Biafra. The attack on Nigeria by the French and those who believe what Nigeria did against the Igbo was genocide really prevented the country from being accepted across the world.
“Ojukwu used the media very well and Nigeria’s image was dented. That prolonged war got him support from Cote D’Ivoire, Mali, Gabon and others who supplied weapons for Biafra.”
Murray-Bruce also cited the Miss World beauty contest in 2001 which was stopped when the whole world had already gathered to experience Nigeria as a destination brand.
The event, which the world could have reported and showcased the beauty of Nigeria and its potentials, turned out to be a bad press for the country.
It was to be held amid criticism from the global community over a Nigerian woman, Amina Lawal, who was sentenced to death by stoning under Sharia law for having a child out of wedlock.
“My topic is promoting your brand across the globe. The whole world was in Nigeria and all eyes were on Nigeria. Agbani won the Miss World in South Africa and we hosted the event in Nigeria, which we spent millions of dollars to host.
“A few days to the event, over 100 world media had gathered in Nigeria.”
But Nigeria missed the opportunity to promote its brand to the world when a conflict in Kano, aggravated by a story published in ThisDay, led to opposition against the Miss World event.
On the current threat posed by Boko Haram, Murray-Bruce said this appeared to be the mother of all threats against the effort by Abuja to build the Nigerian brand.
ADVAN President, Kola Oyeyemi, said the marketers’ evening is designed to provide an opportunity for marketing directors to deliberate on issues and concepts that will move the marketing industry forward.
It also helps them to keep abreast of events that are changing the marketing landscape, such as technology and consumer behaviour.
