A new research has highlighted the key challenges that all brands face in Africa as a lack of reliable data, including media consumption, and retail performance. It also cited the progress marketers are making in delivering more effective marketing.
The Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) and other trade associations in the continent released the research into marketing expertise and opportunity at the Global Marketing Week 2015 in Marrakech, Morocco.
The event was organised by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and co-hosted by the Moroccan Association of Advertisers (GAM).
The ADVAN team at the conference comprised its President, Kola Oyeyemi; Executive Secretary, Ediri Ose-Ediale; and Executive Member, Kachi Onubogu.
Oyeyemi said the new document was produced in co-operation with Millward Brown and national advertiser associations in Cameroon (CMA), Kenya (MSK), Morocco (GAM), Nigeria (ADVAN), South Africa (MASA), and Zimbabwe (MAZ).
The report was based on 82 responses from marketers working for well-known local and global brands at a country or regional level.
It revealed the gap in consumer understanding that local and regional marketers say exists at a global level.
Up to 55 per cent respondents agreed with the statement that “global colleagues do not understand consumers in our local markets”. Only 20 per cent disagreed.
The local versus global debate also applied to local agency partners, with 58 per cent agreeing that local agencies have a superior understanding of local business issues than international agency brands.
But there was a lot of common ground with marketers in other regions, with key priorities cited as brand positioning, integration, consumer insights and marketing analytics.
This reflects many of the core concerns that WFA members globally have identified in the most recent survey of marketer priorities, where integrated activity planning and digital marketing are the top priorities.
Oyeyemi said the conference “was a week of knowledge, new experiences and new insights into the marketing profession especially as it affects measurement of effectiveness in marketing.
“It was quite insightful to learn from other markets the challenges and proven solutions to key marketing issues, these results are also applicable and automatable for Nigeria. We are back with fresh information to ensure best practice marketing in Nigeria.”
Onubogu added that “local marketers found the conference useful in many ways and the ripple effect would enhance our operation and add value to what we do.”
