A marketing communication expert, Dr Dare Ogunyombo, has advised ‘premium’ brands to be less ‘arrogant’ in the market place. Rather, he said, they should come up with offerings that actually resonate with the nation’s financially-stressed but highly discerning consumers.
This, he stated, has become imperative to ensure their relevance at these challenging times in the nation’s economic history.
Ogunyombo, a lecturer of Mass Communication at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, gave the advice at the Media Consortium’s Conference and Award 2.0, tagged, ‘Meeting the Brands/Consumers’ Expectation in a Challenging Economy,’ held in Lagos, recently.
He described as unfortunate the fact that some brands still pride themselves as premium when it is obvious that their offerings are no longer resonating with the consuming public.
The don therefore warned such brands to be wary, saying such behaviour can make them go extinct from the market.
“The situation we are in today is quite challenging for individuals and brands alike. That is why brands must not be arrogant as we are seeing it in some brands that call themselves premium, when it is obvious that they don’t really have what it takes to be tagged so,” he stated.
Ogunyombo also believed there are expectations to be managed both from the brand and consumer sides at this time. For instance, he argued, while brands want to sell profitably, consumers also want to get products at affordable costs.
“I, therefore, think that brands must come up with costs that are accessible to the consumers, while consumers on their part must realise that brands are challenged and therefore show understanding,” he stated.
In her contributions, the PR Lead, 9Mobile, Chineze Amanfo, described the economy as very tough for both brands and the consumers. She, however, stated that brands have continued to adapt, by making their offerings more affordable, despite the tough environment, to enable them meet their customers’ needs.
“But how well they have succeeded in doing that, I think, remains a subject for another time,” she added.
The Group Executive Director, Omnicon Media Group, WECA, Mr Yinka Adebayo, also believed the present economy is tough for both the consumers and brands. According to him, while today’s consumers are paying more for less, many brands are also struggling to stay afloat.
Adebayo, who was the lead speaker at the event, however, highlighted different concepts such as production concept, product concept, selling concept, marketing concept and others that brands can adopt to stay afloat. He, however, cautioned on the danger of adopting those concepts hook, line and sinker.
For instance, he explained that while production concept is all about mass production of offerings by a brand in order to maximise profit, the danger in the concept is that of ending up producing sub-standard goods.
“Besides, in the case of adopting the selling concept, the brand is not interested in whether the consumer is interested in the offering or not. Its pre-occupation is to sell, whereas the brands should have done their homework to ensure that what they are dishing out to the public is what they actually want,” he stated.
Explaining the rationale behind the conference’s theme, co-convener, Mr Tunji Adeleye, stated that idea was to provide a unique opportunity to explore the strategies, innovations and collaborations necessary to navigate the ‘unprecedented’ economic challenges, marked by global uncertainties, shifting consumer behaviours and evolving market dynamics.
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