Brands must tap cultural intelligence to win market share, says Adunade

A growing number of Nigerian brands are spending more on marketing but failing to connect with audiences because their messaging lacks cultural relevance, brand strategist Iyinoluwa Adunade has said.

Adunade, speaking on modern brand strategy, said the core problem facing many companies today is not budget or talent, but the inability to root brand identity in what people already believe and feel.

“What separates brands that achieve deep market resonance from those that merely exist is not a bigger spend or a more sophisticated platform mix. It is cultural intelligence,” Adunade said. “This is the ability to root a brand’s identity in something people already believe, already feel, and already carry with them.”

Culture as a business strategy
Adunade said the approach guided her creative direction for EnterpriseNGR’s _State of Enterprise 2025 Report_, which documents Nigeria’s Financial and Professional Services sector.

Instead of a data-only publication, the report adopted a “Culture and Finance” design theme anchored on three Nigerian symbols: the Cowrie of Western Nigeria as a marker of prosperity, the Arewa Knot of Northern Nigeria as an emblem of unity, and Nsibidi of Eastern Nigeria as an ideographic system representing peace and collective identity.

“The report also told the story of Nigerians’ lives, capturing their trade, fashion, festivals, infrastructure, and art,” Adunade said.

“Data without human context is just data. Data that shows the life behind the numbers becomes a story people want to be part of.”

Identity-led storytelling gaining traction
Adunade cited Olori Ivie Atuwatse III, Queen Consort of the Warri Kingdom, as another example of identity-led storytelling. The Queen’s book, _Redemption_, was built through portraits and narratives that weave together memory, service and identity.

“That is a brand strategy decision, even when it is not explicitly named as one,” Adunade said.

She added that sectors from financial services to consumer goods, technology, telecoms, healthcare and public policy benefit when brands speak in the cultural language of their audiences. Companies that do so, she argued, build deeper trust and advocacy rather than just transactions.

The competitive edge
For brands looking to define the next decade, Adunade said the key question must come before any campaign: “Does this mean something to the people we need to reach? Does it belong to them?”

“The brands that will define the next decade will not be the loudest. They will be the ones with the most honest story,” she said. “The strategists who can find that story, build it with rigor, and express it with clarity will always be the most valuable people in the room.”