Cosse celebrates legacy of brand building in Nigeria

Twenty years ago 90 to 95 per cent of advertising budgets in Nigeria went to above-the-line (ATL) and below-the-line (BTL) activations whereas consumers and target audience were not glued to the TV because they had to go to the open market and other informal, lifestyle determined places which the conventional tactics were not covering.

But 20 years ago, Cosse Limited, an integrated marketing communications company decided to challenge the status quo by coming up with single minded strategies (integrated marketing communications) that invariably eliminated the lines in ATL and BTL.

The Cosse story led to many births in Nigeria: The birth of experiential marketing; the birth of brand activation; the birth of formal event marketing and management; the birth of channel solutions and trade market support services; the birth of content as an integral marketing communications tool.

The Company, founded in 1995 recently celebrated 20 years of operating in Nigeria. The event was attended by current and previous Clients of Cosse, friends, former employees and other industry stakeholders.

Group Managing Director and founder of Cosse Limited,  Funmi Onabolu, attributed the success of the Company to relentless hard-work, innovation and professionalism. “When we started in 1995, our first Clients were British American Tobacco and Nigerian Breweries Plc. These are companies that could be compared to the present day telecommunications companies but we were able to attract the big clients because we provided a better way of doing things and thereby challenging the status quo.”  Onobolu said.

He said: “Cosse’s story is about always challenging the status quo, embracing change as an imperative constant in the market equation and relentlessly seeking better ways to keep the consumer in a warm embrace. Above-the-Line or Below-the-Line Cosse believes there is really no line, they do not exist to us because we operate an integrated marketing model.” Onabolu explained.

The elated Cosse CEO thanked the company’s clients for the opportunity to nurture some of Nigeria’s and world finest brands like MTN, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Coca-Cola, Heineken, Benson & Hedges, UBA, Top Tea, Regal Gin, Star, Loya Milk, Cowbell, Gulder, Main One, Blue Arrow, Grand Oak, Nordica and Onga.