Experts outline ways Nigerian businesses can build global brands

Experts have recommended six ways Nigerian businesses can promote their brands beyond the local level.

The tips which were made known at a recent Brand Finance Nigerian Forum are understanding the target market, developing a global brand identity, localise brand assets, ensuring brand consistency across languages, digital presence and multilingual SEO, and strategic partnerships and alliances.

The virtual event organised by Brand Finance, a London-based brand valuation consultancy, was themed ‘Developing Nigerian Brands Beyond Local Presence: Building a Global Brand amidst Economic Uncertainty’.

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It is important to understand how our country of operation affects the footprints of a brand and how foreign investors can invest in our local brands, said Omotola Elatuyi, chair of the Brand Advisory Board of Meristem

“According to the country-of-origin effect (COE), a nation’s brand image is a subjective mental picture shared by a group of people about the country. Recognising the multi-faceted nature of the nation’s brand such as governance, investment, exports, tourism, culture, and people is very important.”

She said consumers, tourists, immigrants, and investors tend to depend more on the country’s reputation than its actual attributes in making buying, traveling, and investment decisions.

“Nation branding is the process of building and managing a country’s identity and image distinctly to attract and satisfy the needs of internal and external stakeholders, visitors, and investors. Hence, many nations have understood the significance of country branding,” she said.

Elatuyi added that Nigerians need to offer products with good quality and value to ensure that we have a winning strategy. “They must also have a unique landscape in Nigeria, credibility, and established partnerships within their location.”

Ifeanyi Okonkwo, deputy head of sector and manager at Nigerian IP portfolio of Jackson, Etti, and Edu said one of the most important tools for understanding and protecting a brand is called trademarks.

“A trademark is a mark that is used in relation to goods and services, to distinguish that mark from other competitors which can be a logo, wordmark, or signature. It is the legal vehicle upon which brands stand and it is very critical for brands.”

He said as a brand, one thing one must consider is how to protect the trademarks by understanding the class of protection or registration depending on the sector of the brand, the strategy or business model of the brand, and the geographical location of the brand.

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“Most banking sectors protect their brands based on the class they fall into and online research is done based on the class of technology protection they are in, either financial sectors of class 36 or 42,” he added.

He noted that the importance of the classification is that if one protects a brand based on a particular class and fails to protect it in other relevant classes, some other person can use the brand in another class or name it represents.

According to the latest ranking of the top 25 Nigerian brands, banking brands emerged as the most valuable, strongest, and fastest-growing brands in 2024 based on their evergreen branded trademarks and global impacts.