• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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BusinessDay

Globacom now Nigeria’s most valuable brand in 2020

Glo expands NIN update channels

Globacom Limited (Glo), one of the top Nigerian multinational telecommunications has emerged the most valuable corporate brand in Africa’s biggest economy, a Businessday analysis shows.

Businessday findings from the country’s top 25 most valuable brands surveyed and published by United Kingdombased Brand Finance, the world’s leading branded business valuation and strategy consultancy showed that the telecommunication company recorded a total of $569million in 2020 improving by 15 percent from $494 million making it number one in Nigeria.

According to Babatunde Odumeru, MD, Brand Finance, Glo Mobile has been good at connecting its brand with its market and its ability to remain in the forefront of pioneering innovative products that appeals to its market needs has enabled it to build brand equity. “Huge investments into sports sponsorships notably football in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa, sponsorships of various popular musical events, and investments in quite a several celebratory endorsements have helped sustain brand awareness which has enabled the company to grow its brand strength and brand value,” Odumeru said. Brand value is understood as the net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market. And in a global marketplace, a brand is one of the most important assets of any state, encouraging inward investment, adding value to exports and attracting tourists.

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Brand Finance measures the strength and value of brands using a method based on the royalty relief mechanism. From the report, the royalty relief mechanisms are based on the notion that brands are strategic assets to the companies that own them. That is if you own a brand then you can exploit them through licensing agreements. “If you licence your brand out, what is paid to you is known as a royalty. This means you earn a percentage rate of the income the borrower of yours earns from using your brand name,” the report stated. The rest of the top corporate brands on the list are Nigeria Breweries, Dangote Cement, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, United Bank of Africa (UBA), Guaranty Trust Bank and First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) raking in $478 million, $309 million, $287 million, $242 million, $231 million, $222 million, and $194 million respectively.

On a year on year basis, out of the eight top brands, five declined while the rest improved. The five that declined were Nigerian Breweries, Dangote Cement, Zenith Bank, Access Bank and UBA by 24 percent, six percent, one percent, 17 percent and 26 percent.

While the rest that improved is Glo, GT bank and FBN by 15 percent, 32 percent and seven percent respectively.

“The COVID-19 pandemic created a roadblock to the distribution flow of many brands. Companies such as Nigerian Breweries and Dangote Cement were no exception to the impact of this. Routes to market such as restaurants, bars, hotels, and clubs were severely impacted and this would have resulted in a decline in revenue and brand value,” Odumeru said.