The Brand Union Holds Special Brand Experience Conference in Lagos

The Brand Union Africa recently held its first ever Brand Experience Conference in Lagos. The conference with the theme, ‘Own your Own Brand’, was tailor made for senior executives of blue chip companies, branding and marketing professionals of Nigerian institutions, and local marketing organizations, Universities and media.

It proved an opportunity for top echelon in the Nigerian marketing community to interact and re-consider ways of managing growth, while maintaining certain aspects of their brands’ identity and essence that have helped guide their current success. 

The well attended conference is an opportunity for participants to learn and discuss ways to lead their respective marketing responsibilities with a clear brand purpose, craft a compelling brand narrative and deliver memorable brand experiences.

In order to give brands competitive advantage, the Brand Union is keen to share how their agency’s ethos: ‘the experience of the brand is the brand’ can differentiate a brand’s offering, proliferate customer favourability and build barriers to competitor in-roads explains Ricardo Gressel, Business Development Director, The Brand Union Africa. 

Successful brands are brands that are unashamed of who they are, what they do and what they stand for. This defined sense of purpose sets the strategic foundation for the brand and influences every single brand touch point, added Richardo.

Speaking in the same vein, The Brand Union’s Regional CEO for Middle East and Africa, Hermann Beherns,  explains that for brand custodians to ‘Own your own brand’ not only do they need to define what the brand stands for, but this purpose also needs to be brought to life across multiple brand assets. “When these two elements: purpose and assets work together, the result is a seamless brand experience that is bold, differentiating and ownable”.

Also making his presentation at the conference, Lanre Oke, CEO, Elbeo Ltd, a research and marketing strategy consultant submitted that things have drastically changed as the trends suppose that corporate brands must be managed and nurtured just as the product brands. Consumers are keen on knowing and understanding what the corporate powers behind the successful brands stand for. To really own your brand, CMOs and managers must desist from making assumptions, they must be authentic, be brave and connect with communities.

The Brand Union has played a significant role in building formidable brands in Nigeria since 1999. The Brand Experience Conference is one of its strategies in aid of its resurgence into the Nigerian market to drive acquisition and retention of top tier clients. 

The conference according to the organisers was a fallout from conversations between the Brand Union and one of its local clients.  “It emerged that certain Nigerian brands were in danger of losing the very thing that makes their brand unique. ‘Own your own brand’ became a topic of conversation around how local marketers should manage growth within and outside of Nigeria, and how global brands should behave when doing business in the Nigerian market” revealed Ricardo.

The Brand Union is a global branding agency with 34 years’ experience and is part of the WPP Group. The company boasts over 500 people working in 23 offices, including London and New York. The Brand Union specializes in strategy, design, environmental design and brand experiences.{fcomments on}