MTN Nigeria, Dangote Group, First Bank of Nigeria, Julius Berger , Guinness and Nestle Nigeria Plc have been listed among the top 50 brands in the 2017 edition of the Top 50 Brands Nigeria Awards.
According to the Chief Executive Officer, Top 50 Brands Nigeria, Mr. Taiwo Oluboyede, the listed firms are among the most resilient in Nigeria and achieved growth during the 2016 economic recession.
“They were those who defied the odds, with many of them declaring good profits. Cutting across various sectors, they are the engine that power and drive our economy; they are the employers of labour; they create wealth and provide vital goods and services for the people.
“The brands honoured at this year’s edition of the Top 50 Brand Nigeria Awards have transcended their product/service categories and mean much more to the consumers.”He said
The award ceremony also served as a platform for driving a positive image campaign for Nigeria.
Tagged #IAM Brand Nigeria, the concept beckons on Nigerians to openly endorse and associate with the Nigeria brand, thereby enhancing the value towards becoming a top nation brand globally.
Oluboyede maintained that there was no better time than the present for Nigerians to express pride in the country, adding that the same branding campaign was embarked upon by nations of the world that sought to create a positive image for their countries.
He said that the Nigerian brand was a common heritage and Nigerians needed to promote it.
He added that the campaign was driven by the private sector and would be different from the Federal Government’s ‘Good people, Great nation’ rebranding campaign of 2009.
Also speaking, a member of the Board of Directors, Top 50 Brands Nigeria, Mr. Nick Imodia, said the campaign was vital to the survival of the private sector.
“The private people are the ones creating the products and if the country has a positive image, brands in the country will sell not only in Nigeria, but outside the country. This will enable people in Nigeria to create products at home and sell them outside the country,” he said.
According to the report released by the organisers, “MTN Nigeria retains its top position again; this telecoms giant emerged as the most valuable in the annual rating with 80.4 point, a 7.1% reduction from the record 86.1% last year.
“Dangote Industries had a record jump among the top 10 brands, jumping 5 places to occupy the 2nd position and the most valuable Nigerian brand for 2017”, it reads.
The report further states that 50% of the top brands are home grown. According to it, “25 of the 50 top brands for 2017 are home grown; this is the highest we have had since 2013. This shows an improvement in performance among home grown brands, particularly in the midst of a troubling recession which the country just got out from. Many of these brands have even spread to other African countries and beyond; such brands include Dangote Industries, GTBank, Channels Television and Shoprite”.
The Consumer Goods is led by Dufil Prima, producers of Indomie Noodles on the number 8 position, followed by Nestle on number 9, Unilever on number 11, Friesland Campina WAMCO on number 26, Cadbury on number 31, P&G on number 32, Promasidor on number 40 and PZ on number 46.
The banking & financial services category is led by GTBank at number 4, immediately followed by First Bank at number 5 and Zenith Bank at number 6.
Other brands that made the list includes, BUA Group, Coscharis, Dana, Honneywell, BUA Group, Coscharis, Honneywell, Forte Oil, Punch, Channels TV, Samsung amongst others.