For African brands to stay globally competitive, marketing communications professionals have stressed the need for resilience, steadfastness and innovation.
The professionals spoke at the 2025 African Brand Awards held in Lagos, recently. Some of the practitioners include, Chief Executive Officer, Stream Insight, Adewale Opawale; Executive Director at Market Trends International, Victor Ebhomenye and Group General Manager Abiok Publicity, Oaikhina Emperor
Themed, ‘Building iconic brands in Africa: The strategic roles of business leaders,’ they also said brand owners must be innovative and embrace culture of excellence.
To Ebhomenye, “you need to understand that you need to deliver value. Be consistent with your system, have a system that is working for your business. Provide value to your clients. Once you do that, you will definitely become an iconic brand.”
Speaking further, he added, “a leader is to be steadfast and resilient because not every time, not everything would go well and also you need to be very attentive. But if you are not attentive, the system might not be working.”
On his part, Emperor noted iconic brands are built intentionality, with determination, focus, dedication, positive mindset, responsibility, risk taking, resourcefulness and the right financial capacity.
Speaking in a similar vein, Opawale noted iconic brands can be built in Africa, “when brands stay committed to solving real problems that affect Africa, as well as drive further development in Africa.
The brand must stay rooted in cultural relevance guided by global insight, and research is the backbone of that because research is what helps to understand Africa’s diverse populace, see where trends are going, and build products or services that are instrumental not only to solving Africa’s problems but further develop Africa to an international gold standards.”
Concerning leadership, he stated strategic leaders set the tone for building iconic brands. “First, they set the vision that’s the foundation, and it doesn’t stop there; they’ve got to make strategic, data-driven decisions that keep the brand moving in the right direction. They also have to stand firmly for authenticity, because without that, the brand loses its soul. When leaders align purpose while building a culture of innovation and trust, that’s when you see brands that not only connect deeply with people but also stand the test of time.”
In his welcome remarks, Chairman Award Organising Committee, Cammil Chineme, said, “today’s event is geared towards encouraging excellence in customer engagement and innovative service delivery that meets and exceeds the expectations of customers across diverse sectors.”
Expressing his appreciation, one of the awardees, Managing Director of Royal Exchange Prudential Life Plc said, “this award is a reflection of our customer centric culture and dedication to serving Nigerians with integrity, empathy, and innovation. At Royal Exchange Prudential Life Plc, we see every policy not just as a contract, but as a promise to safeguard the future of our clients and their loved ones. We are delighted that our efforts in driving impactful solutions and excellent customer service have been recognised on a continental stage.”
Other winners this year include, First Insurance Brokers Limited, NNPC HMO, XPARK 360, Kano Electricity Distribution Company Plc, Goxi Microinsurance Limited, Market Trends International and Newcrystal Communications Limited.
Other winners include Abiok Publicity, Empire Media Cameroun, Gotham Security, Ultimate Healthcare, Sengwa CONSULTING, DEP Multifunctional and Stream Insight among others.
Royal Exchange Prudential Life Plc won the Most Impactful Life Insurance Company of the year, First Insurance Brokers Limited won the Best Insurance Broker of the Decade, NNPC Health Maintenance Organisation’s won the Most Dependable Health Insurance Company of the Year, Kano Electricity Distribution Company Plc won the Most Customer Driven Electricity Distribution Company of the Year while Newcrystal Communications won West Africa Digital Outdoor Advertising Agency of the Year, GOXI won the Microinsurance Company of the Year among several others.
