In a layman’s language, to rebrand, reposition or repair, simply put, means to change consumer’s perception about a product or brand and attract positive affectation or affinity to it for the benefit of all stakeholders, particularly the promoters of the brand. Therefore, whatever we, communication professionals, may call it, rebranding, repositioning or repairing, connotes only one thing to the man on the street – a change from negative to positive perception. Branding is all about perception and that is what differentiates a good brand from the rest of the pack in the category. Probably unknown to most Nigerians, the brand Nigeria Project has been an ongoing project since after the civil war. The missing link has been a big idea that is driven by consistent strategy. If I may remind us, at the end of the 30 – month war, General Yakubu Gowon, in what seemed like a masterstroke, to heal the wounds of the war, initiated a sort of rebranding programme.
To weld the country back from the brink, Gowon introduced the three Rs, namely: Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction. He also declared that there was no victor or vanquished. To implement this campaign, Gowon pledged to remain in power till 1976 before handing over to a civilian regime after a democratically conducted election. Gowon was lucky. His regime co-incided with the beginning of the oil boom era in Nigeria, thus he was able to spend money to prosecute the three R agenda. Gowon embarked on several capital projects, especially roads, bridges, estates and edifices befitting a country like Nigeria. On the diplomatic and international plain, with its new found fame and fortune, Nigeria played the big brother role to the less endowed African countries and the country was respected for it. But like most African leaders of that era, Gowon soon lost focus when he imbibed the sit tight syndrome.
The moment Gowon said 1976 was no longer realistic for a democratic hand over, the brand equity of his regime and the country began to ebb. After Gowon came General Murtala Ramat Muhammed (of blessed memory). Murtala, along with his team, came on board with vision and patriotic fervor. With zero tolerance for corruption in both public and private sectors, Murtala vowed to take the Nigerian brand to the apogee of glory and respectability, both nationally and internationally.
Transcending Nigeria, Murtala made Africa the centre piece of his political agenda. Within a short time that the regime lasted, Nigeria as a brand scored a diplomatic bull’s eye, playing a prominent role on the continental platform in the independence struggle of Zimbabwe, Angola and even South Africa. But the Murtala regime was short-lived. The man died!
Perhaps one of the most ambitious and most expensive rebranding efforts ever embarked upon in Nigeria was initiated by the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida in 1987. Tagged MAMSER, Mass Movement for Self Reliance Social Justice and Economic Recovery, it was introduced as part of the transition programme of the regime. With the sole aim of giving Nigerians and Nigeria a new beginning, MAMSER had on board eminent Nigerians who had excelled in their various areas of calling, in both private and public lives. Till date, MAMSER remains the longest internal rebranding effort ever embarked upon by any government in Nigeria. Ironically, despite its laudable objectives and high caliber personnel, MAMSER ended up a colossal failure. But why did MAMSER fail? Historians and students of political history contend that lack of sincerity and transparency on the part of the leadership were responsible for MAMSER’s failure. The failure could be best illustrated by the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election that almost tore Nigeria apart. However, before MAMSER was WAI. WAI, which means War Against Indiscipline, was launched by General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) and late General Tunde Idiagbon when the regime came on board in 1983. WAI was another rebranding effort aimed at giving Nigerians a new lease of life. WAI espoused discipline in both public and private lives and Nigerians were fast adapting to some aspects of it before the regime was overthrown.
WHAT REBRANDING IS NOT?:
1. It is not just about tourism: Nation branding is about developing an identity encompassing tourism, but also FDI, public diplomacy, exports, culture, sports, migrants, international relations…
2. It is not just about a logo. One colourful and sexy logo with no strategy behind is nonsense.
3. It is never one TV spot on the CNN. One 60 seconds TV ad with wonderful scenery is a waste of the taxpayers’ money
4. It is not just for foreigners. The biggest stakeholders in a nation branding project are natives; without their understanding, support and embodiment of the brand identity, all nation branding efforts are damned.
5. It is never a short-term project. It needs efforts, time, consistency and persistance. In most cases, it takes years to see results
6. It is not cosmetic. One of the basic pillars of nation branding is truth, honesty and a foothold on the real world. You can’t change a grim reality with slogans and logos.
Excerpts from my forthcoming book. Kunle Yusuf can be reached on 08023423396 or [email protected]