In brand strategy and consumer marketing, Culture Intelligence has proven to be an indispensable tool for leveraging data to provide companies, organisations, and leaders clarity. Insight, observations, real-time data on customers, campaigns, competitors, and cultural events – real issues and stories that harness the voice of the customer and the community — have become essential in identifying unique growth opportunities. Culture Intelligence helps decision-makers understand cultural shifts better, interpret consumer stories, capture events, anecdotes, and habits to understand what is next in trends, communication, and competitive environments.
With a focus on spotlighting innovative ideas in the marketing and communication industry, Culture Intelligence from RED, Africa’s leading think tank on media, marketing, and the culture, organized the Marketing Leaders Summit — a quarterly gathering of leading personalities in the brand and marketing communication industry to have conversations on issues at the intersection of media, marketing, and brand communication. The summit offers engaging sessions centered on key themes to understand market trends, product design and innovation, strategies, projections and consumer insights — all inspired by Culture Intelligence from RED.
The inaugural edition, which was chaired by RED | For Africa CEO, Adebola Williams, held on Saturday, 22 May 2021 bringing together seasoned experts in brand and marketing communications including Ngozi Nkwoji, Marketing Manager, Communications and Sponsorship, The Heineken Company; Bamsa Godwin, External Affairs and Sustainable Business Manager, Unilever; Funmi Abiola, Marketing Manager, CFAO, and Bada Akintunde-Johnson, Country Manager, ViacomCBS Networks Africa.
At the conversation themed, Culture Intelligence and the Future of Brand Innovation – the experts affirmed the importance of culture identification for consumers and the brand itself, which helps to achieve successful marketing campaigns. This was explained by Funmi Abiola who gave a real-life scenario on the need for culture identification and adaptation in target markets: “The major key is finding the balance between the brand’s culture and the market where we find ourselves. So, when you talk about culture intelligence, I would also like to talk about marketing intelligence because culture is one part of it.
“Understanding the market is the main thing because you need to understand the market you are in. When I joined the Mitsubishi brand in Nigeria, the tagline was ‘Drive at Earth’. We could not do much with that because it did not fit our target market. When Mitsubishi turned 100 years old, it finally changed the tagline to ‘Drive Your Ambition’ which resonates more with our audience.
“The campaign goal was to inspire young Nigerians to become the best at whatever they do and also to understand that every successful person you see has a story. This campaign was much more successful because it resonated better. So, the need for understanding the culture of your target market cannot be over-emphasized. It is one of the Ts to cross if you want to achieve success,” she concluded.
