TOP 50 BRANDS NIGERIA® 2019 RANKING

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Brand has become the most important asset of a corporate organisation. It is beyond just beautiful logos and fine fonts. It is a promise! The brand is a statement of who you are and what you stand for. This is what comes to mind when people come in contact with you or any of your assemblages. It is the reaction the brand invokes when its name is mentioned to the consumers. Brand is the key differentiator that helps consumers make informed buying decisions. Strong brands demonstrate greater return on equity

“The primary objective of boardrooms is to build and sustain shareholder value over the long-term. If a firm wants to achieve sustained success, building and sustaining brand equity and superior brand management are essential strategy initiatives for the boardroom”,  said Martin Roll, a globally acclaimed business and brand strategist –

“Brand is beyond a trademark that identifies products and services. Branding encompasses everything related to vision, mission, business strategy, strategic marketing, and communications. Branding is a serious, long-term investment that must deliver Return on Investments (ROI) like any other business activity”.

Brand has become to a corporate organization, what oxygen is to human life

For something that important, there is also the need for benchmarking and rating. That is differentiating leading brands that have mastered the ‘art’ by making well informed propositions and delivering on them as they engage the consumers. This is what attracts the right attention, distinctively separates market leaders and earns them brand loyalty and equity. It is also a key aspect of successful business strategy on a broader scale, for long-term competitiveness and profitability.

Brands that will stand the test of time, earning equity and become profitable for the owners are those that correctly identify needs and meeting them. Their promise to the consumer is a proposition of solution to a problem. The effect of living these promises is the increasing brand equity and continuous sustainability of the company.

So, branding is not a luxury. It is a necessity for companies that want to be relevant now and aspire to compete successfully in the future.

Every year at TOP 50 BRANDS NIGERIA®, we present a list of 50 top corporate brands that have exceeded others in delivering their promise and have clearly become market leaders in their  highly competitive category and beyond.

The top brands this year are those that have been able to analyse needs, see opportunities in them by creating solutions while communicate same to the consumers. They have become so good at it that the consumers often refer to them by the name of the need they met. This has become a critical differentiator that separates them from the others.

The achievements and growth of these brands have also become a critical point of positive narrative that enhance the value, reputation and perception of the Nigeria brand. And vital indicators that attract capital and foreign direct investments.

The outcomes of these annual reports have also created healthy competition among top corporate brands in Nigeria. The annual ranking is gradually becoming like a report card with which top brands know their position and how they are faring in the market.

Since this is all about consumer’s perception (which influences buying decisions), our valuation therefore starts from the consumer’s point of view, using the Brand Strength Measurement (BSM Index).

BSM is a model that evaluates a brand’s ability to deliver on its promise to the consumers, from the consumer’s point of view. It includes vital variables that help consumers in making buying decisions. A measure of consumer’s affinity with the brands.

Uppermost among these variables is the Top on the Mind (TOM) Survey. It is a test of consumer’s knowledge, understanding, acceptability, or simply their affinity with these brands. Respondents were asked to mention top 10 brands (companies) that easily come to their mind. It has been observed that consumers often mentioned brands they patronise, respect or see often.

OTHER VARIABLES ARE

Innovation– This is a test on how innovative the brand’s operation and processes have been, particularly in customer services.

Category Leadership- This is a test on the brand’s industrial categorisation and its standing among competitors.

Quality Elements- A test on vital factors that boost consumer’s confidence in the brand

National Spread– A brand is expected to have operational presence in considerable number of states across the country for a chance in the annual rating

Online engagement- The online platform has become the virtual office where it engages consumers. It is as important as its real office, even more important sometimes. So, this is a test on how engaging the online presence of the brand has become in delivering customer satisfaction. This variable uses a combination of social media, keyword, news mention& patterns and search engine optimization

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – One important way to win more consumer is to be to them more than your product/services by creating bonds through special interventions and community services.

All these are aggregated into the BSM model to achieve the annual 50 top brands for the year.

HIGHLIGHTS

Dangote Group- Most Valuable Brand in Nigeria 2019.

Dangote Group again took the lead this year following its 2018 feat. This made Dangote double as Most Valuable overall and Nigerian brand in the 2019 brand review. Dangote, a proudly Nigerian brand is the most diversified and largest conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest in the continent. Dangote cement, a member of the group is the most capitalised company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Dangote is expected to deliver its 650 thousands barrel per day capacity crude oil refinery with the world tallest atmospheric tower in the coming year.

MTN Nigeria maintained its second placement in this annual ranking. MTN has been the largest telecom and business service provider in Nigeria. The brand enjoys more local affinity with the public listing and the trading of its stocks earlier in the year. Following its listing on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), MTN has been the second most capitalised company on the exchange. It is first telecommunication network service provider to be listed on the NSE premium board. By this also, MTN Nigeria is the Most Valuable Multinational Corporation in Nigeria for the year.

Not surprising, another telecom company, Globacom, another proudly Nigerian brand is on the third position this year with 75.2 BSM points. Glo started the year with the unveiling of the World Heavy Weight Champion, Anthony Joshua as its brand ambassador. It is also a brand known for support of entertainment and sport.

Coca-cola Nigeria emerged on the forth position and Dufil Prima, makers of the popular Indomie noodles is on the 5th.

Dufil prima is the highest gainer in the top 10, moving 5 places up, from 10th last year to 5th in 2019. This is a commendable upward thrust  for this household brand.

Other among the top 10 in the 2019 TOP 50 BRANDS NIGERIA® are:

  • GTBank- 6th
  • First Bank -7th
  • UBA – 8th
  • Zenith Bank – 9th
  • Access Bank -10th.

Furthermore,

  • Access Bank joined the top 10 class, moving 4 places from last year’s. Access has been described as a brand doing many things right. Its perception and value took a leap with the recent acquisition and seamless integration of Diamond bank.
  • The Banking and Financial Services came stronger in the top 10, with 5 brands within the elite class.
  • 5 brands among the top 10 maintained their previous year’s position, that is. Dangote, MTN, Globacom, UBA and Zenith Bank on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 8th and 9th position respectively.
  • 8 out of the top 10 had maintained a top 10 position for the past 3 years consecutively.
  • 7 brands out of the top 10 are Nigerian brands.

OVERALL

  • 52% or 26 brands are international brands while there are 24 (48%) Nigerian brands
  • The Banking & Financial Services categories took the lead again with 12 brands. Five of them among the top 10.
  • This is followed by the Consumer Goods with 9 brands
  • Conglomerates had 5 brands
  • Beverages, Media and Oil & Gas had 4 brands each.
  • Automobile and Agriculture had 2 brands each, while Manufacturing, Construction and Retail each had 1 brand in their categories.
  • Top Gainers – PZ Cussons emerged the highest gainer this year, moving 17 places upward, from 40th position last year to 23rd in 2019. This is followed by Flourmill of Nigeria Plc who moved 14 places, now on 33rd. Others are Seven Up, from 31st to 18th,
  • Shell, FCMB and Eco Bank made a return this year at 41st, 44th, and 49th positions respectively.
  • 11 brands maintained their 2018 position on the table. These are Dangote, MTN, GLO, UBA, Zenith Bank, Nigerian Breweries, Multichoice, Friesland, Oando, Forth Oil and Axa- Mansard

10 BRANDS TO WATCH

Aside the 50 top brands for the year, we specially recognise certain brands who, though not among the 50 top yet, but they are aspiring, vibrant and promising.

Many of them are quite new while some have been in existence but rejigged to produce fresh and strong marketing vibes. They are exciting and promising, and we foresee some of them migrating to the elite 50 top table in the nearest future if they continue to keep their eyes on the ball.

It is interesting to note that most of the brands to watch are ICT based, and financial services. This isn’t unexpected considering the fact that transaction processes and payment are getting more virtual. More so, with the government increasing push towards cashless economy as it is in more developed economies.

It should be noted that the 10 Brands to Watch are not rated with the BSM model, but they have considerable mentions in the TOM survey.