Every home that had a phone line, had a NITEL. Every business that sent a fax relied on it. By every internal measurement available to them, subscriber numbers, revenue, government backing, it wasn’t just a market leader, it was the brand people remembered first. It was dominant.
More importantly, it was top-of-mind.
Then something changed!
Not in the boardroom, but in the minds of ordinary Nigerians. One by one, people simply stopped thinking about NITEL first.
By the time the organisation recognised what had happened, the moment had already passed. The mind had moved on. MTN was already ‘everywhere you go’, Airtel was painting the town red, and then Globacom nailed the coffin by redefining value with its irresistible per second billing.
This shift didn’t just happen overnight. It was gradual, quiet, and almost invisible. Should I say NITEL slipped, not just in market share, but in something far more critical: mental availability.
The market didn’t just evolve.
Memory moved!
The Gap No One Talks About
In boardrooms across the country today, many brands still look strong:
- Revenue, perhaps still growing
- Campaigns are running
- Social media numbers are rising
Yet, outside those rooms, in buses, markets, offices, and living rooms, a different reality is playing out.
Let’s do a simple test:
“What’s the first brand that comes to your mind when you think of mobile phone for example, and where were they 15 years ago?
The answers can be surprisingly revealing and it could be sometimes uncomfortable.
This is because, the brand that appears to be winning internally may already be losing externally.
Top-of-Mind Is Not What You Think It Is
There’s a lot of misconception around brand metrics, so let’s do a little simplify:
- Brand Recognition -> “I’ve seen or heard of this brand before.”
- Brand Recall-> “I can name this brand when prompted.”
- Top-of-Mind (TOM) -> “This is the first brand I think of without any prompt.”
That last one is the most powerful. And it’s a critical matric that CMOs and marketing managers need to be well aware of.
Top-of-mind awareness is about priority in memory… far more that mere visibility
It’s the difference between being known… and being instantly remembered and preferred.
And so, in competitive markets, that difference determines:
- Choice
- Loyalty
- Market leadership
What Most Brands Measure… and Miss
You can buy attention. You cannot buy memory
Many brands track:
- Sales performance
- Market share
- Digital engagement
- Campaign reach
These are important, don’t get me wrong, but they are as it were, lagging indicators.
They tell you what has already happened, may not be what is happening in the consumer’s mind.
Top-of-mind awareness, on the other hand, is a leading indicator.
It tells you:
What consumers are likely to choose next, based on what is top on their mind.
Now, here’s the uncomfortable truth:
A brand can be spending heavily, trending online, and still not be the first name people remember.
In fact, in categories like FMCG, telecoms even in banking, only a few brands dominate mental space. In telecoms for example, brands like MTN which have consistently stayed embedded in consumer memory most often take the top place.
How about the rest? They are competing, but may not always remembered.
This pattern goes across most consumer categories.
Why This Matters More Now Than Ever
Nigeria’s market, like in most other developing economies is noisier than ever, because there are:
- More brands
- More advertising
- More platforms
- Shorter attention spans
In such situation, attention is fragmented, and could be difficult to retain. When you gain it, it can be lost quickly. Similarly, memory is selective.
Truth is, consumers don’t remember everything.
They remember very few things and very few brands at the time. And those they remember most likely get the patronage
That means:
If your brand is not top-of-mind, it is often not in the consideration set at all.
The Illusion of Internal Confidence
One of the biggest risks for brands in the market today is operating inside an echo chamber, where:
- Agency reports say campaigns are performing
- Dashboards show engagement
- Internal teams feel confident
But none of these really answer the simplest, most important question:
“Are we the first brand people think of?”
Without that answer, strategy becomes assumption.
A Mirror for the Market
This is why the Top of Mind (TOM) Brand Survey 2026 matters.
It is not yet another perception study filled with leading questions or brand lists.
It is a simple, yet, powerful test:
What brand comes to mind first?
- No prompts.
- No cues.
- No bias.
Just real, unaided recall.
From dominant players like Dangote Group to emerging challengers across sectors, the survey aims to map Nigeria’s true brand position as consumers says they are, not necessarily as companies see it.
The Question Every Brand Must Answer
Truth is, at the end, this is not about rankings or reports.
It’s about clarity.
Because in today’s market:
- You are either remembered first
- Or you are competing for what’s left
So here’s the question:
Where does your brand truly stand in the minds of Nigerians?
Let’s find out
Take the Top of Mind (TOM) Brand Survey 2026 here: TOM Survey
or copy and paste this url: https://tinyurl.com/368rvhkx
And help in determining Nigeria’s top brand reality.
