Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, sprawls inland from the Gulf of Guinea across Lagos Lagoon. Victoria Island, the financial centre of the metropolis, is known for its beach resorts, boutiques and nightlife. To the north, Lagos Island is home to the National Museum Lagos, displaying cultural artefacts’ and craftworks.
Place marketing “refers to the application of marketing instruments to geographical locations, such as cities, towns, regions and communities. It can also be defined as the ‘coordinated use of marketing tools supported by a shared customer-oriented philosophy, for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging urban offerings that have value for the city’s customers and the city’s community at large’”. With the celebration of the 50 years of existence of Lagos as a state, a lot of the old is giving way to a lot of new, outstanding of which are the doodles and paintings that are spring up on almost every available wall. Artworks and sculptures celebrating life and Lagos State can be found at strategic locations and spaces all over the city, notable bridges and structures are being repaired and repainted, even new BRT bus terminals are being built and are wearing some of these paintings and artworks. The face of Lagos is changing….. In 2005 when i entered Lagos and when i desire to give an idea about where I’m living to my friends through the Google pages it always projected the smoky and fiery photos of accidents and tanker explosions , burning vehicles and also the traffic gridlock on the road because of accidents which is happening often in Lagos but now when i browse though google i really wonder to see the pages of electrifying photos of Victoria island and its aggressive developments …. is it Lagos or Dubai(a city of instant development)? Astonished with an instant development of Lagos as international Commerce City which is called as Eko Atlantic city . Eko atlantic city will surely satisfy the needs for financial, commercial, and residential and tourist accommodations, with infrastructure in line with modern and environmental standards.
To rebrand Lagos it must have three things in order: 1. Infrastructure: Hard (transportation, energy, water management, communication systems), and soft (financial, education, health care, legal systems, system of government) institutions that put a nation at par with competing nations which is under process by eko atlantic city .2. People skill or talent & characteristics 3. Lagos as place of safety and security .Once these three requirements are in place, an identity for a Lagos starts to emerge. At this point it is important to rebrand lagos and exterminate the depressing images of Lagos. Efforts have to be made by the government to minimize corruption through the enactment of laws and the enforcement of integrity systems. Greed, ostentatious lifestyle, customs, and people’s attitudes are believed to have led to corruption and it has to be branded as a place of safety and security.
A unit should be formed by the government to promote the decency of Lagos both internally and externally to invite visitors and tourists from other countries. Lagos Brand Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, sprawls inland from the Gulf of Guinea across Lagos Lagoon. Victoria Island, the financial centre of the metropolis, is known for its beach resorts, boutiques and nightlife. To the north, Lagos Island is home to the National Museum Lagos, displaying cultural artefacts’ and craftworks.
Place marketing “refers to the application of marketing instruments to geographical locations, such as cities, towns, regions and communities. It can also be defined as the ‘coordinated use of marketing tools supported by a shared customer-oriented philosophy, for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging urban offerings that have value for the city’s customers and the city’s community at large’”. With the celebration of the 50 years of existence of Lagos as a state, a lot of the old is giving way to a lot of new, outstanding of which are the doodles and paintings that are spring up on almost every available wall. Artworks and sculptures celebrating life and Lagos State can be found at strategic locations and spaces all over the city, notable bridges and structures are being repaired and repainted, even new BRT bus terminals are being built and are wearing some of these paintings and artworks. The face of Lagos is changing….. In 2005 when i entered Lagos and when i desire to give an idea about where I’m living to my friends through the Google pages it always projected the smoky and fiery photos of accidents and tanker explosions , burning vehicles and also the traffic gridlock on the road because of accidents which is happening often in Lagos but now when i browse though google i really wonder to see the pages of electrifying photos of Victoria island and its aggressive developments …. is it Lagos or Dubai(a city of instant development)? Astonished with an instant development of Lagos as international Commerce City which is called as Eko Atlantic city . Eko atlantic city will surely satisfy the needs for financial, commercial, and residential and tourist accommodations, with infrastructure in line with modern and environmental standards.
To rebrand Lagos it must have three things in order: 1. Infrastructure: Hard (transportation, energy, water management, communication systems), and soft (financial, education, health care, legal systems, system of government) institutions that put a nation at par with competing nations which is under process by eko atlantic city .2. People skill or talent & characteristics 3. Lagos as place of safety and security .Once these three requirements are in place, an identity for a Lagos starts to emerge. At this point it is important to rebrand lagos and exterminate the depressing images of Lagos. Efforts have to be made by the government to minimize corruption through the enactment of laws and the enforcement of integrity systems. Greed, ostentatious lifestyle, customs, and people’s attitudes are believed to have led to corruption and it has to be branded as a place of safety and security.
An unit should be formed by the government to promote the decency of Lagos both internally and externally to invite visitors and tourists from other countries. Lagos Brand Management Unit (LBMU) has to be formed consists of marketing and branding professionals. LBMU has to design a place branding process specifically to meet the challenges and bring the individual strategies and agendas to a consensus with a single brand image..
How to position LAGOS as a unique, different and attractive place for tourists, investors, strategic partners, businesses and other stakeholders? To develop it as a positive & competitive identity that offers economic, experiential and emotional value to each target audience, a strategic plan has to be designed by which lagos brand can be enhanced to a new positioning ,whilst not ignoring export promotion, economic development, tourism, foreign direct investment and other key ongoing national initiatives
In terms of publicity, LBMU does not aim to follow the straight forward advertising for Lagos as a place. Instead, it plans to encourage a more focused, organic, sustainable, and co-ordinated approach. LBMU have to Clearly communicate the relevant messages to the target constituents and stakeholders in multiple countries and Strengthen the strategic, communications and visual impact of the evolving lagos and it has to systemically connect to core industries, corporate brands and Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector brands to Integrate the new positioning across multiple touch points.
Programs by the LBMU normally should consist of activities such as research, publications, conferences, exhibitions, fairs, academic and scientific exchange and youth programs and also educating the people of Lagos . In the last few decades, nation-branding has become crucial in expanding their economic, science and trade capabilities globally. In contrast, a negative reputation hinders tourism, favourable trade conditions and foreign investment, and engenders unwillingness from other countries to cooperate in academic and scientific affairs. In order to avoid the negative reputation Lagos place branding process should cover some of the following areas
1. Deep dive. As the first step in place marketing, the consultants should spend a couple of intensive days understanding what makes a place unique. Important sites, interview major influencers, and generate an overall impression of the place from an outsider’s viewpoint. This work feeds into a playback report, which becomes part of the general brief for the assignment.
Identity. Through a series of workshops and exercises, we map the identity of the place Lagos, how the inhabitants themselves see the place and its people.
3. Image. Through an external audit, we measure the image of the place among other nearer places of lagos like Abuja, Ghana, Benin etc. What do others think of when they hear the name of the place? Do they recognize it at all? Is there an image-identity gap? What meaning does that have for the branding of the place?
4. Vision. Where do you want to be in 5 or 15 years? What do you have today that supports that vision and how can you further build on that to become the leader in that role?
5. Strategy. A strategy for Lagos branding should be developed that sets out the positioning, brand platform, identity, communications and media platform. This is in the form of a full strategy report with recommendations including, as needed, identity considerations. This is signed off before moving onto the next steps.
6.Brand Analysis: A deep understanding of what Lagos possess, how we are perceived and what our capabilities are, would be of utmost importance […] starting from infrastructure, existent units, accessibility and all the activities included in an attractive package offered to our visitors” .The Lagos destination brand positioning must be effectively communicated to all the internal stakeholders, in order to create a common understanding of the destination brand values.
7.Brand Positioning Development: Based on a thorough tourist, competitor and self-analysis, a Lagos destination should be in a solid position to clarify its unique brand identity, namely what the destination “stands for”, providing direction and purpose for the future. For example i would like to elucidate the logo description for India. India is a land of myriad hues, cultures, beliefs and manifestations. No matter where you go, there’s always a surprise waiting for you! The Incredible India campaign, executed by Weiden + Kennedy, used the “!” symbol to convey the depth and intensity of India.
This simple yet profound exclamation marks sums up every aspect of India – be it culture, customs, economy or places of interest. Overall, the campaign emphasizes India’s diverse spectrum and epitomizes what it to be like in India/being an Indian is. This national branding exercise is on par with some of the best campaigns ever made. It definitely enables most of the Indians establish a connect with themselves
Lagos The Center Of Excellence …. Long Live Lagos
