Marketing Mind With Uche Ojula
Strategic brand positioning plays a critical role in setting brands apart to be distinct in today’s crowded market where consumer preferences are fast evolving. Businesses cannot afford to be vague about who they are and what they stand for. They must position their brands deliberately and clearly. This is the very essence of brand positioning. It’s about the place a brand occupies in the mind of the customer, and what it means to them emotionally and practically.
However, positioning doesn’t stand alone. It has a direct impact across the marketing value chain. The full journey a product starts from concept origination to customer. It includes everything from market research and product development, pricing, promotion, distribution, and after-sales service.
If brand positioning is set clearly and strong, it would create alignment across this marketing chain, making marketing efforts more efficient, more consistent, and far more impactful.
Let’s look at the marketing value chain from a relay race perspective. Each department or stage, from branding to production, sales to customer service, passes the baton along. If everyone is running in the same direction, with a clear sense of what the brand represents, the chances of success increases.
Bringing this analogy on real brand activity, Indomie brand is being positioned beyond more than just noodles. The brand is positioned as a fast, tasty, and affordable meal that children love and parents trust. It isn’t just a clever advert message. That is positioning and it influences the product development stage (child-friendly flavours, small pack sizes), pricing strategy (affordable for low- and middle-income homes), promotion (fun, danceble jingles and school activations), and distribution (deep market penetration in urban and rural areas, capturing schools, paintings schools). Every stage in the value chain supports the brand’s promise and positioning statement.
If Indomie suddenly decided to position itself as a luxury meal, the entire chain; product, price, packaging, where it’s sold, would need to shift. That’s the power of positioning. It dictates direction.
Now take another leading Nigerian brand Peak Milk, positioned around strength( strong bones) and nourishment. That clear brand position has shaped its product innovation (growing range for different health needs), advertising (“It’s in you”), and sales channels (presence in both premium supermarkets and traditional markets). Everything about Peak is built to reinforce what it stands for. It’s positioning giving direction.
The marketing value chain starts with understanding the market the brand is playing, and positioning determines what insights you seek. A brand positioned as affordable will look for gaps in price-sensitive markets.
A skincare brand like Carotone which is a quality skincare brand for women from medium to average age category, positions around natural care and lighting. That positioning means every element, from ingredient sourcing to package design to advertising , must echo elegance, care, and trust. Our adverting agency Skyline Communications Limited has promoted this Carotone brand across billboard platform for over twenty years and I must tell you, the positioning strategy has been consistent and that has earned the brand it’s rightful place as one of the leading Skincare brand in the Nigerian market place. Positioning affects how the product is priced, where it is sold, and the kind of customer experience expected.
Without clear positioning, marketing efforts become disjointed. The product may promise one thing, while the pricing or customer service suggests another. That confusion leads to mistrust.
As marketing legend Al Ries said, “A brand becomes stronger when you narrow its focus.”In Nigeria’s dynamic market, brands that rise are those that are consistent across the chain. Look at Maltina, positioned around happiness and family bonding. Their campaigns, customer engagement, sponsorships, and even their product taste all reflect that story. Their brand position guides every action, every investment, every interaction.
Strategic brand positioning isn’t a slogan, it’s a business discipline and approach. It brings focus to your value chain. It sharpens decision-making. It builds a brand that is not just seen, but remembered over time.
The marketing value chain is how you ensure they are saying the right thing, at every stage, in every place, to every customer.For emerging Nigerian brands looking to grow in this fast-paced, high stakes environment, the message is clear; get your positioning right, then build your entire marketing chain to support it.
Don’t just see positioning as good marketing, but good business.
The Brand Performance Scorecard
As we step into the third quarter of the year, 2025, it is both timely and necessary as brand managers, to pause and evaluate the brand’s performance scorecard.
As most businesses review its mid-year financials, so too must every brand, including individuals, assess how effectively they are performing in the marketplace. Brand performance is not just about sales figures or awareness metrics, it is about total impact, relevance, and sustained connection with the target audience. In an ever-shifting market, the brands that stop to assess and check on their scorecard are the ones that continue to matter.
Brand performance is a living expression of how a brand behaves, communicates, connects and delivers on its promises. It includes market positioning, where it stands in relation to others in the market space, and the clarity of it’s value proposition.
Brands that perform well are those that are both distinct and consistent. In the words of brand expert Marty Neumeier, “A brand is not what you say it is. It’s what they say it is.” What they, your customers, audience, community, say about you is the ultimate yardstick. This is very true. Your true brand performance is not the pass mark by you but the market place.
Financial outcomes naturally form part of the equation. Revenue growth, profit margins, and customer acquisition are strong indicators. Yet numbers without narrative miss the point. If customers are buying but not repeating, or if marketing costs are rising faster than loyalty, then brand performance is hollow. The best-performing brands, balance short-term wins with long-term relationships. They grow, not just in reach, but in resonance.
Looking at the core of performance, it is the product or service offering. Customer expectations are high, one poor experience can outweigh ten good ones. Brands must continually earn their place through consistency, relevance, and value. Are customers satisfied? Do they refer others? Are they talking about the brand in positive terms?
Performance is built on delivering what is promised and then exceeding it.
Again, this connects us to marketing and communication. A brand that performs is one that understands timing, tone, and truth. It speaks in a voice that customers recognize and trust. Campaigns must be clear, but also stay rooted in authenticity. Marketing, in this context, becomes the living proof of a brand’s purpose and personality.
Even as human, you are a brand and requires performance evaluation. Every entrepreneur, executive, consultant, everyone with a professional footprint, is being evaluated in the same way brands are. Are you visible? Credible? Consistent? Have you kept the promises you made at the start of the year? Have you nurtured your network, delivered value, improved on your skills? These are the same metrics applied to brands, only the scale is different. Your personal brand, whether you know it or not, is either performing or underperforming. You can still check on your performance scorecard.
And here, we must look in the mirror. As we enter the third quarter, how have we performed as a brand? Have we lived up to our values, built trust, adapted to the market changes? We are in an age where perception is shaped instantly and reputations are built or broken at speed.
Brand performance is not a luxury. It is a necessity.It is not a once-a-year report. It is a continuous discipline. It affects marketing success, business outcomes, and long-term equity. The most powerful brands, corporate or personal are not the loudest or the flashiest. They are the most consistent, the most trusted, and the most attuned to what their audience needs.
So, take stock now. Look at the data. Listen to your customers. Reflect on your positioning. Adjust your messaging. Sharpen your focus.
Whichever category you belong, the question is, How are you performing?
We improve by learning
Uche Ojula arpa
Media and Marketing Consultant.
