Building a Successful Brand Requires Creativity, Originality – Audu Maikori

A committee member of SURE-P (Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme) and founder/CEO, Chocolate City Group International, Audu Maikori, has advised that a great brand is propelled by originality, creativity, and a unique value proposition in order to survive in a crowded market.

Maikori, whose Chocolate City Group has promoted musical artistes such as MI, Brymo, Jesse Jagz, Ice Prince Zamani, and a host of others, to assume a top mind-share within the entertainment industry, said this while mentoring budding entrepreneurs at the July edition of The Sunday Brunch (TSB), a private club for intense intellectual exchange, open to young thinkers, corporate executives, and entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

While sharing his experience on how he built Chocolate City by leveraging on social media and other marketing strategies despite lack of a bank loan, he said businessmen should avoid recreating what was already offered by other brands in the marketplace.

He said great brands such as Nokia, Samsung, Nigerian musical artiste – Asa, and a host of others, have created a brand today because of their passion for originality, niche creation and filling a need for the consumer.

The co-founder, Guild of Artistes and Poets (GAP), said Chocolate City, which now has a presence in Kenya after its success in Nigeria, became the number one entertainment outfit by building a brand from the scratch in spite of big names like Kennis Music which had already created threatening top of mind brand awareness in the industry. Chocolate City succeeded because it created an entertainment package that was powered by a different business strategy, he said.

“It is not only about good music. It is about passion and value creation. We felt that the business of music is beyond playing it on CDs. Music business itself cannot succeed just by selling CDs so we had to create a brand, investing in our website, Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

Our customers do not need to go to the streets to connect with us. Our website was designed such that they can get the lyrics and listen to the music and they are able to get prompt feedback to their request. As a result, our website has created millions of hit just because we are not trying to recreate Kennis Music. We need to create a new brand, be different and not model after any person,” he said.

Citing originality as a feature that connect brand well with consumers, Maikori explained further, “People connect to things that are real. Asa, as an artiste connects well to her fans not because she is beautiful. Her music connects well because it is different. GTBank connects well to its customers because it is different. When you create originality people will patronise your brand.”

Having worked in big companies such as Afe Babalola SAN & Co, Leasing Company of Nigeria, a subsidiary of Bank of Industry, he said though competing in big market where big companies operate could be tough for start-ups, but he said having big ideas and a sharp creative mind could help a new brand assume greater equity in the marketplace.

The promoter of TSB, Sam Adeoye, said the monthly session was born out of the need to bring a business leaders to mentor young executives and businessmen/women and aspiring entrepreneurs through intense session of discussions, debates and question and answer session. Explaining the subject of July edition, Adeoye said, “HEAT is how you locate your success, it’s how you turn dirt into gold. It is laser focus. HEAT is how you make it.”

For the previous meeting, the club brought the founder of Verdant Zeal, a marketing communication company, Tunji Olugbodi, who spoke on “The Future of Advertising Not in Advertising.”