yinkaolaito.com – the branding gavel, brand communication expert, nigeria brand consultant, social media expert

Success in brand communication begins with strategy. Every brand has chances of success. Every brand, no matter how bad the climate, has chances of ‘thriving’ if there is a clear goal, will power, strong determination to be a value accelerator. Opportunity usually swings its ball in every direction. All brand custodians need to be at alert and use the opportunity to their advantage. Ability to do this well will dictate whether the brand will gain traction or go down the memory lane without and positive remembrance.

Those who followed the events in Egypt in the past thirty years and especially in the last twenty days would have seen how easy it is for a brand to lose its vagrancy. The interplay of events in Egypt showed that there is a limit to which you can play, push your internal audience. Every brand custodian and communicator should constantly monitor the trend and note the changes around its operation. What is clear to all though is that what used to work two decades ago may not hold water.

Hosni Mubarak’s brand has been featuring in governance for about three decades and half. The brand was favoured or do we say was well-positioned for higher duties when the former Egyptian President that ruled before him, picked young Mubarak as his vice President. After the assassination of the then president, Mubarak became President in 1981. He was accepted as a hero. Everything worked well to the advantage of Hosni Mubarak’s brand. He was able to put in place certain policies that Egyptians (Internal audience) were happy to follow. Along the line, Mubarak’s brand and governance began to lose touch with its core positioning and value. He began to take the brand’s audience with levity. Hosni Mubarak’s government (brand) forgot the electorate-his main constituency and continued to assume the status qou ante.

He promised to handle the Islamic brotherhood influence so that Egypt would not become an ‘islamized’ state. All these continued even when there was enough handwriting on the wall which clearly showed the centre could no longer hold as things had fallen apart. The Tunisia crisis was a clear signal to Hosni Mubarak brand to have learnt from. But self-disillusion, a brand disease that is common among most brand custodians, made Mubarak assumed his brand still had the equity it used to enjoy. The greatest danger that can happen to a brand is self deceit.

All these continued until January 21, 2011. The real brand owners came out en massed chanting ‘we are for change; we want peace and not war’. At this stage all the brand equity, credibility, currency was already spent. No amount of brand communication gimmicks can hold water again. Hosni Mubarak had opportunity to step down and take the part of honour, apologize and move ahead as the best form of damage control. Instead, he ordered the military to chase people. At this level, no intimidation, brand audience harassment will work. Here are brand communications lessons we can learn from this brand:

Have a clear vision and stick to it:  brands will remain relevant as long as it has a clear vision that is properly communicated and pursued with vigour. The vision must has ‘what is in it for me’ element for the stakeholders.

One way communication no longer holds water: More than anything, listening and responding to the internal voices of the brand’s consumers will help the brand to remain relevant. There is a limit to which you can play your audience.

Know when to leave or make necessary changes: never hold on to a system that worked in the last decade. Things are changing at an alarming rate. To communicate effectively, learn the language of your target and speak it.

Hype will not sustain the brand for long: Muburak kept promising he would leave when he had ensured Islamic brotherhood movement would not turn Egypt to an Islamic nation. How long could that holds water? Almost thirty year. When people noticed your brand is playing on their intelligence they would revolt. They will throw the brand into the dustbin.

Be Inclusive and not exclusive: Stop trying to do it alone. Listen and incorporate all the stakeholders’ views if your mission is to be an outstanding brand. Hosni Mubrarak’s brand employed the use of exclusive communication strategy. Every exclusive brand is a time bomb. When it blows, it will destroy. In closing can I ask ‘what is theperecentage of ‘Hosni Mubaraky’s’ strategy equation is in your brand communication and management?’ have you kept your brand promise? Are you inclusive or exclusive brand communicator? What else can we learn? Please use the comment section.