A Marketer’s Way of Looking at Elections, The World Cup and Avian Flu

Quite a bit has happened since my last entry – Hurricane Rita, The South-Asian Earthquake, The change of leadership in Germany, Nigeria’s inability to qualify for the next year’s soccer World Cup, the Avian Flu’s final crossing out of Asia to Europe (and maybe the rest of the World!?), and of course, my movement from the External Relations Department to the Sales and Customer Service Department at my Company!

Wow, all these in just six weeks!

Now what does all this mean for the Marketing-Minded Individual?

Hurricanes/Earthquakes/Mudslides – The world may be entering a phase where crisis planning and remediation may have to become a global function, with an organisation like the United Nations playing a more active role in directing the relief and post-disaster assistance (in line with the national governments concerned of course). The old days when these disasters restricted themselves to the underdeveloped parts of the world are over. More companies will also to need to update and continually test their crisis management and business continuity plans as these disasters may hit anyone, anywhere and at anytime.

Germany’s Leadership Change – Legitimate leaders in all spheres – political, sports, social and products/brands – will have to work even harder than never before to achieve or maintain what was easily theirs for the picking in the old days. More elections will be won by even slimmer margins, world records will be more difficult to beat, and when beaten, they will be by margins that were almost incomprehensible some years ago. Technology will become more available across the nations, enabling product commoditization to become commonplace. Hence, brand communications and customer-product experience management will become the only elements that leading brands can use to maintain their increasingly tenuous hold on their prime positions. Who knew Angela Merkel, the Samsung, Kia and Emirates Airlines brands 10 years ago?

Nigeria’s Inability To Qualify For The World Cup – Despite the high expectations of many of the bookmakers, Nigeria’s Super Eagles could not qualify the nation for the World’s Largest Sports Event. Apart from the national embarrassment that this development has caused Nigeria, why should this failure hurt from a purely marketing point-of-view?

Well, did I forget to mention that the Soccer World Cup also enjoys the enviable record of being the most televised sports competition in the world? The 2002 edition for example, recorded over 30 billion cumulative viewers. This fact makes it a veritable medium for all sorts of marketing activities, from advertising to event sponsorship and partnering. Participating nations usually get to enjoy the best benefits. Directly, They get a share of the largesse from FIFA in the form of grants.

Indirectly, they get sponsorship deals with all sorts of companies, from sports apparel manufacturers to food and drink companies. Even far away from the World Cup venue and within the participating countries, marketing companies will capitalize on the high interest that nationals will have in their teams, using this to promote their products. They will sponsor World Cup Live Telecasts, Sports shows and launch new advertising campaigns and product promotions with a world cup or soccer theme. They will also secure and maximise their endorsements by national team players among a plethora of other activities that will dominate the marketing landscape at this point in time In short, more money will be spent within the economy, with all parties benefiting. I wonder how many ad agency and marketing directors are still cursing their poor luck at Nigeria’s inability to qualify.


The Avian Flu – More developing nations need to begin to develop strategies for coping with this new threat. If the United States and The European Union nations are seriously afraid of this ailment and are planning to mitigate its effects when it enters their borders, who on earth are we in Africa not to be bothered? The Federal Government of Nigeria has not made a single statement about this threat. Some quick questions to help Nigeria and Nigerians appreciate the kinds of activities we need to be undertaking right now are below:
a. Has the federal government reinforced its ban on the importation of avian products – whether as raw meat or as processed products, clearly stating that this is within the context of the avian flu threat?
b. Does the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) have the capability to test for the presence of this virus in suspected poultry or human victims?
c. Are the nation’s medical personnel educated on how to identify the symptoms of this ailment should they encounter it?
d. Which agency/government arm will coordinate the national response to the ailment? What will be the relationship of this body to NAFDAC, the National Emergency Management Agency, The Ministry of Health, The Nigerian Medical Association, the various international relief agencies like the Red Cross, the MSF, the Media etc., all of who may have various roles to play?
e. How will this planning and response activities be funded?
These are just a few of the kinds of things that the Nigerian government needs to be thinking about and doing right now.

For companies whose products have large avian products inputs, some serious thought will have to be given to how they will manage their brands in the light of this threat. Noodle-producing companies for example, may have to cut back on or cancel the promotion of their avian-based products and introduce brands that do not contain avian elements. Fast-food chains may have to revise their menus in the short-to-medium term, while others may have to get their avian-based products certified by some reputable organization or the other.

Well, that’s the wrap for now. I’ll talk about my new job at some other time.

Cheers!