How Dangote Emerged the ‘Most Admired Brand’ in Africa

BrandsDay

Raheem  Akingbolu reviews the ‘13th Annual Brand Africa 100 2023’ rankings and how Nigeria’s Dangote clinched the ‘Most Admired Brand in Africa’ for the 6th consecutive time

Those who are in the business of brand building say building a brand is like building a house. Brand owners or managers have to be sure of the location where they are buying a plot. Will it flood when the rains come and what kind of people will be their neighbours? They have to get the foundation right and solid. They have to make sure the walls and angles are straight or they will end up with a wonky house.

The same for a brand. Brand owners have to know the audience they wish to address and the competition they are facing.  Then they have to choose how to present their brand, what brand managers call Brand Personality. Next, they choose a name for their company, product, brand, service or personality, where they wish to play and how they want to play.

The above analogy aptly describes the essence of the Dangote Brand. Coming from a background of deep planning, research and strategy, the brand has continued to weather the storm. After successfully conquering Nigeria’s market on many fronts, it spread into Africa, at the same time making a conscious effort to be a leading global player.

Few weeks ago, the status and uniqueness of the brand was affirmed when it emerged the Most Admired Brand in Africa for the year 2022, making it the sixth consecutive time. According to the organizers of the award, Dangote clinched the trophy because of its leadership position in driving quality brands across the continent.

The Dangote brand was followed by the Telecommunication outfit, MTN in second position and Digital Satellite Television (DSTV) coming third. Dangote was also adjudged as the number one African Pride brand followed by the Ethiopian Airline and MTN.

In a newly introduced category, the Dangote brand came second in Sustainability, by brands doing good for the people, society and the environment.

For its part, Dangote Industries Limited, through its Group Chief, Branding and Communication, Anthony Chiejina described the brand’s continuous emergence as the number one most admired indigenous African brand as well deserved, given the amount of commitment and diligence the group puts into its work.

Story of resilience

Brand owners and brand promoters approached 2023 with mixed feelings because of the general election. As a result of this, most brand owners were reluctant to make a bold step at the first quarter of the year. But Dangote dared the market with determination and made the strongest move. Rather than slowing down on its activities, Dangote Group damned the consequence and took the risk of not only growing the brands but investing in all the portfolios. Above all, shortly after the election, the Dangote team blew the whistle, announcing the date for the inauguration of its multibillion Naira refinery in Lagos. With the unveiling, Dangote thus broke another record of being the first organization that would embark on such a project in this part of the world.

The recent feat, which was keenly contested by top 100 brands on the continent, came like a reward for the brand and its promoters after successfully delivering on the refinery, which many experts in the oil and gas sector have publicly admitted would open up Africa for further development.

The award by Brand Africa was announced in Johannesburg, South Africa on the occasion of Africa Day, marking the 13th Annual Brand Africa 100 2023 rankings.

According to the organisers, the Brand Africa 100 rankings are based on a survey among a representative sample of respondents 18 years and older conducted in 25 countries across Africa. It was further stated that the process covers all African economic regions, collectively these countries account for an estimated 80 per cent of the continent’s population and 75 per cent of the GDP.

According to a statement issued by Dangote Group, the breakthrough was because “the Dangote brand generates strong nationalistic impressions and powerful feelings across the Continent in terms of industrialisation, self-sufficiency, prosperity, power and production.”

The company admitted that this has been further strengthened with the recent commissioning of the 650,000 bpd Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemical complex which is a huge industrial complex.

“The brand portends the inevitability of Nigerian global ascendancy and a gateway to regional and continental development”, Chiejina said.

The ratings by Brand Africa were based on a survey and rankings conducted by Geopoll, Kantar and Brand Leadership, across 32 African countries that account for more than 85% of the continent’s GDP and population.

Brand Africa is an intergenerational movement to inspire a brand-led African renaissance to drive Africa’s competitiveness, connect Africa and create a positive image of the continent and her businesses.

Global best practice

Considering the criteria used and quality of brands that competed for the coveted trophy, the staying power of the Dangote brand is simply its global best practice approach.

In positioning and management, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), has always made a brand statement that espouses its essence. Being a proactive brand with rich heritage, Dangote and its promoters have continued to ride on innovation and global best practice, to give patrons unique customer experience.  This has, in return, reflected on its market acceptability and penetration. Like every good brand that understands the core message of positioning, Dangote truly understands the market and works daily on its competitive advantage.

All these have been confirmed through the recent landmark achievements of the company. For instance, with the refinery and other investments, the Dangote brand thus hit another milestone, by dint of hard work and an enviable, unceasing quest for excellence across its operations. This latest, historic triumph showcases what the brand is, what it’s all about, and underlines an unerring focus of a primus inter pares (first among equals) in business in Africa.

To win a single award signifies quality of production; but to sweep many awards at a go portrays a winning mentality of the organisation’s workforce and an enduring acceptance of its products and services by consumers, customers and even peers, to the chagrin of known and imagined rivals. All thanks to its top-notch personnel, who have scaled challenges and rode on its strong foundation and structure to remain a market leader.