Brand Communication as a Strategy in African Markets

In many African boardrooms, communication is still treated as a tactical tool. Something to deploy during product launches, crises, or quarterly updates. And in some other decision making conversations, it is mistaken to entirely mean marketing (around customer acquisition, retention, and loyalty). Or, it is entirely defined by staying in the good books of relevant stakeholders: government, regulators, or political actors. 

While this is fine, as the nature of the market is entirely different from what is obtainable in the west and so, our context has heavily influenced what we understand the communications role in a company should be, or what the function as a service should entail. When I speak about Africa, my leaning is usually around Sub-Saharan for the now. This should change soon. 

But in a world where attention is fragmented and trust is earned slowly, communication is no longer just a function. It’s a strategic lever. And at the heart of great communication is meaning. Not meaning as a vague brand essence. But meaning as a lived, felt, and communicated experience. It is Cadbury Breakfast TV for some of us  while we were growing up, or the claps that end with the screams of Milo.  The kind that shows up consistently across every touchpoint—from internal memos to public campaigns, from investor decks to customer support scripts.

For decision-makers in Sub-Saharan Africa, I am hoping that we can come to a place where this is not just a branding trend, but a competitive advantage. Beyond distribution, what do you have? And now that you have made some money, what should people associate you with, or remember you for?

I am still pained that a lot of what we know about Okin Biscuit today is the nostalgic stories of those of us who miss one of the best biscuits to ever cross the face of Nigeria. And it is comparable to anything you will find anywhere in the world. Cos, my closest friend’s dad at the time worked at Adesoye College Offa, we had a constant supply of the round, and square biscuits that formed a staple of our boarding house lived experience. 

But beyond the taste and nostalgia today, very little thing can be said about what the brand represented to us as a people; which is a lot to be honest, but stories have not been told, documentations were not done, and maybe in a few years time, everything we know will be locked up in the minds of people not here anymore. 

However, before I lose track, I am even talking about the impact of comms as a reference point, but the power of communications in creating shared meanings beyond just the function your product offers. 

Communication Is How Meaning Travels

Meaning doesn’t live in strategy decks. It lives in language. In tone. In timing. In the stories we choose to tell—and the ones we choose to hold back.

Brand communication is the infrastructure that carries meaning across the organization and into the market. It’s how values become visible. How culture becomes contagious. How trust is built, one message at a time. Without strong communication, even the most thoughtful brand strategy remains abstract. It doesn’t scale. It doesn’t stick.

And to be honest, this process does not sit within the very needful activities of marketing (cos if you are not actively selling, you are most likely dying).

However, comms, when done right, sits at the base of what connects offerings (product or service) to something that is beyond just the value you pay for, to something you have connections with. 

The Missing Layer in African Brand Building

Too often, African companies invest in design and marketing without building the narrative architecture that holds it all together. They activate campaigns without aligning internal teams. They speak to customers without first listening. This gap creates noise, not resonance. What’s needed is a shift—from communication as output to communication as alignment. From messaging as decoration to messaging as meaning delivery.

First, running a business in Africa is already a lot of hard work, and so, this is in no way knocking off the solid efforts to build some of the very amazing brands out of the continent, but beaming the spotlight on something very important that some of our ambitious and major African exports may be missing out on—their Comms. 

What Brand Communication Must Do

For African brands ready to play long-term, communication must:

• Unearth Meaning: Go beyond slogans to find emotional anchors that matter to your audience.
• Build Internal Clarity: Ensure teams understand not just what the brand says, but why it says it.
• Navigate Complexity: Use tone and context to manage conflict, change, and growth.
• Create Consistency: Align voice across channels, departments, and moments.
• Scale Storytelling: Turn brand values into narratives that travel—across borders, platforms, and cultures.

Why This Matters Now

As African products and stories go global, the stakes are higher. The market is no longer just price-sensitive—it’s meaning-sensitive. Customers want to know what a brand stands for, not just what it sells. And in this new landscape, communication becomes the bridge. Between brand and audience. Between leadership and staff. Between strategy and execution.

The Opportunity Ahead

Brand communication is not a soft skill. It’s a strategic function. One that protects meaning, amplifies culture, and builds resilience.

For African decision-makers, the call is clear: Don’t just build brands. Build communicated brands. Brands that speak with clarity, act with consistency, and connect with meaning. Because in the end, it’s not just what you say. It’s what people remember—and why.

I often get asked, so, how then do we track this, in terms of actual short term numbers. I sadly do not have a complete answer that is relevant to our context here, but in terms of long term brand resonance which will eventually influence the numbers, when you get there as a company, the impact is obvious. Because, unlike performance marketing, which delivers immediate metrics like clicks and conversions, brand communication operates on more nuanced signals.

While short-term tracking of things like share of search, message recall, internal alignment, and quality of engagement, community building can validate direction, the real power of brand communication is cumulative.