prone to heavy traffic, you come across a very common battle in terms
of marketing. The only things of note are
1) The bizarre nature of the approach and
2) The weapons used.
There's an old saying that goes, 'In war, the better dressed army
loses.' This suggests that money is often thrown at challenges with
the assumption that it is the all round solution. Here is the
scenario.
The vendors who carry their wares on their person in traffic are one
side in the war. Make no mistake, they do not earn for the same
pocket. They have a variety of goods to sell. From handkerchiefs to
drinks to books to board games to rat poison to biscuits to pirated
DVDs. They have the high-end players who sell to the passengers of
high-end vehicles (Mercedes, BMW, et al) which is generally light
entertainment e.g. DVDs, books e.t.c.
I think you can divine the other tiers on your own. Now for the other side.
They are the bearers of new brands. They are on 'awareness campaigns'.
They wear branded clothes, dance to popular music, distribute flyers
that are meant to have an informative design. They're usually backed
by strategists with 'plans' and 'concepts' for concepts. Humorous
really, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
The spoils mean different things to them, thus their motivations vary,
like the tendrils of an unkempt set of dreadlocks. If the poorer
equipt army go out, it is for their daily bread. It's risk all or gain
nothing. Any one reading this hasn't the stamina to stand under the
morning, afternoon and early evening sun in Lagos. Not to mention
running, haggling, spotting, dodging speeding vehicles (yes, an okada
is a vehicle), all the while bearing weights varying from that of a
small child to young adult. And if you don't sell, you don't eat. They
put in their chips with the informal analysis of the streets and how
their pockets can reach. No charts, no war music (I suspect Da Grin
will be the anthem of the streets for a long time to come) and
certainly no one asking them about the demographic of their successful
transactions.
The other army, though, are a different kettle of fish (I just said
kettle of fish. Someone please shoot me! Ex-girlfriends are not
included! Thank you!). These guys get a tan/sunburn (depending on how
hardy they are), have a noisy vehicle with a reluctant Dj, music to
'ginger' themselves, bosses to report to, and no idea of what sort of
reception awaits them. I feel for them. Standing in clothes that are
made ridiculous by their efforts, marketing things no one really cares
about enough to experiment with, people who make purchase decisions
based on the familiar without giving an extra thought to it. And
they're expected to sell. And they do sell. But not like the guerilla
Super Yogo guy, or the handkerchief guy...not like the men who are
exposed to more vagaries than the idiotic white guy braving the
mangroove forests of the Niger Delta.
I realise it may seem like I'm against this approach. I'm not against
it as an approach. I'm against how it is handled. Why should people be
force fed new brands when all they want is to quench their thirst,
pacify their hunger, wipe sweat off their faces, buy a magazine
they're fond of, and then when you interrupt their bubble with that
stuff you're pushing on them, you're suprised at the rejection rate?
Respect the customer. Respect the audience. Respect yourself. Respect
your brand. Respect marketing and sales.
And in conclusion, I'm awaiting the day someone sells vibrators on the
streets of Lagos. It might be me. Testing the threshold of Lagosians
patience for new things. Perhaps even their capacity to buy such
exotica covertly in as open a space as the clogged highways. I'm not
saying I will. I'm just saying maybe...
--
Sent from my mobile device
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