ABEOKUTA — Nigerian business owners have been advised to focus on delivering value and building trust rather than relying solely on attractive logos and colour schemes to establish successful brands.
This charge was was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BrandKemistry Ltd, Mr Adeleke Akanbi while delivering a lecture titled “Brand Building and Management: Beyond Logos and Colours” held at Crescent University, Abeokuta, as part of the Mass Communication Students’ Association (MACOSA) academic engagement programme, aimed at exposing students to current industry practices.
Speaking to students and lecturers, Akanbi explained that while logos and visual identity are important for recognition, they do not define a brand.
According to him, a brand is built through the promises an organisation consistently fulfils and the experiences it creates for its customers.Illustrating his point, he referenced GTBank, noting that the bank’s success was driven not by its signature orange colour but by the quality of service, innovation, and customer experience it consistently delivered.
He argued that customers remain loyal because organisations meet their expectations, not because of their visual identity.Akanbi further described a brand as the reputation people build around a business through personal experience and public perception.
Stressing that, whatever customers say about a company when in its absence carries more weight than what the company says about itself.Also, he highlighted consistency, trust, emotional connection, storytelling, and excellent customer service as the core elements of effective brand management.
Using examples such as Indomie, Jumia, Glo, and Gala, he explained how successful brands have earned lasting loyalty by consistently delivering value and creating memorable customer experiences.
According to the branding expert, every interaction between an organisation and its customers contributes to the strength of its brand. Employees, customer service representatives, and other frontline staff play significant roles in shaping public perception, he noted.Therefore, he admonished business owners and aspiring communication professionals to prioritise credibility, reliability, and customer satisfaction over visual aesthetics, adding that a beautiful logo cannot compensate for poor service delivery.
Mr Akanbi later urged participants to build brands based on promises that are consistently fulfilled, noting that organisations that maintain trust over time eventually earn loyal customers who willingly advocate for their brands.
Earlier in his remarks, MACOSA’s staff advisor Mr Kehinde Adekunjo, while thanking Mr Akanbi for a well detailed lecture, he said, such program provided students with practical insights into contemporary branding strategies and reinforced the importance of authenticity, innovation, and consistency in today’s highly competitive business environment.
Mr Adekunjo noted that, Department of Mass Communication, Crescent University Abeokuta always planned and implemented different seminars and lecture series in which industry experts are invited as a strategic way of marrying the “Town to Gown”, such that would prepare students for future professional practices and challenges aAkanbihead.
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