…Inducts Jellily Efedi as Fellow
The National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN) has urged the Federal Government to promote policies and regulatory frameworks capable of projecting Nigerian brands to a global audience.
This was the fall out of the Institute’s annual marketing conference held recently in Ibadan where over 100 marketers conferred as associate members, full members, and fellows of the NIMN after the institute’s assessment and confirmation process.
Similarly, concerns were raised about the approval processes of the government and how such processes can jeopardise Nigerian brands’ penetration into new markets, thereby creating a negative effect on the country.
Idorenyen Enang, president and chairman of the NIMN Council, while addressing the new inductees, emphasised the importance of upholding the highest standards as marketing professionals.
Enang encouraged the inductees to leverage various interventions aimed at expanding their knowledge and expertise in contributing to the Institute’s growth and development. He further urged the inducted fellows to familiarise themselves with the NIMN Act, stressing that ignorance of the law is not an excuse.
One of the newly inducted fellows of the NIMN, Efedi Jellily Chukwuhumeyan, stated that the brand communicates information about origin of the goods, ownership, and relationship with other products. Hence, Nigerian brands must be distinctive and not descriptive to enjoy global relevance for a longer time.
“As the person in charge of corporate and export marketing in a leading cosmetics manufacturing company in Nigeria, we have been able to make our products known beyond Africa and are competing with other global brands in the market,” he stated.
Chukwuhumeyan, who is also the head, corporate and export marketing, Soulmate Industries Limited, added that a lot of local stories like fashion, music, and even many places in Nigeria that people do not know exist can be used in promoting Nigerian brands.
“Our music today and our film is selling Nigeria and everybody is dancing to Nigerian music. They’re watching Nigerian films. So our products and services can also ride on this. That’s what we’re talking about.”
Chukwuhumeyan who is also a Fellow of Institute of Management Consultants (FIMC), a full member, Nigeria institute of Management, (NIM) and Business Process Management Institute (BPMI), advises other fellows of the NIMN to create avenues for engagement with regulators on the importance of having Nigerian brands compete on a global stage.