An advert can make people laugh, hold their attention and become the subject of conversation long after it has played. Its storyline may be remembered, its humour repeated and its visuals discussed. Yet, when viewers are asked which brand was behind it, the answer may not come as easily.
This is one of the challenges facing Nigerian advertisers: getting consumers to engage with creative work is one thing, but ensuring that the brand remains part of the memory is another.
The issue came into focus during a presentation by Tamara Ajayi, Client Growth and Commercial Partner at Kantar, at the WiM Africa Lagos edition of the Real Talk Debate Series, organised in collaboration with Women in Advertising (WIA) and Kantar.
Drawing on findings from Kantar’s advertising effectiveness research, Ajayi examined how Nigerian advertisements perform in attracting audience involvement and how effectively they establish brand identity.
The findings presented showed that Nigeria recorded an involvement percentile of 69.6, ahead of Kenya at 57.7 and South Africa at 53.8. However, the picture changed when branding was assessed. Nigeria recorded 39.4, compared with Kenya’s 47.7 and South Africa’s 59.3.
The comparison suggests that while Nigerian advertisements can generate strong audience involvement, there is still room to improve how clearly consumers connect the creative work to the brand behind it.
The figures were drawn from Kantar’s LINK database and represented a directional comparison across different sets of advertisements in the three markets. The Nigerian result was based on 10 advertisements.
For advertisers, the distinction matters. An engaging advertisement may entertain consumers, but if the brand is not clearly integrated into the story, the attention generated may not translate into the desired brand impact.
Ajayi also highlighted the importance of creative quality in determining advertising effectiveness. According to her presentation, creative quality is the single biggest driver that explains growth on brand.
She referenced a Kantar and Accelero 2020 analysis, Reviewing the Top 10 Drivers of Advertising Profitability, which found that strong creative quality could deliver up to 4.7 times the profit impact. Another Kantar study, its 2021 white paper *Proving the
