SOUTH AFRICA- 02 July 2021 … Africa is an incredible continent of people who solve problems innovatively. As Africans, we need to be aligned in sharing this message with the rest of the world and not get stuck with the Afro-pessimistic perceptions we sometimes read in media.
So says Natalia Rosa, MD African Brand Architects, a new pan-African agency that has as its core focus building strong brands in Africa.
African Brand Architects is a collective of PR, Marketing and Communications specialists who came together during the COVID-19 crisis to help the hard-hit tourism and hospitality sector.
According to Natalia, Africa Brand Architects’ core vision is “to uplift the stories in Africa to enhance the continent’s reputation by showcasing its opportunities from a business perspective”.
“African Brand Architects designs, develops and implements communications, marketing and PR strategies with measurable tactics for these brands. We like to tell the world about the innovation that we see across Africa, but we also like brands to see Africa as a good prospect to sell to because we have such a large customer base.”
Africa Brand Architects create communications strategies that tap into the needs of brands to serve their pan-African community and focus on finding that sweet spot that exists between what makes one brand special and solving the problem of their audience, explains Natalia.
Africa’s massive potential for growth cannot be underestimated. The continent is an attractive business and investment destination, but more so, its people have a unique way of solving challenges and innovating.
“I like to say within constraints comes opportunity. If you don’t have a lot of choices, you tend to get very creative. When you have everything on your side, you don’t need to be creative. In Africa, we have to solve so many challenges, so we get to innovate a lot,” says Natalia.
That story of innovation and creativity is what African Brand Architects loves to share. “We design and implement communications, marketing, and PR strategies that understand that Africa is not homogenous and that each market will have different requirements.”
“I think the challenge for us is getting stuck in the weeds of Afro-pessimism that we see elsewhere in the world and starting to tell ourselves that story. Unfortunately, when you tell a story over and over, even if it’s not true, people start to believe it.”
Africa comprises a 1,2 billion person market, the potential for a vast free trade area and a youthful population, says Natalia.
“My advice for emerging businesses in Africa is to look at Africa, not to look outside. I know that it’s easy to say, I have a brand that I’m selling internationally, but actually, if you look at the opportunity that exists within the continent in your backyard, and you tap into what it is that is needed in that backyard, you will go far.”
Natalia gives further advice by advising emerging businesses to “throw out the rulebook”. Business owners need not try and recreate something working in the rest of the world. Rather, look at the community you want to target and solve their problems.
“Don’t try and recreate something that you’ve seen elsewhere that has worked, or with another company. Rather, look at the environment that you’re in. Understand what the circumstances are of that environment, what the pain points are of that community and how you can solve those problems.”
COVID-19 has had a significant strain on businesses, the world over. There is so much uncertainty that we as humans look to businesses and brands to be human and to focus on the well-being, connection and safety of their customers.
“If you are a brand in a COVID pandemic time and you want to have an emotional connection with your customer, you’ve got to start thinking about service above self.”
For further information or an interview together with Natalia Rosa, contact Lesley Simpson on lesley@lscpr.co.za
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