African startups are missing the brand communications advantage

If you have spent time working in the Startup ecosystem in Nigeria, you will notice how the lines between brand communications and Marketing are blurred. And I understand. The market dynamics will typically influence how teams are structured, and given that the skills required to execute both objectives can sometimes overlap, the temptation to view the two functions as the same is high, especially when managing costs is a top priority. 

As the ecosystem continues to evolve and scale, more startups, especially those that can afford it, may benefit from a communications team that is distinct from the sales/marketing setup, even though they will have to work closely together. Companies are already spending huge budgets on acquisition and retention without driving up any sense of shared meaning/context. As a result, beyond price & efficiency, the switching cost is relatively low, and the sense of loyalty is not at the level it could be. 

And yes, the conversation around price sensitivity is valid, but the FMCG guys have hacked loyalty at a level, even in this market, and there is probably a lot that we can learn from them. 

What is ‘Brand Communications’ outside the noise?

Brand Communications is the deliberate system of messages, experiences, and signals a company uses to express who it is, what it stands for, and what it promises to stakeholders across the different verticals (which includes customers/prospects, government, communities, etc). It goes beyond slogans and Ads to include tone of voice, customer experience, employee behaviour/culture, channel choice, and how a brand shows up in moments that matter. 

Another way to put it is that Brand Communications is how your organisation tells a clear, trustworthy story about who you are, what you stand for, and why customers, partners, or regulators would choose you. It covers what you say (messages), how you say it (tone and design), where you say it (channels) and how you prove it (actions and results).

This includes:

1. Brand Strategy and Positioning (defines the brand’s purpose, promise, values, target audiences, unique place in the market, and all). For this, the skills and responsibilities encompass brand audits, competitor analysis, value proposition development, positioning statement creation, stakeholder alignment, and strategic planning. 
2. Brand Identity and Design (this caters to the visual and sensory system that makes the brand recognisable–logo, colour, typography, imagery, motion, and packaging)
3. Messaging, copywriting, and tone of voice (core messages, taglines, messaging architecture and written voice across channels–localization/adaptation, messaging frameworks, etc.)
4. Content Strategy and Production (planning and producing content that expresses the brand, including articles, video, audio, social posts, owned media, etc.)
5. Public Relations & Corporate Communications (managing reputation with media, regulators, investors, and the public; including handling announcements, and thought leadership via press relations, press releases, media training, executive communications, corporate positioning and many more)

Already, you should begin to see how blurring the line, especially when you don’t have a team that understands communications, can be limiting for you, if everything is just about acquiring customers (which is valid by the way). Can’t the marketing team handle these things? Or, how does this differ from the marketing team’s responsibility? I will likely address that in the next issue. 

At this point, you can see that brand communications is not a single activity, but an integrated strategy designed to manage and influence the public’s perception of a brand. Within the confines of this conversation, Seth Godin’s definition of a brand is succinct: it is a set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.

Therefore, Brand Communications is the deliberate process of creating those expectations, memories, and stories that shape the brand’s identity. And experts like David Aaker, often referred to as the father of modern branding, view it as an essential tool for building brand equity–the tangible value a brand name holds. For Aaker, communication builds awareness, perceived quality, and strong associations, which in turn create loyalty. 

What Brand Communications is not

A primary reason businesses fail at branding is that they confuse the discipline with its individual tools.

• It is NOT just a logo or visual identity. A logo is a symbol. Brand communication is what that symbol comes to mean in the mind of the consumer.
• It is NOT just advertising. Advertising is a paid, one-way message, often focused on a short-term campaign. Brand communication is the entire, ongoing dialogue, including public relations, social media, and customer experience.

• It is NOT the same as marketing. Marketing is the broader process of identifying, anticipating, and satisfying customer needs. Brand communication is the voice of that marketing process, focused on shaping the brand’s meaning and building long-term relationships.

Let me fall for the temptation, and stay on this last point a bit more. 

Marketing is the broad, strategic process of bringing a product to market. It answers the “how” questions:

• How do we find our customers? (Market Research, Segmentation)
• How do we build what they need? (Product Development)
• How do we price it? (Pricing Strategy)
• How do we get it to them? (Distribution/Place)
• How do we tell them about it? (Promotion)

That last part, “Promotion,” is what people most often confuse with branding. But even “promotion” is just a marketing activity—a channel. Brand Communication is the voice and story that flows through all those activities. It answers the “why” questions:

• Why should they care?
• Why should they trust us?
• Why should they choose us over everyone else, even if our price is higher?
• Why should they stay loyal?

It’s the deliberate effort to manage perception and build an emotional, long-term connection that transcends any single product or sales campaign.

Key takeaway for founders and key decision-makers in startups

If you are a founder or a key decision-maker in a startup, the takeaway from this issue is clear: PR is not a side activity; it is a strategic pillar of brand building.

Public relations, as an extension of brand communication, goes far beyond announcing a funding round or reacting to a crisis. It is about deliberately using owned, earned, and paid media to shape how the public perceives your brand. When done well, PR ensures that even in times of crisis, people pause to hear your side of the story before drawing conclusions.

Too often, startups pour resources into short-term marketing campaigns that attract users who churn before the business recoups its investment. Instead, consider allocating part of that budget to mid- and long-term strategic communications. By weaving a consistent narrative into your marketing, you move beyond promos and discounts, and you avoid “flooding everywhere” with campaigns that fail to convey what your brand truly stands for.

There is much to learn from FMCG brands like Indomie, Peak Milk, Trophy, and Goldberg, which have mastered the art of embedding story and identity into their communication. Their success shows that effective communication is not just about immediate conversions — it is about building equity. Over time, this equity becomes a powerful asset you can draw upon, strengthening your bottom line and sustaining growth.

Side note: I actually understand the market dynamics that exist in the startup ecosystem for now, which may not allow for dedicated teams, but when you can afford it, and you have grown big enough? It is not a part to ignore. Or, you can have conversations with fractional communications officers who can come in on a part-time basis to build foundations that your marketing team can ride on.