3 Key Lessons Malaria Drugs Can Teach You About Brand Building, Marketing & Business

I know you are probably wondering what the correlation between Malaria drugs and Marketing is. Stay with me for 5 minutes, and you will soon find out.

Last week, I was hit with a bout of Malaria (no it isn’t COVID, I got tested :) ) and I was weak, immobilized and experiencing the general feelings that comes with a bout of fever. My laptop looked twice as big, it felt like I had 5kg of cement strapped on each arm, and unconsciously Bruno Mar’s ‘Lazy Song’ was playing in my mind as I couldn’t muster energy to do any physical activity.

However, I stuck to my medication and by the morning of the third day I was feeling very much better. I still had several drugs to take, and if you are like me while growing up the all too familiar thought of stopping my dosage crossed my mind (I know a lot of you are guilty of this while growing up. You disposed the remaining drugs under the sofa, in the dustbin, in your corridor once you felt a bit better. Yes, I know your secret ??)

I immediately dismissed the thought, as I wanted to get back to 100% and work as soon as possible. This however got me thinking about brand building.

1) No Revenue Loss? No Customer Churn? But Is Your Brand Really Fine?

A brand is a promise, a promise that must be kept every single day a customer & stakeholder has an encounter with your operations. Just like malaria drugs dosage, the art of brand building must not stop when you feel the business is doing well and feels good. It is important you keep nurturing your brand, feeding it with the right nutrients’ day in day out, month upon month, and year on year.

History is littered with businesses that stopped taking their ‘Brand Drugs Prescriptions’, because they felt they are now fine and got crushed. Kodak, Blackberry, Nokia are some prominent examples.

These brands were unable to adapt to changes in consumer lifestyle and needs, they were unable to proactively identify the market shifts and new technology that could impact their operations. They stopped taking their malaria drugs when the headache and fever left their system.

As a brand custodian, you need to be self-aware and answer the question: Is my organization still taking its drugs? Am I fully aware of the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal & Environmental ecosystems and their impact on my business?

2) Never Become Complacent, Disrupt or Be Disrupted

In the late 90s and early 20s, I always turned into a young Denzel Washington when it was time to take any drugs while sick. I had this routine of doing the cross sign, telling my mum and dad to ‘be calming down’ at least 30 times, cajoling them that I was about to swallow the medicine in 10 seconds, dramatically do the countdown (Oscar worthy kind of drama-you get the picture) before eventually taking my drugs

This was a regular occurrence because Chloroquine (one of the most prescribed drugs at that time) and others were bitter.

Choloroquine as a product has since been banned by WHO as its efficacy in treating malaria has reduced from the standard 95% benchmark to 35%.

Businesses and the products they push in the marketplace also have a lifespan, and it is important that your product line is constantly being monitored, improved and expanded so you don’t lose your crown in the marketplace. Your best seller today, can easily become tomorrow’s worst option. Better alternatives can either be created by you or your competitors.

Nowadays, pharmaceutical companies are creating malaria drugs that have flavour and do not leave a bitter after taste in your mouth (I know right!).

Disrupt or be disrupted.

3) Defend Your Territory, Conquer New Grounds, Keep Your Crown

I was in a conversation recently with a dear friend from Spain, who asked why the brand ‘St Louis Sugar’ is still the ‘market leader’ in that FMCG segment without significant publicity.

I retorted and said ‘’to be honest they have a great product, and they must have spent significant sums on advertisement when they first launched.’’

At this point because there is no nationwide challenger that has its reach & recall, the brand seems to focus on trade channels to further cement its leadership and there is hardly any major store/market in the country without their product. They are the market leader and Nigerians trust the brand.

In 2020, consumers have access to more information than ever before, they have options to choose from than any time in history, and they are constantly searching for the best deals. In other words, in the words of ‘song marketer’ Chris Brown ‘These Consumers Aren’t Loyal’

Competition is at an all time high. Business and marketing executives must be focused on defending their territory and conquering new grounds, by proactively meeting the needs of the consumers. So, do you need to advertise? Check the next paragraph.

In 2019, the companies with the biggest media spend globally were: Procter & Gamble ($7Bn), Unilever ($4.1B), General Motors ($3.2B), L’Oréal ($3B), Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance ($2.8B) and Coca-Cola ($2.7b). Others include Nestle, Google(yes despite being one of the most popular names on earth, they spent $1.9bn last year) and Toyota (that’s right).

These are some of the biggest names in the world, with hundreds of years of marketing and multiple billion-dollar brands. They however get it. They know you don’t stop taking your malaria drugs simply because you are feeling better, you finish the dosage to ensure there is no relapse. They never stop nurturing their brand.

If you decide to adopt a hard stance (a.k.a coconut head in Nigeria parlance) and blindly-without data- decide you want to follow the St Louis model in 2020, your ship might be consumed in the murky waters of the market, like the Shark that swallowed Jonah on the road to Nineveh.

This is because one thing is for sure, there are competitors who are eyeing your ‘cheese. And it’s important you stay alert so that one day, you don’t wake up and start shouting ‘Who Moved My Cheese’