Appraisal of Marketing Communication Tools for Effective Country Rebranding Campaign of Nigeria

Abstract

The study was on appraisal of marketing communication tools for effective country rebranding campaign of Nigeria. It was an offshoot of the perennial erroneous perceptions of Nigerians and the consequent negative image equation in the international circles. This is in spite of the various federal government’s Rebranding Nigeria project. The objectives of this study were to: ascertain if the right marketing communications messages, right marketing communications media, and right marketing communications personnel were used in the rebranding Nigeria projects. Survey technique was employed in the study, which targeted a cross section of Nigerians of varied social, economic and political classes. The area of coverage was limited to two cities: PortHarcourt and Lagos, where Nigerians of all ethnic persuasions live and work there in large numbers. From a working population of 1,200,000, a sample size of 350 was determined. Data were analyzed with the Chi-square (X²) statistical tool, at a confidence level of 95% and a 5% margin of error. Results reveal that: the wrong marketing communications messages were used in the execution of the rebranding Nigeria project; the wrong choice of media channels were used in the rebranding Nigeria exercises and majority of the personnel used in the rebranding Nigeria programmed did not have the requisite marketing communications skills. Based on this, it was recommended that trained marketing communications’ practitioners and appropriate media should be used in future rebranding Nigeria exercises.

Keywords: Marketing Communications, Country Rebranding, Media, Personnel.