The annual top corporate brand evaluation report, TOP 50 BRANDS NIGERIA has just been released. Dangote Group, a fully integrated Conglomerate and proudly Nigeria brand again emerged as the Most Valuable Brand in the country for the year, while MTN Nigeria is the most popular through a Top of the Mind (TOM) survey conducted among corporate executives in the country.

These were part of the revelations in the report presented at the unveiling of the top brands in Nigeria over the weekend. The annual top brands league table which has become like a report card with which top corporate brands have a feel of their ranking in the market is done with a special purpose model, the Brand Strength Measurement (BSM Index), a model that tests a brand’s ability deliver on its promise to its consumers from the consumer’s points of view. It is a qualitative, non-financial evaluation of top corporate brands in the country which is done annually.

Taiwo Oluboyede, the brand consulting firm’s CEO in his address said, without any doubt, the subject of brand and branding has become central in every corporate setting. And regardless of the sounds of the time, the brand drives and determines corporate placement, particularly at an unprecedented time like these.

We are glad once again that a Nigerian brand emerged as the Most Valuable for the year. This says a lot about our tenacity and resilience as a people and our businesses, regardless of the situations around us. Even though overall, we have more multinationals, the homegrown brands gave an impressive performance. For example, 6 of the top 10 in the league table are Nigerian, most of which have also spread to other countries across Africa and other continents of the world.

Globacom another proudly Nigerian brand emerged in the third place, followed closely by Coca-Cola Nigeria who enjoys a lot of its global brand appeal.

Others in the top 10 in this annual ranking are GTBank, Airtel, Access Bank, Zenith Bank, First Bank, and Dufil Prima Foods in that order.
6 brands among the top 10 have maintained top 10 positions for 6 years consecutively-they are Dangote, MTN, Globacom, FirstBank, GTBank, and Coca-Cola.

The Banking and Financial Services category had the highest number of entries among the top 10 with 4 brands. This is followed by the telecoms with 3 brands.

Airtel Nigeria recorded the highest gainer among the top 10, moving 5 places to emerge on the 6th position.

Overall,
• There are 28 Multinationals, with MTN Nigeria topping them, while we have 22 Nigerian brands.
• The banking and financial services category took the lead as usual with 11 brands, an equivalent of 22%, with GTBank toping the category.
• This is immediately followed, expectedly by the Consumer goods with 8 brands, where Dufil Prima emerged on top of the category.
• The Conglomerates and Oil & Gas categories had 5 brands each with Dangote Group and Oando Plc topping them respectively.
Others are
• TELECOMS and BEVERAGES had 4 brands each with MTN and Coca-Cola topping their categories respectively.
• MASS MEDIA, ELECTRONICS, and BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION SERVICES had 2 brands each with Channels TV, Transsion Holdings, and Julius Berger topping their categories respectively.
• We had to separate the INSURANCE category this year because of the increase in their number in the annual brand league table with 3 brands in the category. AIICO Insurance topped the list.
• Last but not least are the duo of Toyota Nigeria and Jumia who are the sole brands in their categories, while Toyota is the leader in the Automobile, Jumia lead the retail category.

Furthermore,
• Transsion Holdings, makers of popular mobile devices emerged the highest gainer this year from 50th position last year t0 39, a record 19 place upthrust. This is followed by the duo of FlourMills Nigeria and Chivita Limited.
• Leadway Assurance made the top brand league table for the first time this year.
• 13 brands maintained their previous position in the annual ranking.

Another part of note in the report was the 10 Brands to Watch. These are brands that have shown a lot of vibrancy in recent times. Though they are not among the top 10 yet, but they are promising. Most of them are even recent startups, who have defile the rule, disrupt the status quo in many situations, and are now standing strong.

The good thing is, most of the 10 brands to watch this year as we have had in recent years are homegrown.

It should be noted however that the Brands to watch were not subjected to the BSM model evaluation, however, they have considerable mentions during the Top of the Mind Survey.

The 2021 Brands to Watch are
1. Adron Homes & Property
2. Air Peace
3. Lifemate Furniture
4. Natnumdo Foods
5. Ritefood
6. Flutterwave
7. Arise Tv
8. Opay
9. GIG group
10. Iroko TV

It should be noted that the brands evaluated and rated and privately, non-governmental brands. We also shy away from betting and tobacco brands for moral reasons.

Details of the evaluation process and ranking are available on their website www.top50brandsnigeria.com.

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