By Princewill Ekwujuru

The Nigerian consumer market is growing on all fronts and this is a pointer that it cannot continue to be business as usual. Brand handlers who understand this are thinking outside the box to create strategies for a deepened consumer affinity that will guarantee market share, profitability and brand loyalty.

In the past, some brands had dwelt on the old proverb of building mousetrap and allowing the world to beat a path to their door. This was true then.

Today’s mousetrap requires intensified communication. In any competing market, brand handlers have to package and promote the mousetrap and the market will definitely come en-mass if other variables are in tandem.

The objective of every marketer in the fast growing market like Nigeria is to allow the world to continuously beat a path to its door. For this to happen, it requires certain factors which includes the completion of production process of allowing the goods to reach the final consumer. This is a marketing strategy employed by brands like Chivita Premium fruit juice in its marketing mix to create sales and achieve consumer satisfaction. Mr. John Igri, Managing Director of Orlick Haulage Enterprises agreed that the perpetual unavailability of any product in some regions cannot effectively enhance sales as would have been expected.

The handlers of Chivita have leveraged on an efficient distribution system which comprises of retailers, wholesalers, multilevel marketers and sales representatives to bring the product closer to consumers with the underlying objective of creating more market share. This effective distribution strategy has ensured that millions of people across the country readily have access to it. A quick check at various retail shops in Ibadan, Abeokuta and Lagos revealed availability of the product. For Atinuke Jegede, who operates Choice Stores in Ibadan, ‘’Chivita’ premium fruit juice is always readily available at shops and its 100 percent pure juice content has really endeared to its consumers who are increasingly becoming conscious of realness and quality”

The brand has been able to achieve market- appealing product availability with economical price and exciting marketing promotion strategy especially in a competitive juice market lack Nigeria’s which has created a positive effect on the return on investment, RoI.

To achieve this, Mr. Ephraim Ojike, a brand analyst, said that “brand loyalty cannot happen without a thorough understanding of the consumer and a deliberate decision

The handlers of Chivita Premium fruit juice in creating a compelling and unique brand experience by incorporating other marketing mix tools such as price and promotion to ensure it consolidates its top market ranking is an effort and adoption of a functional campaign strategy communicating the reality of the brand’s 100 per cent fruit juice content that won it the preferred fruit juice drink in a preference study among 15,000 youths across Nigeria at the Next Generation Survey Award recently.