Bad Casting

I'd like to have a quick word with whoever is in charge of outdoor marketing for Mango's Nigerian operation. As I got to the mall yesterday, I was assaulted by the image of Kate Moss bearing down on me from a great height, looking decidedly edgy and defiant from the billboard on the building. Nothing against ole Kate, I just found her being here jarring. She looked so out of place. It put me in mind of watching a good movie with an actor/ actress one really likes, but having to admit that they were badly cast for the role.

Why, in the middle of sweltering Lagos do we have Kate Moss dressed in black leather flogging us clothes? Surely there are myriad Nigerian (and at a push, even African) models, celebrities, fashionistas, etc who would have embodied the Mango ethos and made it more relevant to this market.

I find Kate an odd choice for Mango in the first place as she has positioned herself in recent years, mostly via the Topshop and Rimmel campaigns as being the ultimate custodian of 'The London Look'. She is not the person whose style comes to mind when you think Mango. Furthermore, for Nigeria, I would have thought they'd go for someone with more of a diverse, international feel.

Of course, I must admit that my argument rests on the assumption that Mango would want to tailor their marketing campaign to the Nigerian market because as a former practitioner, my approach to all outgoing communications is still very geared toward delivering relevant and tailor made messages to each group of stakeholders. My initial tack would have been to get a Miss Nigeria, or a Nigerian Miss World up there. An Oluchi, or an Agbani Darego or a Tiwa Savage or an Eku Edewor.

But maybe that isn't their strategy at all. Maybe they are trying to be 'aspirational' and do the opposite of what I've said which is to amp up their status as a foreign, imported and therefore superior brand, which only a select few with Euro-centric sensibilities can relate to. It could be that rather than trying to Nigerianise their brand, they are trying to Mangofy Nigeria.

On a purely commercial level, I understand why they might want to do the latter of course. In retail terms, it creates justification for nice fat margins which they can slash once a year during the 'sales' and make customers feel special for buying a slinky little top at 150% markup, instead of the usual 300%; I get that. However, I do think that it is crucial for consumers to be able to identify, even just a little it, with the images they see on marketing campaigns aimed at them and I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. It is the reason why brands like Guinness don't have a bunch of Irish guys in their Nigerian campaigns, they have a bunch of Naija guys, hanging out after work. It is this crucial stage of mirroring the audience that I think Mango have missed out.

A final thought occurs to me, and though I find it unpalatable I must share it. What if prior to commencing operations in Nigeria, they carried out all the marketing due diligence one would expect and found out that for ready to wear / pret a porter fashion, Nigerians respond better to non-Nigrian images? It would not surprise me one bit; it is possible, think about it. I truly hope this is not the case as that would be very sad indeed, but one can never rule these things out. There is no point exploring the whys and wherefores of that particular possibility, but if that unfortunate possibility does have some truth to it, then I think it is safe to assume that it is bedfellwows with the category of reasons Nigerian women are so ardent in their pursuit of all the hair in the world, that is, all except their own. But I digress. The fake hair problem is a discussion for another day.

In any case, even from an aesthetic point of view, Kate stands out on that billboard at the Palms and it isn't the successful kind of standing out. Neeeeext!