The most obvious approach to keeping one’s brand relevant in a rapidly growing and changing world entails consistently keeping up with the trends, being innovative, embracing change, and providing instant gratification. But what happens when your product is not essential such as during Covid-19?

Entertainment Now! visited some brands and enquired on how they keep their brand visible to the consumer – how they ensure the brand remains relevant in this tough and ordeal time.
Salomo Festus, the founder and owner of Namswagg, a local clothing brand formed in 2016, said the best place for one to place their products or services is social media. “The internet is the to-go-to place. The Namswagg brand has a large visible social media platform, most especially on Instagram, where we post pictures of our satisfied clients in their Namswagg clothing,” enlightened Festus.

He has also taken advantage of some Namibian influencers who support Namswagg. “As the brand owner, I also play a good advertisement role of my brand by always making sure whenever I am out in public, I wear my brand,” he acclaimed.
An obstacle, which made Festus lose some revenue, is the inability to get the winter stock on time due to the closure of borders. He said the only way left to be relevant during Covid-19 is to resort to selling what is available and keep tabs of customers’ demands on social media.
Festus said: “Namswagg makes use of the available resources to still supply clients who are interested in buying what we have. Most time is used in advertising the business every day, as the brand is always active on social media; we have a business page on Instagram and Facebook, as we want to readily be available to any potential customer.”

Changa Mugwala, Founder of Topclass Namibia, a multi-media and marketing firm, said it is important for brands to understand and adjust to the future needs and desires of the targeted audience, and that is how the company has remained visible since 2014.
“We started as a clothing label and moved to multi-media and marketing. Initially, numerous artists had an interest in the mandate of the company and we decided to tap into artist management, studio recording and video production,” said Mugwala.
Topclass Namibia is now a TV production company that has partnered with NBC on the production of the broadcasters’ Saturday Breakfast Show.

Mugwala expressed: “You have to create content and engage with your clients if you want your brand to stay relevant at any time, especially now during Covid-19.”
Brand Strategist and Marketing Executive Kalistu Mukolori said conversations with consumers are vital. “Brand tracking is effective; you get to know who is still talking about you – and that should be maintained by checking in now and then. What’s happening all over the world right now is a crisis, so as a brand owner, you need to be up-to-date with the latest information; you don’t want to be caught off-guard,” he detailed.
He highlighted the importance of adapting. “Make sure you keep your strategy true to your brand. Strong brand marketing can put you on the right side and different space. The world is changing every hour and the right marketing strategy should be used to empower your brand for you to be one of many success stories that will inevitably emerge from these challenges,” outlined Mukoroli.

He said the inconsistent design of brands is one of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to staying relevant. Mukoroli said: “Consistency is important. Brands that are not capable of differentiating themselves is another faulty issue that needs to be addressed.” He mentioned that for brand owners, it is important to investigate the competition. “You don’t need to compete; you just need to know what they are up to. Your competition is your best and worst enemy when it comes to branding and business. Make sure you do enough research,” noted Mukoroli. Consumers admire and reminisce brands that get with the times in terms of understanding what they want, reaching them in new and ground-breaking ways and unswervingly delivering products and services that exceed their potentials.
– psiririka@nepc.com.na