Brand Reputation in a Polarized World: What Nigerian Brands Need to Stop Ignoring
A few years ago, brand reputation was straightforward.
You ran ads, managed press mentions, avoided scandals, and smiled at the camera.
Today? It’s a totally different ballgame.
One tweet can turn a “trusted brand” into a public enemy overnight. And yet, many Nigerian brands are still operating as though reputation is something you manage after a crisis, not one you build before, to avoid a crisis.
We’re Living in a Polarized Attention Economy
People are hyper-aware. They read meaning into everything. Silence is no longer neutral; it’s interpreted. A pricing decision, a campaign visual, a partnership, even a delayed response. Any of these can be misread if not clearly and intentionally communicated.
Sometimes the backlash from miscommunication is loud. Other times, it’s a subtle disengagement, loss of trust, and slow decline in relevance. The damage still happens, just without the noise.
We’ve seen this cycle play out repeatedly.
A brand launches a “people-first” campaign during a sensitive national moment. The visuals are polished; the copy is emotional. But internal culture and external messaging are not fully aligned. Employees share experiences that contradict the campaign narrative, old tweets resurface, and public questions begin to rise.
Then the brand goes silent.
At that point, the conversation moves on without them. And no press release can reset the narrative once public perception has already taken shape.
A similar dynamic has played out with telecom brands in Nigeria. For instance, in 2025, MTN Nigeria publicly acknowledged network disruptions that affected large parts of Lagos State, sparking significant customer feedback and complaints across social platforms.
In a broader review of service challenges, the company also reported over 9,000 fibre cuts nationwide that year, turning operational realities into extended customer concern before clear communication reached every audience.
What this highlights is that even a dominant brand’s reputation can be shaped by how swiftly, clearly, and consistently it manages narratives around issues that affect people’s daily lives.
Many Nigerian brands still believe – “If we don’t talk, it will pass.”
Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes silence becomes the headline. When brands don’t communicate, other narratives take over. People tell their own versions of the story, and once that happens, control is lost.
PR Has Shifted. Does Your Brand? Modern PR is no longer just media relations or crisis clean-up. It’s about anticipation. And here are a few things you should know:
- Anticipate cultural tension and understand public sentiment before it explodes.
Align leadership and internal culture with your external messaging, know when to speak, how to speak, and what not to say. - Your audience is not one group
Nigeria is layered. What resonates in one community can offend another. Without nuance, communication can become problematic. - Internal culture always leaks externally
Employees are your first media outlet. If they don’t believe your story, no one else will. - Reputation is cumulative
It’s built over time and tested in moments. Trust cannot be improvised. - PR is not a department; it’s a leadership function
When leadership and communication are misaligned, reputational damage is almost inevitable.
This is where we come in. At Redwood Consulting, we help brands operate with reputation intelligence.
We work with organizations to understand how they are perceived across different audiences, identify hidden reputation risks before they become public issues, and build PR strategies that are culturally aware, grounded, and future-ready.
Because in today’s Nigeria, reputation isn’t about being liked. It’s about being trusted, especially when things get uncomfortable.
Here’s our question to you:
If your brand is tested tomorrow, would your story hold up? If you’re not sure, let’s talk.
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