Remember when ads felt like a whisper in your ear? They were familiar, local, and truly seemed to see your needs. Now, it often feels like a performance: loud, optimized, hashtagged, and yet, somehow still forgettable. We’re left wondering why they didn’t click with the intended audience. After all the slick presentations and dazzling aesthetics, are we truly asking, “Did anyone feel seen?”
Having experienced different markets in both Nigeria and the UK, I believe this disconnect stems from an overemphasis on visuals and presentation, rather than a genuine understanding of perception, visibility, and the deep desire to have a need met.
In Nigeria, attention is currency. Campaigns are urgent, bold, and built to dominate screens. But too often, the strategy takes a backseat to what simply looks good. The ads land loud but not deep. They perform, but do they persuade?
As product marketers, we need to ask better questions – not just about performance, but about presence. Are we speaking in a language that feels real, grounded in how people actually talk and think? Or are we still relying on “performance speak” that impresses but rarely connects? Do our messages carry their hopes, frustrations, or humor, or are audiences expected to decipher meaning from a distance? When we craft these messages, are we chasing momentum for the sake of movement or reach, or are we choosing something that stays, something that truly connects?
By contrast, UK advertising is often intentional, excels in social awareness, and is well-structured. However, the assumption that sophistication automatically equals impact can sometimes stifle depth and connection. More product marketers here should be asking:
- Are we being authentic, or just careful?
- Are we striving for visual inclusion but ignoring cultural intimacy in our messaging?
- Is our product narrative truly felt, or is it just formatted?
Where Product Marketing Comes In.
Product marketing is more than a bridge between product and market; it is a process that helps translate trust. Adverts in Nigeria are usually aimed to trend, while in the UK, they aim to pass. But what if the goal was to connect, to truly understand? How can that be prioritised?
Our role isn’t to be the loudest in the room or the most polished on the page. It should not be to dominate attention and play safe
Our job is to ask if the intended message makes sense to the person it’s meant for, if their world is mirrored, and if the intended solution fits seamlessly into the most mundane of their daily routine, or if it requires their life to bend around it.
We are to position truth with our stories, clearly, confidently and with care because people not only believe testimonials that respect the journey of the user, but also have reinforced trust for the role of the product in real life.
What Nigeria and the UK Can Teach Each Other
I believe both markets are missing the true user alignment, a product marketing mindset, that helps bridge instinct with insight, translates real needs into met solutions, without assumption or performance.
To bridge that divide, product marketing has to delve deeper with creating messages that move beyond hype, to find a common ground that begins with empathy. That means being emotionally truthful rather than just exciting, culturally aware instead of surface-level, and not going overboard with presentation.
Adverts become performative when the brand’s voice takes precedence over the audience’s reality. But when we flip that, when we lead with empathy, they become personal. And ensuring that launch products land gently into the lives they were made to serve.
