{"id":5696,"date":"2026-10-28T07:49:32","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T07:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=5696"},"modified":"2026-10-28T08:17:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T08:17:19","slug":"guinness-nigeria-ceo-sharma-urges-marketers-agencies-to-make-consumers-focus-of-business-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=5696","title":{"rendered":"Guinness Nigeria CEO Sharma urges marketers, agencies to make consumers focus of business growth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>*<strong><em>Girish Sharma, Managing Director of Guinness Nigeria Plc, urges marketers and advertising agencies to challenge conventional thinking, deepen their understanding of consumers, and develop locally relevant ideas that strengthen brands and drive business growth<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect<\/p>\n<p>In emphasising the strategic place consumers of products and services occupy in enterprise development, Girish Sharma, Managing Director of Guinness Nigeria Plc, has urged marketers and advertising agencies to challenge the conventional thinking, deepen their understanding of consumers, and develop locally relevant ideas that strengthen brands and drive business growth.<\/p>\n<p>Sharma stated this during a recent fireside chat titled: \u201cChallenging the Status Quo\u201d, held at the Omnicom Advertising Africa Conference.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"TXR07JTvBX\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=5689\">NITDA, US Chamber of Commerce in strategic partnerships to advance Nigeria Digital Economy<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cNITDA, US Chamber of Commerce in strategic partnerships to advance Nigeria Digital Economy\u201d \u2014 Consumer Experience Is A Top Priority\" src=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=5689&amp;embed=true#?secret=9BnvmFNp2Y#?secret=TXR07JTvBX\" data-secret=\"TXR07JTvBX\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The conference, which had the theme: \u201cWelcome to the Noise\u201d, attracted leaders from across the marketing, advertising and business communities, including Ernest Ndukwe, OFR, Chairman of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, and Dr. Olalekan Olumuyiwa Fadolapo, Director-General of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON).<\/p>\n<p>The conversation explored how brands could remain relevant in an increasingly competitive marketplace by questioning established assumptions, understanding consumer needs, and embracing new approaches to creativity and business growth.<\/p>\n<p>Recalling his experience across consumer-oriented businesses, including Indomie, Kellogg\u2019s, Colgate, Power Oil and Guinness Nigeria, Sharma stressed that effective marketing starts with understanding consumers, and translating those insights into propositions that resonate in the local market.<\/p>\n<p>He also said: \u201cWe must spend more time with consumers and understand their needs. Global ideas can sometimes provide a strong foundation, but local insight is what makes them relevant.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our responsibility is not simply to create work that wins awards, but to develop ideas that connect with consumers, strengthen our brands and help our businesses grow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Managing Director of Guinness Nigeria as well underscored the need for marketers to look beyond established ways of working, challenge assumptions, and ensure that creativity is grounded in a clear understanding of the consumer and the commercial objectives the business seeks to achieve.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier at the conference, Graham Cruickshanks, Director of Africa Operations at TBWA, had addressed the broader theme of \u201cWelcome to the Noise\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Cruickshanks highlighted the importance of distinctive storytelling and Africa\u2019s cultural identity in shaping brand narratives. Referencing the iconic Michael Power campaign, he illustrated the potential of memorable storytelling to create a lasting connection between brands and audiences.<\/p>\n<p>Cruickshanks also urged African brands to take greater ownership of their narratives, and embrace opportunities to shape the continent\u2019s technology story.<\/p>\n<p>He equally encouraged them to reinforce the strategic importance of cultural confidence and locally-rooted creativity in an increasingly connected world.<\/p>\n<p>For Guinness Nigeria, the conversation around challenging convention reflects the importance of staying close to consumers, adapting to changing market realities, and building brands that remain relevant to Nigerians.<\/p>\n<p>By combining consumer insight with creative ambition and disciplined execution, the company noted it has continued to focus on strengthening consumer connections and delivering sustainable business growth in the country.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>*Girish Sharma, Managing Director of Guinness Nigeria Plc, urges marketers and advertising agencies to challenge conventional thinking, deepen their understanding of consumers, and develop locally&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"Girish Sharma, Managing Director of Guinness Nigeria Plc","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","_customify_content_layout":"","_customify_sidebar":"","_customify_page_header_display":"default","_customify_disable_header":"","_customify_disable_header_top":"","_customify_disable_header_main":"","_customify_disable_header_bottom":"","_customify_disable_page_title":"","_customify_disable_content_vertical_padding":"","_customify_disable_footer_top":"","_customify_disable_footer_main":"","_customify_disable_footer_bottom":"","_customify_breadcrumb_display":"","_customify_header_transparent_display":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlights","category-infoeducation","category-markets"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-10-at-4.26.42-PM-e1778485552233.jpg",718,457,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-10-at-4.26.42-PM-e1778485552233-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-10-at-4.26.42-PM-e1778485552233-300x191.jpg",300,191,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-10-at-4.26.42-PM-e1778485552233.jpg",718,457,false],"large":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-10-at-4.26.42-PM-e1778485552233.jpg",718,457,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-10-at-4.26.42-PM-e1778485552233.jpg",718,457,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-10-at-4.26.42-PM-e1778485552233.jpg",718,457,false]},"author_info":{"info":["ConsumerConnect"]},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=20\" rel=\"category\">Highlights<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=3\" rel=\"category\">InfoEducation<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=4\" rel=\"category\">Markets<\/a>","tag_info":"Markets","comment_count":"1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5696"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5719,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5696\/revisions\/5719"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}