Beyond the Billboard

When To Choose Distribution over Marketing

Picture a small shop in Aba in Eastern Nigeria. Two bottles of cola sit side by side on a dusty shelf - one bearing the iconic red logo recognized worldwide, the other a less familiar brand offering 15cl more product for the same price. In that moment, the shopper isn't weighing brand heritage or global market share - they're calculating which choice stretches their Naira further.

This scene plays out millions of times daily across Nigeria, revealing market dynamics: when Bigi Cola entered a market dominated by Coca-Cola's decades-old distribution network, they didn't try to outspend the giant on billboards or match their brand prestige. Instead, they focused on being present where it mattered, with a value proposition that resonated with local economic reality.

The truth emerges: in certain markets, distribution equity - built through presence, price point, and accessibility - matters far more than brand equity accumulated through years of marketing spend.

Bigi Cola's success in challenging Coca-Cola's dominance offers a masterclass in this principle. While Coca-Cola invested heavily in premium branding, TV commercials, and sponsorships, Bigi Cola took a different route:

• They manufactured their own bottles and caps, cutting costs to offer more volume at lower prices

• They bypassed traditional wholesalers, delivering directly to retailers to maintain competitive pricing

• They aggressively targeted peri-urban and lower-income areas often overlooked by premium brands

• They built relationships with small retailers and street vendors, securing crucial shelf space in local shops

The result? A successful market entry that caught everyone’s, including Coca Cola, attention. Not through superior branding or marketing muscle, but through a deep understanding of local consumer needs and a distribution strategy that met people where they were - both physically and economically.

The Power of Presence

When you land in any Lagos airport, the first thing that hits you after the humidity is the persistence of taxi drivers. One after another, they approach with identical pitches, each seemingly unaware of the five others you've just declined. At first, it feels chaotic, even frustrating. But there's a deeper logic at work. These drivers understand something fundamental about Lagos: being present at the point of need matters more than being different. They'd rather risk being the sixth person to offer you a ride than miss the moment when you finally decide you need one.

Distribution equity – the ability to reach customers consistently at their moment of need – creates a different kind of brand value. It's not built through advertising impressions but through reliability and accessibility. Every successful transaction becomes a proof point more powerful than any marketing campaign.

Take the beverage vendor I met while at Migo, who grew from selling drinks to becoming a bar owner to wholesaler across 53 loans. Her success wasn't built on sophisticated branding – it came from understanding the micro-moments of consumer need and being present to fulfill them. Each successful transaction strengthened their position more than any billboard could. In a sense, this defines what marketing should be based on market needs, rather than what a marketing playbook might dictate.

Why Presence Matters More Than Perception

In markets where trust is communal rather than institutional, physical presence serves multiple functions:

• It builds credibility through consistency

• It enables immediate verification of quality

• It allows for relationship-building at the point of transaction

It creates natural word-of-mouth networks

But perhaps most importantly, presence allows businesses to tap into existing community trust networks rather than trying to build new ones from scratch.

The Distribution Innovation Gap

While many businesses focus on product or marketing innovation, there's often a massive gap in distribution innovation. When have you ever heard about anyone talking about their new and improved distribution campaign? The real opportunity lies not in creating new products but in finding novel ways to get existing products to consumers.

Consider how sachet water changed drinking water access in Nigeria. The innovation wasn't in the product – it was in the distribution model that made water available everywhere, from traffic jams to street corners. They didn't just create a new category; they built a new kind of presence in consumers' daily lives.

Building Distribution Equity

The path to building distribution equity looks different from traditional brand building:

1. Map the Micro-Moments

Instead of broad market segments, focus on specific moments of consumer need. When do people buy? Where are they when they make these decisions? What barriers prevent immediate purchase?

2. Design for Discovery

Make your product findable in ways that match natural consumer behavior. If your target customer shops daily at local markets, being in supermarkets won't drive scale.

3. Enable Immediate Action

Remove friction from the purchase process. In cash economies, this might mean having change ready. In digital spaces, it could mean one-click purchases with flexible payment options.

Beyond Traditional Distribution

The most exciting innovations I'm seeing aren't in creating new products but in reimagining how existing products reach consumers. Some examples:

• Pharmacies using WhatsApp to coordinate deliveries

• Street vendors creating informal subscription models based on daily routes

• Corner shops becoming fulfillment centers for digital commerce

These models work because they build on existing behaviors rather than trying to create new ones.

The Future of Distribution

As markets evolve, the businesses that win won't necessarily be those with the biggest marketing budgets or the most innovative products. They'll be the ones who master the art of being present – physically, digitally, and culturally – at the exact moment their customers need them.

This requires a fundamental shift in thinking: stop treating distribution as a logistics challenge and start seeing it as a core driver of business value. In markets where availability creates loyalty before branding does, your distribution strategy isn't just how you reach customers – it's how you create value in their lives.

The question isn't just "How do we build our brand?" but "How do we become an obvious choice at the moment of need?" Because in the end, the best brand story is being there when it matters most.