Africa works

Well, no...

Whether it's the diesel shortage in Nigeria, 'load shedding' in South Africa or the lack of security in Libya, life goes on for the audience, poor, long-suffering Jo Public - we just want to get on with life as best we can.

It's not hard to find stories of overloaded and poorly maintained infrastructure on the continent, but the interesting stories are to be found in the ingenious solutions that people come up with to carry on as normal, despite the problems faced.

© Anton Balazh via 123RF

Whether it's football fans in Ghana wiring their TV to a car battery so they can see the game or those community-spirited folk who direct traffic at intersections when the lights are out, the people of Africa always find a solution.

It should be no different for brands.

Just as consumers expect innovative products and services, so do they expect innovative solutions from the brands they love.

Whether it's a restaurant switching to gas-fired ovens ready for the blackout or a bank rolling out mobile branches for rural areas, people want innovative solutions and they need to be told about them.

For a brand simply to admit defeat at the hands of infrastructure is no longer acceptable. Consumers will likely shift quickly to those brands and companies which offer elegant solutions to these major issues, and those brands which don't think outside the fuse box will quickly lose out!