Analysis6 min read
Entering Zambia: the first ninety days of a brand
A sequence for multinationals that want more than a translated campaign.
A translated campaign is not a market-entry strategy. Brands that land well in Zambia in their first ninety days tend to follow the same sequence: category audit first, distribution and media reality second, creative last.
Skipping straight to creative is the most common — and most expensive — mistake we see from multinationals entering the market. A beautifully made campaign built on assumptions from a different market rarely outperforms a plainer one built on local evidence.