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The Nigerian
The Nigerian movie industry movie industry
Nollywood a nearly perfect
marketing case study
625
Nnamdi O. Madichie
College of Business Administration, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, Received February 2009
United Arab Emirates Revised September 2009
Accepted September 2009
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the marketing challenges facing the Nigerian
movie industry Nollywood. The paper also attempts to make a case for due recognition to this
multimillion dollar industry in management research as opposed to being pigeonholed in the domain
of media, film or cultural studies.
Design/methodology/approach The case study benefits from a mixture of survey
questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focus groups drawing on a range of themes from
Nollywoods target audience in the diasporas over a three-year period (2005-2007).
Findings Explanations for why African movies as epitomized by the case of Nollywood continue
to lack box office appeal cannot be detached from the poor marketing-mix strategies adopted notably
weak marketing communications and poor product quality.
Research limitations/implications The paper is restricted to a convenience sample of
respondents and may arguably suffer from a weakness of generalizability.
Practical implications Nollywood directors, producers, distributors, marketers and all other
stakeholders must organize national, regional and international networks/networking events in order to
guarantee the requisite forum for shared access, ideas and more importantly technology and technical
know-how. There is also the need for skills upgrading and more robust marketing communications.
Originality/value This is the first major attempt to move the discourse of cinematic consumption
away from the field of media studies to general management notably marketing. The paper exudes
of a powerful message this is not just art, it is big business!
Keywords Marketing strategy, Marketing communications, Innovation, Film, Nigeria
Paper type Case study

Introduction
While it may be accepted wisdom that Americas Hollywood and Indias Bollywood
are large movie producers, the twenty-first century Nigerian movie industry
(Nollywood henceforth) produces about 2,000 movies a year, which arguably places
it in third place on the global film circuit (Gray, 2003; Evuleocha, 2008) albeit not
necessarily from a marketing competence perspective (Madichie and Katwalo, 2005;
Madichie and Ibeh, 2006). Nollywood has also been argued (Okome, 1993; Haynes, 1995;
Haynes and Okome, 1998; Madichie and Ibeh, 2006) to be the second highest revenue
earner in present day Nigeria with revenue of over N 9bn (US$72 m based on July 2009
Marketing Intelligence & Planning
The author would like to thank Curtis John Miller for his professional insight and the following Vol. 28 No. 5, 2010
for their contributions Afuwape Ademola, Akabogu Izuchukwu, Amanyiewe Dumebi, pp. 625-649
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Chidi Franklyn, Okeke Okwudili, and the entire class of 89 from the Federal Government College 0263-4503
Minna, Nigeria. DOI 10.1108/02634501011066537

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1876669

MIP interbank rates). Nollywood movies constitute a multimillion-dollar industry. It is
28,5 arguable therefore that the industry has become big business and worthy of not only
management research interest but also public policy attention. Nollywood also
produces a very wide variety of storylines including those that are not readily visible in
movies from other parts of the world. However, Nollywood is still considered an
industry in perpetual infancy (Barnard and Tuomi, 2008, p. 659).
626 This raises some interesting questions notably, why is an industry of Nollywoods
standing still on the margins of international recognition? To what extent is Nollywood a
success at the sub-regional and international level? What are the challenges facing
Nollywood and how can these be effectively managed? Consequently, this paper
highlights the major impediments to the international recognition of Nollywood as an
industry deserving of management research recognition and public policy attention and
action. The paper is unpacked in five main sections. Following this introductory section,
a review of the existing literature on the subject matter is undertaken in the next section.
It provides some critical insight into the subject matter in three main parts detailing
the accounts of roadblocks to marketing Nollywood internationally. In third section, the
research approach is discussed, which includes the use of questionnaires, online
discussion fora, and in-depth interviews with key social actors from a convenience
sample of Nollywoods diasporic audiences it is seemingly target audience. The fourth
section presents initial findings in the form of emergent themes from the preceding
section. These narratives are used to subject the initial questionnaire findings to
rigorous scrutiny in order to ensure some semblance of validity and reliability of the
research protocol which are matched with the theoretical enquiry. Conclusions are
finally drawn in the fifth section where policy implications for key stakeholders are also
provided based on these emergent themes.

Nollywoods marketing strategy overview

Despite what has been described and reported as the emergence of a new force in
low-budget movies raking in multimillion US dollars, Nollywoods informal, intuitive
and opportunistic marketing has contributed to the poor product and production
quality. Furthermore, the fragmented and largely disorganized distribution and
marketing communications (i.e. marketing strategies), of Nollywood products have
added to what has collectively become the bane of the industrys development and
international recognition (Smyth, 1989; Stollery, 2001; Madichie and Katwalo, 2005;
Madichie and Ibeh, 2006). In view of the advancement in technology, consumer
education and awareness, globalization and more recently the availability of satellite
broadcasting a viable African cinema industry of Nollywoods standing requires a
re-evaluation of marketing-mix strategies (product/production, price, place/distribution
and promotion). These key areas inform the basis of this section of the paper.

The product and its pricing

This two marketing-mix elements are treated together in order to avoid repetition. The
product Nollywood movies is low budget, which means that it is not particularly
capital intensive and hence cheap on a per unit basis. In any case, the multimillion
dollar status arises out of the number of copies sold not the least in a market of over
100 million people. It can therefore be argued that treating the product separately from
the pricing model would not make much sense.

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1876669

 Starting with the product, therefore, the emergence of the historical African films The Nigerian
has been argued to have ushered in new practitioners of the medium whose main movie industry
interests seem heavily skewed towards mere descriptions of the totality of life in
village communities. However, Nollywood arguably embodies the typology of African
cinema, which is characterized as indispensable because of its independent
development, sureness of its inspiration, strength and rights (Stollery, 2001). There
is also a linkage which lies between cinema and African civilization apart from the 627
similarity of African stories and the language of film (Wagner and Ondobo, 1992).
Indeed Salvin (1997) in French Cinemas Other First Wave, discussed the French
colonial film that developed in Morocco in the 1920s, which due to low-cost settings
and labour enabled them compete with Hollywood spectaculars. However, many
scholars (Pfaff, 1983; Ukadike, 1990; Salvin, 1997) seem to have based their arguments
extensively on the politics of underdevelopment. For example, it was reported that the
French colonial lobby recognized the efficacy of film as a means of promoting popular
support for the Empire by associating modern arms, machinery, and medicine with
white, Western supremacy (Ukadike, 1990). To cite one example, the Moroccan
experience bore the hallmark of Hubert Lyautey (a French protectorate official) who
used film to create a climate of opinion among both the French and Moroccans that was
favourable to his policy of indirect rule. By the late 1950s, however, more realistic
portrayals of African life began to appear in film as African filmmakers became
trained in Europe. Pfaff (1983) discusses the film work and philosophy of Senegalese
Ousmane Sembene in an article entitled Cinema in Francophone Africa.
But many years have passed and new concepts have emerged since then. The small
screen has become popularized, film making has become transformed into
moviemaking, a transition characterized by the changing storylines from political
discourse to entertainment as embodied in the fabric of Nollywood. As a product,
Nollywood operates on the low-budget scale of cinema geared towards to small
screen generally recorded on videotape, in many cases with a home video camera, to
make and takes as little as ten days to produce unlike what obtains in Hollywood or
even Bollywood (Madichie and Ibeh, 2006). In terms of its pricing one film typically
costs as little as US$8,000 to produce. Moreover, unlike what used to be the popular
African art films on the global film circuit, which were mainly financed by European
investors Nollywood movies are backed by independent Nigerian business men
whose only form of investment is the payment of about US$10,000 to a director
covering the production costs in order to procure the films distribution rights.
A typical characteristic of the speed-to-market in Nollywood is that within a fortnight
the movie is ready and the businessman investor gets the master tape, which is then
sent out to any of numerous mass-dubbing centres across the country in readiness for
mass production and subsequent distribution. The movies are normally copied unto
video compact discs (VCD) and widely distributed and viewed across the developing
world. However, the sustainability of this modus operandi is another matter entirely
one to which this paper will return to. For the time being suffice it to say that the cheap
prices of Nollywood products are a direct result of the business model of adopted,
which thrives of large economies of scale resulting from the mass dubbing. However,
while poor product and pricing strategies of these kind may constitute major
roadblocks, poor distribution seems to complicate the unholy trinity of Nollywoods
low level of international appeal (both diasporic and otherwise).
MIP The place (i.e. distribution)
28,5 Talking about the place component of marketing, the distribution channels of the small
screen has increasingly become a force to reckon with on the international movie
landscape as demonstrated in the case of the Hollywood vs the Independents even
in the case of the USA (Scott, 2002). However, in order to protect their turf, Hollywood
majors have often responded to the competitive onslaught of the small screen. As
628 home video markets soared upwards in the 1990s, the majors in Hollywood established
specialized divisions to distribute films in both video home system (VHS) and digital
video disc (DVD) formats thus creating a platform for the independents (a common
place in the case of Nollywood movies). Indeed, Scott (2002, p. 41) once argued that:
Independent film distributors are mostly small in size and subject to erratic market swings
[. . .] Independent distribution companies focus on films made by their own production arms
or other independent producers, both American and foreign, they rarely or never deal with
films produced by the majors.
It has also been noted that unlike conventional marketing channels used by the majors,
film festivals provided significant avenues for independent producers and distributors
to network with one another (Scott, 2002). On occasions, independent production
companies sought to distribute their own movies, especially where these were targeted
at highly specialized audiences (e.g. ethnic market segments) and the production
company had an informed sense of the nature of the market. In addition, an increasing
practice among independent producers has been to make direct-to-video films and to
dispense with theatrical exhibition altogether (Vogel, 1998; cited in Scott, 2002, p. 42).
As it happens, the theatrical box office has since ceased to be the main source of the
major revenues, although exhibition remains the key initial market window for films as
they transit through subsequent windows in video, television, in-flight entertainment,
etc. It was only in 2000 that home video sales and rentals in the USA amounted to over
US$22 million, which was three times larger than the total gross domestic box office
earnings for that year (Madichie and Ibeh, 2006).
It is evident, therefore, that the Nollywood model shares some similarity with that
adopted by the Independents in more advanced markets in North America. Unlike their
peers, however, film festivals have not resonated within Nollywood circles. This is not
as a result of any decipherable economic reasoning, but purely based on political
grounds arguably orchestrated in France. For example, as the Festival Panafricain du
Cinema de Ouagadougou (FESPACO) founded in 1969 and now the largest African
film festival celebrated its 20th Edition in May 2007, Nollywood movies were still
not on parade. Unfortunately, the Francophone bias in the fabric of FESPACO was
still very much in place even in its second decade of existence, which did not come as
much of a surprise considering that France tended to hold the purse strings (Sights &
Sounds, 2007, p. 44). Nigeria, where the booming Nollywood churns out cheap video
films (and Ghana with its similar set-up), were notably absent at the event which is
reportedly the most important event in Africas cinematic calendar where African films
are premiered in the presence of a large international audience. This provides further
fodder for the poor leveraging of opportunities to showcase Nollywood on the world
stage. It is also considerably atypical in the vocabulary of marketing gaffes poor
marketing communications.
Promotion (i.e. marketing communications) The Nigerian
In this final element of the marketing mix, some background insight is provided from the movie industry
experiences of the Indian movie industry (aka Bollywood). As a frontrunner, Bollywood,
in the past, had been content with addressing its domestic and/or indigenous audience
due to its size (Abbott, 2002; Chute, 2002; The Guardian, 2002), however, marketers and
producers soon realized the significance of the diaspora market where ticket, video
and DVD sales accounted for up to 40 per cent of revenues. Indeed, Bollywood had put in 629
great promotional effort via newspapers, TV and local radio in order to appeal to the
diasporic community (also regarded as the non-resident Indians or NRIs). Shah (2002)
drives this notion home by suggesting that film producers have started developing
movies that appealed to Diaspora tastes by including at least one foreign character
something that has begun to emerge in some Nollywood movies such as Osuofia in
London. According to him, films are continually reflecting the confusion of a society in
transition. The new aspirational model of NRIs, who have succeeded in terms of material
wealth, but still want to hold onto their Indian values (Shah, 2002). The same can be said
of Nollywood with movies like London Boy a 2004 production by Simi Opeoluwa
where a young educated Nigerian man leaves his native village for Europe in search of
opportunity, but finds love instead. When his London-born girlfriend refuses to go back
to Nigeria with him, the young African now faces two challenges life in London and a
battle with her disapproving family.
However, although Bollywood movies have incorporated more from MTV-style
choreography, graphics and editing (powerful production or product attributes), it
remains entrenched with cultural values and absolutism (Morton, 2002; Winter, 2003).
While Shah (2002) argued that Bollywood films exuded their own narrative, which
informs a range of products and practices and is in fact a culture industry,
Rajadhyaksha (2004) sees the industry as a commoditized and globalized export which
provides a feel good version of Indian culture. Noting these cultural nuances as a
unique selling point of Bollywood, its marketing strategy provides some learning points
for the future development of Nollywood. Indeed, the increasing importance of the
diaspora audience is evident through proliferation of film award ceremonies held in the
UK and the USA where titles such as Veer-Zaara won major awards based upon votes
cast by diasporic audiences (Madichie and Katwalo, 2005). Moreover, the Cannes Film
Festival of 2005 witnessed the opening of the Indian Pavilion, funded through
government sources and thus providing a showcase opportunity for Indian movie
producers. Cannes also recognized the important contributions made by the Indian film
industry in general especially Pather Panchali opening the Cannes Classics Series.
Overall, while it is arguable that Bollywood exists and caters for a diasporic audience
of Indians (Rajadhyaksha, 2004), this has been largely due to its heavy media influence
and hype, and the fact that much of the Bollywood phenomenon has been enacted in
London and other Western locations rather than in India (i.e. changing photo shoot
locations). Spencer (2002) cites the examples of Webbers Bollywood Dreams; Selfridges
month long Bollywood Extravaganza, the British Film Institutes Bollywood Movies
Tour and Channel 4 (UK) Bollywood Women Season (Madichie and Katwalo, 2005)
this is another area where Nollywood seems to have short-changed itself.
MIP Design/methodology/approach
28,5 Considering the lack of rigorous academic research on the subject, this paper draws on
a range of sources from journalistic reviews (which sometimes include excerpts of
interviews conducted with social actors from the producers, marketers and actors
themselves) to other reports/reviews posted on ethnic portals such as www.kwenu.com;
www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/ and www.Nigeria.com in order to build a case for the
630 ever-growing market for Nollywood movies.
The paper also benefits from a relatively small survey of respondents using the
questionnaire technique. Primary data for this stage of research exercise was initially
collected in the summer of 2005, using questionnaire survey of 60 respondents (number
completed out of original 200 questionnaires sent out). The self-administered
questionnaires were collected in the autumn of 2006 (Madichie and Ibeh, 2006) and
again in 2007 and 2008. Typical questions revolved around the key challenges facing
Nollywood and what respondents deemed to be the main priority areas in containing
these challenges. At the initial stage, the paper was more concerned about how Nollywood
movies were being distributed outside Nigeria. However, as events developed, the concern
began moving towards three key areas notably how Nollywood:
(1) has developed as a product over the years;
(2) can be better showcased to the international market (i.e. marketing
communications); and ultimately; and
(3) break away from the margin (its current state of infancy) to the mainstream
(i.e. achieve box office appeal).

These initial lines of enquiry were further corroborated with depth interview methods
with colleagues at relevant management conferences[1] thus ensuring what is arguably
methodological pluralism, as advocated for behaviour-orientated studies (Kamath et al.,
1987). The key informant technique was also employed despite the limitations associated
with such techniques (Philips, 1981). In this respect, a movie actor-cum-producer was
subjected to a series of in-depth interviewing where he provided an outside-in view of the
industry. Finally, focus group interviews were more recently undertaken with a diverse
sample of non-resident Nigerian stakeholders in recognition that Nollywood has started to
appeal to this target market (both Nigerians and Africans in the diaspora). Transcripts
from the online focus group interview (see Table I for a profile of participants), which
tended to corroborate the self-administered questionnaires results in telling a story of life
in the western world and how the lure of emigration has grown within the domestic
population. As Malhotra (2007, p. 145) clearly pointed out:

S. no Pseudonym Residence Occupation

1 Demo Lagos, Nigeria Banker

Table I.
Profile of key online focus
group informants
2 Guchi London, UK Business man
3 Amans The USA Not known
4 EF-CEE San Francisco, California, USA IT specialist
5 Okwy The USA Financial analyst
6 Kurt Houston, Texas, USA Actor
 Focus group is an interview technique conducted [. . .] in a nonstructured and natural manner The Nigerian
with a small group of respondents [in order] to gain insights by listening to a group of people
from the appropriate target market talk about issues of interest [. . .] (Nollywood in this case). movie industry
He goes on to add that the value of focus groups lies in the unexpected findings often
obtained from a free-flowing group discussion. Furthermore, focus group membership
can range from anything between four and 12 (four to six in online focus groups and
eight to 12 in the case of traditional focus groups). 631
Interestingly, out of over a dozen respondents drawn from a sample of an internet
discussion group made up of professionals, six were consistent in sharing their
experiences over a 12-month period and were thus deemed appropriate for admission
into the final focus group sample, which is profiled in Table I. Overall therefore, it is
safe to argue that this study has spanned over three years between 2005 and late
2007 and has thus benefited from data triangulation in a bid to establish its validity
and reliability. In the light of this, it may be worth restating that the study has
employed the use of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and focus groups in
order to tease out some key themes that have dogged the industry in the last decade.
Some of these findings are broken down into relevant themes and discussed in a bit
more detail in the next section.

Findings
From the focus group discussions with Nigerian audiences and professionals both
within and outside the country (see Table I for an abridged respondent profile) provide
grounds for some key themes, which include the following:
(1 ) poor acting and directing; as well as
(2 ) poor sound quality.

These key product attributes were also suggested as having resulted from:
(3 ) lack of creativity, and ultimately led to the growing loss of interest by the target
audience as evidenced by the; and
(4 ) poor connections with the diaspora.

Table IV uses examples of data to illustrate these themes and consequently maps these
to appropriate marketing concepts/theories in order to enable the grounds for further
analysis as may be needed in future research.

Theme 1: poor acting and directing

The plot in Nollywood movies has been a contentious area identified in previous works
on the industry. To elaborate on the key constituents of the plot, there is a need to point
out the roles of the actors and directors. While in comparable movie industries some
degree of distinction seems rather evident alongside the recruitment of a quality cast
and careful directing, the same cannot be argued for Nollywood. In any case, there is no
doubt that the future of Nollywood very well depends on the experience and quality of
the cast on screen. However, this message does not seem to have resonated with the
diasporic audience as found in the course of this study. To confirm this faux pas, one
respondent (an independent, US-based Nigerian actor) clearly opined that:
MIP There is bad acting all over the world but not as bad as we make them look [in the case of
Nollywood]. Nigerians are fond of taking things overboard, the use of one line or a facial
28,5 expression becomes the landmark for all upcoming actors forgetting that we all react to
situations differently (Actor, Houston, Texas).
To buttress the point further, the same respondent expressed pessimism over the
future of Nollywood based on the quality of the cast on-screen thus:
632 I have watched a lot of movies (African) to actually pick out the good ones but I can say that
over the years the dramas have changed. The style of acting is the most glaring, we are over
dramatic in our acting especially in serious situations,(over reacting), facial expressions are
more of a childs play, actors are not sincere to the script, I dont know if the directors are not
doing their job or its the actors fault (Actor, Houston, Texas).
However, despite the disenchantment with the skills and experiences of the cast, the
degree of seriousness attached to Nollywood seems to be on the wane. Indeed, the
following remark seems to further confirm the fears expressed by the previous
respondent over what the future holds for Nollywood:
I find them quite entertaining [. . .] there is much to share laughs on. You can imagine my
surprise one day several years ago, watching one of the movies, then seeing a family portrait
on the wall as some actress was walking by. Apparently my Dad had allowed a few scenes to
be shot at theirs [. . .] I wondered how come they had not bothered to remove the pictures, but
then I remembered that they must have been working under strict [. . .] timeline from the
home owner [. . .] (Freelance Respondent, USA).
Obviously, the latter respondent seems very much in proximity to the production and
directing team to the extent that his family home had been leased in the past as a photo
shoot location. Indeed the quality concerns go beyond the recruitment of an
inexperienced cast but also poor production processes with poor special effects,
lighting and sound mixes not to mention the little details of getting rid of the family
portraits adorning the walls of a leased location. In addition to this, major blunder,
which sometimes goes unnoticed is the poor sound quality in the movies themselves.

Theme 2: poor sound quality

Sound quality is another major product attribute to contend with. While the review of
literature tends to suggest that consumers of Nollywood are not particularly concerned
about the quality of the movies, which includes the imagery and sound effects,
participants in the focus group tended to indicate otherwise. From the discussions,
there seems to be a lurking feeling that the industry needs to move with the times and
improve on such basic attributes such as sound management. As one respondent
clearly pointed out:
The Nigerian movie has a very poor sound quality, minor mistakes like boom mic and
shadows showing at the background are overlooked because they are over booked, the
directors dont have time, and also the actors dont have time to reshoot [. . .] Presentation is
even worse especially in terms of improvisation, the quality of the movies [. . .] though lately
they have started showing signs of improvement. Movie trailer sounds at the beginning of the
features are most annoying (Actor, Houston, Texas).
The lack of time to reshoot movies is one of the key elements embedded in the
speed-to-market of Nollywood movies. Producers cannot wait to get on with the next
movie and thereby prone to sacrificing quality at the alter of quantity. Poor product The Nigerian
quality is invariably one of the no-nos of the product mix. Therefore, getting the movie industry
quality wrong can only exist for so long. Another focus group participant provides some
tips on how a little more effort on production lead time can help enhance the quality thus:
There is no time limit on how long a movie should take to get done but we expect people to
spend time for quality. What is called low budget movies here in the west are sometimes
better than what our best producers can produce, because time is not spent on the production 633
(Actor, Houston, Texas).
The quality issue is a recurring theme proving to be the main obstacle towards the
international recognition of Nollywood. The acceptance of poor quality, however, still
seemed tolerable to some consumers in the remarks of yet another respondent who
expressed views that echo those of Barnard and Tuomi (2008) that some aspect
of quality may be taken for granted by the target market whose expectations are still
modest:
As for the quality of the movies, I am extremely glad about VCD/DVD format because,
watching the movies [in the past] used to be with [fingers crossed] because one is not sure
what part you have [either part 1 or part 2], if it will show till the end [i.e. picture quality] and
whats the deal with the sound? One scene, it is low, the next very loud same goes for the
previews i.e. trailers (IT Specialist, San Francisco, CA, USA).
In tune with the marketing literature on the diverse attributes of products and the
concomitant divergences in how they appeal to consumers, it seems like patronage
was mainly based on emotional rather than rational appeals (Clow and Baack, 2007,
p. 183). This was confirmed in another remark on slangs that resonate with the target
audience:
At least the VCDs have really helped make the picture quality more or less consistent. The
plot is another issue [i.e. story line], but I dont really have much of a problem with that
because as Okwy [another respondent in the focus group] rightly pointed out, the plots in
western movies are just as predictable but we watch them nonetheless. I find that I watch
them for the small things, the slangs, the yabs, the fashion, the joints, etc. They can be quite
entertaining [. . .] (IT Specialist, San Francisco, California, USA).
Something that is very striking from the excerpts above is the fact that some
consumers tend to purchase the product for those little things and nothing more.
Further linked to aspects of product innovation and/or new product development
(NPD) there is the lack of innovation and creativity in the way the movies are processed
even in a welcoming society such as identified by Barnard and Tuomi (2008) in their
comparison of Nollywood with the South African film industry.

Theme 3: lack of creativity

There were also some indication of stifled creativity which can be linked to the
embodiment of no-thrills and therefore no-frills production of movies in the shortest
possible time. Indeed this lack of creativity arising in the recycling of best sellers and
inability to recognize opportunities in target markets is another cause for concern.
As one respondent observed:
Nigerians are fond of repeating what made the last movie sell. With all the millions of movies
made in the last two decades we have never had an African movie premiere in United States
MIP while our Western Union and MoneyGram and all other bank transfers are in the billions
per year meaning there are more Nigerian fans outside Nigeria (Actor, Houston, Texas).
28,5
Personally, I find the production quality, storyline, and plots, etc. rather predictable,
monotonous or downright horrendous. Thats not to say that all Naija movies are bad, but it
just seems like picking a needle out of a haystack sometimes. Hence, I am unable to do justice
to your questionnaire [. . .] I can say that from the few that Ive sat down to watch, my favourite
634 was a movie called Uncle Wey and another called Osuofia (Business man, London, UK).
The above themes, which constitute production, were compared with the findings from
the questionnaire with some interesting results. From Figure 1, it can be seen that over
90 per cent (i.e. 54 out of 60 questionnaires) of the respondents rated production as an
area of high priority compared with 70 per cent (42 respondents) and 67 per cent
(40 respondents) for marketing and distribution, respectively.
However, there are clear indications from the responses that the issue of distribution
did not rank particularly highly with about 13 per cent (or eight respondents) pointing
out that it ranked quite low in comparison to production and marketing without any
low ranking whatsoever. In Figure 2, however, there are clear indications that poor
acting and poor quality key production measures ranked quite highly (both rated
within first two) and so did lack of creativity.
Notwithstanding, we must note that while production is a predominant negative
factor, it is marketing and distribution that takes the message across to the target
audience the diasporic market. Surprisingly, the missed opportunity to
communicate with the diasporic market was not highly ranked in Figure 2 as this
came a distant third position. This is in contrast with the narratives, which suggest that
there has been a rather poor connection with the target market or diasporic audience.

Theme 4: poor connections with the diaspora

Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that the penetration of Nollywood into far-flung
places such as the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, London and Houston, lends support to the
contention that Nollywood targets African audiences both at home and abroad:
I am a big fan of the Nigerian movie and believe by and large that in the next decade we will
be a force to reckon with. As a Nigerian resident in the United States and an actor by

60
High
50 Medium
Ranking of respondents

Low
40

30

20

10

0
Figure 1.
Production Marketing Distribution
Priority areas for action
Key areas
 50 The Nigerian
Respondents' ratings (1 to 6)

45 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

40 movie industry
35
30
25
20
15 635
10
5
0
Poor acting Poor quality Paternalism Unwillingness Lack of Poor
to learn creativity connections
with diaspora Figure 2.
Nollywood rating scores
Performance measures

profession, I see the need for a fair competition for African movies against western
(Hollywood) movies [. . .] (Actor, Houston, Texas).
However, this connection can sometimes prove difficult to achieve:
The problem [is that. . .] many guys would not admit watching Naija home movies [. . .] to the
extent that they now have top 10 or even favourites. In fact, many chaps are likely to be found
rebuking the missus [i.e. their spouses] for spending precious time watching Naija movies
(Actor, Houston, Texas).
Tables II and III provide samples of responses from the initial questionnaires, which
were semi-structured and tailored towards identifying what movies tickled fancy of
respondents and why. A subjective categorization is undertaken in Table II to transform
the variables in the responses in three broad factors (note that this was not undertaken
through factor analysis but qualitatively by drawing inferences and interpreting
meanings).
Although some attachment to the product based on emotional rather than rational
appeals still lingers, there also exists a brewing disconnection of such interests from
the latest diasporic market segment for Nollywood movies, which cannot continue to be
ignored. To support some of the findings from the survey using questionnaires, some
members of the focus groups tended to recall striking favourites:
The ones I remember are Osuofia in London 1&2 and Valentino [. . .] Strange, I cant remember
any others, I have seen at least a hundred but I guess with only a handful of memorable actors
and the movies having similar sounding names and plots it is hard for a lasting memory to
maintain (Freelance Respondent, USA).
From the above excerpt, it is persuasive to suggest that there seems to be a regurgitation
of plots which further reinforces the attribute lack of creativity. Indeed another
respondent confirms this selective recollection of titles:
Q1. I can only remember Rattlesnake, Ikuku, and Osuofia in London. Clearly I have not
watched much recently, or watch them so passively I dont recall their names, I am not
a movie (Nolly, Holly, Bolly, or any wood for that matter) person, ask me about Nigerian
books.
Q2. I do not recall my worst movies, I probably stop too early.
MIP Weaknesses and threats Opportunities (for further development)
28,5
Product(ion)
There is no storyline They need to start producing movies that will be
The story (Snake Girl) doesnt have any seen in cinemas home and abroad
connection to the title. It is senseless [. . .] you Nigerian movies are upcoming but they need more
are supposed to learn from movies coordination and patience. Some of the storylines
636 Bad sound quality, background and storyline are just too appalling
Stupid story
Too based on crude traditions
Poor storyline
Marketing communications
There is a poor level of advertising of the Good advertisement but too long i.e. the
storylines of Nigerian movies apart from within advertisement before the movie starts can be
the trailers, which are mostly about the producers rather lengthy
anyhow rather than future releases. I think the Too much advertisement before movie starts.
advertising and general promotions are rather Unnecessarily prolonged storyline
weak
Distribution
This is unclear. There are no clear international Nollywood movies are available all over the
agencies that distribute the movies with accurate world. Indeed anywhere you see Nigerians or
record keeping ensuring the criteria for box office African in general you are bound to find them
takings even at the lowest level My friends and I tend to watch free Nollywood
movies on the internet. I do not know how they do
it but we pay nothing to see them
Table II. My friends and I tend to watch free Nollywood
Production, marketing movies on the internet. I do not know how they do
and distribution it but we pay nothing to see them

Movie rank Respondent

and title Strengths Weaknesses profile

Lost to Lust Good directing and None stated Female, aged 26-35
a good storyline
Lagos na None stated Bad sound quality, background Male, aged 19-25
War and storyline
Money None stated Stupid story
Matters
Jadon None stated Stupid Female, aged 19-25
War Front None stated Stupid
Evil Forces None stated Based on crude traditions Female, aged 26-35
My Driver None stated Poor storyline
Pastors None stated Poor storyline Male, aged 19-25
Blood
Assanfire None stated There is no storyline Female, aged 26-35
Table III. Snake Girl None stated The story does not have any connection
Sample questionnaire with the title. It is senseless [. . .] you are
responses supposed to learn from movies
 Q3. I know the main characters in Rattlesnake (Okey Igwe), and Ikuku (Pete Edochie). It is The Nigerian
easy to connect with actors I know in real life [IT Specialist, San Francisco, CA, USA].
movie industry
The above remarks are linked to three of the topics discussed in the focus group
notably:
(1) list of top-ten Nollywood movies;
(2) list of bottom-ten of the same; and 637
(3) reasons for the ranking (Table III).

It is also interesting to note that there were no positive responses to the question relating
to providing a brief summary of two of the best Nollywood movies ever watched, save
for one who made it clear that the good movies did not have to be restricted to only those
made in English and a second in the diaspora who still seemed connected. This
Lagos-based bankers remark is suggestive of the fact that there still exists an interested
audience in the domestic market of industry:
Let me add that I have also seen some that can be considered nice. I think most of Tade
Ogidans works are quite good, e.g. madam dearest. Tunde Kelanis works (saworo ide,
magun, agogo ewo) are also quite nice although you might not appreciate them because they
are Yoruba films (some if not all are subtitled). These films are representative of the rich
Yoruba culture and you even have Akinwunmi Ishola (a Professor of Yoruba) featuring in
some of them. O le ku is another nice one (Banker, Lagos, Nigeria).
In the second case, this respondent seemed rather appreciative of the special effects
being introduced into the production process:
It seems like most of us have the same mind set on Nigerian Movies. I also do not really watch
them, but since my wife is a Nigerian Movie watcher I cannot help but watch every now and
then. One particular one that stood out for me was one called Dangerous Twins, that one is
old now since they make almost a million movies in one year. I thought the directing and
video effect in that movie was great [. . .] They even had the Eddie Murphy Thing where one
actor acted two parts and spoke to himself that was cool (Freelance Respondent, USA).
When asked to comment on the recipe for marketing success, responses were rather
disarming and suggestive of the fact that Nollywood movies constituted a cultural
product which appeals to emotional consumption nuances:
The thrust of Nigerian movie marketing and/or production I think should not, and probably
is not Western Europe, and North America for two reasons the colonial, and slave trade
past makes these regions impervious to African values. The relationship of the Western
hemisphere with movies goes way beyond entertainment, it is the purveyor of their culture,
and propaganda, that was the reason behind 007 beating the Russians (You only Live Twice)
developing nations quest for independent national government (Live and Let Die), the
Chinese & N/Koreans (Goldfinger) and so on. You can extrapolate to the cowboys v. Indians,
all the WWII movies, ad infinitum (IT Specialist, San Francisco, California, USA).
This also provides grounds for inferring that a pot luck culture has been at play in
the success of Nollywood beyond the Nigerian shores. It seems that the movies have
been purchased on other appeals than the rational i.e. not as a result of the quality of
the product but purely due to the attachments the consumers have with the cultural
realities on display in the movies. After confirming the poor marketing strategies
identified from the various sources, it was deemed appropriate to seek out suggestions
MIP on how to redress the anomalies or misgivings expressed over the current state of
28,5 Nollywood. In the light of this, some guidance seemed to have been derived from the
entrepreneurial marketing literature notably the effective use of networks
including personal contact networks and inter-organizational relationships
(Carson et al., 1995).

638 Theme 5: international collaboration and networking

Networking has emerged as a key theme within the entrepreneurship research literature
(Granovetter, 1985; Aldrich and Zimmer, 1986; Birley et al., 1990; Curran et al., 1993;
Shaw, 2004; cited from Shaw and Carter, 2007, p. 427). In particular, it emerged that for
each respondent [. . .] the networks were not established even where there seemed an
obvious need for this. An example can be gleaned from the following excerpt:
These guys are just unwilling to learn from even those that do not seem to have any
short-term interest in the proceeds [. . .] those of us that want to see the industry grow into
something to reckon with in the long-term, the future, say twenty to thirty years from now.
This is something one can sit back and say, I played a part in making this happen.
As already identified in the review of the thin literature on the Nigerian movie
industry, there is a compelling need for international networking and collaboration in
order to rectify the precarious image of Nollywood on the international stage. As one
respondent bluntly stated:
I have done my research and my conclusion with that of few producers and local talents are to
work on projects here and let the people at home tell the difference. We love our country and
will encourage good acting when we see one that is why we will continue to invite and cast
those that show signs of improvement and professionalism. A California-based low budget
movie actor and producer shares the same idea [. . .] and we are collaborating on projects here
in the USA (Actor, Houston, Texas).
Although not explicit in terms of international collaboration there were some
expressions of hope for the Nollywood industry, as the following remark seemed to
indicate:
Do our movies have room for growth, oh yes, otherwise why was the DVD invented after all
the years of VHS? There is room for improvement in all spheres of this budding industry [. . .]
(Actor, Houston, Texas).
Moving beyond international collaboration and emphasising the importance of
networking and partnerships, most plausibly between the private and public sector for
the advancement of Nollywood, one respondent did not mince words when he
recounted harsh lessons for stakeholders:
A million words could be written about this our [online focus group] posturing on Nigerian
movies, because we loudly or quietly have come to see ourselves as elites, people that are
entitled, with rights to pass judgement on everything in our environment, not minding that
the industry, spun out of grave poverty and lack of opportunities in the country at the
beginning of last decade is probably the largest employer of skilled, and semi-skilled labour in
the country [. . .] private-initiative driven, and done more for our quest for cultural dominance
and hegemony in Africa despite zero investment from government (Financial Analyst, USA).
The above remark is consistent with previous arguments where the private sector in
emerging markets seemed to have picked up the mantle of substituting for the state
(Brautigam, 1997; Madichie et al., 2008). Furthermore, it has been argued that the The Nigerian
current form of Nollywood is atypical of a situation where half bread was better than movie industry
none. In other words, while movies in similar markets have registered an international
box appeal, they still lacked the critical mass embodied in the Nollywood model
(Barnard and Tuomi, 2008). The following comment further accentuates this position:
Nollywood has done more for Nigerias dominance of the African space than the billions spent
from the governments of Balewa till date, not forgetting the fiasco called FESTAC, ask all 639
Africans Anglo, Franco, even Portuguese speaking about Nigerian movies [. . .] (Financial
Analyst, USA).
These sentiments confirm the consumption of Nollywood movies purely as cultural
products benefiting from emotional rather than rational appeals. However, this may not
be sustainable in the brutal face of globalization with the threat of foreign players
capitalizing on the opportunities in the emerging market (movies like Hotel Rwanda,
Last King of Scotland, Amistad and Slumdog Millionaire need no elaboration). As shown
in Figure 3, this is even more imminent in an industry that remains, as it seems,
unwilling to learn, lagging in creativity and fast losing even its own diasporic appeal.
Overall, these findings not only suggest the criticality of forging networks but also the
dangers of overemphasis on speed-to-market, the latter resulting primarily on the need
to compromise on quality. Even though there seems to be some sense in capturing trends
as they unfold, Nollywood has not quite yet established any factual evidence that some
of the quality issues may have been dependent on the need to meet any urgent deadlines.
On the contrary, the speed-to-market seems only secondary and consequently
accidentally as investors strive for quick returns-on-investments. Table IV provides a
summary of these themes and how they are linked to the marketing literature.

Discussion Nollywood in the twenty-first century

From the documentary analysis on one hand, some interesting dimensions readily impact
on the development and consumption of the product (Nollywood movies) notably

Promotions

Barriers
Paternalism
Target market

Poor quality
Poor directing Product
Poor storyline nollywood
Lack of
creativity

Figure 3.
Place
Conceptual framework for
marketing Nollywood
 28,5
MIP

640

Table IV.

results/findings
Analysis of Nollywood
Theme numbera Marketing literature Example of raw data in which emergent themes were based

1 Marketing strategy e.g. product strategy including
movie pre to post-production and casting (Barnard
and Tuomi, 2008)
2 Marketing strategy e.g. market demand (Kotler
and Armstrong, 2010)
3 Marketing strategy e.g. NPD (Kotler and
Armstrong, 2010; Akpabio, 2003 cited in Barnard
and Tuomi, 2008, p. 659)
4 Marketing communications e.g. poor connections
with the target market (Fill, 2009; Clow and Baack,
2007)
5 Entrepreneurial marketing e.g. collaborative
partnerships and the use of personal contact
networks (Carson et al., 1995; Hill and McGowan,
1997)
Note: aThe first three themes are closely related to the product element of the marketing mix, while the fourth is largely a promotion mix or marketing
communications attribute
The directing is just absurd. The cast sometimes look like they are just not cut
out for the part. Emotions look like childs play sometimes. I am not sure
about the auditioning process if it happens at all
My goodness you need to keep your remote control nearby as the movie goes
from scene to scene [. . .] the sound moves from near mute to speaker bursting
especially when something sinister is about to happen (Banker, Lagos,
Nigeria)
I dont bother myself with the quality issues per se, I tend to enjoy the
entertainment value, the slangs that seem to be used in everyday street
language coming alive on screen is quite entertaining but then again
something has to be done about the picture and sound quality if these guys
really want to make a living from this business (IT Specialist, San Francisco,
California, USA)
The themes tend to be melodramatic witchcraft, cannibalism, incest and
pure evil (Akpabio, 2003 cited in Barnard and Tuomi, 2008, p. 659)
Every time you hear of a film festival Nollywood never has a representation
even when other developing marketing are picking up awards especially
South Africa nd believe it or not even Senegal and other smaller countries
Bollywood movies have their own cinemas in many parts of London see the
places like Ilford, East Ham and Plaistow. But wheres Nollywood, not even in
Brixton, Peckham and Hackney where you have large populations of
immigrants of African origin
I have done my research and my conclusion with that of few producers and
local talents are to work on projects here [in the USA] and let the people at
home [Nigeria] tell the difference. We love our country and will encourage
good acting when we see one that is why we will continue to invite and cast
those that show signs of improvement and professionalism [Actor, Houston,
Texas]
emotional vs rational appeals and the already established changing story-lines. In the The Nigerian
former case, Madichie and Ibeh (2006) reported three interesting dynamics suggestive movie industry
of a need for emotional consumption of Nollywood movies in overseas markets. In this
regarding, there is a need to cite some notable examples. In the first situation, one
Nigerian resident in the USA expressed what living in the Diaspora meant for the
upbringing of their kids thus: [. . .] for us parents, it becomes a reference book. This
view was also reportedly echoed by a similar line of reasoning in a second situation 641
where a respondent recalled scenes in various Nollywood movies [. . .] Our kids, when
they get here, they get lost, too Americanized [. . .] These movies show them the other
side. In the third scenario, the respondent was of West Indian descent but began
watching Nollywood movies with her Nigerian-born husband and was seemingly
(Madichie and Ibeh, 2006):
Struck by the similar good-versus-evil themes often found in the [. . .] Bollywood film genre
she became fond of growing up in Guyana. However, she also found some aspects disturbing.
In one Nigerian movie, for example, the wife was blamed for infecting her husband with HIV
but neglected the possible angle of the husbands promiscuity. To this respondent it seemed
to be giving the wrong message, trivializing HIV.
Most of these views resonate with cues picked up from the literature as having a
conflict of interests in Nollywood movies. For example, Haynes (1995) once noted that
the films heavy emphasis on the supernatural had prompted numerous African
filmmakers to forge renewed interest in subjects relatively undeveloped in the past
notably entertainment. This echoes the views of renowned gurus in the field such as
Okome (1993) and Haynes and Okome (1998) who pronounced that Many African
intellectuals [. . .] dismiss the (Nigerian) movies for playing up witchcraft, which [. . .]
perpetuates negative Western stereotypes of Africans. Little wonder why some film
experts remain sceptical about the industrys ability to penetrate the broader US
market (Madichie and Ibeh, 2006) a reality that has somewhat prompted Nollywood
movie-makers to venture into fields anew by changing their storylines in order to be
consistent with the developments of the twenty-first century entertainment.
On this latter note, the changing story-lines have become an interesting phenomenon,
which has been applauded for being contemporary in their execution largely propped
up with what has become a competitive advantage i.e. speed-to-market. Indeed the
muffled allusions to romance, sexuality and desire characteristic of quite a sizeable
segment of earlier African Cinema have become more pronounced and developed in a
number of recent productions to the point of even constituting the narrative vehicle for
some films, such as London Boy and Dangerous Twins. In this regard, a comment from
one respondent (captured from the documentary analysis) is worthy of note [. . .] Nigeria
is going to redefine the concept of African cinema. We make films in Nigeria, for
Nigerians [. . .]. Moreover, the role and support of the industry by national governments
was also highlighted as a market access issue. For example, Trenton (2003) pointed out
that:
The French government is fighting America to open its market so that more movies can come
in [. . .] Weve made our country a Mecca for home-video movies. Before 1998, if you went to
the video club, 80 percent of the movies were foreign movies. Now [the same] 80 percent are
Nigerian movies. Thats a huge success. Nigerians appreciate their own story lines. They
want their movies more than they want foreign ones.
MIP In seeking out further clarification on what constituted the Nigerian storyline,
28,5 Zeb Ejiro described it as: [. . .] Everything Nigerian [. . .] the way they dress, the way
they talk, the story itself [. . .]. To add substance to that definition, another key player in
the Nollywood circle, Tunde Kelani was quoted as saying that (Madichie and Ibeh, 2006):
Most of our films draw on folklore. This is inevitable especially for me, coming from such a
rich cultural background. The Yoruba language and tradition is as advanced and developed
642 as any other. So I do a lot of adaptations from literary sources.
Contrary to popular indigenous beliefs, the African Artistic heritage seemed highly
appreciated in the Western world and revered for its uniqueness and closeness to
nature. For many Western consumers of Nigerian movies, it has always been very
unique and thrilling to see an African play, dance or movie. As Trenton (2003) aptly
put it:
All over Europe, Britain, America, people clamour to see African performers or artists do
their thing. Ipitombe rocked the western world several years ago. So did Sarafina and even
now, The Lion King continue to rock the stage a la Broadway, Chinua Achebes Things Fall
Apart is the book that everyone wants to read.
However, Nollywood has grown tremendously within the last two decades with such
classics like Living in Bondage and other early home movies (what Nigerians tend to
refer Nollywood videos as) setting the pace. More recently, the industry even ventured
into exporting itself regionally (i.e. some international marketing) notably to markets
as diverse as Ghana, Sierra Leone and Kenya (Daily Nation, 2004; Wagner and Ondobo,
1992) who have also recently started reproducing their own home videos along the
models of Nollywood (Barnard and Tuomi, 2008). Indeed in 2005, a group of
Nollywood Actors and filmmakers were guests of the President of Sierra Leone,
Ahmad Tejan Kabbah much to the delight of the nationals whose fans pleasantly
mobbed the Nigerians and accorded them a Presidential hospitality an illustration of
how some Africans admire and respect the Nollywood stars (Madichie and Katwalo,
2005; Madichie and Ibeh, 2006). In its acclaimed position of third largest producer of
low-budget, mass-market movies, Nollywood has rapidly gained a reputation for quality
feature filmmaking, thanks to the recent international success of home-grown films like
Irapada, which follows a young building contractor whose foster mother pressures him
to perform a traditional redemption rite, and Ezra about the plight of child soldiers in
Sierra Leone (Au and Brownell, 2007). These development thus offer their very
Europeanized children a glimpse of African life, particularly the clash of modernity and
traditionalism sweeping across the African continent. These views were effectively
captured thus (Giovanni, 1995, p. 39):
There is the myth of African Cinema and there is the reality of it. The myth is that it is largely
made by people who live and work in Africa, but it is much more fluid than that, as African
Cinema is a film world in search of both a constituency and a community, and it realizes that
it is potentially a borderless cinema.
There have also been some new directions identified in the marketing of Nollywood
movies. The appeal arguably lies in its willingness to confront contemporary
African problems like civil war, poverty and migration. Moviegoers have also
demonstrated a penchant for the raw energy entrenched in Nollywood movies, and
consider the (at times) poor sound and image quality all part of the authentic grass
roots feel of the movement. These themes are consistent with the observations made by The Nigerian
Barnard and Tuomi (2008) about the benefits of unsophisticated demand in ensuring movie industry
local consumption and acceptance of relatively poor quality movies especially in
Nollywood. It was not too long ago in October 2007 that Nigerian film executives met
in London to promote the countrys film industry, where three award-winning
Nollywood spectaculars Irapada, Ezra and Area Boys a short film about two
friends who decide to cut ties with their boss were screened at the London Film 643
Festival. Irapada is a cautionary tale about respecting Nigerias heritage atypical of
the didactic nature of most Nollywood films. Living in Bondage, about evil people who
deny the son of a polygamous chief his inheritance, examines a subject of great interest
to Nigerians namely, how Africans negotiate the divide between the rich and the
poor is another illustrative case.
Since Nollywood movies are typically shot, produced and released in a matter of
weeks, they are able to gauge and reflect the countrys mood at any given time. As Chike
Maduekwe (director of Gemafrique, an organization that promotes Nigerian cinema)
puts it Nigerian films are now part of a global pop culture [. . .] Whats important is
that it is Nigerians telling their own story in their own way (Au and Brownell, 2007,
p. 71). While there might be some logic in this approach, what Maduekwe failed to point
out was how to improve the promotion aspect of brand Nollywood (i.e. develop
appropriate marketing communications strategies). However, there has been some
evidence of paradigmatic shifts in the storylines key product related attributes in
Nollywood movies, as shown in Figure 3 which highlights the possible links between the
marketing strategies and the development challenges facing the product in question.
Further evidence from the focus groups provided additional themes ranging from
poor acting, directing, sound quality to an outright disconnection from the diasporic
market (Figure 3). Two other issues are highlighted in the course of a depth interview
with a key informant the issue of paternalism and the arrogance on the part of actors
and producers alike in their unwillingness to learn seem to be major contributory
factors to the poor quality of production and lackadaisical attitude towards a
sustainable marketing communications agenda. In the first case of paternalism, there is
an interesting connection of this phenomenon to poor acting, directing and sound
quality (Figure 3). The latter has every connotation of acting as an independent variable
which shifts the balance on the former. As one key informant put it:
In the past 10 years I have visited home twice 2005 and 2007 both times had the hope of
joining Nollywood but upon inquiry found out that some of the problems with the industry is
the marketers asking for who they want in their movies and the producers and director not
having much to say. Marketers are more concerned about money and not the quality of
movies (Actor, Houston, Texas).
In the arrogance and/or unwillingness to learn while auditions and choice of who
plays what part in what movie are determined by other factors other than merit and
appropriateness, it should not therefore come as a surprise that many actors become
reluctant to learn and therefore not amenable to constructive criticism:
The belief that anybody can produce and direct a movie witch-haunts the learned and
experienced directors and producers. A Nigerian famous star once came to the states with
well over 20 movies under his belt but could not go through a Hollywood audition, they
wouldnt even view his movies because he wasnt professional enough. He wasnt auditioned,
MIP from the script it was just pure conversation, he was too pompous to realise he was talking to
a potential employer [. . .] (Actor, Houston, Texas).
28,5
The usefulness of Figure 3 cannot be overemphasized. It presents a conceptual model
showing the interconnectedness of some of these attributes to the waning diffusion of
Nollywood to its target audience of non-resident Nigerians in the diaspora. Indeed such
attributes as product quality, storylines, script directing coupled with the entrenched
644 paternalism that characterizes the industry tend to raise barriers to the marketing and
distribution of the product in question. Furthermore, the unwillingness identified in
the arrogance displayed by the Nollywood star referred to in the previous excerpt,
epitomizes the unsavoury characteristic of the Nigerian society, where those that have
arrived (i.e. registered some upward mobility in their social status) tend to view
themselves as indispensable:
The so-called big name actors [. . .] think they are too good to be directed, they tell you how they
are going to do it and thats it! If you dont want me someone else will [. . .] and you are not going
to make your money, these actors go as far as demanding upfront payment from producers
before going on a set [. . .] this goes both ways because there have been reports where some
producers never pay up after movies have been shot. Generally our mentality has to change
[. . .] People have to keep to their promises and legal documents signed and obeyed to the letter
just as it is done here (in the USA). Thats how business should be conducted (Actor, Houston).
A second illustration of arrogance is captured thus:
Another Nigerian star came here few months ago told me he wanted to shoot American
movies he was tired of Naija [slang for Nigeria popular amongst its citizens] home videos but
check this out, he did not want to audition, he felt with his level of experience and
achievement he should not audition any longer, Hollywood will not accept that [. . .] If the
likes of Wesley Snipes will audition why not our biggest stars especially on a new soil?
(Actor, Houston, Texas, USA).
Overall, it is worth highlighting the observations of McCall (2004a, b, p. 105), which
was also picked up by Barnard and Tuomi (2008, p. 659) that the infant industry
status of Nollywood is also clear from its complex, unregulated distribution system.
The markets themselves are characterized by an amalgam of patronage, territorial
claims and customary bribery and the price of products is determined by the haggling
skills of the buyer.

Conclusions
The recent shifts in Nollywoods moviemaking machinery (i.e. production) away from
traditional story-lines towards more entertainment content targeted mostly at the
diasporic audiences in the Western world have been clearly highlighted in this paper.
However, from the detailed narratives of Nollywoods target audience in the Diasporas,
coupled with a series of qualitative research spanning three years (2005-2007) there are
clear pointers that Nollywood might still be groping in the dark for international
relevance resulting from a number of reasons all linked to the adoption of poor
marketing strategies. These include five primary areas of weakness and one major threat:
(1) poor acting and directing (weakness);
(2) poor sound quality (weakness);
(3) paternalism (weakness);
 (4) unwillingness to learn (weakness); The Nigerian
(5) lack of creativity (weakness); and movie industry
(6) poor connections with the diaspora (threat).

However, there exists possible opportunities that can be leveraged such as

international collaboration and networking, as well as a detailed reappraisal of the
marketing-mix strategies that have dogged the industry in the last decade and more. 645
In conclusion, therefore, the paper argues that in order for Nollywood to become a key
player of international reckoning in the twenty-first century moviemaking industry it
must open-up to expatriate insight and expertise, collaborative networks, and
well-informed marketing strategies. Indeed it would be foolhardy to embrace the notion
espoused by Evuleocha (2008, p. 413) that brand popularity can be used as an
evaluative construct for product quality, as the latter needs to be upgraded in order to
sustain the former. Indeed the popularity of Nollywood has worked in a reverse
direction with the quality of production and marketing. While there might be virtue in
Nollywoods speed to market, there exist more pertinent problems linked to lack of
creativity. In the case of the latter analogies can be drawn from Emeritus Professor
Michael Bakers (2008) cautioning against the prevalence of me too products. Although
Bakers concern related to published papers where there seems to be a predominance of
repetitious previous work reporting different experiments (2008, p. 33), the problem
with Nollywood seems to stem from not moving on from previously successful
movies irrespective of the acclaimed changing storylines.
There is compelling evidence to show that Nollywood can play a vital role in
moving the country and concomitantly the region, away from the margins to the
mainstream of economic development in the same way that Hollywood and Bollywood
have transformed the face of America and India, respectively. In order to do this,
however, this paper contends that Nollywood needs to be repositioned in order to
attract investments (both domestic and foreign). Nollywood is clearly a non-traditional
economic development tool for showcasing Nigeria on the global stage. Indeed
countries like India (apart from their major developments in semi-conductors,
and outsourcing centres) have been more widely recognized for their cuisine and
entertainment in the popularly acclaimed Bollywood which has become a co-branded
accessory. Hopefully, management researchers would have the opportunity to question
the proposed conceptual framework in Figure 3 where an attempt has been made to
highlight these linkages, which although reflect the challenges of Nollywood, could still
be realigned for a successful outing for the industry.

Practical implications
Nollywood has major growth prospects and some degree of cultural uniqueness which
would require institutional support such as from the government, perhaps part funded
by the British Film Industry and perhaps supported by the likes of the Cannes Film
Festival amongst others. Indeed, Nollywoods above industry average performance in
terms of regional market size, number of movies produced annually and the
speed-to-market, provides lessons for other industries and need for more of such
institutional support. These can also be built on the foundations of expatriate insight
and expertise, collaboration and custom in order to gain stability and recognizability on
the international market. Moreover, Western consumers notably the target market of
MIP non-residents, have shown signs of appreciation and support for the industry. However,
28,5 this level of support is bound to wane in the not-too-distant future. Hence, Nigerian
movie producers (and directors), distributors, marketers and all other stakeholders
must organize national, regional and international networks and/or networking events
in order to ensure that Nollywood movies have the requisite forum for shared access
(marketing communications especially), ideas and more importantly technology and
646 technical know-how (product strategies and production methods). These sorts of
collaborations have been successfully tested in Hollywood and even Bollywood, which
has had a long tradition of shared networking with each other in ensuring their
products are appropriately produced, marketed (showcased) and distributed. While the
growth of Nollywood is prevalent, creativity and innovation in its overall marketing
strategy is even more pertinent and would remain a key missing ingredient in
Nollywood the nearly perfect international marketing case study.

Note
1. This paper has benefited from a series of academic reviews from two international
conferences where different versions have been previously presented. The original draft for
2005 was largely exploratory and developmental. It was well received at the IAABD
conference in Tanzania with some useful suggestions on how to develop the paper further.
These comments were taken on board in the development of a revised version for the ISBE
conference in Cardiff in 2006. Since these two conferences the paper has been further refined
to now include new evidence from an in-depth interview with a key stakeholder a
US-based actor and additional online focus drawing upon the primary concerns and
observations of the latter. In order to act as a sounding board the key informant was also
included in the focus group interview for the purpose of response validation.

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About the author

Nnamdi O. Madichie has done PhD and he is currently working as an Assistant Professor of
Marketing at the College of Business Administration, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United
Arab Emirates. Prior to this, he was a Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for BA (Hons)
Marketing at the Business School, University of East London. In addition to being a fellow of the
Higher Education Academy, he is also a full member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and
the Academy of Marketing. His research interests straddle marketing and entrepreneurship in a
broader context. At a more micro-level, he has developed an interest in consumer behaviour in
the sports and leisure/entertainment industry, as well as in the intersections between marketing
and entrepreneurship (both ethnic minority and women entrepreneurship). Nnamdi O. Madichie
can be contacted at: nmadichie@sharjah.ac.ae

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