I rushed into Shoprite after work. I was craving my favorite brand of noodles (If Indomie came to your mind, then you guessed right). I looked along the aisle and to my dismay, it was out of stock! I had been dreaming about noodles with fried eggs since my lunch break and these guys were just going to fall my hand like that? I took another look at the shelf and another brand of noodles caught my attention. The packaging was on ‘fleek’ and so I decided to try it out.
When i got home, my housemates asked why I got that brand of noodles. They were so sure I wouldn’t like it but as the eternal believer that I am, I maintained that the packaging was great and the content would be no different.
I was so wrong! I literally couldn’t go past the second spoon and I ended up throwing the meal out (Forgive me lord for wasting that food once again). Barely an hour later, thanks to ice cream, I got the bad taste out of my mouth but what I couldn’t get rid of for days was the distinct life lesson I can now never recover from.
What went wrong?! This company was just about increasing their market share by one customer and just like that they lost me. The company’s marketing and branding department had done a fantastic job; surely this new packaging would lead to a lasting increase in the bottom line. But then, it didn’t. Why? The product development department didn’t pull their weight.
The packaging was good enough to attract and convert me to a buyer, but the content was bad enough to send me back to the competition, never to return.
If your packaging is great but your content is crap, you’re a fraud
We speak so much about personal branding these days. “Fake it till you make it”, we say. This gospel is great, but how about the content? Bad content will get you out of the door faster than great packaging will get you in.
Your social media presence, resume and appearance can get you through the door to that big opportunity, get you in front of the celebrity you have idolized BUT will it get you a seat at the table? Or will it leave a bitter taste in the mouth of your hosts?
What is first is first and should always be treated as such.
Content is king! Packaging is next
Looking to excel at the latter while being mediocre with the first is like fishing with a broken net; you’re wasting your precious time and annoying the fish in the process.
Sinmisola Nojimu-Yusuf 
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