If you were anywhere near MUSON Centre recently, you felt it. That particular buzz when Nigeria‘s marketing industry gathers in one room — part celebration, part competition, part “let me see what my rival is wearing.” The 2026 ADVAN African Awards for Marketing Excellence just wrapped, and honestly? The results gave us plenty to argue about.
Here’s the headline that stopped conversations mid-sentence: Terra Cube won Brand of the Year. Ahead of Indomie. Ahead of Golden Morn. Let that sink in. The noodle brand that practically raised a generation of Lagos kids just got beaten to the biggest prize of the night.
Now, before the Indomie loyalists come for me — relax. Your beloved didn’t go home empty-handed. Not even close. Indomie took home Legacy Brand of the Year, beating MTN and Haier Thermocool to it, and then grabbed Digital and Social Media Campaign of the Year too. That second one is the real story. The legacy brand isn’t coasting on nostalgia; it’s out here winning digital. That’s not luck, that’s strategy.
The night had other plot twists. Coca-Cola took Consumer Promotion of the Year. Three Crowns owned the Experiential Campaign category. Stanbic IBTC won CSR Campaign of the Year, which, given how banks are fighting for goodwill right now, is no small thing. And in a sign of where everything is headed, Golden Terra won Best Use of AI — because of course AI showed up at the marketing awards. It shows up everywhere now, like that one uncle at family events.
The leadership honours went to the expected heavyweights: Olusegun Alebiosu of First Bank, Karl Toriola of MTN Nigeria, Girish Sharma of Guinness Nigeria, and Chief Oladimeji Adekunle Osingunwa of Mouka. Solid choices, all of them. These are the people whose decisions shape what Nigerians see, hear, and buy every single day.
“Awards don’t build brands. But they do reveal which brands have been building properly all year.”
Barely a week later, the Marketing EDGE Awards held its 14th edition at Ten Degrees Event Centre in Oregun, and Airtel Nigeria basically decided that one trophy was for amateurs. They walked away with two: Leadership Award in Corporate Social Responsibility and Most Innovative Telecom Operator of the Year.
The CSR award isn’t charity PR — or at least, not only that. Airtel’s School Adoption Programme has been renovating public primary schools, their partnership with UNICEF on the Reimagine Education programme is pushing digital learning for kids, and the Airtel Africa Foundation just inducted 70 Nigerian undergraduates into its Tech Fellowship on full scholarships. That’s real money, real impact, real brand equity.
Dinesh Balsingh, Airtel Nigeria‘s CEO, put it plainly: “Quality of service extends across the entire customer journey. It includes the strength and reliability of the network, the quality of our products and the ease with which customers can access support.”
“Quality of service extends across the entire customer journey. It includes the strength and reliability of the network, the quality of our products and the ease with which customers can access support.” — Dinesh Balsingh, CEO, Airtel Nigeria
Here’s what I take from all of this, and it’s worth saying plainly: the brands winning in Nigeria right now are the ones playing the long game. Terra Cube didn’t beat Indomie with one clever campaign; they built systematically. Airtel isn’t winning on network bars alone; they’re winning on trust built in classrooms and communities. Indomie isn’t surviving on childhood memories; they’re dominating digital.
So if you’re running a business in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt — anywhere — and you’re still treating marketing as “post on Instagram when you remember,” these awards are your wake-up call. The bar has moved. The question is whether you’re moving with it.
