For decades, legacy brands didn’t need to explain themselves. The name did the work. Trust was inherited, loyalty was assumed, and scale felt permanent. Sadly, that era is over.
Today, “legacy” is no longer shorthand for credibility. In many markets including Kenya and across Africa it quietly signals slow decision-making, outdated customer journeys, and brands that are talking at people instead of with them. This isn’t because audiences have lost values; it is because they now have choice, speed, and visibility.
Legacy brands are not failing because they lack history. They are struggling because many confuse history with relevance.
The first challenge is nostalgia without translation. Many brands lean heavily on anniversaries, throwback campaigns, and past wins without adapting them to modern consumer behaviour. The story may be powerful, but the experience that follows slow checkout, unclear pricing, fragmented access breaks the promise.
Second is the culture gap. Internet culture is not noise; it’s where attention lives. Brands that dismiss creators, short-form video, and conversational tone as “not serious enough” often become invisible to the audiences shaping future demand.
Third is rigidity disguised as consistency. Consistency matters, but when brand rules become cast in stone, they block evolution. Winning brands protect their core identity while updating how they show up, speak, and deliver value.
Finally, there is friction, the most underestimated threat. In 2026, your biggest competitor is often the easiest option. Brands don’t lose customers because of one bad ad; they lose them because engaging, subscribing, or paying feels harder than it should.
Adaptation for legacy brands does not mean abandoning what made them successful. It means re-engineering how that value is experienced.
First, meet audiences where they already are. Today’s consumers, especially younger ones, consume content in mobile-first, creator-led, and on-demand formats. Legacy brands must design for these environments, not simply recycle old formats into new channels.
Second, treat speed as part of the brand promise. Speed is no longer just operational; it shapes perception. Fast onboarding, clear pricing, simple access, and responsive support communicate respect for the customer’s time.
Third, communicate like a human being. Corporate language creates distance. Clarity builds trust. Brands that speak plainly, explain value simply, and remove unnecessary jargon outperform those that hide behind polished but empty messaging.
Fourth, partner with culture instead of controlling it. Creators are not just distribution channels; they are translators. When brands collaborate authentically, they gain relevance without forcing it.
Across Africa, the strongest legacy brands have evolved by expanding their value, not just refreshing their look.
Safaricom’s success, for example, comes from continuously layering digital services and ecosystems on top of its core trust.
In media, African publishers who have invested in paid digital access, community, and convenience show that audiences will pay when value is clear, consistent, and easy to access. The common thread is simple: adaptation works when it is structural, not cosmetic.
Working within a legacy media house has reinforced one truth for me: trust only scales when access is simple.
At Nation Media Group, the Nation App represents this shift. Rather than expecting audiences to navigate multiple platforms, formats, and entry points, the app brings our ecosystem together in one place allowing readers to move seamlessly across titles and formats based on how they want to consume content.
This approach is less about technology and more about mindset. We are packaging value around outcomes staying informed, making better decisions, understanding context rather than around individual products.
Equally important, we treat the customer journey as a growth lever.
The writer is Category Manager at Nation Media Group.
