Dr. Biodun Shobanjo, renowned advertising guru and Chairman of Troyka Holdings has shared his thoughts on vital tools that contributed to his meteoric rise in Nigeria’s marketing communications industry in the last 50 years. Speaking during a Fireside chat session anchored by Brandcomfest Convener, Joshua Ajayi tagged ‘legacy of a living Legend’ Shobanjo revealed that integrity, knowledge, passion, relationships, continuity as well as other factors like quality childhood training are tested tools that can ensure lasting success in all areas of business life including the marketing Communications industry.
The fireside chat was part of this year’s Brandcomfest held at held at the Alliance Francaise, Mike Adenuga Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos. The event themed “Tech-driven Marketing Communications: Bridging Minds and Machine” had in attendance great minds, thought leaders, media players, and stakeholders in all the subsectors of the marketing and communications industry in Nigeria to explore the intersection of technology and marketing, where creativity meets innovation, where minds and machines can converge.
Sharing his life experiences, Dr. Shobanjo said “The strong impact of the past experiences that I have had in over 50 years hang on INTEGRITY. Whatever you say let people hold to it, and let people rely on your words. KNOWLEDGE is also extremely important as it helps to achieve successful results.
“PASSION is another thing that has worked for me, in all of these years, all the companies that I worked for were paying me for the things that I enjoyed whereas some people find what they do as burdensome.
“let me add that your RELATIONSHIP with people is vital in your life trajectory. I have met some incredible people along the road as colleagues, and clients, who later became my very close friends, not just to me but also to my family and children and that’s through my relationship with them. In fact most of the friends I have today are the people I met in the industry.”
Speaking on how he was able to sustain high standards across all his businesses from advertising to security services, Dr. Shobanjo said “Standard has always been the core value in all that I do. If the standard of where a child is raised is cleanliness then the child will grow up always aspiring to remain clean. I grew up with such privileges, following Standards because my late father was absolutely strict about it.”
“Despite relocating from one state to another everywhere we went there were always standards. And as I started to build my career, I then realised that there were a lot of standards I must maintain in the things I do.
“Even in the first broadcasting station where I worked and you have bosses like Christopher Kolade, and other incredible broadcasters, you have to learn those standards. It was these kinds of people I worked with and I saw them as my models. I also worked with an American Company and we know for sure that they also value standards.” He added.
However, how individuals were brought up in their various homes matters a lot in building a strong legacy.
Commenting on the two honorary doctorate degrees he received from two prestigious Nigerian Universities, Dr. Shobanjo said “These awards were not about academia but mainly how I have given back to the society. For two universities to have given me their highest degrees, means that they appreciate how I have impacted humanity in my profession and that is a good testimony.
“Knowledge is so critical in moving society forward, but knowledge for knowledge’s sake is useless, and to successfully make good impact in this industry, the ‘town’ and the ‘gown’ will need to interact more across the board so that what we know in class can be accelerated in practical terms.”
Emphasizing the importance of continuity in building a lasting legacy in the industry, he said one of the challenges we face in this industry and even outside is Continuity.
"When I look back, I realize that continuity is the biggest challenge we face in Africa," Dr. Shobanjo noted. "Many companies I aspired to work for 53 years ago no longer exist. However, I'm proud that Insight Communications, which I left 20 years ago, remains vibrant and thriving, celebrating 45 years next year."
"Continuity is crucial in leaving a lasting legacy. It's not just about achieving success but sustaining it over time."
“Don’t forget that Insight started in 1980 with 18 people, I have consistently looked at our industry and I don’t think a lot of people understand what this industry is all about.
“One of the things that I learned in this industry is that consolidation is vital: with size comes strength, if you don’t have the size, you can’t have the strength. So you need the strength, size, knowledge, and skills to run a sizeable successful company in this industry.” He concluded.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Convener of Brandcomfest and Publisher of Brand Communicator Magazine, Mr. Joshua Ajayi also touched on how technology has significantly reshaped the marketing landscape in Nigeria. His words, “What was once a traditional, one-way communication system is now a vibrant, data-driven, and highly interactive ecosystem. Brands are no longer just speaking to their consumers—they’re having real-time conversations with them, and this shift is powered by the technologies we now have at our fingertips “.
The event also featured a keynote speech delivered by Dr. Bayo Adekanmbi, the founder and CEO of Data Science Nigeria and a thought leader in data science and analytics. He expertly illuminated how technology is changing the game for marketers and the critical role data plays in crafting effective marketing communications.
Another key highlight of the event was the CMOs Conclave tagged, “From the CMO’s Lens: Periscoping the New Realities of Marketing.” This session brought together some of the top Chief Marketing Officers in the industry to discuss how they’re navigating the new realities of today’s economy.
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