signage issue 1 volume 1 | Page 11

WOLE OLAGUNDOYE SET UP OWN SHOP publication, Olagundoye n o ted th at after years of serving his f o r m e r c o m p a n y, where he made some remarkable impact in the experiential marketing arena, it was time for him to move on and fulfill a vision he had always had. F ew weeks after he quit his job as Managing Director of Exp Marketing Nigeria Limited, Wole Olagundoye is set to bounce back with an agency of his own. According to marketing edge it is exclusively gathered that the frontline experiential marketing professional has registered Outori Limited, an agency that is set to begin operations by February. In a brief chat with the aforementioned Olagundoye who also serves as the V i c e President of Experiential Marketers Association of Nigeria (EXMAN) said that Outori was established to raise the bar in experimental marketing practice in Nigeria, by giving clients real value for their money. His move is coming at a time when the experiential marketing sector in Nigeria is recording fast growth and analysts have predicted an even bigger growth in 2016 and beyond. In the last 10 years, the growth projection of the experiential marketing sector has been on the steady rise, however Nigerian Update in the last five years the growth has become even sharper as more and more brands now favour below-the-line marketing strategies over above-the-line. Speaking recently about the growth in the sector Mr. Wole Olagundoye said “I think we see a slide towards experiential marketing spend these days, what we have seen in the last five years is a situation where spend has moved gradually to experiential marketing sector from advertising. It's the reason why you find some advertising organisations having a second line interest in experiential, simply because the spend is moving towards that experiential. Experiential Marketing “Now some companies are actually diverting funds to support experiential marketing, they are now seeing the effectiveness and the impact on their brands. For instance, if you take the Tobacco industry, their only means to engage is strictly experiential. So therefore, their total 100 per cent marketing budget is directed to experiential marketing activities. The trend is now on, we can see the spend moving toward experiential.” Last year, the President of EXMAN, Rotimi Olaniyan revealed at a public function in Lagos that the experiential business in Nigeria was worth N30billion. And more growth is expected this year as more brand owners are opting for below-the-line marketing strategies, as against above-theline, due to cut in marketing budget occasioned by shrinking national economy and weak purchasing power. Experts share incisive case-studies at 2016 African Experiential Marketing summit in Lagos T he ninth edition of African Experiential Marketing Summit with the theme ‘The University of Brand Experiences’ was held recently in Lagos. The event had in attendance m a ny i n t e r n a t i o n a l experiential marketing experts who presented papers and shared quality experiences and case-studies. The speakers include Dan Hanover, Founder and Editor of Event Marketer magazine, published in the United States of America, Noukuthula Radebe, Marketing Manager at Ye l l o w w o o d B r a n d Architects and Carol Abade, Chief Executive O f f i c e r, E X P G r o u p a m o n g s t o t h e r s . Presenting his paper on the theme of the event, besides thrilling the audience with emotional driven experiential marketing case studies, Dan Hanover revealed that “Experiential marketing can be used successfully to build relationships, raise desire, verify the target audience and increase return on marketing investment”. The celebrated ‘Marketing Magician’ who is the world leading provider of experiential content also said “Africa is gradually accepting the model of social media and experiential marketing. Africa consumers have progressed over the last five years and are becoming digital natives using all the forces put in place to evolve quickly over the next couple of years not only to a population super power but a brand super p o w e r . ” awareness, increase loyalty, establish relevance, encourage interaction and product trial, create memories, stimulate positive word of mouth, change the mind of dissatisfied customers, create product Carol Abade on her own path explained that “Experiential marketing is about enabling personal connections between brands and consumers by creating real life experience worth sharing. These experiences combine digital and real world connections to create stronger memories and emotional bonds between brand and consumers.’ Signage vol.1 No1 11