Experiential Marketing Needs People that Can Dare

Charles Alade, a Brand Activist and Head of Client Services, Brand Footprint Communications Ltd., shares with Seun Bangudu his passion for experiential marketing and the challenges brand owners face.

Owing to the fundamental desire I had for marketing, I studied Marketing at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, where I had the opportunity to do a lot of reading and research on it. I became an advocate of marketing even before graduating from the polytechnic. After graduation, I started working in marketing fields and in the long run, my flair for the profession caused me to becoming a member of professional bodies like Project Management International, Nigerian Institute of Purchasing and Supply and a potential member of the Direct Institute of Marketing in Canada where I am learning best practices of experiential marketing and management from diverse markets worldwide.

My first job in Marketing started in Lampost, a brand activation agency. My first challenge was working on one of the company’s biggest pioneering projects, which was to bring Linfan, a motorcycle brand to life in the Nigerian market. Thereafter, I joined Chellarams Nigeria Plc. as Sales Manager for their automobile products in Lagos, focusing on Loncin Motorcycles. That was my first real sales experience. However, I never really wanted to be at the sales or end point of marketing. I wanted to be part of the early steps in the marketing process which, of course, experiential marketing, a unique aspect, belongs to.

After a couple of years, I joined ESP Momentum Nigeria, where I managed the Unilever food brands like Lipton, Royco, Blueband, and Anapuma Salt. I also managed Coca Cola’s portfolio with brands like Fanta, Coke and Eva for many years. I handled UBA brand activations and MTN Youth Segment activations as well.

In 2007, I joined Brand Footprint Communications Ltd.  I am still consistent with brand activation and experiential marketing which, of course, are the core focus of the company. I was managing Celtel before it was rebranded to Zain.

My passion is experiential marketing and to really show brand owners how best it can add value to their businesses and to the future of their brands. We can still do a lot more in the industry than what is being done now. The Nigerian market is too clustered therefore it’s very important that a lot of brands tilt towards experiential marketing. You need to make your brand stand out in the crowd. The beauty of experiential marketing is that it engages your consumers in an absolute manner. It’s the only strategy that can actually immerse your consumers into the world of the brand totally.

Experiential marketing is very daring. It is daring from the side of the professionals; consequently, we look out for brand owners that are also daring. This is because the power of big ideas does not come easily. When you bring up a big idea, definitely you are thinking or looking out for something very special to touch in the mind of the consumer. Taking the risk of going out of the box to achieve the aim of the big idea is the major challenge that brand owners face. Many brand owners prefer to continually indulge in what has earlier worked for them. It is just the fear of the unknown. Brand owners actually need to start taking new and greater challenges or risks to ensure that their brands, activations and approach to consumers are always different.

For me, my line of career has been very interesting as it is a mixture of facing new challenges and reaping the rewards. When I see a lot of brands performing as a result of my strategic experiential marketing contributions, it thrills me. Professionally, I look forward to being at a very reputable level in terms of brand building. I’d like to continue driving a lot of value and possibilities for a lot of brands.