Obatunde Israel is Leading a Creative Revolution in Nigeria’s Advertising Sector

Obatunde Israel’s rise in Nigeria’s advertising landscape is a masterclass in focus, resilience, and innovation. Known for his ability to harness original storytelling and forward-thinking strategies, he has consistently positioned himself ahead of the curve in an industry that thrives on change.

In this interview with Business Elites Africa, Obatunde reflects on the core principles that have defined his success—an unwavering focus, a commitment to nurturing talent, and a clear vision for what creativity can achieve in business.

Walk us through your journey – how did you get to where you’re today and what inspired it?

My journey is that of a resilient and determined Creative Entrepreneur who does not know how to give up because my course is all about making life much better for everyone around me, including businesses. The creative business is an extremely demanding venture but has its rewards.

Throughout my career working for other businesses, I was fortunate to work at top advertising agencies where I served diligently and rose up the ladder to a point where I could confidently say it is time to start a creative house that will make a difference. That was what led to the birth of Ideas Origin Media (IOM), one of the fastest growing creative agencies in Nigeria and beyond.

What unique qualities do you believe have been critical to your success in an increasingly competitive world?

Focus. It takes a lot to focus on what truly matters amidst ensuring you’re topnotch in administration, to creating an excellent creative process and unstoppable team, then increasing your clientele. It’s no joke, so I clearly focus on my vision and totally shut out every form of distraction.

To lead a successful creative business or agency, visionary thinking and the ability to foster a culture of creative empowerment is highly needed. So, I adeptly use an approach of inspiring innovation while balancing creative freedom with practical business outcomes.

Managing the team based on their personalities is one of the toughest task of a leader. Hence, consistently horning my emotional intelligence has been key to managing diverse personalities and maintaining a harmonious team dynamic, while infusing a client-centric approach into every team member’s mindset in ensuring that the agency’s creative output aligns with client expectations and business goals.

Beyond creativity, strong business acumen is crucial for aligning creative projects with financial sustainability. I always ensure that I maintain my deep passion for the creative process, which fosters stronger connections with both the team and clients.

How have you leveraged your influence to not only achieve personal success but also to create change in your community or industry?

Always. I do all I can to give back to the community. Case in point is an Art Director we once employed after listening to him present his works at a Pitch Event of one of the top advertising schools in Nigeria.
Also, we welcome undergraduates and graduating candidates from every higher institution into our agency with open arms. We have trained and still training them to become independent and frontier of creativity in the various levels of the society that they find themselves.

What was your strategy for breaking into your industry, especially considering the challenges in the African market?

It’s simply Originality.

Creativity and innovation on the bedrock of ORIGINAL storytelling are valued highly in the core values and operating principles of our agency. We encourage a culture of creative risk-taking, which inspires us to think creatively and beyond the box when it comes to traditional and non-traditional advertising.

Because of our workplace’s emphasis on cooperation and teamwork, individuals from many backgrounds easily come together to create innovative works that resonate with the target audience.

We take a client-centric strategy in order to understand our clients’ objectives and create tailored and meaningful creative solutions. We don’t also joke with skill development and lifetime learning in order to keep ahead in the rapidly evolving advertising industry.

What was the most unconventional approach you took that turned out to be a game-changer?

When you are building a vision where everyone sees themselves in it, they take it as their own. Ideas Origin Media started out to make a difference from day 1, being a game-changer is a ripple effect of our commitment to this.

Excellence is our every day KPI. In achieving this, we’ve been deliberately committed to creating an enabling environment and a people that work together seamlessly with the same excellence mindset. Our culture also encourages collaboration and partnership on both small and big scales.

How do you maintain resilience and focus in a fast-paced environment where the pressure to perform is constant?

Do not allow distractions to shift your eyes from the goal post. Sometimes, it is tough to keep going but keeping your focus builds the determination and resilience needed to continually win.

In a world that’s rapidly evolving, how do you future-proof your career and business?

“To always evolve with excellence” has always been our mantra. Being a group of youthful, dynamic, and enthusiastic brains has also greatly contributed to our capacity for constant adaptation. We experiment with AI technologies, monitor industry trends, look at opportunities in the metaverse, and work with specialists to take advantage of their resources and knowledge.

WATCH ALSO:

What is your leadership philosophy, and how has it evolved as you’ve grown in influence and responsibility?

Every leader has his or her own leadership style depending on their goals and objectives. While working under different leaders before starting IOM, I witnessed more of the traditional style of leadership which allowed me to see the pros and cons of it. Hence, we adopted both the traditional and radical transparent (flat) style of leadership.

This allows us to apply decentralised, radical transparency within project teams, for innovation processes, or around creative decision-making, where autonomy and collective input are most valuable. Meanwhile, traditional structure is then maintained in areas like financial management, legal compliance, and long-term strategic planning, where a more hierarchical approach is very necessary. So, everyone has a voice in everything we do directly or indirectly.

The balance of both styles also helps us to create a workspace where the new generations like Gen Z can work seamlessly with the previous generations who grew up to understand mode of operations in workspace differently.

What key partnerships or collaborations have elevated your brand or business, and how did you strategically cultivate these relationships?

We’ve had key partnerships that has elevated our creative brand by expanding its reach and infusing fresh ideas.

One of them was the collaboration with Hilda Bassey on telling the ‘Making it Count’ story to the Jack Daniel’s target audience. The collaboration leveraging on how Hilda made it count by breaking Guinness Book of Record during her Cookathon, helped to connect more with Jack Daniel’s audience, increased the brand’s visibility and credibility.

With clients, we have creative partnerships that provide access to cutting-edge ideas that pushes creative boundaries. Co-creating with complementary brands opens opportunities for innovative products or campaigns, and building networks with creatives allows for flexible growth. An example of that is how we creatively worked on telling the story of Addmie in its’ new TV commercial: Final Touch. Done!

To cultivate these relationships strategically, it’s important to align values with potential partners and offer mutual benefits that create win-win scenarios. Long-term partnerships are more impactful; so focusing on ongoing engagement, co-creation, and transparent communication is key. Seeking out potential collaborators proactively, while leveraging existing networks, can open doors to new opportunities. By combining creativity with a strategic partnership approach, businesses can unlock new growth opportunities and expand their influence.

In what ways do you believe African entrepreneurs and leaders are reshaping global perceptions of the continent?

Individually, being able to change the narrative by telling our stories with resilience and determination despite the challenges African entrepreneurs go through is an undeniable way we’ve been re-shaping global perceptions of the continent.

Unlike other business climate, African entrepreneurs provide almost everything to work in giving top notch services. This makes us thrive better when we eventually get more aid from collaborations with the government, global partners, and associates.

As a business, we’ve partnered and still collaborating with great minds and institutions in celebrating our stories more and showcasing our prowess as Originals.

READ ALSO: 40 Under 40: Nhlanhla Dlamini is Disrupting the Global Pet Food Industry from South Africa

What is your vision for the future of your industry, and how do you plan to contribute to that future?

Nigeria’s integrated marketing communications (IMC) landscape has been profoundly altered by the advent of digital marketing and the focus on digital experience, with introduction of AI as well.

Companies are putting more and more emphasis on digital channels and online platforms in order to efficiently reach their target audience.

Due to this change, communication plans that are more cohesive and integrated are now required. These strategies are expected to cover a variety of digital touchpoints, including influencer relationships, social media, email marketing, and website optimisation.

As a business, we are creating methods to produce more tailored and targeted campaigns that increase engagement and conversions with growing significance of data analytics and personalisation in marketing while leveraging new technologies.

If you could leave a single lesson for the next generation of African leaders, what would it be?

Your greatest asset is focus but be calm enough to know when to follow your instincts, be consistently open to learning and pushing boundaries.

Like I said earlier, my journey is that of a resilient and determined entrepreneur who does not know how to give up. Most times, people see the glitters outside and conclude it’s a free ride to lead or run a business but the healed stripes from your daily struggles underneath your beautiful cloths that became wins, are the results that everyone is celebrating.