Veteran Nollywood actor, Ikechukwu Okoro has urged the Nigerian creative industry, particularly filmmakers, to aggressively leverage streaming platforms and strategic brand partnerships as the new dual engine for growth, increased visibility, and financial sustainability.

Speaking exclusively to MARKETING EDGE at the 02 Academy, the respected actor underscored that the era of relying solely on traditional distribution models is over, warning that Nigerian creatives are currently under-utilising the transformative power of the digital ecosystem.

 Mr. Okoro drew a parallel between the current digital shift and Nollywood’s previous revolution from the marketer-led home video era to the cinema system. He stressed that streaming represents the next, even more expansive, horizon.

“All of these things are new to us, and humans are creatures of habit,” Okoro noted. “A lot of people are still finding it hard to embrace streaming, but it is what is happening in the music industry. A lot of musicians today are cashing out because they’ve leveraged streaming. The same thing is true for film.”

He highlighted the success stories in the music sector, where streaming has turned local artists into global phenomena, urging filmmakers to follow suit.

The veteran cited the example of music legend Bright Chimezie, who is now humbling himself to leverage the platform despite his past success, as a strong indicator of the platform’s enduring value.

“When people are schooled properly to understand what they stand to gain from streaming, then they’ll begin to try it, and when they taste it, they’ll see that it’s very good,” he added.

The Missing Edge: Brand Collaboration

Beyond streaming itself, Mr. Okoro pointed out a critical gap: the weak relationship between creatives and professional marketing brands. He lamented that the advent of social media has led some creatives to adopt a ‘do-it-yourself’ mentality, making them feel they “don’t need brands.”

“To answer your question, people are not really using a lot of brands who professionally do these things, yes. But that’s not really something that is very good,” the actor observed.

He strongly advocated for working with professional marketing firms, like MARKETING EDGE, noting that this collaboration provides an essential ‘edge’—a blend of specialised knowledge, strategic planning, and professional production elements required to achieve maximum audience mileage and brand visibility.

“There is that edge, there is that touch they bring to it, and at the end of the day, it will increase sales, it will increase awareness for whatever you do,” Okoro asserted. “When an institution has said, ‘look, this is what we do,’ there are elements they will bring into it.”

 

Cooperation: The Key to a Win-Win Ecosystem

For Nigerian creatives to truly maximise their potential, Mr. Okoro emphasised the need for a cooperative model between creatives and Nigerian brands, highlighting that this synergy would become a quintessential win-win for both parties.

He elaborated on the profound, symbiotic relationship fostered through brand alliances, particularly through sponsorships and content integration. “In fact, there is a very close relationship between creatives and brands, there is also sponsorship, that can also help and both will also gain immensely from such as well,” Okoro stated.

The veteran actor notably added that such a collaboration will be a two-way street for both the creatives and the brands:

For creatives, he noted that, “Partnering with brands provides crucial funding, professional marketing expertise, and wider distribution, leading to better production quality and increased sales.”

Meanwhile, for brands, he said, “Leveraging high-quality Nigerian content, especially on streaming platforms, offers an authentic and highly engaging channel to reach a massive, captivated audience, ultimately boosting their own brand visibility and project goals.”

A recent report revealed that media and entertainment industry projected to see consumer spending increase to USD $903.2 billion by 2027.

According to Okoro, for Nigerian creatives to tap into this massive wealth, they must shed old habits and strategically incorporate the professional synergy of streaming technology and expert brand marketing. This alliance promises not just survival, but unprecedented prosperity.