Nigeria’s marketing communications industry has entered a new era where creativity alone can no longer guarantee relevance, client retention, or business success, according to Ayodeji Onabajo.

Speaking during an exclusive interview with MARKETING EDGE ONTV in Lagos, the Chief Operating Officer of Soulcommunications Limited,  explained that today’s clients now demand measurable business outcomes, deeper audience understanding, technological innovation, and stronger return on investment beyond visually appealing campaigns.

According to him, the communications industry has evolved significantly over the years, especially with the rapid emergence of new agencies competing aggressively within an increasingly crowded marketplace.

So, reflecting on the changing structure of the industry, Onabajo noted that the marketing ecosystem between 2010 and 2015 was relatively smaller, with fewer agencies and less intense competition.

However, he observed that the current landscape has become more saturated, forcing agencies to work harder to distinguish themselves.

“There are far more agencies today competing for the same clients and budgets. What truly differentiates agencies now is not just creativity or campaign execution. Clients want to see value, performance, business growth, and measurable impact,” he stated.

Therefore, he stressed that brands are becoming increasingly intentional about where they invest their marketing budgets, especially amid current economic pressures and tightening financial realities.

Consequently, agencies are now expected to align campaigns directly with sales performance, revenue generation, consumer influence, and market expansion.

“Marketing today is no longer just about creating awareness or beautiful campaigns. Every campaign must support a business objective and contribute meaningfully to the client’s bottom line,” he added.

Discussing major trends shaping the industry, he identified Artificial Intelligence and data driven marketing as two of the strongest forces currently redefining the future of communications and experiential marketing globally.

Again, while acknowledging that AI has significantly accelerated operational speed, improved research processes, and reduced execution timelines, he maintained that technology still lacks the emotional intelligence and cultural understanding required to fully replace human creativity and local insight.

According to him, Nigeria’s highly diverse cultural environment demands localized communication strategies capable of reflecting different regional behaviors, consumer realities, and audience sensitivities.

He explained that a campaign capable of resonating strongly with audiences in Lagos may not necessarily connect with consumers in Northern Nigeria, the East, or other parts of the country because of varying cultural and social contexts.

“AI improves speed and efficiency, but marketing still requires human understanding. Technology cannot completely replace cultural intelligence or emotional connection,” he explained.

The industry expert also highlighted how consumer data has transformed audience engagement and marketing strategy development.

According to him, brands now possess access to unprecedented levels of audience intelligence through digital interactions, consumer tracking, and behavioral analytics. However, he observed that digital expansion has also fragmented audiences across different platforms and demographics.

He explained that platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and X now attract distinct user behaviors and audience profiles, forcing brands to adopt more targeted and platform specific communication strategies.

Because of this, he noted that agencies can no longer rely on generic messaging approaches.

“Brands now need data to understand different audience segments, monitor engagement patterns, and measure campaign effectiveness more accurately,” he stated.

Speaking on the impact of inflation and economic pressure on agency operations, the pr expert explained that agencies are increasingly being forced to justify every marketing expense while delivering stronger commercial outcomes for clients.

He noted that modern marketing strategies now blend brand experience, retail engagement, digital insight, and audience conversion to create more measurable results.

According to him, agencies must now think beyond campaign visibility and focus more intentionally on market influence, product availability, customer experience, and conversion performance.

Addressing opportunities surrounding the build up toward Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, the SoulComms executive predicted increased activity across advertising, PR, digital media, experiential marketing, research, and out of home advertising sectors.

He explained that election periods traditionally create major demand for political messaging, reputation management, audience targeting, media buying, grassroots activation, voter engagement, and digital communication strategies.

“The opportunities are enormous across every segment of the communications industry. Agencies simply need to identify where they can create value,” he noted.

On Nigeria’s pitching culture, the SoulComms COO acknowledged that pitch processes encourage stronger thinking and healthier competition among agencies. However, he expressed concerns about the lack of intellectual property protection within the industry.

According to him, agencies often commit substantial resources, strategic thinking, and creative effort into pitches, only for some ideas to eventually be executed without compensation or formal engagement.

“There are situations where agencies invest heavily in ideas and strategy, yet those ideas get used without proper compensation. That remains one of the major concerns within the industry,” he stated.

He also weighed in on the growing relevance of in house agencies, describing the model as both beneficial and limited depending on how brands structure their operations.

While in house agencies often deliver speed and strong brand familiarity, he argued that external agencies still offer broader exposure, fresh perspectives, and more diverse creative thinking because of their cross industry experiences.

According to him, the ideal solution lies in balancing internal efficiency with external creative innovation.

Speaking on what defines a successful agency in today’s market, Onabajo insisted that agencies must combine strategy, creativity, technology, execution, and cultural relevance to remain competitive.

He emphasised that consumers increasingly seek authentic emotional connection from brands, making storytelling and audience engagement more important than ever.

Reflecting on memorable projects executed during his career journey, he pointed out that the “Original Night” campaign for Origin by Diageo, where singer Mayorkun was ceremonially crowned “Mayor of Lagos” during a culturally inspired entertainment experience.

He also referenced “The Gathering,” a youth focused initiative developed for MTN Nigeria under the “Live 100” campaign platform.

According to him, the 100 hour experiential event integrated entrepreneurship, gaming, fashion, entertainment, movies, and music while also deploying QR based audience tracking technology to monitor participation and engagement behavior.

On the future direction of SoulComms, Onabajo revealed that the company is increasingly positioning itself around immersive brand experiences powered by emerging technologies.

He explained that the agency now operates across Brand Experience, PR, and Digital Innovation while integrating augmented reality, virtual reality, retail technology, and virtual engagement into marketing solutions.

For instance, he disclosed that SoulComms recently deployed augmented reality technology during a retail activation where consumers scanned product packaging to unlock interactive recipe experiences through their mobile devices.

Speaking on leadership, Onabajo identified culture and structure as the two pillars shaping his management philosophy.

According to him, SoulComms intentionally built a strong internal culture around values such as Image, Imagination, Intelligence, and Interaction, while also emphasizing teamwork, accountability, operational clarity, and ownership.

“If there’s one thing I would like to see improve within the industry, it would be payment structures,” he said.

He lamented that many agencies currently finance large scale projects upfront while enduring delayed payment cycles stretching beyond 120 days, a situation he described as financially exhausting amid rising interest rates and harsh economic conditions.

For Onabajo, however, the future belongs to agencies capable of combining creativity, technology, strategic thinking, and measurable impact to help brands grow within an increasingly competitive marketplace.