I Work with Brand Addicts to Deliver Result Driven Works – Omemu
Clement Omemu · MD/Executive Creative director,Rosabel
Clement Omemu is a painter, graphic analyst, poet, and an understated pop culture engineer. He joined Rosabel Limited as an Art Director and was appointed to the Board of the Company for greater service in 2010. He has received a number of accolades and led teams to win several local awards in the Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAIF) and some other prestigious awards. This Visual Art graduate of the University of Port Harcourt is also a student of the world acclaimed poet and writer, Ola Rotimi.
A quiet adman, he’s responsible for much of the agency’s most creative, brand-building and award-winning advertising. As Creative Director, Clement has played an integral role in pitches, stabilizing the accounts that reside in the agency today. Now, as acting Managing Director/Executive Creative Director, he continues to provide senior counsel to many of these brands. Over the years, Clement has worked on various brands such as Cadbury’s Bournvita, Cadbury’s TOM TOM, United Bank for Africa, Access Bank, Lafarge, Coca Cola Corporate, Gold Circle Condom, Samsung, Globacom, VMobile, Dano Milk, Derica Tomato Paste, Dark Sailor Rum, Seaman’s Aromatic Schanapps, Lord’s Dry Gin, Aways Sanitary Pad, Bonux Detergent, Nandos, Fan Ice, Supreme Ice cream, Tasty Tom Tomato Paste, Cherie Noodles, Bacchus tonic wine, Bacchus lite, just to mention a few.
He is married to Dr.Bolaji Omemu, an associate professor in Food Microbiology from the University of Agriculture. In this exclusive interview with MARKETING EDGE Wole David, he speaks on the economy, IMC industry and Rosabel Advertising, in commemoration of the 37th anniversary of the agency and his first year on the saddle. Excerpts:
What is your view on the current state of affairs in the Nigerian advertising industry?
The Nigerian advertising industry is going through a tough phase right now with increasingly shrinking advertising budgets, invasion of charlatan admen, and an unpredictable economy. On the client side, there is the issue of poor or outright incompetence of brand managers who value their pockets more than their brands. To make matters worse, we have clients today who want creative solutions almost for free. The creative agencies are the worst hit. The creative product is so poorly priced that unless creative agencies are 360-degree company or run on a retainer, they may not survive. Overall, I think the kind of value advertisers place on the Nigerian advertising agencies is a consequence of how professionally sound or unethical an advert agency is.
How will you assess the level of professionalism and creativity in the Nigerian advertising industry locally and globally, especially award winning works?
Believe me when I tell you that it’s on the ascendancy. We’re already making in-roads and gaining respect globally. I wouldn’t say we are there yet, but I can safely say that we can compete anywhere in the world.
Affiliation has been topical in the industry recently. What is your take on this matter and how is Rosabel faring, especially against the backdrop of your agency’s past experiences. Are issues in that area affecting your business?
Now you recall that Rosabel was and is still a strong local player before we got into any affiliations. Rosabel did not survive on syndicated or affiliated accounts. We grew our accounts and have built some of the biggest brands today in Nigeria (whether they are still residing or not). Brands such as Seaman’s Aromatic schnapps, Glo, Gold Circle Condom, First Bank, UBA, Bournvita, TOM TOM, Always Sanitary Pad etc. Affiliations are good especially if it offers the whole spectrum of partnership that includes accounts, training, syndicated work process and the likes. But like I always advise, build a formidable local brand so if your affiliated partner wants to leave you can still have a strong brand.
What are the challenges facing advertising practice in the country today and how can these challenges be surmounted?
I have browsed a few of the challenges of advertising in the first question I answered. A major challenge is what I call replacement value, meaning who is taking over from our generation? Are they trained to become major stakeholders or just equity holders based on their job specifications? Where are the major advertising schools (I don’t mean rallies) that will train and polish the next generation admen or ideas men if you like. I worry! Another fearful thing is the payment regime structures of some of our clients. The oblivious 30 days, 60 and 90 days notwithstanding, some clients choose to pay when they feel like paying, even when a project has been successfully completed.
Return on marketing investment (ROMI) has been an issue from the client side of brand marketing, putting pressure on budget and brand managers to produce result. What innovation are you bringing to bear on these new paradigms?
Traditionally in the past, agencies have created value for their clients through better and different communications. But brand behaviour can now come to life in digital product, services, and experiences. More and more clients are demanding for new ways to reach their target – which is the challenge. The era of fixing campaign budget into yearly activities is long gone. Contemporary agencies today use ideas to sell brands. Not ADS but Acts. A good example is the Coke campaign on ‘share coke with friends’. This campaign is not primarily about marketing communication but an idea that produces experience for the audience. Let me put it this way: Ideas > experience + communication = ROI
Do you think ad agencies have been able to fully exploit innovative opportunities for business in the Nigerian economy?
No I don’t think so. There are two things involved here. How bold is your client and how innovative are you. There is a lot of ‘me too’ syndrome in our space. When an idea works well for a brand, clients (mostly guilty of this) will want their agencies to do something similar. I see this run across the telecom industry. A client should be bold in its approach to marketing and agencies must be technically and scientifically innovative to daring and fresh options to marketing challenges. Again, agencies can take the lead head on in coming up with innovations that can actually create opportunities. For example we have Rosabel Consult (a business unit) as one of the initiatives put in place is to train young and upcoming talents not only in the field advertising but other complimentary disciplines that supports the total business concept that fits today’s demand of clients.
How has the journey been so far for Rosabel?
It’s been tough I must tell you. I believe every organization passes through a tough path sometimes but, what keeps us going is the foundational structures that have been put in place. What has kept Rosabel is its foundation. At the moment we’re rebuilding and rebranding, not to something entirely new, but we’re simply bringing back our unique Rosabel logo (red), and redressing structures and policies to meet the ever fast changing nature of technology driven business.
What was the agency’s positioning in the early years?
The positioning in terms of the delivery of product has not really changed; this is one big reason that I will always commend the founding fathers of the company. They saw the future; our positioning is embedded in our essence, which states: ‘The unending search for the truth that impacts positively on brands & human behaviour’. This is the reason why we having been producing great ads over the years. At the core of this essence is that we aim to forge a connection between what the brand offers, and underlying human needs it fulfills. You will find this thread across all the solutions we provide, cutting across digital and traditional platforms
What competitive edge do you have over other agencies?
Our process is simply magic. We go via intuitive, instincts, meticulous research, clear analysis, honest answers, strategic, and compelling creative solutions. It never fails. Beside these, we have experienced, young and brimming talents who are versatile in the latest technology that delivers amazing outcomes. Above all we are true partners. We don’t wait for briefs we orchestrate briefs based on our own market research outings. We’ve also diversified our offerings into Specialist Business Units. We have Rosabel Content, Rosabel Design, Rosabel Brand Strategy, and Rosabel Consult. Rosabel design specializes in brand identity, web, digital, printed marketing collateral, packaging, naming for start-ups and existing business.
Rosabel Brand Strategy is responsible for creating, planning, growing and handling advertising with promotions (in ATL and BTL forms) for clients.
Rosabel Content provides entertainment content for brands via traditional media and Web interactive solutions while Rosabel Consult is our brand institute responsible for training staff, clients and upcoming ideas men in tertiary institutions. Rosabel Consult also facilitates and charts business discuss on brand building in the Industry.
What is the vision of Rosabel, are the new generations of staff flowing into the vision?
Our vision is to be the Brand Building Agency of pride in West Africa, doing world-class works that beat the best in any part of the world consistently. And to achieve this, we will use Experience, Smart Thinking and Insights to deliverORIGINAL, SIMPLE and ENTERTAINING communications that turn consumers to brand believers, which will eventually boost our clients’ business fortunes on a consistent basis. I can tell you this for free that this is the driving force within the agency.
Your agency sure has a good heritage and legacy. Is your legacy a positive or negative influence, on business and creativity?
Rosabel has this legacy of producing some of the brightest brains in the industry. I can confirm to you that some of the strong names out there today have one way or the other passed through this great company.
Who are your clients from legacy and current and what uniqueness are you putting on the table?
Some of our majors are Grand Oak Limited, Toyota, May &Baker, Lafarge, Heinz, Total Health Trust, and Yugo drinks. We pride ourselves to be their partners. We go beyond the brief. We are co-owners of the brands with clients.
Can you share with us on your key management staff and what separates these human capitals from the industry average?
Our management team first and foremost, mandatorily qualifies to head their various portfolios, besides they are addicts in brand building. Brand building has become part of their DNA. The vortex of their potentials is usually felt in the way and manner they respond to briefs. Take for example, Tunde Ademosu, my creative director, he has humanised brands so much that he says he hears them speak. That’s quite weird. But it helps his delivery on any project. How about Stanley Salami who has taken the study of consumerism to another level, always seeking to know the whims and caprices of consumer behaviour towards brands. On the other hand Dapo Macaulay my Client Service Director who is always challenging the norm.
Are the existing relationship between Rosabel Advertising, the industry and other stakeholder bodies like APCON, AAAN, SON, NAFDAC? If yes, how? If No, why?
We’re stakeholders in AAAN, APCON and supporters of the essence of NAFDAC and SON, not necessarily all their activities.
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