Nigeria’s IMC industry mourns Okoli, Ogunkoya
“…Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.” – John Donne
The funeral bell has tolled for the Nigerian marketing and marketing communication industry as it mourns the passing of two industry heavyweights in the towering personalities of Ekwunife Okoli and Tolu Ogunkoya respectively.
Until his death, Mr. Okoli was the Founder / CEO of Advantage Consult Ltd. With over 30 years consumer goods industry and significant corporate governance experience in a wide cross section of over 20 African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroun, Ethiopia, Angola, Mozambique etc., the ace marketer held executive and non-executive board positions in various Diageo publicly quoted subsidiaries, including Guinness Nigeria plc, Guinness Ghana and Seychelles Breweries Ltd.
Mr. Okoli, a MARKETING EDGE Lifetime Marketing Achievement Award recipient who earned his stripes as a marketing communications expert at Diageo, was known for some of these quotes: 1. “The only thing that changes during recession, recovery and boom is consumer behaviour.” 2. “Spend time with the consumers; know what the consumers are looking for.” 3. “People are willing to buy made-in-Nigerian goods – once the value and cost offerings are properly aligned.” 4. “Innovation is so important in a period of recession.” 5. “If you get pricing wrong, it shows off on consumer behaviour.” 6. “Agencies like clients that have clear and consistent strategies.” 7. “30% of the marketing budget gets lost through procurement.”
On his part, Mr. Ogunkoya who was, to many, the industry adman par excellence, was the managing director and chief executive officer of Media Reach OMD/ regional group managing director, OMD West and Central Africa. He operated as the Regional Managing Director of Omnicom Media Group WeCa with offices in Lagos, Accra and Cameroon, and partner offices in three other locations across West & Central Africa, overseeing two large Media companies – mediaReach OMD and PHD Media, the biggest media agency Network in Nigeria, unarguably in West & Central Africa.
What’s more, Mr. Ogunkoya was the former President of Media Independents Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN). He was elevated to the highest grade of professionalism in advertising in Nigeria, inducted as a Fellow Registered Practitioner in Advertising (frpa) by then APCON (now ARCON) in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the advertising industry – as a player, education resource person, etc.
Expressing his utmost shock and condolences, John Ajayi, Publisher of Nigeria’s leading marketing magazine, MARKETING EDGE, said: “Whilst mourning Ekwunife Okoli, it’s now Tolu Ogunkoya. What a huge loss to the marketing communication industry. May God rest the souls of those eggheads.”
On his Facebook page, Tony Usidame, Founder/ Lead Consultant at Uburu and former Senior Account Executive at Sesema Public Relations Limited, wrote: “When I made the decision to transition from medical practice to marketing communications back in 2006, I took a leap of faith.
“The news of your passing is, indeed, shocking and very painful. My consolation is that you lived a truly fulfilling life, reaching the pinnacle of the marketing communications profession and impacting many—like me—along the way with your bright mind and kind heart. Your legacy lives on. Rest in Peace, Mr. Tolu Ogunkoya.”
A brand journalist Raheem Akingbolu of ThisDay Newspapers wrote on his Facebook page: “Another brilliant soul gone. Last year, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) inaugurated a joint industry Audience Measurement Board with the same man as Chairman. May God rest the soul of this consummate adman and media business expert – rest well, Tolu Ogunkoya.”
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