Oyeyemi urges agencies to prioritize competence for global competitiveness
By Oghale Mafuru
Against the backdrop of the recent emergence of Rishi Sunak as new British Prime-Minister despite his race and cultural affiliation, Kolawole Oyeyemi, marketing expert and Chief Executive Officer of Axiom Intel, has urged indigenous agencies to prioritize competence and excellence for global relevance and impact.
While alluding to the fact that competence and performance qualified Rishi Sunak as UK Prime Minister irrespective of his origin and culture, the marketing expert stated that, likewise, brand custodians are more interested about the value and solutions that can drive the realization of their marketing objectives than race or cultural ideologies.
“If the last two prime ministers left based on competence and performance, it means that the Indian man came on board based on competence and performance as well. What this means is that culture, nativity, origin and nationality really don’t count when it comes to competence and performance, and that is what organizations and brands are looking for.
“As far as I am concerned, if I am a brand custodian or I run an organization, I really don’t care whether the man who has the creativity that will sell my product is black, white green or yellow. It is totally immaterial to me. What I want is solutions that will help me deliver on my objectives,” he said.
According to him, in addition to competence, local agencies should have a repertoire of excellent works that can be easily accessed by international brands.
“Create an oasis of excellence that stands your shoulders above the next person in terms of their colour? Build enough respect and competence in the industry such that a company that is solely run by a white person says, you know what?, I am not willing to work with a white owned agency, I am willing to work with a black group of guys because they have given me something that is totally beyond what my fellow white community have given me,” Oyeyemi said.
He added that developed societies committed to growth are more inclined towards result-oriented initiatives that will spur their advancement, adding that global brands gravitate to agencies with the best solution.
“I have had the privilege to manage brands for a number of years and by working for different organizations. In that process, I have worked with Americans, South-Africans, Nigerians and for me, it was all about competence,” he stressed.
He further advised that when dealing with global brands, cultural nuances should be taken into cognizance to deliver optimally on the objectives of the communication.
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