Steve Babaeko @50: The making of the golden Nigerian advertising icon
When it comes to style, icons are basically soccer stars and music legends. More often, they need unique hairstyles and some other idiosyncratic accessories to stick out among hundreds of competing footballers and music artists. They need something to make themselves pop among the crowd of wannabes.
Interestingly, however, an amazing gentleman has used the same unconventional style, coupled with creative gravitas to brand and position himself in the Nigeria’s advertising and marketing sub-sector. Beyond cutting a unique, Bohemian figure with his clean dreadlocks, this gentleman is an intellectual powerhouse. Despite the mountainous challenges, he has managed to position himself in the minds of the country’s marketing communications industry and beyond through his style, innovativeness, simplicity, humility, courage, quality and strength of character.
As is the case with most jobs though, it takes hard work to become an advertising specialist. Perhaps the hardest question to answer when deciding on a career as an undergraduate is being an advertising or creative specialist. When compared to other jobs, a 2018 report revealed that advertising careers were projected to have a growth rate described as “decline” at -2% from 2018 through 2028. According to the global Bureau of Labour Statistics, the projected number of opportunities that were predicted to become available for advertising practitioners by 2028 is -3,300. Put simply, advertising career is not among the top 10 career choices for young people all over the world. Meanwhile, the man whose birthday falls on every first day of June has made the advertising profession so attractive for Nigerian youngsters.
Every icon needs a good origin story, and Steve Babaeko is no different. The name Steve is one name that has become synonymous with success and creative exploits in the marketing communications space. But in Steve’s own account, 500 naira was actually the money he had left on getting to Lagos after paying his fare to the “Nigeria’s New York City” where everyone gravitates to seek greener pastures. According to the adman, after school, he was convinced of practicing advertising, and coming to Lagos where the big leagues of advertising agencies are domiciled was a dream come true.
The very daring and adventurous young Steve embarked on this journey knowing well that he had no place to lay his head. In one of his interviews, Steve said: “Whenever I am making an important decision in my life, I always leave my head and mind as blank as possible to avoid distractions or confusions. I knew I was coming to Lagos and all through my journey from Benin to Lagos I left my mind blank. It was until the bus dropped us off at Ojota bus-stop then I knew I had to make my next move.”
After over 15 years’ hands-on experience in some of the best advertising agencies in the country, Steve started X3M Ideas on 1 August, 2012 with a pretty small team of about 8 persons. In his words: “I had studied the business landscape of the advertising world in Nigeria, seeing their strengths and weaknesses and of course with my experience, I felt the business of advertising could be conducted in a different manner and I said to myself, let’s give it a shot and that’s how it all started.” Within X3M Ideas which is a full fledge advertising company, there is X3M Music, Zero Degrees, an audio and visual company, and Media 100.
Suffice it to say that Steve is a man to follow into battle. Well, maybe not battle as we know it, but at least into a battle of innovation and creativity. Happy birthday to the iconic adman at 50.
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