The biggest enemy of building a sustainable business is short term thinking – Udeme Ufot, GMD, SO&U Limited
At 60, Udeme Ufot stands tall as one of the icons of the Nigerian advertising industry. He belongs to a generation of pioneers and pathfinders, responsible for some of the great moments in Nigerian advertising history, and whose exploits have provided the lever for what the industry has become. Apart from being a very versatile professional who has built an IMC Group that has earned its reputation, recognition and celebration by doing great works. He is, at the same time, a thought leader whose views and opinions are always both insightfully deep and deeply insightful. And, he offers them (views and opinions) freely and in a no-holds-barred manner. Having been conferred with the 2018 Lifetime Advertising Achievement award by MARKETING EDGE, the magazine engaged him in an exclusive interview for the Special Personality column of its 2018 special awards edition. The excerpts (of the interview) below are refreshing and inspiring.
Perhaps, we should start by asking you to comment on how you feel about your being recognized and celebrated as a Lifetime Advertising Achievement Awardee by MARKETING EDGE at its recently held Awards. And what does it inspire in you, sir?
On a lighter note, the recognition makes me feel a bit old. I think I still have a bit more to contribute to the industry and to SO&U Group in particular. Maybe it is a recognition I would have expected at 70 or even 65. But then, maybe MARKETING EDGE knows me better than I know myself, judging by my antecedents. Why do I say this? In all humility, I believe that at the time I was elected (unopposed) as President of the Association of Advertising Practitioners of Nigeria (AAPN), years back, I was the youngest ever in the history of the association. Very surprisingly at the time, my emergence as President was strongly encouraged and supported by the elders of the profession.
When I was also elevated to the rank Fellow of APCON, I was also the youngest fellow at the time in the history of the profession in Nigeria. I recall that I was a member of Council when my application came up for consideration. I was requested to leave the Council Chambers for open discussion. When I was recalled to the room, there seemed to be a lot of tension. I was later informed that there was some opposition to my election on grounds of age. The then Chairman of Council, late Mr. I.S. Moemeke was reported to have insisted that if the only ground of opposition to my elevation was age, then denying me the elevation was tantamount to punishing me for achieving “too much at too young an age”. He insisted, along with the support of some other Council members, that I had earned the honour and should be so elevated.
If MARKETING EDGE considers me worthy of a Life Time Achievement Award at the age of 60, then they are probably aligning with my antecedents. It appears I have a habit of doing things too early.
But on a more serious note, I am certainly very grateful to Marketing Edge for the recognition and most inspired to ensure that I leave up to the high expectation of this award. Coming from such a distinguished organization as MARKETING EDGE, I am also most humbled by such recognition and challenged to do more for the profession. I am now under serious pressure not to disappoint.
How would you trace your journey into Advertising and what has your career trajectory been like?
I discovered advertising purely by accident. After a missed opportunity for admission to study Political Science, and with the luxury of a year of idleness to ponder my next move, I came across a copy of the American Marketing Journal in the library of the University of Calabar. I browsed through the magazine and came to the page on advertising. There was this illustration of a very stylish and confident looking fellow with the caption “A trendy Art Director”. I liked the image I saw and got curious as to what an Art Director does and what advertising was about. I then realized that I had talents that were hobbies to me at the time, but which were critical to a successful career as a creative person in advertising.
Right from primary School, I had discovered and developed my talent in writing and drawing, as well as acting in school and Sunday school drama. More importantly, in my O Level (WASC) examinations, I had scored A1 in English Literature, A1 in Fine Art and B2 in English Language. I felt I had found a career made for me. A career I would enjoy and one that played to my strengths. So I pursued admission to Ahmadu Bello University to read Fine Art, and then got transferred to the newly created Industrial Design Department. This was against stiff opposition by my father who felt I was too brilliant to read Fine Art in University. He insisted that I change to the Law Faculty. But I stood my ground insisting that I knew what I was doing. I graduated top of my class in 1981 with Specialisation in Graphics and Design.
After my mandatory National Service year in Ilorin, Kwara State, I joined a small Agency, Desmark Advertising in Calabar. In just over a year, I realized the Agency was too small for me. I applied to Insight Communications Limited where I was employed as a Senior Visualiser, effectively on a lower pay than I was getting at Desmark.
My stay in Insight opened my eyes to opportunities and challenges both at local and international levels and helped me sharpen my skills, acquire experience and build reputation. Insight was a very demanding work environment and I worked hard to meet the expectations of my bosses while struggling to settle into fast paced life in Lagos. It was a life moulding experience for me as I most times had to work evenings at home to make ends meet.
My tenure at Insight was a very fast paced five years that saw me virtually fly through Senior Visualiser to Art Director, then Deputy Creative Director (Art). My responsibilities at Insight cut across copy sometimes, account management and even print production. The exposure and opportunities to learn were amazing.
A brief stint at a German Agency, Scholz & Friends in 1987 under an internship programme totally blew my mind about the possibilities for advertising in Nigeria. I became very restless on return to Nigeria and less than two years later; I quit to partner with a former Insight colleague in my first attempt at entrepreneurship. It lasted six months.
If I failed in that attempt, it only fired me up more about the potential I had. I then assembled my old creative team at Insight, sold the idea of an Agency to them, and we created Sagay, Oku and Ufot, now known as SO&U.
Did mentorship play any significant role in your professional evolution; and do we have much of that in the industry as we speak?
Mentors played very major roles in my growth and development right from university level, to my days in Insight and on to the early SO&U years.
I had a lecturer who took particular interest in me and encouraged my interest in advertising. He was Soheil Wali, a Pakistani, who had worked briefly in advertising in London and was Head of Graphics in the Industrial Design Department of Ahmadu Bello University.
There was also the great Gani Odutokun who took me in Life Drawing Classes. He always found time to discuss my work, how I could be better and how much potential I had. More importantly was his continuous counsel on the need to focus on my academics and defer enjoyment till graduation. It was through him I first learnt about Insight, as he had been class mate to Richard Ibe, Creative Director at Insight at the time I joined.
My career has been blessed by committed mentors who counseled me as I grew through the ranks in Insight. Joe Inyang who ran Josbren, one of the biggest Colour Reproduction firms in Lagos at the time was one of them. I recall once complaining to him that I was doing four jobs (art director, copywriter, client service executive, production supervisor) for one pay in Insight. He told me I was being well trained and should keep quiet and learn. There would probably be no SO&U without that training.
As I began to grow SO&U, there was Mr. Dayo J. Lawuyi, then Managing Director of Dunlop Nigeria Plc who virtually adopted me as a younger brother and would expand my understanding of business management over glasses of beer in his study. He taught me much needed lessons in managing crisis and turning adversity to advantage. Whenever I was in crisis, I ran to him, sometimes, almost in tears. He would always listen patiently and sometimes laugh at my fears before reassuring me with his nuggets of experience.
I was also lucky to have a very supportive board chaired by a man of tremendous business acumen and network in the person of Mr. Victor Osibodu. Most board meetings were a combination of strategy sessions and training sessions.
I could go on and on, but will be unable to mention all the good people who adopted me and made my problems theirs, developed an admiration for my determination and volunteered their time and network to coach and support me.
From my experience, I believe that there are lots of mentors looking for mentees. All you need to prove is that the time these very busy men will commit to you will not amount to a waste of their valuable time. If you take yourself seriously, there will be no shortage of mentors coming to your support. I have also discovered that every successful man can see a piece of himself in an aspiring young entrepreneur who has a burning passion for success. The attraction can be magnetic.
What would you say drives you to achieve your professional goals?
I like being the best, I like the rewards of success, and I like the recognition. Even though it was not so clearly spelt out during our founding and growth of SO&U, we invariably pursued three things – fame, fun and fortune. We wanted to be famous for doing great work – Works that our peers would talk about, and that would be the benchmark for others. We wanted to build an agency that would outlive us and be the standard for others to follow. Just like the Agencies abroad we had read about. We wanted to be recognized as the best of our generation. We wanted to be respected. We also wanted to have fun on the job. We wanted the ads we created to not only deliver the marketing objectives, but they should also entertain. We wanted a good laugh. Deliver the message, but let the audience want to see or read the ad again and again with hopefully a smile on their faces. We were firm believers in the saying that “Advertising is the best fun you can have with your clothes on”. We chose to be advertising practitioners because we did not want boring lives in other professions. Advertising offered the perfect balance of doing serious work while having fun.
Very importantly too, we wanted to live well and comfortably. Good things do not come cheap. We would need to provide for our families and afford the good things of life. Keeping good staff and running a top organization also costs money. So making a fortune was also important. Being successful by being our very best was a good avenue to wealth creation and a life of reasonable comfort. And it is not just wealth for our own sake, but to be able to impact our communities and worthy causes.
It became clear to us, even if a bit late, that the single common measure of business success across all fields and a measure of your sustainability as a going concern is the quality of your balance sheet. Business and entrepreneurship is about wealth creation, otherwise you are just indulging in a hobby. Achieving all these demands a lot of hard work and drive.
As someone who may be said to have ‘seen it all’, how do you see the advertising industry – past, present and future – from the points of view of education, practice, entrepreneurship, and even regulation?
I believe that the advertising industry in Nigeria is still in its emergent stage. Our economy is still too unsophisticated to support a vibrant advertising industry. I believe what we are seeing is the tip of the iceberg. With strong diversification of our economy such that the real sector takes pre-eminence, we can then experience the best the industry has to offer. A strong diversified economy will be a tremendous boost to advertising.
The industry itself has come a long way and it is gratifying to see new leaders emerge in all sectors. It is important that standards be maintained across board, not just on the Agency side of the business, but also on the client side as well as support services. The industry must be viewed holistically. One sector cannot grow without the growth and support of others.
The industry is not immune to the failures of our educational sector and must therefore partner with other professional groups to improve the quality of entrants to the industry. APCON has tried to do its duty by standardizing criteria of membership of the profession and supporting this through training and development programmes. We also have institutions like the Orange Academy who are providing training and helping in their own way to professionalise the industry. More than ever before, Agencies must restructure their in-house training programmes to help raise the capacity of their people and explore opportunities wherever it may be found to up-skill. For Agencies who are fortunate to have affiliate relationships, they must maximize the opportunities therein for the development and international exposure of their staff.
Agencies would need to be better structured and separated from narrow perspectives of founders to create some sense of belonging by staff. Entrepreneurs can gain more by being willing to cede more to those who bake the pie. A strong sense of belonging among staff is a key sustainability factor for the agency and succession planning must be a key focus for all entrepreneurs.
With regard to regulation, APCON has been left very weak in its current situation. The new code that was meant to strengthen the industry and further professionalise the industry has been virtually still born, no thanks to the absence of an empowering Council. This is not only sad for the advertising industry, but a loss for the country. A strong APCON ensures protection of the country’s interest, our culture, and further explosion of opportunities in our jobs creating creative industries. Why Government has allowed APCON to drift for almost five years without an effective Council is mind boggling. I say five years because the last Council that I headed never really took off as it existed for barely four months. So if you consider the two years before that Council was inaugurated and the last three years after its dissolution, you will get what I mean.
As a veteran advertising professional, what would you consider to be the secrets of success for a good advertising man or woman?
A good adman must be a strategic thinker; he must be creative, focused and a good manager of people and resources. Creative people are not easy to manage and without strong people skills, an Agency manager may find himself sacking all his staff, and ultimately himself.
Advertising looks easier than it really is. It can be rough, full of shocks and ups and downs. It takes a determined and very passionate person to stay the course and to not only succeed, but stay successful. Advertising is not as financially rewarding as people may think, especially in Nigeria where we seem to have a culture of disrespecting and under-rewarding talent. Strong financial skills are required to manage the tight margins that agencies must survive on while remaining at their best in support of their clients.
How do you hope to pass on the huge knowledge, experience and expertise that you acquired in the course of your career to the younger generation?
I do a lot of mentoring of young professionals both in my agency and within the advertising industry, as well as facilitating workshops and seminars for various entrepreneurship organisations and the AAAN. I have recently commenced facilitation of some classes on branding at the School of Media and Communication Studies of the Pan Atlantic University. These, amongst others, are the way I am sharing knowledge. But beyond those, I have been encouraged by my colleagues within and outside the industry to write a book. The pressure intensifies by the day and I guess I may have to consider that sometime while I still can. Some members of my management team consider it a disservice to the industry if I do not document my experience and knowledge.
Could you highlight your various pace-setting records or achievements in your uniquely historic career?
I already mentioned that I am probably the youngest President ever of the Association of Advertising Practitioners of Nigeria (AAPN) now AAAN. At the time I was elevated to fellow of APCON, I was probably the youngest fellow at the time. While it has now become quite common place, I was one of the few creative persons of my generation, Art Director especially, to found and run a top agency in Nigeria.
Furthermore, my activities transcend the advertising industry as I serve on the board of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Nigeria’s leading Public/Private Sector economic think tank. I am the first and only advertising personality to serve on the board of this body and was private sector Chairman of the Planning Committee of the 12th Nigeria Economic Summit. I serve on the board of Special Olympics Nigeria, a part of the global Special Olympics International that organizes and facilitates attendance at national and international sporting events for intellectually challenged persons.
I am currently Chairman of the Board of LEAP Africa, Nigeria’s leading youth leadership development non-profit organization. I am a past President of the Lagos Business School Alumni Association, the first and only advertising practitioner to hold this position. I am past Chairman of APCON and member of the Akwa Ibom State Government’s Foreign Direct Investment technical Committee.
In 2014, I was conferred the National Honour, Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR), the first and only person to be so honoured from the advertising industry.
Let’s talk a bit about your group (of companies) in the industry. What has the evolutionary trend of the group been like?
We have grown the Group organically driving our subsidiaries on the entrepreneurial acumen of our managers. We have Maximedia which is our strategic media planning and buying Agency. Soulcomms is our PR and Activations Agency. Lucid Audiovisual is our electronic production company while Vyrus Digital is our digital agency.
If you could change one thing about the way you handled your career, what would it be?
I would be more business focused from the get go. I indulged too much in the craft at the expense of the business in the early years of SO&U. In other areas, I think I have been divinely inspired and I thank God for the grace to have done the right things at the right time, even when sometimes I was acting purely on hunches.
You are one of the few professionals that have handled governmental or political brands advertising in our clime. Are there any differences from such and the normal product brand advertising?
Working for Government can be like walking a minefield. It could be very rewarding and it could also cost you your business depending on who you are dealing with. It requires mature handling as most times the path is not clear and you have to adjust and take on the spot decisions as you progress. There are rarely written briefs, and getting money out of the system as well as managing those you relate with can require special skills and patience.
We are particularly proud of the work we did for the Akwa Ibom State Government on Dakka Da. It is clearly one of our most successful campaigns and we remain amazed as to how receptive the audience was to the communication and the level of penetration relative to budget provided. The kind of wild speculations we have heard about the size of budget spend on the project is testimonial to the effectiveness of the communication.
What lessons would you want the younger generations to pick from you?
The biggest enemy of building a sustainable Agency brand, or any business for that matter, is short term thinking. From day one, every decision must be based on long term interest of the business. Always aim high and drive yourself hard. Aim for the clouds, at worst you will hit the tree tops. Never succumb to negative thoughts and comments. It is not what you lack that will mar your success; it is lack of passion and determination that is your worst enemy. Where there is a will, there is a way. What you do not know, you can learn, what you lack you can borrow or buy. Keep an open mind to continuous learning and do not stop improving yourself. Focus on your strengths and play your own game. Playing copycat can only leave you stranded at the wrong time. Always strive to be the best at whatever you do. Excellence must be second nature to you. Hard work pays, once it is based on intelligent application. No matter how brilliant you are, you must still sweat to turn the knowledge or skill into value. Invest in the right relationships; you will be amazed at the returns for years to come.
Outside of advertising, what else do you do?
Service to God and humanity. Wherever I can do a good deed, I volunteer, subject to demands of SO&U.
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