The Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer of MediaFuse-Dentsu Nigeria, Emeka Chris Okeke, has expressed delight in his team’s triumphs at the 2024 Pitchers’ Young Lions Awards, an offshoot of the Cannes Lions Awards.

Okeke, while speaking exclusively with the MARKETING EDGE team at his GRA Ikeja’s Office recently, disclosed that the feat recorded by his team confirmed that Media Fuse-Dentsu has gone beyond a media agency. It is but now, he noted, a 360 degree total communication agency.

It would be recalled that Pitcher Festival’s Young Professionals Academy announced earlier this month that talents from MediaFuse-Dentsu Nigeria’s networks, comprising Dentsu Creative, Dentsu Agyle, Dentsu Performance, and Dentsu Out-Of-Home, went home with star prizes in the media, film, and design categories of its Cannes Young Lions competitions.

In the announcement, it was revealed that Dentsu Performance’s Stephanie Ume, and Joseph Uwandu of Dentsu OOH Nigeria triumphed in the media category with their groundbreaking campaign concept, showcasing their expertise in crafting strategic media solutions.

Similarly, MediaFuse-Dentsu’s Film team members, who are Esther Usoro and Adaora Muoh of Dentsu Agyle, bagged the honour after captivating the jury with a compelling short film that created awareness about Rotary Club Foot.

Adebimpe Sotade and Sheriff Oyejobi of Dentsu Creative Nigeria, however, secured the coveted medal on the strength of their innovative design thinking concept and exceptional execution.

Basking in the euphoria of this significant landmark wins and  achievement of the young creative mavens in his employ, the Dentsu boss said he is proud of his winning team. He added that the wins are testaments to what they have been saying and how they have been positioning the agency.

“We don’t compete as a media agency. We are a total communications agency. We’ve gone past a media agency. The likes of Carat, Dentsu OH, iProspect, and Dentsu X are still media agencies. It will not be fair to bunch us together as MIPAN (Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria),” he noted.

“Some of our agencies are members of MIPAN. So, we produce films, we do production like Dentsu Agyle which is a massive one and we have Dentsu creative that is large. We were just four years old and we’re already getting shortlisted at having our works from Dentsu Creative shortly after that Cannes, against agencies that are already 15, 20 years old in the marketplace. So, It’s not a small feat for us,” he added.

Also speaking on the significance of the feats, Okeke noted that attending the event will expose the young talents on the big stage where they will have access to key events, Hall of Fame, and compete on some project works during the Cannes Lions competition.

He, however, stated that with an army of eight talents that will be sent to Cannes Lions scheduled for June, the group is committed to bearing the huge   financial implication on the agency as the talents being sent out as its ambassadors are worth their weight in gold. This is because the organizers of Young Lions had over the years stated that every team that won, would have to attend the Cannes Lions itself.