In today’s fast-paced world, innovative brands and agencies continuously strive to leverage emerging trends, capturing attention, building affinity, and fostering engagement with its target audiences. As Brand Believers celebrates its 20th anniversary, the agency is at the forefront of this dynamic landscape, harnessing the power of current events and trends to craft compelling messages that convey its expertise.
Drawing inspiration from recent happenings, such as the widely publicized incident involving Seun Kuti, the Afrobeat singer and son of the legendary Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Brand Believers has ingeniously woven its brand narrative. By cleverly juxtaposing Seun Kuti’s act of slapping a policeman with its own unique approach to tackling stubborn briefs, the agency has created a bold and attention-grabbing message: “We also slap the hell out of stubborn briefs.”
Throughout its two decades of existence, Brand Believers has encountered and conquered numerous complex marketing communication challenges, consistently cracking knotty briefs with creativity. Its approach is never uniform; as it understands that each brief and brand is distinct, requiring a tailored strategy to achieve success. With a resolute commitment to understanding the individuality of brands, Brand Believers has mastered the art of bridging gaps, bringing brands closer to its audiences, and fulfilling its objectives. Its call to action echoes this sentiment, inviting brands to reach out and leverage its expertise to bridge any existing gaps: “Talk to us today, and we’ll help your brand bridge whatever gap exists.” The craft in the delivery of the ad’s copy is worthy of note. Seun “slapped” a “uniformed” policeman on third mainland “bridge”!
In the same vein, further leveraging the recent Hilda ‘Baci’ Bassey Cook-a-thon Guinness World Record attempt, the Brand Strategy & Communications Group specializing in ATL (Above the Line) and BTL (Below the Line) marketing communication solutions, saw an opportunity to creatively commemorate its 20 years of business in the African market.
Leveraging the trend of Hilda Bassey’s record-breaking cooking marathon, Brand Believers crafted an engaging ad that drew parallels with its’s and Hilda’s values. The ad featured a captivating copy highlighting Brand Believers’ dedication and commitment to its clients. It read, “We’ve also spent 100 hours non-stop cracking clients’ briefs. We share her work ethic, perseverance, and creativity. In our 20 years of building brands, we have done so with unwavering passion.” This copy emphasized the parallel between Hilda’s endurance in the kitchen and Brand Believers’ relentless pursuit of excellence in its branding work.
To further engage her audience and encourage interaction, Brand Believers included a creative call-to-action at the bottom of the ad material. It urged readers to “Talk to us today and let’s cook up something really great for your brand.” This invitation cleverly connected the idea of cooking with the idea of crafting innovative branding solutions, inviting potential clients to collaborate with Brand Believers in creating remarkable brand experiences.
Additionally, the ad material proudly displayed the phrase “20 years of creative disruption,” symbolizing and hankering to the good job it has done in helping brands maximize its potentials. The company has come thus far by drawing strength from her mission to consistently deliver superior value to its clients, workforce, suppliers and investors. This mission statement highlights her commitment to providing exceptional quality and value in all aspects of her business.
In addition, Brand Believers is dedicated to maintaining an environment that is completely free from any form of prejudice. This commitment to equality and inclusivity aligns with its mission of delivering superior value to all stakeholders. By fostering an environment that is open, fair, and free from bias, Brand Believers promotes collaboration, diversity, and equal opportunities. This inclusive approach not only enhances its internal culture but also enables them to better understand and serve the diverse needs of its clients.
Brand Believers is distinguished by its highly experienced and dynamic workforce, led by the indefatigable Chief Eshiet Essien, Managing Director/CEO. He possesses over 30 years of experience in various fields related to brand strategy and marketing communications.
Educated at institutions such the University of Ibadan and the Lagos Business School and with several other management development training exposures, he is an accomplished marketing communications professional. His diverse experience encompasses advertising strategy development and execution, experiential marketing/activations, events and PR consultancy, financial journalism, consumer marketing, key account management, policy articulation and implementation, public administration, general management.
Before co-founding Brand Believers Ltd, Essien gained valuable experience at Rosabel Leo Burnett. During his 12-year tenure there, he maintained an unblemished career record, leaving the agency as an Associate Director and a Strategic Business Unit Lead. At one time or the other in his career, he has managed many multinational and local brands, such as Cadbury Plc, Standard Chartered Bank, Nigerian Breweries, Intercontinental Distillers, Nigerian Distilleries, Coca-Cola & Fanta, Zenith Bank Plc, etc. A Member of the International Advertising Association, he has chaired some Committees of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, AAAN, was also a three time Chairman of the Communications Sub Committee of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and a Member of the Publicity & Communications Sub Committee of the Steering Committee of the World Economic Forum hosted by Nigeria in 2014, Member Publicity Committee of the Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce, NACC, Memberof the Publicity and Image Management Committee of the Chartered Institute of Bankers Nigeria, CIBN, and Member, Communications Committee of 50 Years Anniversary of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.
Working alongside the MD/CEO is Akinyemi Lofindipe, co-founder & Executive Creative Director. Yemi’s advertising career began in 1990 at Oaks Communications, where he served as the agency’s pioneer writer. He then joined SO&U as a Senior Copywriter, working on key accounts such as Guaranty Trust Bank, SCOA Motors, Century Merchant Bank, CHAMS, and Vigeo. His creative talent and dedication led him to DBN Television, where he became the pioneer Programmes Manager. In this role, he oversaw critical projects, including the UNICEF immunization campaign.
After gaining valuable experience at various agencies, Yemi joined Rosabel Leo Burnett as Copy Group Head and rose to the position of Associate Director and Strategic Business Unit team lead. During this time, he handled important accounts such as Dunlop Nig. Plc., Cadbury Nig. Plc., Fountain Trust Bank, Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, Lagos State Government, and Society for Family Health etc. In 2003, Yemi co-founded Brand Believers Ltd., where he serves on the board and takes responsibility for all creative output of the agency group.
Yemi’s exceptional copywriting skills have been recognized through numerous creative awards, including the Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAIF) Awards, DAME Awards, NIMARK Awards for marketing excellence, and ADWORLD Awards.
As Brand Believers embarks on the next chapter of its journey, the agency has demonstrated that it will continue to disrupt the branding landscape, embracing new technologies and trends, and seeking innovative solutions to help brands thrive. With a rich history of accomplishments, a commitment to excellence, and a passion for creative disruption, Brand Believers is poised to continue to innovate in the service of the brands in its care.