In today’s fast-paced digital marketing era, visionary leaders like Oluwatoyin Osebeyo are redefining the contours of innovation. With his new appointment as the Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of digitXplus, a Through-The -Line Media Services ‘Digital’ first solution-based Marketing Agency, Oluwatoyin is poised to consolidate and deploy unique instruments to drive the company toward unprecedented growth and success. With his unique blend of technical expertise, business acumen, and leadership prowess, he has established himself as a trailblazer in the digital marketing industry.
Leadership & Management Style
Within the digital marketing landscape, Oluwatoyin understands that effective team management is crucial to achieving success. At digitXplus, he cracked the code by fostering a culture of collaboration and accountability. His leadership approach is poised to ensure a seamless integration across departments, driving parallel results for clients.
Oluwatoyin who believes that success depends on effective teamwork, has discovered the secret to harmonious collaboration which is shared goals, clear communication, and a shared sense of responsibility. He is adopting the SMART mantra – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound – to define clear objectives and responsibilities. This clarity has empowered his teams to work towards a common purpose. He has carefully structured his teams’ members as Account Servicing Team (ASTs), Pods(Cluster), and Units (specialized for various functions) to facilitate open communication and collaboration.
This configuration has ensured that every voice is heard and every contribution matters in the agency. Under his leadership, digitXplus team members are not just fulfilling their operational responsibilities, they are also driven by a shared purpose. This has successfully merged operational excellence with strategic vision which has fuelled great results. His team members excel in their roles and then unite to achieve the organisation’s strategic objectives, which are guided by the company’s comprehensive Strategic Framework and VSTmoutcomes (Vision, Strategy, Targets).
The organization which is committed to staying ahead of the curve, has coined a group’s mantra, which is “Being FIT,” this in turn has driven the agency’s regional governance strategy, by equipping the staff for success every day.
He said, “It is also important to mention here that we have
humanized digitXplus by giving a theme to our office premises, called The Hive, a place where we as Bees belong, our single and the most important objective is to make the Best Honey.” And one of the ways it achieves everyday success is, according to him, has been to transforming digitXplus into a vibrant hub, “The Hive,” where creativity thrives. As “Bees,”team members work together, driven by a single objective making the “Best Honey.”Oluwatoyin has been able to foster this collaboration and harmony in leading an agency through two major strategies which are doing and delegating. He believes that effective leadership goes beyond communicating vision but requires leading by example, hence he articulates his vision by demonstrating his dedication and commitment towards the goals that his team follows, in other words, he leads from the front.
Unique Culture
One of the cultures that digitXplus holds dear to heart is the culture of continuous learning, under his leadership collaboration and innovation have also thrived as the teams are empowered through continuous learning, hence the delegate approach fosters growth, development, and autonomy
unlocking the potential of the team members. Oluwatoyin who recognizes the critical interplay between creativity and operational efficiency for the business, has been able to develop a strong framework that fosters autonomy,
innovation, and continuous improvement within the team to ensure the long-term sustainability of the business. These include ensuring that evaluations are done periodically, as well as optimizing the business processes to meet the fast-paced nature of the agency environment.
Keeping his team happy
When it comes to keeping his teams happy while working in a tedious space such as the Nigerian marketing landscape, Oluwatoyin believes in the quote that says “happiness is a journey, not a destination” which is also evident in the
organization’s vision statement, “To be the most exciting Specialist Digital Marketing Agency to ‘work with’ and ‘be with”. He has devised initiatives to keep the people happy, one of which he calls team Xcite. He ensures that their major responsibility is to keep the excitement always on, “while work is
one thing that continues and is always demanding, fun at The Hive must not be ignored allowing the Bees to Relax, Refresh and Reenergize.”
Over the years, digitXplus has positioned itself as an organization that champions inclusivity, providing equal opportunities for all irrespective of gender. This is seen in its family-friendly policies and programmes which foster a supportive environment. These policies include in-house childcare facility, parental leave, and gradual reintegration into the team upon the completion of their maternity leave.
His operations & Strategy
In scaling operations, especially as the digital marketing landscape rapidly evolves, the strategic approach digitXplus has adopted under the leadership of Oluwatoyin, is harnessing the power of automation and cutting-edge technology to drive client success. His relentless pursuit of innovation enables him to streamline operations, Stay ahead of the curve, ensure data-driven
excellence, and achieve clients’ ambitions. He revealed that digitXplus, beyond seeing its clients as valued partners, also prioritizes its needs, and balances
expectations with operational efficiency. Indeed, innovation always meets expertise at the agency. As a thorough marketing professional, Toyin is daring and sees challenges as opportunities to make great things happen. He has set up a framework within the company, where we turn every problem into a new growth opportunity.
Nigeria’s Marketing Industry in His Lenses
Looking at the broader marketing communications industry in Nigeria, through the lense of a marketing expert with about a decade in the space, he has high hopes for the sector. His words, “The marketing communication space in Nigeria is still growing and yet to get to its full potential when you compare
Nigeria to other developed markets. While economic challenges are still a major issue, we also need local businesses/brands to be more deliberate about brand building, creativity, and innovations, thereby fostering a stronger industry.”
He pointed out that the sector also needs constant stakeholder engagement to bridge the knowledge gap among the key decision-makers, especially at the C-suite level. Oluwatoyin who has operated within the ambit of the industry for years noted that one of the major challenges facing the sector is the lack of proper funding, which then leads to a lack of media sufficiency, Another challenge he identified in the marketing space was lack of talent retention.
He laid to rest the uprising fears and concerns tearing at the hearts of many professionals that the rise of digital marketing and ‘digital experience’ may pose a threat to the existence of traditional BTL and experiential agencies.
He emphatically said, “I do not see the rise of digital marketing as a threat to traditional media or experiential marketing. What I can say is, either ATL, BTL, or TTL, the line is getting blurred and the focus needs to change from Media first (i.e. Mass Communication) to Consumer focused (with Mass Customization).”
He added that the industry is moving into an era where marketers/brands would be forced to think omnichannel by focusing on consumer behaviours, not their media habits. “The interplay of media and various platforms will be more integrated, thereby forcing a stronger collaboration between marketing functions/media mix,” he said.
Innovation & Creativity
On how digitXplus is leveraging digitally in all areas of its operations to remain relevant in a fast-evolving business environment, he that the agency is not only thinking of digital solutions but consumer-centric solutions to everyday brand challenges. Oluwatoyin believes that learning and development must never stop and that there will always be a more effective and efficient way of doing things.
He revealed that this mindset has been the major catalyst for the agency which has fueled the team’s thinking, motivated them to explore emerging digital marketing trends, harness cutting-edge technology as well as optimize processes and workflows to be at the forefront of digital marketing trends and technology.
The expert has developed various and dedicated initiatives to inspire his team teams to deliver value to their clients. These initiatives according to him are built as intra-agency and interagency competitions and reward systems.
He highlighted the operational philosophies guiding the operation of digitXplus as Professionalism, Honesty, Respect, Innovation, and Timeliness. His words: “for us, we take our core values with all seriousness, and the ability to plug into these core values of the agency over the years has delivered cutting-edge results to them and meet the needs of their clients.
Vision for the Future
To ensure the continued growth and advancement of the agency, he implemented a Digital Transformation Strategy for the agency last year and one of his core mandates is to bring Digital Transformation to life. With this and other initiatives in mthe pipeline, it will most likely keep digitXplus on top of its game and a shoulder above other players in the digital marketing industry.
About digitXplus
digitXplus is a full-service digital marketing agency with central office in Nigeria catering to Clientele in West Africa Region. It has capabilities to help its clients seamlessly navigate the new world of social influence, and take advantage of emerging communications platforms in achieving their communication and business objectives. The agency ensures brands generate exponential earned media alongside their paid investments and owned media channels, with accurate measurement of a brand’s reach and engagement.
Its techniques ensure smarter communication choices are made from building relationships with key influencers and participating in online forums hereby establishing an active presence across all digital platforms.