“Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe”. Those were the words of popular American showbiz impresario, Oprah Winfrey while speaking of ways humans can create a legacy of a lifetime.
Sanusi Olawale, Founder and Creative Director of LightInc, must have picked up this deep-rooted advice when he envisioned a team where the creative fire burns with a perfect fusion of the sublime and the idyllic. His establishment of Lightinc, has altered the age-long rules of the advertising game with a freshness in creativity encapsulated by the youthful appeal of its highly passionate team.
Indeed, Lightinc is a dynamic advertising agency committed to pushing creative boundaries and delivering impactful campaigns. Founded with a vision to bridge the gap between brands and their audiences through storytelling, innovative design, and data-driven strategies, The agency’s approach is deeply rooted in understanding cultural and market trends, allowing the Strategy team to create campaigns that resonate and drive real engagement.
Since its inception, the agency has successfully rolled out meticulously designed high-profile campaigns that have shaped brand narratives and consumer engagement. Some of the standout projects include Golden Penny Choco Product Launch, a comprehensive and vibrant campaign that captivated young audiences and introduced a fun, nutritious breakfast option to the market. Another example is the Matrix Energy 20th anniversary campaign – A compelling documentary showcasing Matrix Energy’s 20-year journey of growth, innovation, and achievements, highlighting its impact and industry leadership.
Each of these projects handled by Lightinc demonstrates the agency’s ability to blend strategy, creativity, and technology to create compelling brand experiences.
Other outstanding jobs done by lightinc in the past few years with some of Nigeria’s top brands and international organizations include: The Golden Penny Mayonnaise Launch –A successful multi-channel campaign that introduced a new product to the Nigerian market, and Crunchies take a crunch on us consumer campaign – A storytelling-driven campaign that increased brand loyalty. These projects have contributed to the agency’s reputation as a forward-thinking agency that delivers measurable impact.
Another impressive edge of Lightinc is nurturing the next generation of advertising professionals. This explains why the agency provides its team with great opportunities to utilize practical skills, industry insights, and strategic thinking necessary to excel in the dynamic world of advertising.
In the process of building this strategic agency, What are some of the challenges the organization has faced, and what were the steps taken to surmount them? Sanusi explains, “Like many growing agencies, we have faced challenges such as Budget Constraints from Clients – Some brands struggle with allocating adequate budgets for marketing, but we’ve tackled this by offering scalable solutions that maximize impact within available resources.
“Another challenge is Talent Retention – The creative industry is competitive, and retaining top talent is crucial. We invest in continuous learning, offer growth opportunities, and create an inspiring work environment”.
Olawale also spoke about the philosophies and values that have helped his team to become one of the fastest-rising agencies in the industry. His words; “ For us, it is Innovation First – We constantly explore new ideas, platforms, and techniques. Another edge is our consumer-centric approach – Understanding the audience is at the core of all our strategies. We also pursue Collaboration & Inclusion – We foster a diverse team with different creative perspectives and our ultimate watchword is Execution Excellence – Creativity is great, but execution is everything. We deliver results, not just ideas”.
Expanding further on his agency’s competitive edge Olawale outlines further those factors behind his strength explicitly. “Deep Market Understanding – We don’t just create ads; we craft culturally relevant campaigns; Digital-First Mindset – We integrate emerging tech and digital innovations into our strategies; Agility & Adaptability – We respond quickly to market shifts, ensuring our clients stay ahead; Result-Driven Creativity – Every campaign is designed to achieve measurable impact “.
With such strength, Lightinc is an agency to watch in 2025. This 2025, the focus for Lightinc, according to the CEO include the following: expansion into other parts of the world, Growth in digital and AI-driven advertising solutions for better consumer targeting, and seeking strategic partnerships with global brands looking to break into the African market.
“In five years, we envision LightInc as a leading creative powerhouse in Africa, setting industry standards and delivering world-class branding and marketing solutions” Olawale stressed”
Olawale also spoke on trends that will dominate the advertising/creative industry in Nigeria and globally in 2025. He took time to highlight them in detail as follows: “AI & Automation in Advertising – Data-driven ad targeting and predictive analytics will become even more essential; Short-Form Video Dominance – TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts will continue shaping digital marketing; Personalized & Interactive Advertising – Consumers expect brands to deliver hyper-personalized experiences; Rise of Experiential Marketing – Brands will focus on real-life, immersive engagements, and Ethical & Purpose-Driven Branding – Consumers are leaning towards brands that align with social causes and sustainability”.
Olawale identified The rise of AI and data-driven personalization as the trend that will be the most transformative for LightInc.” With AI, we can create highly targeted campaigns, automate processes, and measure engagement more accurately. This will allow us to craft more compelling brand narratives “he explained.
Olawale also outlined the key challenges of the advertising industry in Nigeria and how it can overcome them to take its position of impact and honour globally.
He pointed out the challenge of low budget allocation to Marketing and added that Many brands underinvest in advertising. The Solution for him is educating brands on the ROI ( Returns on Investment) of strategic marketing.
On the challenge of Limited Digital Infrastructure, he stated that Internet accessibility can affect digital campaigns. However, there is the option of exploring offline-to-online marketing strategies.
On the challenge of brand skepticism from consumers, he feels authentic storytelling and influencer partnerships can build credibility, while the challenge of talent drain can be tackled by creating better incentives and work environments to retain talent in the Nigerian advertising sector.
Olawale believes in the next 5 years, the Nigerian advertising industry will fully embrace AI and automation for data-driven campaigns and become a global hub for creative talent, with Nigerian agencies competing on an international level.
The sector, he believes will see more integrated digital and experiential marketing, where brands will blend online engagement with real-world activations. The sector will also experience growth in e-commerce-driven advertising, as more Nigerians shift to online shopping. All these and more, Olawale stressed, will grow local and global collaboration, as brands look to tap into Africa’s youthful and digitally savvy population.
From all observations, Sanusi Olawale and his team at Lightinc, are making their mark, advancing the charge with innovative flair to ignite and achieve excellence this 2025. This year, The IMC industry is on the brink of major growth, and LightInc Is poised to be at the forefront of that transformation.