Lagos State University (LASU) has emerged eventual winners of the inaugural experiential pitch at the Brand Experience Summit (BEX)Summit 2025, carting home the grand price of ₦1,000,000 for it’s innovative AI campaign for a leading FMCG brand.
The event, themed “Personalisation at Scale: From Insights to Impact in a Data-Driven, Immersive World,” took place at the Balmoral Hall, Ikeja, Lagos.
The competition, organized by the Experiential Marketers Association of Nigeria (EXMAN), aimed to bridge the gap between academia and industry, providing students with a platform to showcase their creative skills and gain real-world experience.
Speaking on the pitch, Angela Makinwa, Vice President of EXMAN, “We needed to continue the work started by our mother association and regulator, Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), to bridge the gap between the town and the gown by encouraging university and polytechnic students to understand the work-life experience after studying mass communication. “
The competition saw five universities, LASU, Babcock, Yaba College of Technology, University of Lagos, and others vie for the top spot. After a rigorous selection process, LASU and Yabatech emerged as finalists.
A jury of four industry experts evaluated the pitches, with LASU’s campaign ultimately taking the top prize with 300 points, while Yabatech secured the first runner-up position with 236 points, winning ₦500,000 as consolation price for its effort.
The winning campaign focused on leveraging AI to drive customer engagement and loyalty for a Nigerian automobile company, impressing the judges with their creativity, innovation, and strategic thinking.
Makinwa expressed her excitement at the quality of feedback from the students, noting that the competition had achieved its objective of encouraging students to think creatively and develop practical skills.
Earlier, in her welcome address, President of EXMAN, Mrs. Tolulope Apinke Medebem, described the summit as more than just an industry event, calling it a movement that “interrogates the now, anticipates the next, and empowers us to lead through change.”
The summit, according to her, is EXMAN’s flagship biennial knowledge-sharing platform and has become a major convergence point for professionals in marketing communications, technology, media, and brand management.