At the start of my career, marketing was enjoyable. I started out as a copywriter in a small marketing #agency in Lagos, Nigeria. We were a small team that did big things. And, we had fun. There were weekends I spent activating for brands, and week nights I scripted for above-the-line. There were days I pored over print #collaterals, proof-reading and editing. And hours spent at production booths going over scripts with VOs and audio engineers. There were also pre and post-pros for commercials – reviewing storyboards, approving costumes, models, effects, audio lays, and cutdowns, managing film producers and directors. And after work, my entire creative team would head over to the cinemas.

There were frustrating moments too – when we had to cancel an almost finished #creative concept and start over because there was no kick – and sometimes those were hours to the pitches. Days when an entire production was called off due to customer or regional sensitivities. It was about the customer and what they were telling us about the brand. Or how our brands made them feel.

Since then, marketing has evolved and so have I. I moved to a digital marketing agency to learn hands-on the inner workings of digital media – from social media marketing to managing clients and bringing brand visions to life, to Google applications, content marketing and strategic planning. I built brand communities online, and my activations moved online as well – I ventured slightly into e-commerce, working with partner retailers on inventory and product listings, and managed web development teams. A few of the developers and UI designers I worked with will recall me sketching wireframes on paper 😃. For me, there was a sense of ownership.

Moving client side was also entirely with a purpose – to see end-to-end my campaigns. From budgets to marketing development and ROI measurement, to see in real company-backed #data how my brands impact customer lives and of course the #business. Some of you witnessed first-hand my growth trajectory. I have had people call it an impressive journey. The most fun about what I do, is standing in a store somewhere, an unknown face or name, and hear customers go on and on about my brands. That was the ultimate fulfilment.

Today, I found that brands are the ones saying ‘hey #customer, do you know about me?’, when once upon a time, customers were the ones saying ‘Oh this is what this brand does and they are so good at it’. Do customers know your brand? What are they mindfully saying about it?

Brands today are the ones asking customers, ‘Hey, do you know me?’

Marketers, let’s bring back the good old days where we are not simply chasing numbers and clicks that are preset on KPIs that have nothing to do with actual customers. Yes, we want to drive sales, however there is short and long term gain in driving actual human connections. Let’s bring back #marketing that is not solely about the brand’s feel-good, but that makes customers mindfully choose the #brand and feel good about associating with it.