BY CHUKS NWANNE
THE
news of his resignation from 141 Worldwide to set up his own advertising agency
was greeted with mixed reactions by friends and colleagues. While some wondered
why Steve Babaeko left his lucrative position as the Business/Creative Director
of one of the leading agencies in the country, to toe the difficult path of
setting up his own outfit, those who had followed the dreadlocks-wearing
creative artiste through his career in advertising, saw his decision as a right
move. Well, Babaeko is not the type that ventures without thinking; he’s indeed
a thorough-bred professional.
He was inspecting work at his new Ikeja
office, in company of some of his youthful team members when I arrived. Mere
looking at the building, it was obvious that the duplex now has the magic touch
of the dreadlocked one; he changed everything to his taste. From the painting
to the doors, windows, railings, lights, tiles, flowers, furniture… the
building was totally overhauled.
“Look, we had to do it right,” he said as he
led a tour of the premises. “We are aware of the high expectations, so, we are
not leaving any stone unturned.”
AT first glance, Babaeko
appears more like a music artiste; his hairstyle and close link with top
musicians, points to that direction.
“I wish I am,” he said jokingly. “I actually
wanted to do music when I was 15, but my mum made me change my mind; she just
didn’t think it was a viable career to pursue at that time. Then, music wasn’t
what it is today,” he recalled.
After his desire of becoming a musician
was discouraged by his parents, the Ahmadu Bello University Theatre Arts
graduate took interest in broadcasting.
“I really wanted to be a broadcaster; apart
from music, the only job that fascinated me as a child was broadcasting.”
Babaeko’s stint with broadcasting was in
1994, when he joined the NTA Kano, where he presented a TV programme, Corpers Forum. But along the line,
discouragement set in, forcing him to change career line.
“At some point, I discovered that
broadcasting was nice; people look glamourous on TV, but they are not really
well paid. That sort of discouraged me.”
After reading a supplementary report on
Nigerian advertising agencies published in one of the national dailies in 1995,
Babaeko picked interest in the creative business.
“Lolu Akinwunmi was talking about Prima
Garnet and I was like, ‘wow, I think
this is what I should be doing.’ That’s how my love for advertising started. With
Theatre Arts, you have all the raw materials to do whatever you want to do in
the arts. Theatre Arts is much more broader; it prepares you for a whole lot of
stuff.”
His advertising career, which spans nearly
two decades, started off at MC&A Saatchi & Saatchi, from where he moved
to Prima Garnet Ogilvy and later 141 Worldwide.
“I had always wanted to work with Prima
Garnet after reading that supplement; I wrote him (Lolu) letters from Kaduna
about my intention to work with them. As a matter of fact, it took me five
years of applying every year to work for Prima Garnet. At that time, it was a
big dream come true.”
After five years with the outfit, an
opportunity came for Babaeko to explore a new terrain with 141 Worldwide and he
grabbed it with both hands.
“At that time, I felt I had done all I
needed to do with Prima Garnet and I needed new challenges. So, when the chance
to work with 141 Worldwide came, I saw it as an opportunity to write my own
history. I took the opportunity and became the pioneer Creative Director of the
company. To be honest, I had the privilege of working with a great team in the
company, and we performed well for almost seven years,” he enthused.
While at 141, Babaeko led a team of
result-oriented professionals, who worked on several award-winning campaigns
for brands such as Tom Tom, British American Tobacco, First Bank, Muitichoice
and of recent, Etisalat.
“The jobs we did for British American
Tobacco Company (BAT) and others, people don’t really get to see them; the one
everybody easily remembers is Etisalat. We launched the brand in Nigeria in
2008; it was a keenly contested pitch then. We were just three years old then,
and we won that pitch ahead of other companies, including foreign agencies.”
What really worked for you during the pitch?
“I think it was just the different thinking
we had; from day one, we wanted to come out in a different way. We came to the
table with different solution and I think that’s what gave us the edge over
others.”
From the way he spoke about 141 and his
boss, Lolu, it is obvious that the father of two had an interesting experience
working for the company.
“It was beautiful working there, we were like
one small family. It is on record that after I tendered my resignation letter,
I worked till the very last day because we needed to do the handing over
process properly so that client’s businesses would not suffer. Last year, I
finished the last script I was working on at about 5pm and I left the company
around 5.30, on a Friday. I knew if I didn’t leave, I would get emotional
because seven years of my life was spent in that agency,” he said with
emotions.
NOW 41, Babaeko has
established his own business, X3M Ideas. A Lagos-based full service plus
digital advertising agency, the outfit, according to him, will have a global
presence and impact, through its barrier-breaking and record-setting campaigns.
“At X3M, we will combine our excellent
understanding of traditional media habits and practices, with a clear knowledge —
and appreciation — of new media, working with our clients to best deliver
witty, creative and above all, honest and believable communications, using
today's media ecosystem.”
To the creative director turned CEO, “the
advertising industry is at a critical stage and the world is looking to places
like Nigeria, where young, driven and promising professionals and agencies are
emerging, for ideas and innovations that'll determine the future. I'm willing
and ready to play my part and I'm happy to have a dedicated team ready to go
with me on this marathon.”
Setting up any business in Nigeria,
including advertising is very challenging. Apart from the huge infrastructure
one has to put in place, getting the right people on board could be a herculean
task.
“It’s not like the easiest thing to do;
setting up an advertising agency is difficult. But we have a solid team on
ground now and I feel good. My feeling is that this is the right time to do
this, and we are putting everything behind it to make sure that we are able to
offer support to our clients. I feel good doing this,” he said confidently.
Aside from his advertising agency, the
building is also housing Xtreme Music studio, Babaeko’s record label and home
of artistes such as Overdose, Praise and Etcetera, who has since completed his
deal with the outfit.
“This is actually a group; we want to make
this place a one-stop solution for brands and clients. We’ve always had Xtreme
Music, which is also part of the infrastructure we have here; this studio is
perhaps the minimum standard you find in studios all over the world. So, if a
client comes here and say they want a radio commercial done, it doesn’t take us
days; it’s a matter of hours. Advertising will always need music, which is why we
are putting all these together.”
A celebrated creative
director, writer, business development enthusiast, consumer behaviour analyst,
brand development expert and multi-platform media influencer, Babaeko has been
able to strike a balance between his corporate life and his status as a showbiz
promoter.
“It’s not really difficult; the kind of
business we are in is cross functional. I’ve always felt, on a personal level
that there’s a confluence where music and branding meets. We want to be at the cantre
of that confluence to help brands exploit the effective use of music and help
music artistes attract branding supports as much as we can. It’s a
complementary kind of service and I think part of my passion over the years, is
driving this. If you see the way we’ve managed the artistes we work with, we
develop them as brands not just commodities.”
“I don’t believe in volume; as an
independent record label, there’s limit of fund you have to push artistes. It’s
like a football club buying all the strikers and putting them on the bench; they
will leave one after the other because they don’t get enough playing time. I’ve
seen labels that signed up to 15 artistes, but where are they today? It’s like
having children, you get the number you can handle. We are interested in
quality and not quantity.”
He continued: “We are working on Praise’s
album; he’s going to be here any moment to continue with his production. He was
nominated for the NEA Award as the most promising act and he just got back from
Oxford where he played at a gig. Overdose too will start recording his second
album as well,” he revealed.
Indeed, expectations are high for Xtreme
Ideas and the Kogi State-native is fully aware of that.
“You are as prepared as the team you have;
I have a solid team, that’s my confidence. We will be venturing into
territories that people haven’t ventured into before such as digital
advertising. Here, people mostly do the normal conventional advertising, but
now we have digital advertising that will help us take brands to new frontiers.
It’s going to be different; from the outlook, you will know that we are setting
up a modern infrastructure and the creativity is going to reflect the
environment.”
Few weeks after opening its doors to the
public, Xtreme Ideal already has its first client.
“Interestingly, we’ve won the pitch for
Inbisco, an Indonesian FMCG company. They just gave us their candy segment and
we are expecting the brief. That’s our first client and you never forget your
first client. We just want to do something powerful and different.”
He continued: “My dream is to build a
solid local network of agencies. Why can’t people get affiliated to us? Why
can’t we build a network in Togo, Benin and other African countries for them to
pay for affiliation? It is possible. We are much more focus in building a
strong local advertising brand that would become like the beacon across West
Africa and maybe Africa,” he said.
IN the advertising
industry, Babaeko is a brand. An associate registered member of Advertising
Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), he has carved a niche for himself.
“Well, I didn’t wake up one day and said I
would turn myself into a brand, no. As advertising people, we are brand builders
and if you are helping others build their brands, what do you do with yourself?
It’s just being able to be myself and do all those things that make me happy.
It wasn’t deliberate,” he said.
And your dreads?
“You know how it is in Lagos; everybody
wears the same low cut, the same hairstyle. So, I wanted something else; I want
to look different. We are in the business of building perception and branding
for product, so, we are expected to create brands.”
You had the dread before joining
advertising?
“I had it long after I joined advertising; I
was like 10 years in the industry before I started growing dreads. As I started
getting into the senior management cadre, I wanted to distinguish myself from
all the many creative directors; I needed something to help me achieve that.”
What was the reaction of your colleagues?
“Well, my boss then would look at me and
say, “Steve, are you sure you want to do this?’ I was like, ‘yea, it’s done
already, not like I’m still thinking of doing it.’ I think three to four months
after I did my dreadlocks, two other people in Prima Garnet did the same thing
and my boss was like, ‘see what you’ve caused?”
Has your dreadlocks ever been a sort of
hindrance in your line of duty?
“Well, it took a while before people
started accepting me with dreads; I was among the first set of Nigerians, who
dared to wear dreads. However, by the time they hear you talk and they knows
this guy know his job, all the stereotypes would disappear.”
Obviously, Babaeko pays extra attention to
his hair, which has become a sort of identity to him.
“If you carry this type of hair, you don’t
need anybody to tell you to dress well. With this dreadlocks and you wear rags,
people would think you are not normal. So, you need to create contrast so that
people will look at you and say, ‘well, we don’t know why he’s wearing dreads,
but he looks cool.’
MEANWHILE, the success story of Steve
Babaeko will not be complete without mentioning the role of his photographer
wife, who is like his solid rock.
“To
be honest with you, I’ve always wanted to take this decision long time ago, but
she kept telling me, ‘no, don’t.’ Finally this year, she said ‘yes, you can.’
She’s my partner, my friend and I love her with all my heart. We took the
crucial decisions together because it’s a risk. At the end, I know my job and
finally, people, who know my worth, would come looking for me; that’s why I’m
doing this.”
Aside from beginning the advocacy lecture
entitled From Tigritude To Transcendence;
The Conscience And Conscientiousness Of Wole Soyinka, delivered by
Professor Robert Fox of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, USA, the
event featured dance, drama, poem recitations and essay competition. 
