TomTom, the leading candy brand from Cadbury Nigeria Plc., recently engaged stakeholders in the Nigerian music industry as part of its efforts to champion and encourage youth creativity and drive growth of the industry leveraging on the ‘Breathe for It’ summit, a virtual gathering of players in the music industry.
The ‘Breathe for It’ campaign was introduced in 2021 to help the younger generation build capacity in a key passion area – music. The campaign, through which Cadbury has signed two artistes, Rema and Mani Lapussh as brand ambassador and Tom Tom Boy, respectively, promises to deliver more exciting activities for Nigeria’s youth.
“The reception we got from the audience on the summit further emphasizes the reason we launched the ‘Breathe for it’ campaign, which is to inspire, focus and build clarity in the pursuit of what Nigerian youth love. Our panelists were spot on in their delivery. You will agree with me that conversations about the music industry have to be made because it has become one of our largest exports as Nigerians and Africans,” said Morolake Emokpaire, Cadbury’s category lead (Gum and Candy), West Africa.
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According to Emokpaire, the brand aims to engage more Nigerian youth to breathe deeply no matter the challenges they face. “We have lined up activities like MTV Base Cypher that is ongoing, ‘Breathe for it’ versus Challenge 2.0, which is about to start, and so much more for them to show their talents in what interests them the most,” she stated.
During the summit, the panelists urged Nigerians to always remember the history of Afrobeat as it evolves into a global sensation. According to Osagie Alonge, the evolution of Afrobeat is a combination of the creatives, creative managers, brands, and technology. “It’s a combination of a few things. However, we also have to look at the people who have driven the culture and not just the music, like the managers, brands and others in the creative space that have collaborated with these artists”.
Excel Joab further explained the role of technology in the Nigerian music industry and its evolution in the last seven years, noting that people have started to see the value of music, which is why they subscribe to streaming platforms. While Reminisce Alaga viewed artists and producers as the drivers of the industry, Focus Ramon encouraged the wider Nigerian community to stop devaluing the hard work producers and sound engineers put into creating songs. Foza Fawehinmi highlighted the need for players in the industry to be intentional and hardworking to attract more investors who can contribute to building an efficient structure that enhances the efforts of current active stakeholders.
