Tobi Olanihun is the CEO of WOW!CONNECT, a global live events and experiential production agency that has develop awesome experiences for brands and individuals at every milestone in their brand and life journey. In this interview with Modestus Anaesoronye shares her career experience, developments in the industry and her recent entry into film industry. Excerpt:
Tell us about this love for events and how you got the idea of starting your events company?
The idea of planning events as a hobby was birthed whilst I was working as a business development manager in a downstream oil and gas company, I got excited thinking of our elaborate end of the year parties but I didn’t actually start till about 2 years after I had left the organization.
Without realizing though, I’ve been planning events since my university days where I was an AIESEC executive. I had a knack of helping friends put events together but I thought nothing of it and did it for fun, I was everyone’s go to person. It was later on I looked back and realized, oh my, I’ve been doing this already.
The first event I planned officially was a business lifestyle fair; the idea was to help SMEs connect with their target market in a fun, vibrant and exciting environment. The idea was successful and we did it for about 5 years with about 8 editions.
Wow Connect is one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing lifestyle exhibitions, weddings & networking Event Company. How did you get here and what would you say has made your company stand out?
First is how we started. We started with creating events and experiences to solve other businesses objectives so we started with a sense of ownership, not just conceptualizing and executing an event, but we understand what it is to seek sponsorship, market to attendees and maximize return on investment. We started as the custodian of the project and experienced the highs and lows. We take events very seriously because events are a very big deal; a huge cost centre and a marketing tool that is very effective at different parts of a brands journey.
Most ideas, they say, are formed from the desire to meet a need. What need would you say you were trying to meet when you conceived the idea of starting your own events company?
The need for excellence, professionalism, innovation and ownership. To fill the gap in creating and executing exceptional events that actually fulfill stated objectives.
10 years in the event planning and coordination industry. What are the greatest lessons you have learnt? And how profitable has this somewhat “unique” economic terrain been for you and your company?
I’ve learnt humility is key and relationships are invaluable, I’ve learnt that everything you do counts towards something whether it’s good or bad and it’s only a matter of time before it yields fruit. Doing business in Nigeria is not for the faint hearted, but it is worth it.
Was there ever a time when you wanted to quit because of challenges?
The thought crosses one’s mind every now and again but the thought doesn’t last for more than a few minutes and then you remind yourself that tough times don’t last and nothing great ever came easy.
The hospitality industry has been one of the hardest hit industries since the Covid-19 pandemic. How has this unprecedented time been for your business? How did the lockdown affect WOW Connect?
Our industry took a hard hit but we are one of the most creative and adaptable people on earth so in the storm many innovations have been born.
We first of all reacted to it with virtual gigs and I’m happy to say we were the first to do this in this hemisphere. We immediately identified that people required loads of positivity and for us music has always proven to do this. We also did several free seminars with economists, tech gurus, doctors and mental health practitioners. It was the season to give and help everyone we could and we were happy we had creative and educational ways to help people through that period.
The COVID_19 pandemic helped us return to our first love, creating our own events. It taught us how to work efficiently and it taught us to be still.
Aside from the pandemic, it has been a tough time for the Nigerian economy in general. How has the economy of the country impacted your businesses and what changes has this pulled you to make?
It has helped us refocus and think out of the box. IT has been a time to dig deep and collaborate. Cut off excesses and use lean management strategies. It has been tough but failure is never an option!
You and your team have been able to pivot some of your events to digital, what are some activities and decisions you had to make to not just survive but the stay ahead as a thought leader in your industry? In your opinion, what is the future of the events industry and what should players in the industry do to stay ahead of the curve?
We have had to think ahead of trends. Before digital /virtual events became a thingin Nigeria we had started them, keeping our eyes to the ground as things unfolded and thinking on our feet whilst adapting to our peculiar environment. I don’t think I’ve networked with colleagues as much as I’ve done this period locally and internationally. Everyone was figuring it all out as it came along so it was important to be part of these discussions.
To stay ahead it’s important to keep learning, networking, reading, anticipating and using your own unique voice in all you do. Remain true to your brand and retain your authentic voice.
We designed the WOW! Connect gamenight. A virtual experience that brings together family, teams, groups, corporate teams from 10 to 1000 people dialing in from anywhere in the world. People have been amazed at how we have been able to keep them engaged and happy. We have curated virtual experiences for corporate teams as team bonding experiences and parties, we have brought alumni together and we have produced birthday parties online that people just say WOW!
What are some tips events companies need to be implementing right now to stay afloat or generate income with all the health and safety precautions that are still in place?
Innovate or die. This statement has become all too real for us now. This is the time to think of how to do normal things in an extraordinary way.
Diversify if you have to, it does not mean you have failed, you have a duty to self and staff to generate an income. Engagement. Engagement. Engagement. It’s all about keeping attendees glued to the content of the event especially now that most events have a virtual component; we need to keep attendees wanting more.
This is also the time to keep close tabs on clients, you cannot afford to lose 1 client now, and we all need to ensure our customer relationship management systems are efficient.
Keeping health, Safety and Environment as the first consideration is more important than ever.
This year, you ventured into the film industry acting as associate producer for recently released and highly acclaimed movie, The New Normal. How did that come about? And what was the experience like?
Last year to be precise but the movie was released this year. I have a renewed respect for fellow creatives in the movie industry. It has been an awesome experience, quite grueling but very satisfying work. The Director/Producer Teniola Olatoni is a longtime client and collaborator.
We produced our first concert for her entertainment company many years ago. When Sourmash Productions produced her first play with The Secret Life of Baba Segi’s Lives in 2018, we cut our teeth into the industry. I believe it was a no brainer based on the success of the play to get us involved in the movie production. It is a fantastic blend of creativity and project management, similar to events in terms of thinking on your feet and dealing with various types and groups of people yet different in the kind of project it is, it also involves more hours an event project typically requires…the day to day…and has a much longer project cycle on average.
Many things to say about the experience but critical is that it showed me how deep our expertise as event planners really is especially as curators, storytellers and project managers; it showed me how versatile project management really is.
Is film something you want to do going forward or this was a one-time affair?
I am in it for good! Another way to express my God’s given creativity and love for detail and managing massive projects! Hell yes! Hello Nolly, Holly, Bolly and every Wood!
About Tobi and Company
Tobi is an experienced project manager, a lifestyle aficionado and a lover of quality and great things. I believe life is hard enough so I use my work, talent and experiences to give companies and individuals a good time via exclamation worthy, memorable experiences. The best way to describe what I do is experience design, ensuring the attendee/guest journey is at the forefront of everything whilst achieving the event goals.
WOW! Connect is a global live events and experiential production agency. We develop awesome experiences for brands and individuals at every milestone in their brand and life journey.
