It is often said that Fortune Favours the Fearless. In the last quarter of the Year 2012, Rotimi Bankole, then a young executive at All seasons Media Com (a media-independent planning and buying agency) left his enviable job to chart a vision and future yet unknown. While many of his colleagues played it safe and hold on to their well-paying jobs, Bankole, like all successful entrepreneurs decided to build a world-class and unique media independent agency.
He founded SBI Media in 2013. And by 2021, the agency emerged Nigeria’s fastest-growing and largest media independent agency, according to Research Company for all Media Agencies (RECMA), which is a globally reputable industry body that assesses and ranks all media-independent agencies in the world.
When SBI Media started in 2013, it was a David facing the Goliaths of the industry. What made SBI Media succeed and overtake older, existing agencies was Bankole’s unquenchable desire and passion to be the best and provide superior or excellent results to clients. SBI Media is clients like Techo attest to the agency’s ability to positively impact on their business goals and objectives, especially during these recession periods. Apart from the global attestation of its performance, SBI Media has won several awards in Nigeria such as Marketing Edge’s Outstanding Performing Media Agency of the Year 2021
Question 1:Congratulations.SBI Media recently emerged Nigeria’s fastest-growing and largest independent media agency by RECMA, a globally reputable media-independent publisher. What does this RECMA recognition mean to you, first as CEO, and next, to your team at SBI?
Thank you! Actually, it means the same to all the team members and me. Firstly, it is a validation of our strategy of dynamism, youthful mindset, and long-term industry partnerships. Secondly, we know that there’s more work to be done. We do not discountenance the impact of COVID-19 on our business and we are extremely grateful to be where we are today as a business, of course, but we know there are more opportunities to convert in the coming year.
Q2: SBI grew by 25% between 2019-2020, according to RECMA research. How did your agency achieve this? What would identify as factors that made this achievement possible?
We are happy to also inform you that RECMA has now ranked us as the largest independent media agency group in Nigeria. This is a major achievement for us that further charts the path we want to tow in the African and the global market. We value these four key pillars above all else: Opportunity, hard work, responsiveness to our clients, and collaboration. From the beginning of our operations in 2013, we’ve consistently sought out early and partnered with early-stage start-ups as well as adventurous big firms who appreciate innovative thinking in their marketing. We are quick to consider new methods while we nurture our existing relationships in our core area of business as well as ancillary industries such as tech, media production, and entertainment. For instance, at the height of the Pandemic in 2020 and earlier this year, we were the first agency to stage hybrid virtual and on-site product launches in the consumer electronics sector. Ultimately, we do everything we can to return measurable value to our clients by engaging in astute budget management.
Q3: SBI is just eight years old. What made you venture out in 2011 to chart a vision for SBI way back in 2013? What opportunities did you see then, and how were you able to explore them?
In the later part of 2012, I ventured out of All Seasons Mediacom to recharge and review my career strategies. While trying to figure out my next move, I was helping some independent agencies plan media campaigns for their clients. I was introduced to Sim Shagaya, who had recently founded the eCommerce site Konga. Being a disruptor at the time, he needed a young media professional who could move fast and respond rapidly to the demands of his new start-up. It was an exciting opportunity that I seized. I remember that for months, I would not even be bothered about my own pay because I was confident that Konga was a brilliant idea that would change the lives of all involved. This was how SBI Media really started. Before I knew it, there was a need to recruit more staff to join the company. The experience we had with Konga was the eye-opener we needed in the tech space. We understand their nature and needs; that’s why today, tech start-ups prefer us. We were even recently Best Media Agency for Start-ups by Marketing Edge magazine.
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Q4:Considering literature on your firm, it says the agency seeks to always deliver high returns on investments to clients. Considering the inclement Nigerian business environment, how well and how far have you been able to keep this promise?
I believe we have done pretty well in keeping our promises to our clients. Usually, media agencies are hired by advertisers to help design the most effective media strategies with regard to communication channels and budget. Our approach to this challenge in Nigeria and everywhere we operate is to remain a nimble agency while ensuring that suppliers who collaborate with us are paid on time and accurately. This, of course, is aside from our strategic membership of Masscom Global, which affords us access to the latest intelligence and technology in over 150 markets worldwide.
Q5:Your agency held its second CSR and Sustainability project this year. What informs your company s passion for youths? Can we assume that your investment in ‘youthdom’ is one of the key secrets to SBI s admirable growth?
The SBI Media Workshop is a way for us to share the insights we have, as young people ourselves, with the youths of Nigeria. We saw the teeming youth population of country, we saw the high rate of unemployment, and we saw the innovation in mobile technology as it continued to make content production easier all around the world. How could we help young Nigerians become self-employed and independent? For us, the answer was — and is — in a free Workshop that would reveal the latest tech as well as the most creative techniques for content production and monetisation to them. Our aim is to give back by empowering the youths to become media entrepreneurs — whether on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, or any of the dozens of channels that may be available to them.
The second edition of SBI Media Workshop held in November this year and the attendees were excited to be taught by industry leaders such as award-winning filmmaker, Kunle Afolayan; music video director, Unlimited LA; social media video director, Edem Victor; copyright lawyer at Perchstone and Graeys, Dipo Oliyide; and Boomplay General Manager, Dele Kadri. Next year, our plan is to make the Workshop reach more people.
Q6: SBI is West Africa’s strategic partner to Masscom Global. What does Masscom offer to SBI,vice versa? What benefits accrue to your agency’s clients through this partnership?
Masscom Global is a network of media agencies in developing markets, which share insights and tools among themselves. As the West African member, our position in Africa’s largest media market provides a tremendous advantage in terms of local intelligence and experience to international brands that may be looking to play in Nigeria and the other countries in which we do business in Africa. Through us, this same opportunity is available to Nigerian brands who may wish to expand beyond the country into the more than 150 markets where Masscom Global is present, either directly or by affiliations.
Q7:How has SBI coped with the corona pandemic? What did the challenge teach you as a businessman and next as a leader? How have you deployed these lessons to position SBI for greater performances in the years ahead?
Fortunately for us, we had been testing some of the tech that later became the WFH (Work From Home) solutions for many companies around the world. For instance, because some of our clients were in faraway places such as Korea and China, our teams had become familiar with virtual collaboration and tracking. And, to help launch the new products from Tecno, Infinix, and Itel, we worked with some of the most remarkable Nigerian companies and influencers (who were already part of our system) to develop realistic concepts for virtual product launches — the first in Nigeria. These experiences delivered impressive reach and engagement, which is why, right now, many brands no longer see virtual product launches as stopgap measures; they’ve warmed up to them as valid platforms for product release.
For me as an executive, the lesson is clear: there will always be a simpler, faster, even easier ways of solving problems but we get to those ways faster when we are predisposed to thinking widely, experimenting, and keeping an open mind to new ideas.
Q8: And lastly,who is Rotimi Bankole? What is your philosophy of life? What makes your day and what could dampen it?
I was born in Lagos into the family of Prophet and Mrs Bankole. One of seven children. I went to secondary school at Airforce Secondary School, Ikeja, after which I obtained a Higher National Diploma in Mass Communication from The Polytechnic, Ibadan; and a Masters in Communication Studies from the Lagos State University. I’m almost done with my MPhil in Public Relations and Advertising from Lead City University. I’m married with three kids. Watching my parents talk and live their values every day for many years, I’ve learnt those values and I have found them to be true. Everything I do is guided by my belief in the supremacy of God, optimism, patience, empathy, and humility.
