It takes ambition and determination to achieve good success in business. This describes the strides of MediaFuse-Dentsu International in its seven years of operation in Nigeria. The company’s success story is laced with ambitious, agile, pioneering, collaborative and responsible efforts of leadership and talents accompanied by a commitment for continuous learning and improvement.
Moving from complete obscurity to the top of the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) category in Nigeria, is the benefit gained within a short period within an established and competitive industry.
In January 2014, MediaFuse launched services in Nigeria and in a short period, attracted the admiration of Dentsu International (previously Dentsu Aegis Network) and by August 2014, MediaFuse-Dentsu, became the first IMC joint venture partnership in Nigeria by equity unlike the affiliate relationships that were prevalent at the time. This was a pioneering step in the right direction.
Today, most of the dominant IMC agencies have transformed from affiliate relationships with no equity involvement by the multinationals into joint-venture partnerships. This development stepped up competition in the market while emerging agencies now continue to find pathways to global networks’ involvement in their businesses.
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At MediaFuse-Dentsu International, the focus is on service excellence with consumers, brands, and their business goals at the centre of thoughts and actions of teams. In 2016, MediaFuse-Dentsu International launched the first proprietary consumer insights data panel called the Consumer Connections System (CCS) covering over nine commercial locations in Nigeria to give clients an unparallel advantage to consumer insights and media in the market.
With a second wave covering 20 commercial cities in 2018, CCS became a major differentiator that gave advertisers relief and renewed hope of better insights, better strategy, better plans, and better implementation management. Besides, this novel system equipped teams with hybrid technologies that support integrated solutions across multiple communications touchpoints including media, and aided deeper decision making by clients. Today, the industry has continued to develop challenger tools and systems that support clients’ marketing decisions and goals, taking learnings from CCS and its hybrid systems while MediaFuse-Dentsu International strides into new fronts with technology.
In an era where data protection and confidentiality are holy grails for big businesses and marketeers. The big question is: how do IMC networks respond to these daunting challenges and how prepared are they at short notices to navigate through complex webs of physical and virtual wall demands of clients? It takes visionary, timely, right, big, bold decisions and investment to overcome and be prepared to deal. MediaFuse-Dentsu International takes a leading position in infrastructural development of the workplace, creating both physical and virtual safety for clients’ information and data. No wonder competing category leaders in Nigeria continued to trust MediaFuse-Dentsu International to keep their businesses in different agency divisions.
Innovation drives change. There is need for specialists to deliver consistent innovation and change that move the needle for clients. While others continued to warehouse digital media solutions as a whole, MediaFuse-Dentsu International became the first to unpack digital marketing services into specialist service divisions such as Isobar driving customer experience through digital creative, content, content moderation, copy, technology, and user design. MediaFuse-Dentsu International also launched IProspect to take charge of digital performance marketing, marketing automation, social commerce, and Ad Operation (AdOp) services. In addition, AMNET was also created to focus on digital programmatic buying services for clients. By this move, the advertiser is able to derive full benefits of investment in digital marketing through the eyes of specialists.
Trust is a key factor to success for every business entity. No business survives without it. Just as getting to the top of the IMC chain in Nigeria can be tough, staying there among established competitors can be tougher. It is a status that requires relationships built on trust. Over the last seven years, MediaFuse-Dentsu International has grown without limits attracting the best global, regional, and local clients. The clientele portfolio is diverse, attractive, and with high volumes; giving our people the opportunity to continue to scale capabilities and knowledge in numerous categories. With over 50 clientele and over 100 awards in the last two years in creative, media, and digital solutions, it is evident that MediaFuse-Dentsu International’s people are more than inspired to continue to dictate the pace of the industry in Nigeria now and in the future.
Above all, people remain MediaFuse-Dentsu International’s most valuable assets. The company’s talent development programme is well designed to attract, build capabilities, and retain; making MediaFuse-Dentsu International the current haven of horses every competitor wants to ride. The company’s people approach is consistent with Dentsu International’s global talent initiatives; growing a human resource base of people with agile, ambitious, pioneering, collaborative, and responsible values everywhere they go.
Interestingly, MediaFuse-Dentsu International is currently in a leading position in female empowerment in the IMC category in Nigeria. By embracing Dentsu International’s policy on diversity and inclusion, the company has empowered 63 percent more women than men in its managerial and leadership positions. Full-service divisions and platforms such as Dentsu X, Posterscope, Vizeum, Amplifi, DentsuMcGarry Bowen, Information Technology, Human Capital Development, etc., are all led by women while mid-level managerial positions are also majorly occupied by women across each agency of the company. These women are supported by Dentsu International’s Global Female Foundry Programme to continue to excel in their career ambition, giving them a sense of leadership and altitude locally, regionally, and globally.
Okeke is the CEO, MediaFuse -Dentsu Internal, Nigeria
