4+ Years a Fourth, Now it is time for a New Canvas
Sometimes last year, we were having banter in the WhatsApp group for my set (secondary school alumni stuff). The conversation redirected when someone asked, “Ope, wetin you dey always tell Principal or teachers wey you dey escape punishment sef”. And then a few other people started giving examples of instances 😂.
I particularly remember one time that we were about to get punished and as I was trying to walk up to Mr. Ogendengbe, he just said, “Ope, don’t talk to me, I do not want to hear what you want to say this time .”
I don turn terrorist when it comes to information and communication management.
What I do now, did not start today.
Cos I scored the highest in JAMB (284) at the time and finished with all distinctions, people thought I was going to do Law or something, but I chose Mass Communication first and the second choice. So, it has always aligned to this point. I majored in print for my first degree but started my first significant career in journalism on Radio. So, in the last 10/11 years, I have worked in a newspaper, Radio, ran an online magazine, social media management, copywriting, and brand strategy. I am now excited about stepping into a mound I have coined for myself — a brand operator.
With a communication tendency that dates back to his earliest memories, Ope has over the years worked on radio, written for tech publications and to what he now does best, developed blueprints for compelling brand storytelling.
Victor wrote this bio 😍 for me.
There was a time it looked as if I did not like money. All I wanted was to be an enabler for ambitious young people anywhere I was, this time Akure. I had an unrelenting hope in the endless possibilities of a great Nigeria when young people are successful and the importance of building communities to help people stay focused even if the environment was unfair — a small critical mass. So, I ran events alongside my job as a radio journalist and brought people from far and wide the country, especially down south.
It was on one of those events that I met Fa. No, I met Bolaji. At that time, FourthCanvas’s studio was in Akure, but the Managing Partner worked from Lagos to get and close the deals, including managing operations with a partner, Red Media. But from getting 4C to sponsor and then having Fa on a Panel, I fell in love with the company, and if you know me when I love your brand, it never leaves my lips, or social media handles when good things are to be said.
Did it so much that one day Victor and Bolaji had me over for Fufu, Egusi, and Pomo at Favors (South Gate. If you know this place, you go just start to laugh) and said, this talk that you are talking about us from the outside, come and do it from the inside. At that time, I was on air 5–7 days a week, covered the 2017 Governorship election as a reporter on the field, and was already a popular radio voice, but I gave it a few months — managed both for a while and eventually joined 4C full time.
We have grown through the ranks!
From leaving Akure at 5 am to make a Lagos appointment for 9 am (cos we were chasing projects) to some of our biggest wins in these past years, it is a story of sweat, blood, and love. I may just do a podcast on some of the major experiences and projects I worked on in those years, but I have got some news.
While I may take some other time to write my experiences and wins across the different stages of my Comms and branding career, let me paint a bit of a picture of my last few years: I worked on the brand comms for the first bank to get a National Banking license in Nigeria for the last 10 years — Titan Trust Bank. I worked with other partners at the company to hit record revenue milestones for 4C in two successive years.
I led brand communications/strategy for Ondo State Development Summit for 2018, worked on the brand strategy (the blueprints for how they interact with the world, internally and externally) for a few fintech startups (backed by YC and other major VCs — that I may not be able to mention now) and played an integral role in 3 major rebrands that will be announced by the startups in the coming months. I spoke at my first TEDx and facilitated a masterclass alongside other 4C partners on “Customer Centric Rebrands” at the SMWLagos in 2020. I was also a judge on the African Challenger Brands Report (2021).
At this juncture, my watch as an active #4Citizen will be winding down in the coming months (although I am working on some killer projects throughout Q1 that must end in a bang. I will share when I can let the cat out of the bag).
https://twitter.com/O_Gbemiro/status/1448675459051446273?s=20
Omo! Another day 1 is in the works but would most likely still revolve around the fact that I want to tell the stories of Africa’s most ambitious brands. I am a firm believer in how narratives can change a lot of things for good and excited about the future. For now, it is to rest and close out this very intensive projects 😎, so that e go loud.
But yeah, once a #4Citizen is always a #4Citizen, so you fit still see me for sales calls 😂 if you choose to work with one of the world’s leading strategy-driven design agencies!
