The midnight wind was blowing gently, pushing to the west the foggy pregnant sky. Except for the distant croaking of frogs, nature was still, and at peace with me. With my elbows resting on the window, overlooking the lush green garden, I drifted into deep thought, getting lost in the beautiful past that was once a future.
A few weeks ago, I drove out of my Okota home, with a truck conveying my stuff closely behind. I cast a final glance at my beloved balcony where several creative works were conceived and executed. I remembered the shouts of joy, and tears of failure.
On that balcony, I watched The Godfather for the umpteenth time, pondered over the 1978 mafia classic, recalling religion and politics as an imperfect mix, like oil and water, and how revenge is best served cold.
On that balcony, beautiful family moments were shared. We ate great dinners; Inioluwa and Jordan rode bikes, played like heck, posed for pictures, slept, fought, screamed, studied, got applauded for excellence, and smacked for ‘slaying-back’.
On that balcony, The Sceptre’s House gathered to christen Araire, my baby girl. There, we watched her take her first walking steps, amidst cheers and laughter.
On that balcony, I kick-started Yellopad; created disruptive content and brand strategy; consulted for home-brew and cosmopolitan brands, hung out with programmers, visual designers, and business strategists…creating products in Fintech, Social Commerce, AutoCare, and WebEd.
On that balcony, I also launched Y+, a pro bono brand consultancy for millennial start-ups; where I helped shape and reshape start-up ideas, listened to beautiful brand stories, advised on disruptive approaches, created cool and snub factors, fine-tuned commercial values, built marketing and community building plans, and created plug-in strategies.
On my balcony, I got a Senior Strategy Manager job at EXP; one of Africa’s biggest experiential marketing agencies, operational in 22 countries and headquartered in South Africa, where I co-channeled creative and strategic courses for topmost brands.
On the same balcony, I cracked difficult advertising briefs as Centrespread’s Senior Brand Strategist; Nigeria’s premier marketing communication outfit currently affiliated with Grey of South Africa. There, I co-trained interns; and leveraged the power of intuition and market intelligence to weigh consumer perception, identified insights, developed key propositions; and create a badass strategy that triggers conversations, and drives brands north.
On that balcony, I muse over the beautiful moments of innocence experienced as a very young Strategy Lead in Touchstone; flying all over the country, kicking asses.
From the balcony, I would stare into empty space, or the lush palm trees, with a notepad in my hand, scribbling and sketching as ideas gush through my mind. There, I laughed, cried, won, lost, and stayed connected to Heaven.
From that balcony, I ordered Pizza from Dominos just opposite my window, saw car crashes from drunk drivers on late Friday evenings, watched police brutality in the dead of the night, witnessed armed robbery, and even saw a gun fired.
On the balcony, I read books like they were going out of fashion and would sleep off on my cozy orange couch when I’d worn myself out. From the balcony, I rewrote my personal brand story:
I’m Victor Adeyemi, and I bring to the table a lot of energy, creativity, and vibrancy. I work hard, think hard, and make friends easily. I’m a very reliable person. A seeker of the unknown, an idea guy, creative writer, left-eye thinker, designer, brand culture strategist, founder, co-creator, start-up advisor, experienced ad man, and author of a sensational idea book, IF YOU CAN’T BUY IT, STEAL IT!
When the job needs to be done, and it must be creative, insightful, appeal to consumers, and result in ROI, I am your nigga.
When Ogbonna said I’m obsessed with three key thought patterns (How do we create value for the existing product, how do we create a new product, and how do we make money from both), I just smiled. If it is not content, product or strategy, and does not lead to conversation and equity, I’m not in!
I think, therefore, I am.
With a background in contemporary advertising, brand management, experiential marketing, journalism, start-up ecosystem, digital marketing, a stint in PR, and now Yellopad’s Co-Creator and Culture Strategist, I have first-hand experience in different components of creative media and…
Now away from the past, I drove on, in my iconic Army Green Toyota Camry, leaving behind my balcony and the nostalgic memoirs, betraying the beautiful-good times we shared, moving, to a new future, wondering when Arsenal will ever win the Champions League, and why Sollozzo didn’t just shoot Luca Brasi from the back.
#EKO
