In an era where brand messages flood every channel and consumer attention spans are fiercely defended, the line between transient noise and enduring brand loyalty has never been more critical. Building market resilience requires a deliberate blend of strategic discipline, deep human insight, and courage—qualities that Francis Obiajulu, Senior Brand Manager for Amstel Malta and Hi-Malt, has consistently brought to some of Nigeria’s most iconic consumer brands.
Recently appointed as a juror for the prestigious Los Angeles International Film / Advertising Industry Framework (LAIF) Awards in the Print category, Obiajulu steps into a role tasked with defining and celebrating the benchmark for creative brilliant across the region. In this exclusive conversation, Obiajulu reflects on the sacred responsibility of jury objectivity, why resilience comes from being meaningfully different rather than simply louder, the power of balancing national brand consistency with hyper-local storytelling, and what it truly takes for Nigerian creativity to command attention on the global stage.
You were recently appointed as a juror for the LAIF Awards for the print category. What does this mean to you professionally, and what do you consider the most significant responsibility that comes with the role?
Being appointed as a juror for the LAIF Awards is both an honor and a significant responsibility. Professionally, it represents an opportunity to contribute to the advancement of creative excellence within Nigeria’s advertising industry and to help shape the standards by which great work is recognized.
The most important responsibility that comes with the role is objectivity. As jurors, we have a duty to look beyond brand size, agency reputation, or production scale and focus on the strength of the idea itself. Great creative work should not only be visually compelling; it should solve a real business or communication challenge in a meaningful way. My goal is to help identify and celebrate work that demonstrates originality, effectiveness, and genuine cultural relevance.
Your work involves making strategic decisions about how brands communicate, connect with consumers, and achieve business objectives. How do you think this experience will influence how you evaluate creative work from other brands and agencies?
Working on brands has taught me that creativity delivers its greatest value when it achieves a clear objective. As a result, I tend to evaluate creative work through both creative and strategic lens.
Beyond aesthetics, I look for the insight behind the idea, the problem it is trying to solve, and whether the execution strengthens the connection between the brand and its audience. Exceptional creativity is not just about attracting attention alone; it is also about creating meaning, driving consideration, influencing behavior, and ultimately contributing to brand and business growth. The strongest work usually achieves all of these while remaining simple and memorable.
You lead the strategic development of brands like Amstel Malta and Hi-Malt. What does it take to build a successful brand in a competitive market, and what do successful brands have over others that makes them more resilient?
Building a successful brand requires clarity, consistency, and a deep understanding of consumer needs. Markets are constantly evolving, but brands that remain focused on delivering a clear and distinctive value proposition are often the ones that endure.
Resilient brands know who they are and what they stand for. They adapt to changing consumer realities without abandoning their core identity. They invest in building emotional connections, maintain product quality, and create experiences that reinforce their promise at every touchpoint. In competitive markets, resilience often comes from being meaningfully different rather than simply being louder than everyone else.
In your experience, what separates a campaign that generates attention for a few days from one that creates lasting brand loyalty and contributes to business growth?
Short-term attention is relatively easy to generate; lasting impact is far more difficult. Campaigns that create enduring value are built on a strong consumer insight and reinforce the brand’s long-term positioning.
The most successful campaigns go beyond impressions and engagement metrics. They consistently deliver a message that consumers can relate to, trust, and internalize over time. When consumers begin to see their own aspirations, challenges, or identity reflected in a brand’s story, loyalty starts to form. Sustainable business growth comes when campaigns strengthen both immediate relevance and long-term brand equity.
Nigerian consumers are very diverse, with different cultures, aspirations, and expectations. How can brands develop campaigns that resonate with specific communities while maintaining a consistent brand identity across the country?
The key is to balance consistency with cultural relevance. A strong brand should have a clear central promise that remains consistent regardless of geography or audience segment.
At the same time, execution must reflect local realities. Brands need to understand the cultural nuances, language, traditions, and aspirations of different communities and express the brand promise in ways that feel authentic to those audiences. When the core idea remains consistent, but the storytelling reflects local contexts, brands can achieve both national scale and local relevance.
With consumers now more exposed to multiple channels for digital advertising, what does it take for a brand to earn genuine attention rather than simply add to the noise?
Attention today is earned, not bought. Consumers are exposed to thousands of messages daily, so relevance has become one of the most valuable assets in marketing.
Brands earn attention when they provide value, whether through inspiration, entertainment, education, or meaningful participation in culture. Consumers are quick to ignore messages that feel generic or intrusive. The brands that stand out are those that understand their audience deeply and communicate in a way that feels timely, authentic, and worth engaging in.
When assessing a work for the print category, what would make you stop and say, “This is exceptional work”? What qualities distinguish a powerful idea from one that is merely well produced?
Exceptional print work communicates a compelling idea almost instantly. It combines simplicity, originality, and clarity in a way that leaves a lasting impression.
While high production quality is important, execution alone does not make an idea powerful. Strong ideas often create a moment of discovery, provoke thought, or reveal an insight in an unexpected way. When the concept is strong, every element within the execution has a clear purpose. The most memorable work is usually the work that makes you wish you had thought of it first.
How would you describe the current state of creativity in Nigeria’s advertising industry? Where are Nigerian brands and agencies making meaningful progress, and where is there still room to improve?
There has been meaningful progress in integrated marketing, digital engagement, and content creation. However, there is still room to push creative boundaries further. As an industry, we can do more to produce ideas that not only resonate locally but also compete consistently on the global stage. Greater emphasis on innovation, effectiveness, and long-term brand building will help elevate the industry’s impact even further.
As you take on this new responsibility, what would you like to see more of in the work submitted to LAIF this year seeing that you have managed successful brands like Amstel Malta?
I would like to see more work driven by strong human insights and bold thinking. The industry has no shortage of talent, but the most impactful work often comes from a willingness to challenge conventions and approach familiar problems from fresh perspectives.
I would also like to see work that clearly demonstrates the relationship between creativity and effectiveness. Great advertising should inspire, but it should also solve problems, influence behavior, and create measurable value for the brands it serves. The strongest entries will likely be those that successfully achieve both.
What advice would you give young marketers and brand managers who want to develop the strategic judgement required to recognise, commission, and champion exceptional creative work?
My advice would be to stay curious. Learn from consumers, culture, business, and great creative work. The best marketers understand that strategy and creativity work together, and they develop the confidence to champion ideas that make a meaningful difference.
Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.
