The Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) on Wednesday, January 19, 2022 decorated advertising guru, Omooba Segun Adewale, along with 62 other distinguished advertising practitioners, with the highest honor in advertising practice.They have all now become fellows of APCON.
Omooba Adewale is the Group Managing Director of Integrated Marketing Communications, (IMC), a marketing communications group that has 24-7imc, Proview, Hurricane and Media matryx as subsidiaries. He has been in the industry for over 20 years and has rubbed shoulders with the keyplayers in the advertising industry.
The event was held at Raddison Blu Hotel, GRA, Ikeja, after which friends and associates of Omooba converged at the prestigious 7th Continent A La Carte inside Mega Chicken at Agidingbi for a reception /dinner.Other Fellows hosted their guests at different locations in Lagos.
Speaking on his new title as an APCON fellow,Omooba, expressed appreciation for the honour and assured that the reward for the honour is more work and commitment to preserving the integrity of the body.
He thanked the APCON Chairman and Registrar for the honour done him.
He also commended the council, describing it as very professional and dynamic in its conduct.
The event was graced by the doyens of advertising industry like Dr. Biodun Shobanjo, Chief Akin Odunsi, and Sir Steve Omojafor.Other advertising practitioners who attended include Bunmi Oke, Bankole Ademulegun, Steve Babeaeko, and many more.
Let’s tell you a bit about Omooba Segun Adewale who started his primary school education at St. James Anglican Primary School, Benin City. He got admitted into Eghosa Grammar School in Benin City but later completed his secondary education at the Ibadan Boys High School in Oke-Bola, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Segun Adewale, a naturally creative and lover of arts proceeded to Ogun State Polytechnic Abeokuta (now Moshood Abiola Polytechnic) for his Advanced Level Certificate in 1982. In 1984, he got admitted to the same institution to study and completed his Higher National Diploma in Mass Communication.
In 1989, he underwent his NYSC service in Minna, Niger State, and served meritoriously; having initiated a number of self-help and community programmes. During his service year, the Niger State Government offered him permanent employment. He also received the prestigious NYSC National Honors Award as The Most Outstanding Corp Member in Nigeria during his service year.
With this award, Segun Adewale was offered automatic employment in the Federal Civil Service by the then Head of State, President Ibrahim Babangida. He declined the offer while embarking on the arduous road into the turbulent world of advertising.
Segun Adewale started his career in Advertising with BTAS Communications Ltd, Lagos in 1990. Two years later, he joined STB & Associates, now STB McCann Lagos as a Client Service Executive and rose to become a Group Head in 9 years of passionate service.
He later joined Bates Cosse as an Account Director to launch the Global brand. During his tenure at Bates Cosse, the brand recorded exceptional visibility and 100% brand awareness and recall both within Nigeria and throughout West Africa.
Adewale later joined Centerspread Fcb, as a Group Account Director to impact and share his experience on the Vodacom brand – the then biggest telecoms company in Africa. Once Vodacom left the Nigerian market, he worked on another telecommunications brand, Vmobile. He was responsible for developing the iconic “It’s all about you” Vmobile brand campaign success.
Having attained the peak of his career as an employee, Segun Adewale was divinely inspired to chart a new course in Advertising by establishing a young and dynamic advertising agency called 24-7 Communications Limited in June 2004.
Segun Adewale became the Group Managing Director of 24-7 Communications Limited 10 years after the agency was established. The agency expanded its operations to become a strategic holding unit of an Integrated Marketing Communications Group, with subsidiary companies which include a media independent agency known as Mediamatryx Limited, an Out-of-Home Media Agency, Proview Advertising Limited, and a Digital Marketing Agency, e-Genius Digital Marketing Ltd, with satellite offices in South Africa, Uganda, Rwanda, and Ghana, for the purpose of servicing clients and businesses in other African countries.
In September 2014, Adewale complemented the successes recorded with 24-7 Communication during its 10th year Anniversary by embarking on a joint venture with Zinto Marketing of South Africa, the biggest Experiential Marketing Agency in Africa, in order to strengthen the IMC group.
Adewale has delivered several papers and lectures on topics relating to advertising, branding, and marketing communications in general. He is a holder of several academic qualifications which include: A Post Graduate Diploma in Management, Master of Business Administration (MBA), Certificate of advertising and Branding: Vega Brand Communications School, South Africa, to mention a few.
He became a registered practitioner of advertising (RPA) in 2003. He is also a member of many professional bodies such as the Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce, Institute of Directors IoD Nigeria, etc.
Adewale is a member of Ikoyi Club 1938, Island Club of Lagos, Metro Club Ilaro, Abeokuta Sports Club, and Recreation Club of Ilaro. In 2012, he ventured into politics in his home State, Ogun. He was the Peoples Democratic Party Governorship Aspirant in 2015.
—Reported by Seun Joseph
