The 14th edition of the Innovention Roundtable, hosted by Verdant Zeal Group, brought together leading voices in marketing, storytelling, and consumer culture to explore how influence is reshaping Nigeria’s brand economy.
Delivering the keynote in a speech received by Verdant Desk (veracitydesk.com), Dr. Tunji Olugbodi, Executive Vice Chairman of Verdant Zeal Group, declared that “influence is not just a marketing outcome; it is a catalyst for business expansion.” He emphasized that in today’s marketplace, attention has become currency, and brands that thrive are those that tell authentic, human-centered stories.
Themed “The Business of Influence: Brands, Storytelling & Consumer Culture,” the roundtable examined how trust, relevance, and cultural resonance now define brand success. Dr. Olugbodi noted that beyond likes, impressions, and hashtags lies a deeper promise: the ability of brands to shape — and be shaped by — everyday consumer culture.
Authenticity — building narratives hand-in-hand with communities; Storytelling over selling — creating genuine conversations rather than promotional noise; Local innovation — embedding campaigns in uniquely Nigerian contexts, from Owambe culture to the resilience of the hustle; Consistency and character — ensuring brands remain true to their promises and identities.
Olugbodi stressed that influence is smart business, citing industry reports that show brands with strong narrative identities outperform peers in loyalty and pricing power. He urged Nigerian brands to balance influence with integrity, ensuring consumer culture remains a mirror of society rather than a distortion of it.
Closing the session, he reaffirmed Verdant Zeal’s commitment to fostering dialogue and innovation through the Innovention Series, which for over a decade has served as a platform for thought leadership across Africa.
Read the speech in extenso as reproduced hereunder:
SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRMAN, VERDANT ZEAL GROUP, DR. TUNJI OLUGBODI, AT THE INNOVENTION ROUND-TABLE ,ON THE BUSINESS OF INFLUENCE: BRANDS, STORYTELLING & CONSUMER CULTURE
PROTOCOLS
Good day to all our esteemed guests, friends, colleagues, and partners on this continuous journey of innovation and impact.
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the 14th edition of the Innovention Series roundtable, proudly hosted by the Verdant Zeal Group.
I am especially delighted to welcome our speakers, Ms. Tosin Ajibade (Olorisupergal) and Mr. Razaq Ayodeji, each bringing a wealth of experience, insight, and thought leadership to today’s conversation.
A warm welcome also goes to members of the creative, marketing, and business community; our clients, partners, and of course, the dedicated staff and Board of Directors of Verdant Zeal Group. And to every individual who is joining us virtually, it is wonderful to have you all here.
On behalf of the Board, Management, and Staff of Verdant Zeal Group, I welcome you to yet another edition of our thought leadership platform, the Innovention Series, an initiative designed to stimulate deep conversations, unlock fresh perspectives, and spotlight opportunities for growth and development across Africa.
Our theme for this edition: The Business of Influence: Brands, Storytelling & Consumer Culture, could not be more timely or relevant.
We live in an age where attention is currency, and the brands that win are not always the ones with the biggest budgets, but the ones that tell the most honest, most human stories. From market stalls in Balogun to boardrooms in Victoria Island, from a jingle you cannot get out of your head to a thirty-second reel that outperforms a season-long campaign, influence has quietly become one of the most valuable assets a business can own.
Yet, beyond the noise of impressions, likes, and trending hashtags lies a greater promise: culture, the ability of a brand to shape, and be shaped by, the everyday lives of the people it serves.
Influence, at its core, is not just about visibility or virality. It is about trust, relevance, and the quiet permission a consumer grants a brand to be part of their story.
Nigeria’s creative and marketing ecosystem today is one of the most dynamic in the world, home to storytellers, content creators, and brand builders who are redefining how commerce and culture intersect. But even more inspiring is what this influence represents: the democratization of storytelling.
For decades, the power to shape narratives sat almost exclusively with those who could afford television slots and billboard space. The barriers, from limited media access to high production costs, kept many voices, particularly small businesses and independent creators, outside the mainstream conversation.
Technology and social culture are changing that narrative. With a smartphone and a genuine story to tell, individuals and businesses can now build audiences, shape perception, and move markets, often without a single naira spent on traditional advertising.
This has empowered entrepreneurs, artisans, content creators, and small business owners, basically the people who form the backbone of our economy, giving them platforms to build brands that speak directly to the people who matter to them. It has turned everyday Nigerians into influence, transforming visibility into a tangible instrument of business growth.
However, true influence goes beyond reach; it is about resonance. It is about building a brand culture where every consumer, young or old, urban or rural, feels seen, understood, and invited to belong.
As we reflect on this theme, one question stands out: How do brands earn influence that lasts, rather than attention that fades?
To begin with, authenticity is key. Consumer culture cannot be manufactured in isolation. It must be shaped hand-in-hand with the communities brands serve, their language, their humour, their aspirations. Together, brand and audience can create a relationship that encourages loyalty while ensuring trust, credibility, and mutual respect.
Secondly, we must prioritise storytelling over selling. Influence only endures when people feel spoken with, not spoken at. Too many brands still mistake volume for value. Bridging this gap between promotion and genuine narrative is crucial if brand-building is to reach its full potential as a force for consumer connection.
Thirdly, innovation must continue to address local realities. Nigeria’s most memorable brand stories, told through pidgin, proverbs, music, and shared humour, are rooted in solving uniquely Nigerian moments of connection. Going forward, our focus must remain on storytelling that speaks to our context, whether it is a campaign built around Owambe culture, the resilience of the Nigerian hustle, or the everyday wit of the Nigerian consumer.
And finally, consistency and character must go hand in hand. As brands innovate, they must build identities that are unmistakably their own, protecting reputation, honouring promises, and showing up the same way, campaign after campaign. Sustainable influence thrives only where consumers know exactly what a brand stands for, and can count on it.
Influence is not just a marketing outcome; it is a catalyst for business expansion. By deepening relevance, reducing customer acquisition costs, and expanding brand equity, storytelling directly contributes to revenue growth and market leadership.
Recent industry reports indicate that brands with strong narrative identities consistently outperform their category peers in both loyalty and pricing power. This demonstrates the commercial weight that culture and creativity now carry in the boardroom.
When consumers feel a genuine connection to a brand, they buy more, they forgive more, and they advocate more. This not only uplifts the business but also fuels a wider creative economy of writers, designers, filmmakers, and content creators. Influence, therefore, is not vanity, it is smart business.
Beyond balance sheets and campaign metrics, the business of influence carries a cultural mission, which is to make Nigerian stories more visible, more valuable, and more ours.
When a small fashion label in Ibadan builds a loyal following through Instagram storytelling, or a food brand in Lagos becomes shorthand for a shared childhood memory, or a fintech app becomes part of the language young Nigerians use to describe getting paid, that is influence at work.
The real impact of brand storytelling lies in its ability to expand cultural relevance. It gives identity to the overlooked, voice to the underrepresented, and visibility to stories previously left untold by traditional media.
As we delve into discussions today, I encourage us all to see the business of influence not just as a marketing frontier, but as a transformative instrument for national brand-building.
We must continue to ask:
How can we make brand storytelling work for both commerce and culture?
How do we balance influence with integrity?
And how do we ensure that consumer culture remains a mirror of who we are, not a distortion of who advertisers want us to be?
The answers to these questions will define the next chapter of Nigeria’s brand-building story.
At Verdant Zeal, our commitment remains steadfast; to foster dialogue, inspire innovation, and drive development through platforms like the Innovention Series. For over a decade, this platform has continued to bring together thought leaders and practitioners to chart the course for Africa’s advancement.
In closing, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to all our speakers, panelists, partners, and attendees for being part of this important conversation.
As we explore the boundless potential of brands, storytelling, and consumer culture, let us remember that influence is most powerful when it serves people, not just performance. The future of Nigeria’s brand economy will be built not only by campaigns and content calendars, but by people, by storytellers, creators, and everyday Nigerians whose culture brands are fortunate enough to borrow.
Welcome to another edition of the INNOVENTION ROUNTABLE.
Welcome to a future where influence builds trust, storytelling drives growth, and brands earn their place in culture.
Thank you.
Dr Tunji Olugbodi frpa, FNIM
Convener, the INNOVENTION SERIES.
