At the 14th edition of the Innovention Roundtable, Dr. Tunji Olugbodi, Executive Vice Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer of Verdant Zeal Group — Africa’s fast-rising multinational marketing communications powerhouse — delivered a bold message: “Brands do not own culture. They are fortunate enough to borrow from it.”
Speaking on the theme The Business of Influence: Brands, Storytelling and Consumer Culture, Olugbodi challenged marketers to rethink their relationship with the communities they serve. He emphasized that every time a brand taps into language, music, humour, traditions, or shared memories, it is drawing from the lived experiences of the people — and must do so with respect.
“When this is done well, people feel seen and understood. The brand earns trust, loyalty and a place in everyday culture,” he said. “But when culture is treated merely as a campaign tool, the attention may come, but the connection rarely lasts.”
Olugbodi warned against reducing influence to vanity metrics like impressions, likes, and hashtags. True influence, he argued, is the “quiet permission consumers give a brand to become part of their story,” built through authenticity, relevant storytelling, and consistency.
Technology, he noted, has democratized influence, allowing creators, artisans, and small businesses armed with smartphones to shape perception and move markets without massive budgets. Yet, access alone is not enough. “Brands must speak with people, not at them,” he stressed, adding that storytelling is inseparable from business growth.
As Nigeria’s creative and marketing ecosystem expands, Olugbodi called for Nigerian stories to be made “more visible, more valuable, and more ours.” He expressed gratitude to Tosin Ajibade, Ayodeji Razaq, Sarah Ofonedu, and other partners for their contributions to the roundtable.
His closing remark was a rallying cry: “Influence is most powerful when it serves people, not just performance.”
