From John Silas, Lagos
Leading marketing and communications firm, Verdant Zeal Group Limited, has hosted the 14th edition of its flagship Innovention Series, exploring the growing influence of trust, relevance and cultural resonance in shaping brand success.
The virtual roundtable, themed “The Business of Influence: Brands, Storytelling & Consumer Culture,” brought together leading voices in marketing, storytelling and consumer culture to examine how influence is reshaping Nigeria’s brand economy.
Since its inception in 2012, the Innovention Series has served as a thought-leadership platform for challenging conventional thinking, interrogating Africa’s development trajectory and promoting transformative ideas capable of driving progress.
Delivering the keynote address, the Executive Vice Chairman of Verdant Zeal Group, Dr. Tunji Olugbodi, said influence had moved beyond being merely a marketing outcome to becoming a catalyst for business expansion.
According to him, attention has become a valuable currency in today’s marketplace, with brands that thrive being those that tell authentic and human-centred stories.
“Beyond likes, impressions and hashtags lies a deeper promise: the ability of brands to shape and be shaped by everyday consumer culture,” Olugbodi said.
He identified authenticity, storytelling, local innovation, consistency and character as key principles for brands seeking to build sustainable influence.
Olugbodi explained that authenticity requires brands to build narratives alongside communities, while storytelling should prioritise genuine conversations over aggressive selling and promotional noise.
He also stressed the importance of local innovation, urging brands to embed campaigns in uniquely Nigerian experiences, including Owambe culture and the resilience associated with the country’s entrepreneurial “hustle” culture.
On consistency and character, he said brands must remain faithful to their promises and identities if they are to build lasting relationships with consumers.
Olugbodi further described influence as “smart business,” citing industry reports which, he said, indicate that brands with strong narrative identities tend to outperform their peers in customer loyalty and pricing power.
He, however, urged Nigerian brands to balance influence with integrity, stressing that consumer culture should remain a reflection of society rather than a distortion of it.
In his closing remarks, Olugbodi reaffirmed Verdant Zeal’s commitment to fostering dialogue, creativity and innovation through the Innovention Series, which has, for more than a decade, provided a platform for thought leadership and the exchange of ideas across Africa.
