July 6, 2022 | by Anyan
I got my first expat offer in 2019. They offered $10k to become Exec Creative Director in a major agency in Kenya. In contemplating my career, I always knew a day like that would come but when it did, I wasn’t ready. Staring at the email, reality dawned on me. Saying yes would mean being separated from family and my…
March 18, 2021 | by Anyan
Roman is one of the most extraordinary clients I’ve had the pleasure of working with. For some years he was the head of the Nescafe Business Unit across the entire West Africa. That’s a very powerful and important role to occupy in the Nestle world. That’s why Roman’s easy-going, super-friendly super chill, super cool and super inclusive style of leadership…
February 18, 2021 | by Anyan
Once Upon A Time... Globally, Publicis is NESTLÉ’s Agency Of Record. The relationship is a very strong one forged decades ago at the center of both businesses in Vevey. Even though NESTLÉ in local markets can decide to rope in other vendors for other specialized tasks, it’s a very unlikely thing that they’ll do away with Publicis altogether unless perhaps…
February 8, 2021 | by Anyan
My first Creative Director opportunity came from a relatively smaller agency. But what they lacked in size they compensated for in their offer; the role and the package. The most attractive thing was the greater opportunity and prospect; I had done years at a big traditional agency and this new smaller one was a digital one. I relished the experience…
January 18, 2021 | by Anyan
The most notorious client mantra I’ve heard goes; “Activation, not masturbation!” The thinking is; let’s be ruthless in ensuring that no decision is made for our pleasure and for the sake of feeling good at the expense of efforts that actually and truly reflect the sentiment of our clients. This ties in to the my most brutal feedback, which came a few…
September 18, 2020 | by Anyan
A major setback to advertising in Ghana is that some of the most talented creatives would rather freelance than work in an agency. This is at the same time when agencies are ready to pay top dollar for top talent; something is definitely not adding up. Being creative director at a major international agency with many freelancer friends does give…
September 9, 2020 | by Anyan
I’m paid to use creativity in solving business issues. To be creative is to be empathetic and emotional. It’s much easier to create compelling work when you can feel what it’s like to be your target consumer. Certainly, this emotional disposition also makes you vulnerable. Couple that with advertising as a high-pressure terrain dominated by ridiculous timelines, impossible clients, frequent blunt –and…
September 2, 2020 | by Anyan
I am in a weird position; benefitting from a system many friends are frustrated by. I’ve been given opportunities by the same management they are disappointed in. And for a few years now I’ve been part of management teams and also great friends to people who distrust management more than a shattered romantic distrusts her silver-tongued ex. It is uncomfortable, but…
August 25, 2020 | by Anyan
Last week, I was part of a meeting discussing major advertising activities my client should invest in across the region for the rest of the year. It was an important meeting with key stakeholders in attendance; one was a new management team member who had just joined from another region on the continent. When the client announced she doesn’t plan…
August 18, 2020 | by Anyan
The Dream When you see the rate card your agency sends client, and compare it to the salary you make at month’s end, you don’t even know what to think of your employer anymore. What kind of Cinderella step mother syndrome is this? And you think, maybe I should start my own shop and rake in all that cash, after…
August 14, 2020 | by Anyan
Look, let’s be honest. The company you work for is in it for the money. It may feel like a family with a rich culture but when push comes to shove the company will ultimately look out for its interest. The company will do whatever it must to stay profitable. It may take very hard decisions to safeguard its interest. It’s…
August 7, 2020 | by Anyan
Imagine you’re in a room with Chinese investors. Of all the people clamoring for the spot, they chose to do business with you, because…because they believe Mandarin is your second language. Then Xin Chi Moon rattles his glass, proposes a toast to you and everyone waits silently for a long poetic Mandarin response. Only problem is, you haven’t actually actually…
July 14, 2020 | by Anyan
A three-year tenure as Creative Director in an awesome digital Advertising Agency came to an end in December 2018. On my last day at work, I was pleasantly surprised by an art piece that captured moving personal notes to me. At the center of the piece in cherry red caps is ‘BAD IDEA, BEN’. Without knowing the back story, it’s…
July 7, 2020 | by Anyan
That is what I thought back in the day. In Senior High, the Visual Arts class was seen as the class for underachievers; the course you settled for when you badly wanted to be in the school but didn’t make the grades necessary to be admitted to the Science or Business classes. Parents and ‘well-wishers’ would question the ambition and…
June 27, 2020 | by Anyan
It is this cancerous disease that eats you up, gradually wiping out your optimism, passion and energy. It turns you into a skeptic, an idea killer, an aged dinosaur with a shrunk ability to create anything authentic, creative and exciting. It’s the most toxic situation to watch out for as an advertising person. When I tasted advertising, I was on…
