Media Expert Cautions Scholars on Complacency

Mary Nnah

Jude Odia, Chief Operating Officer at Starcom Media Perspectives, one of Nigeria’s leading media agencies, has cautioned O2 Academy students against complacency when they finally get the chance to work in a marketing communications agency.

Speaking as guest instructor at O2 Academy’s Master Class which held on September 1, 2018 at the academy’s premises, he emphasised that they must subject themselves to constant upskilling and reskilling to survive the intense competition in the industry and attain the pinnacle of their careers in the marketing communications.

The topic of Odia’s presentation was ‘Understanding Media Strategy’, in which he helped the students appreciate and discover the importance of media planning and strategies, as a critical component in the marketing communications value chain.

“When they leave here, the onus is on them to manage their career effectively through constant self-education. They also need to have a good career development plan for themselves and they need to ensure that they have the attitude of ‘I have not arrived.”

Undoubtedly, one of Nigeria’s most outstanding media specialists, Odia grew through the ranks at Starcom Media Perspectives, where he developed strategies for top brands like MTN, Coca-Cola, Visa, Samsung etc, leading to market share and equity growth in Nigeria and other markets.

In recent times, Odia has committed to mentoring the next generation of media agency leaders through knowledge sharing at seminars, workshops and training institutions like O2 Academy and Pan African University where he was recently invited as guest instructor.

He was recently selected to attend the 2018 EMEA Emerging Market Executive Summit at Google Campus, Mountain View California, joining professionals from around the world to explore market trends, opportunities, and challenges from frontier markets.

The O2 Academy Master Class was the first by the 10-year/old institution specifically focused on media, and it underpins the new thinking in the academy which is now broadening its curriculum to accommodate other aspects of marketing communications beyond advertising and digital marketing.

Speaking on the initiative, Ozone Mbanefo, founder and provost of the institution said the innovation was informed by current market trend, and the need to give students of the academy a more diverse understanding of the industry, and also help them to understand that obtaining a sound media strategy is as important as developing a great creative.