LAIF Awards: Insight Redefini, Leo Burnett Lagos’ Night of Glory

Samuel Ajayi

The last edition of the Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAID), Awards might have come and gone. But for Insight Redefini and its subsidiary, Leo Burnett Lagos, it was an awards ceremony they won’t forget in a hurry. They not only scooped the awards, they also reinforced the ageless axiom that the older the wine, the tastier.

The Biodun Sobanjo-founded Insight Redefini is currently one of, if not the oldest, surviving indigenous advertising agencies in the country. The agency had churned out timeless copies and materials over the decades.

The performance of the outfits at the LAIF Awards did nothing but proved that style and panache have not gone with age.

The agency came into existence in the late 70s but one credit it must be given is that it keeps re-inventing itself and that it why the agency seems to have remained relevant.

At the last LAIF Awards 2023, the agency, and its subsidiary, Leo Burnett Lagos, were the most awarded outfits to prove that it is arguably the best around in terms of ideas that sell brands.

The Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival, LAIF, is the brain child of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, AAAN. The Awards came on stream in 2006. The maiden edition was held on Friday, June 9th, 2006 at the Expo Hall, Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos. It is gratifying that the AAAN, formerly Association of Advertising Practitioners of Nigeria, AAPN, came up with this idea which could be described as the most credible and recognised adertaiing and marketing awards. 

Applauding his crew for rising beyond mediocrity and proving their creative mettle, CEO of the Insight Redefini Group, Dr. Tayo Oyedej, said this: “Our victory at the 2023 LAIF Awards underscores our dedication to innovation and impactful storytelling. From enchanting narratives of mom-wizards crafting magical dishes with Terra cubes to reviving nostalgic advertising icons like 7up’s Fido Dido and Guilder’s ‘Senior Men,’ and creating new worlds for payment gateway leaders like Moniepoint, our work speaks to our ability to shape and redefine narratives. This recognition fuels our pride and motivates us to achieve even more.”

The night, which was a celebration of innovation, creativity, and excellence in the advertising industry, recognised the group and two of its agencies – Leo Burnett Lagos and Insight Publicis – for creative campaigns conceived and implemented for some of the country’s biggest brands, resulting in 18 Gold Awards, 20 Silver Awards, 19 Bronze Awards, and the most prestigious award of the festival – the Grand Prix, LAIF’s most prestigious award given for an outstanding creative concept that redefined industry standards. Overall, the Insight Redefini group secured a total of 351 points among other creative agencies present.

Group General Manager and Chief Operating Officer, Babatunde Shobanjo, expressed his excitement at the win, “I have never doubted the creative work from our teams. This is simply a testament to our commitment to deliver exciting campaigns for our clients and partners. This is the perfect close to a busy, but rewarding year for our group.”

Independently, boutique creative advertising and marketing agency, Leo Burnett Lagos, showcased its commitment to creative brilliance, earning the distinctive Best Creative Agency award at the LAIF 2023 Awards, while Insight Publicis received multiple recognitions for the overall best advertising campaigns across all categories.

In her own remarks, the Executive Creative Director, Insight Redefini Group, Sinmisola Hughes-Obisesan, praised the organisers of the Awards as well as the Jury for the recognition and sincerity.

Insight Redefini is the largest integrated marketing communications group in West Africa, consisting of six leading creative and communication companies, including; Insight Publicis, All Seasons Zenith, Quadrant MSL, Starcomms Media Perspectives, Digitas, and Leo Burnett Lagos.

It is a member of the group of Troyka Holdings and the Nigeria representative of the world’s largest advertising network by market capitalisation, Publicis Groupe. Insight Redefini has six distinct creative marketing and communications subsidiaries which are delivering the most iconic creative solutions for human-centred business growth.

As West-Africa’s largest integrated marketing communications group, it comprises Insight Publicis, Quadrant MSL which is its strategic communications and PR arm, Starcom Media Perspectives, which is a leading media planning and buying company; Leo Burnett, the creative company and boutique agency; Digitas, the digital solutions company; and All Seasons Zenith, the ROI strategic planning and buying company.

Insight Redefini might have raised the bar in creativity and the constant evolution of the nation’s advertising industry. Now, as organisers rack their brains to make the 2024 edition an even better one, those who want to win must do better than Insight and its subsidiary.

And the greatest winner will be the nation’s advertising industry.