oTunes: My favourite times at Orange Academy (Part 2)

-




Still on the the crazy ones...



This is my second post on my journey at Orange Academy. At the risk of sounding patronizing, I can assert very unequivocally and for the umpteenth time that apart from giving my life to Jesus Christ (Yes! I have enough sense in me to accept him as my personal Lord and Savior), the decision to be a part of the IBX programme is by far one of the most satisfying in my quest to be more.  You can access the part 1 here.


Since this blog post is about my favorite moments at the Academy, I will go right on into it. I have yet another favorite to share here and now. Just this last week, I and my classmates had the awesome privilege of being the audience during the defense of our seniors (the IBX nine set). It was a remarkable experience. Indeed, heart wrenching would be a more apt word to describe what I felt. As one who has had a fair share of pitching (I wrote about my less than brilliant pitch at the Co-creation Hub earlier this year), I could very well relate to the daunting task in front of the inmates from the IBX nine. The panel of judges consisted of Generals in the branding community. As you could possibly guess, Franklin Ozekhome (CEO, Identiture) was on ground. Idiare Atimomo (Manager, Youth Segment, Etisalat Nigeria) and others I will confirm their names shortly were all on ground to drill the presenters. It was a grueling experience to say the least. By no means an exaggeration, it was like walking into a Lions' den.


The biggest lesson from that defense session is that; while logic is essential in conveying or selling an idea, people (even brand legends) cannot resist the offerings of a well told story laced with magic. Indeed, magic trumps logic! The best presenters of the day were those who found a way to tell stories that resonated. Their work was by no means void of logic (in fact, their insights were well founded) but they didn't bore us nor inundate us with numbers and grammar. They had a BIG IDEA and delivered it emotionally. While some of the presenters didn't rise up to the occasion and were thoroughly drilled to the amusement of the audience, I reckon that I have a long way to go myself. I am very proud of the achievement of these people and the Academy. The judges seemed to have sent a very strong message to me and my classmates that the party is soon over. Get ready for the drill!


I thought my weekend was pretty much over but I was wrong. On Sunday, we were met with another deluge. This time around, Olaolu Ogundeji; the Social Media facilitator was on ground to disabuse our rebellious minds. Olaolu is the Social Psychologist whose background in Social Media and Digital Marketing has seen him work YouTube; a Google company. He has beneath his belt, great accomplishments including enterprise success. He is the CMF for nuidea (pronounced New Idea); a branding agency with rich footprints in serving a well diversified client base. In my last presentation at work, I got a very resounding assessment that tipped me as a go-to person on everything power point but I dare say that Olaolu's power point skills is out of this planet. I am curious to know whether he was part of the team that designed this tool. Steve Jobs has nothing on Olaolu when it comes to waxing emotive slides to wow an audience.


When he was done with the class (I must add that his class lasted well into the late evening), we were all asking for more. This is testimonial to his exciting persona and uber-theatrical prowess. Indeed, time will tell but one thing is clear and that is the fact that I am far from where I was before this session with Olaolu Ogundeji at Orange Academy. 


Image Credit: Orange Academy

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I want my Cortina

-
Image
I am fortunate to have been born during that renaissance era when BATA now FAMAD defined the ultimate source of motivation for a school child. Those were the good old days. The promise of a new set of Cortina shoes meant double efforts on the part of children at their school work. There will be no BATA for you if you don’t behave; my mom would taunt me at every slightest opportunity. And of course, I aligned myself at every instance. The threat from my mom propelled me to shape up. The amazement created by this enigma remains a very powerful emotion even for me today. I still picture the sleek and classic design of the Cortina; it was a perfect finish. The wooling and seaming was executed brilliantly. My Cortina was the ultimate piece of foot gadget. My white tennis shoes made me grow wings as I rocked them. It was insanely cool. It was regal. It was simple yet oozed this subtle sophistication. BATA was the ultimate delight of school boys and girls. The vintage brown school shoe was...
Read more

How to avoid the Bozo syndrome: Lessons from Apple and others

-
Image
This piece does not intend to vilify the character; Bozo the clown. Bozo the clown was a character that was played by the trio of Lawrence Weiss, Robert Lewis Bell and Vance DeBar "Pinto" Colvig at different times. Bozo the clown represent a child's fantasy as every clown character is. The truth is that the least status anybody would want to be in business is a Bozo because nobody takes clowns serious. Today, Bozo is the legendary Apple term that describes a state of utter mediocrity. A Bozo is an idiot. Retrospectively, the most profound professional counsel I ever received was in form of an acronym. This counsel came from the CEO of a company I worked with. She said in her well-polished American accent " Femi, you are really gonna go far if you learn to K.I.S.S; Keep It Short & Simple)". I must confess that I am still a huge work in progress as far as keeping things simple is concerned. This piece is about the golden rule of brevity. W...
Read more

oTunes: My favourite times at Orange Academy (Part 1)

-
Image
Here's to the crazy ones... I am having the time of my life at Orange Academy ; Africa's foremost practical school of Idea and Brand Management. At Orange, nothing is predictable. From the legendary notoriously peppered rice called " The Bit** " to lecture rooms under witty code names, Orange Academy is not for regular homo sapiens. Creativity is the hallmark of this place. A visit to Orange is sure to leave you with an indelible impression. Conformity is a sin here. The school was founded by Kehinde Bademosi A.K.A "Kenny Brandmuse" who is the Chief Imagination Officer. Kenny surmises of himself " Whenever I help someone realise their creative self  and I see that big smile on their face, I know my job is done. That's why I was born ". I am currently enrolled in the Integrated Brand Experience (IBX) course; the flagship programme built on a lofty vision to build professionals who understand the logic and magic of brand...
Read more

Aluta Continua!! Victoria Asserta!!

-
Image
Events in the last few days are interesting to say the least. Who says Nigerians cannot stand their ground? If there was any doubting Thomas, i encourage you to take a trip to the Gani Fawehinmi Memorial Park at Ojota in Lagos. There you will see a community of valiant protesters who have decided to clamp down on the inhumane government policy. These are really interesting times. The Nigerian masses have shown great solidarity by making their voices count. The strike action against the removal of subsidy by the federal government which started on Monday continues indefinitely. The 4 DAY stand down (Monday till now) is so far the longest national strike action in the history of this country and i'm glad to be alive in these times. Nigerians have defiled the inconveniences to communicate their dissatisfaction to the government of the day which apparently has defiled the words of reason. This is shameful and belligerent. When a man surrounds himself with a brood of psychopaths...
Read more