By Dwelleth Morountodun
Lagos based integrated communications agency, Yellow Brick Road (YBR), has advocated the use of disruptive and unconventional
creative strategy for social impact and change of status quo in societies.
The 360 degree marketing communications agency, said it focuses on solving complex communication and business challenges in simple, relevant and practical ways.
The duo of Olumide Olowole (Kaliko) and Nnenna Onyewuchi, in their capacities as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Director of Strategy, at a high level capacity symposium in Abuja during the week end averred that disruptive and creative communications strategies can be a powerful way to change society.
Addressing stakeholders from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and members of the media at the sideline of the event with theme: A Marketing Approach to Behaviour Change – Disrupting Social Impact Communications, they averred, that the agency has successfully deployed a non conventional approach to address gender inequality and other social challenges using disruptive social impact to drive real social change.
While admitting that overturning convention comes with great risk, Olowole, said, to change the status quo, first you understand it and to maximize the reward one must travel at the speed of culture.
The agency shared also insights gleaned through experience working with UNICEF, Voices4Change, Girl Effect, MTN Foundation, Oando Foundation, British Council and Dangote Foundation.
According to Olowola, YBR’s philosophy for developing communication campaigns is based on a digital first approach, using the disruption method which seeks to challenge conventional concepts of advertising.
He stressed that the practice is split into a commercial arm to service its private sector clients and a social marketing division to service Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs).
The agency, he added embarked on the disruptive marketing practice to drive behavioural change in the way most people do things so that there can be better society, explaining for instance that sexual slavery, gender inequality, lack of access to education are limitations of growth that the world is contending with.
According to him, if these societal challenges are not properly addressed especially through unconventional disruptive strategy, it will one day blow up on the faces of Nigerians..
Olowole said: “These are all issues that if not taken care of now will blow up in our faces at some point and what this will lead to is economic disenfranchisement, as well as economic flight because people might be forced to leave the country.
“What YBR is therefore trying to do in synergy with other stakeholders is to deploy marketing campaign that can help address and redress these behavioural attitudes.”
Onyewuchi, admitted that the study carried by the agency cuts across 4 states significantly revealed a more positive behaviour and perception about gender inequality by Nigerians, adding: Every six months, we did perception study asking people whether they have heard about the campaign and what they thought about gender.
According to her, the project found out that people who had been exposed to the campaign directly or indirectly had significantly more positive behaviour and perception about gender inequality.
On gender perception in Nigeria, the CEO said: “I don’t think that we as Nigerians have done much of campaign on gender equality, and as you know by and large the female gender is still seen as somewhat being inferior to the male and that is exactly what we are trying to address with this campaign.
And we are only beginning to scratch the surface in terms of what we want to do to make sure that gender equality is brought to the fore in our society, noting that what the campaign intends to achieve is not female empowerment but gender equality, he said.
According to her also, studies have shown that men benefit more when women are empowered, explaining: “Men in Nigeria die early because there is stress on him because everything is on them, but if your wife is working and sharing in decision making that takes pressure from him.
“Men who empower their wives live longer and if you look at the society where women are part of decision making at the home, state and national levels those societies progress because you have more than one point of view.”
Also speaking at the margin of the event, Mrs. Caroline Enye, a gender and rights activist said the impact of the Purple Campaign had impact on over 2.4 million people attitude’s to change as a result of promoting gender quality.
She said: “Using the campaign, we targeted young people and instead of doing the usual boring gender equality we sold the benefits of partnership relationship and fairness in the world.
“The aim of the campaign was to shift attitudes, and ultimately once you have shift people’s attitude the benefits will be felt in their homes.”