Africa’s globally acclaimed and recognized documentary producer, content creator, storyteller, and CEO of Zuri24 Media, Femi Odugbemi, is calling on players in the marketing communication ecosystem to leverage cultural authenticity, imagination engineering and merge data with storytelling in creating stories that would assist in developing the society if they intend to move forward in this new age of emergent technologies.

According to him, the most successful brands won’t be those that adopt AI the quickest, but those that root it most deeply in our local cultures. It will be brands using AI to tell stories in regional dialects, infused with native nuances, history and rhythms, he said.

Odugbemi, an AAAN Hall of Famer who began his illustrious career in advertising, made this call when delivering the keynote address at the 2025 edition of the annual Advertising Industry Colloquium held on Tuesday, July 8, 2025 at Ikeja, Lagos, South West Nigeria.

Speaking on theme: “From Dialogue to Data: Merging Storytelling, Human Engagement & Tech in Marketing Communication”, the master storyteller, creator and producer made a passionate appeal for investment in cultural data, heritage literature, oral histories and languages to prepare for the future. “We must retrain our creatives to be both AI-literate and culturally grounded. The creative leaders of tomorrow will be both data curators, and cultural custodians.

“Our nation today doesn’t just need stories. It needs imagination engineering, visionary storytelling with narratives that showcase heroes and cultivate role models in diverse fields. From ground-breaking entrepreneurs to compassionate political leadership, from scientific innovators to tech disruptors, these are the images our audiences and consumers need to see and engage in the recesses of their minds.

“We must choose stories that elevate, not trivialize. Stories that illuminate, not exploit. Stories that reframe our country and our cultures, not through pity, but through pride. Let us show the world not just our struggles, but our resilience, ingenuity, and triumph over adversity. Through the lens of storytelling, be it film, music, advertising, or branded content, we can instill a culture of determination and creativity. This is the kind of engagement that builds not just audiences, but communities and nations.

He pointed out that data without empathy is noise while technology without humanity is cold; and warned that we must not become so obsessed with metrics that we forget meaning. “The algorithms can show us what people do, but they cannot tell us why they believe or why they don’t. If we are not careful, our industry risks becoming efficient, but irrelevant.”

The path forward, he said, is not to politicize technologies like AI, but to protect its legitimate promise. “We must create safe zones where ethical innovation thrives, where immersive technologies are used to train, to teach, to tell better stories, and to imagine futures that are bold and inclusive. The depoliticization of AI begins with transparency and public education. Let people understand not just the risks, but the rules. Let creators understand the ethics, not just the algorithms. Let brands lead by example in how they use these tools to elevate trust, not erode it.

“The power to shape our future lies not just in our data, but in our narratives. Brand stories are our stories. It is not enough for brands to position itself for sales with a tale of what it can do for us. Brand stories must also provoke and incite reflections and conversations around community, around service and around national development. The future of brand marketing will be by innovation that is rooted in identity.”

The boss of Zuri24 Media, whose has many documentaries, films and great stories to his credit, including the longest content series on DStv, Tinsel, advised the industry regulator, ARCON, to champion a balanced ecosystem, one that rewards integrity, punishes deception, and ultimately preserves the sacred role of story in shaping society.

“ARCON must Lead with courage and lead with clarity. Because in the age of AI, it is not just our content that is at stake. It is our collective conscience. Sanitizing our social media may be our greatest battle. We must not shy away from the responsibility.”

Moderated by Mrs. Hannah Oyebanjo, managing director of Redwood Consulting, the event had a panel session where experts on the ecosystem made insightful contribution to subsets of the theme. They include Idorenyen Enang, CEO of Corporate Shepherds, past president of ADVAN and immediate past president of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN). Fondly called Idy, he spoke on Cultural Relevance in Automation: How to Maintain Authenticity in Tech-driven Marketing.

Others are Nana Milagrosa Utomi Biyang, founder and chief experience curator, MPXM who spoke on The Future of Brand Engement: Case Studies on Successful Data-driven, Yet Emotionally Compelling Campaigns; Stephen Onaivi, managing director of MediaReach OMD who spoke on Media Planning Strategies in the Era of AI: Issues and Challenges; and Mrs. Lanre Odufuwa, Head of Marketing, OmniRetail who spoke on Preparing the Next Generation for a Rapidly Evolving Digital Marketing Landscape.

The colloquium also featured a creative advertising pitch competition involving four out of the seven tertiary institutions that emerged from a pre-pitch competition carried out across institutions in Nigeria. These institutions are University of Ilorin, Covenant University, Rivers State University, and Pan-Atlantic University.

Covenant University won the pitch and went home with a N1 million prize while Pan Atlantic University, Rivers State University and University of Ilorin came second, third and fourth respectively.

Earlier on, while welcoming attendees to the colloquium, the director general of ARCON, Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, explained that the colloquium is aimed at bringing together experts, to share insights on harnessing the power of storytelling, human engagement, and technology in driving impactful marketing communication.

On his part, the chairman of the Colloquium Organizing Committee, Prof. Rotimi Olatunji, said the theme of the Advertising Industry Colloquium 3.0 was fitting, topical and timely. “The advertising and marketing communication industry has now been remarkably altered by a combination of centrifugal forces, chief of which are the internet, digitization, Artificial Intelligence (AI), data science, technology, and lots more. Effective marketing communication under this ecology demands not only stories compellingly told, but also messages that connects to the hearts, intellect, culture, spiritual essence and ethos, particularly given the complexity of Nigeria’s diversities.

The Advertising Industry Colloquium is an annual event organized by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria to bring the town and gown together to share knowledge and forge common grounds to move the ecosystem forward. Now in its third year, the first edition of the event was held in 2023 while the second edition took place in 2024.