A well schooled marketing communications professional, an author and former Managing Director of Insight Publicis, Feyi Olubodun has ventured into the murky waters of agency management with his new outfit, Open Squares.
A bit different from ad agency, Open Squares is a marketing strategy consulting firm set up to guide companies entering the African market.
On the firms’s website, Open Squares was birthed with the mission to “interpret Africa for businesses with an Africa focus, thereby helping them navigate businesses successfully there.”
“The African market is a huge opportunity for the global market often described as, “the next billion consumers. With so much interest and opportunity within the continent,” adding that “ Open Squares stands as a guide for those wanting to be a part of the immense growth happening,” the firm gave this information.
“With specialty in strategy and marketing consulting, and with particular expertise on the African market, Open Squares offers entities around the globe a pathway to succeed.”
It was obvious to many industry keen watchers that Olubodun would be berthing a new paradigm when he authored ‘The Village”, which gave so much insight into the Africa consumers’ behaviours and nuances.
Therefore, it is not surprised to many when Open Squares opened shop ann announced its intention to help foreign and emerging brands gain access to Africa markets.
He is currently consults for multi-nationals and indigenous businesses on how to win in the African marketplace, with assignments across multiple regions on the continent. He is undoubtedly one of the leading authorities on understanding the African marketplace. He is also the author of the seminal book ‘The Villager: How Africans Consume Brands’ which articulates the only proprietary framework for understanding African consumer.
A seasoned business leader, Feyi was previously the CEO of Insight Publicis, Nigeria’s foremost and arguably West Africa’s largest marketing communications firm. While there, he led a highly ambitious creative team that solves different client’s business challenges, reformatted the business into a post-digital agency while delivering high value for clients.
He is a Global Executive MBA alumnus of the Duke University Fuqua School of Business. He is SMP 40 Alumni of Lagos Business School and a BSc Psychology graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). Feyi’s professional experience spans over 15 years spanning research, marketing, general management and corporate leadership. He has worked for clients across every major sector in Nigeria, East and Southern Africa. He is an inspiring speaker, presenter and facilitator. He is considered as a leading authority on the African Consumer, having given talks on International platforms across Europe and Africa. He has published the only proprietary framework for understanding the psychology of the African. Feyi also speaks on innovation in an African context, cultural leadership, strategy and strategy implementation across several platforms and business schools