Kunle Ogunmefun

ADVERTISING'S BIG BOY!

Starting a company in the military draconian years wasn’t a deterrent for Kunle Ogunmefun as failure wasn’t an option. It simply wasn’t something that crossed his mind. A graduate of Linguistics from the University of Ibadan, Kunle is the brain behind the highly successful marketing communication company called BlueBird

Communication and a host of other firms that form the core of the BlueBird organization. The advertising guru spends a riveting afternoon with Assistant Editor, Funke Babs-Kufeji and tells her about his 20year reign of building his brand from scratch to the global success it is today. His is an inspiring story and living testimony that focus and determination always pays. But as they say, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. His avid love for fashion is telling to the eye, which makes him a delight to look at and shows he has a taste

for the good things of life which he has acquired through the sheer dint of hard work.

For readers who don’t know you, tell us who you are and what you do?

My name is Kunle Ogunmefun, I’m and Entrepreneur, a visioneer, a business strategist and a complete advertising man. I graduated from the University of Ibadan with my first degree in linguistics; I also have a postgraduate diploma in advertising. I am an alumnus of Lagos Business School, London Business School, and currently almost completing my three years program at the Harvard Business School. I own Bluebird Communication Limited

In layman terms, tell us what Marketing Communication is?

Marketing Communication is an industry where you provide marketing solutions to client’s challenges, then communicate it, putting it in a form where people will understand. You have products and services to sell, you’ve already concealed the product, you have it on the table, everything is fine but people out there must know about it. So, you need professionals that will help sell those products and know about the value of those products. Such a way that you feel the essence of the services to the extent that it elicits a decision from the target market.

Before you set up your own company BlueBird Communication, what did you do?

I set up Blue Bird Communications in 1995, prior to that, I had work in Union Bank, a publishing firm called Femi’s Foundation Publishers. I had also work with Nikon Insurance, where I actually stayed the longest. Nikon was as at then, the biggest insurance company in West Africa. Actually. It was from there I gave birth to Blue Bird Communications, and that’s the company I have worked in for the last twenty years.

A linguist by training, why did you decide to go into Marketing Communication?

Well let me say they are related. If you take the word communication, its all about talking, knowing what to say, and making sense of it. I think that even gave me some advantage in the industry, if you know how to use words, then you on track. Being a linguist has a lot to do with what I’m currently doing.

Now that you’re fully set up in the marketing communication industry, will you say you are completely fulfilled?

I’m completely fulfilled but Kunle Ogunmefun is a work in progress that’s the truth. Completely fulfilled? I’m fulfilled to the extent that banking taught me financial discipline, financial planning. Insurance taught me about investment, integrity, promises. You promise to give me your premium; I would give to a claim when it happens? That’s about integrity. All those things have an impact in what I’m doing right now, which is Marketing Communications and it’s one of the hallmark of BlueBird Communication Limited.

What challenges did you face when you first entered the communication industry?

Quite honestly, when I look back, I won’t say there were any serious challenges. I keep telling people, I can’t even point to one despite the fact that I started business during the draconian years of the Military era in Nigeria. When businesses were folding up and things were extremely tough that’s when I chose to start. Of course, in the midst of all those confusion, I saw a lot of gaps; opportunities and I felt that was just the right time to start. The challenges? I can’t recall any, reason being as at the time I was starting, I was fully prepared to the extent that even when things were tough I was convinced within myself that I wasn’t going to fail. I had a lot of backups, so the question of failure didn’t even arise cause I knew that the only thing that could limit me was myself, and I think God blessed my hands. It’s been a fulfilling twenty years.

With the advent of social media, how has your company been able to key into it and maximize it’s potentials?

We are actually an integrated marketing communications company. We have BlueBird and we have three other companies that are providing services for our clients as the need arises. So yes, the social media has come to stay, it has made a lot of in roads into marketing communications but we can’t forget the traditional media, it’s not going to die, whichever way you look at it. But in terms of social media, we a have a company that we set up called Digi Engage which handles all social media related marketing. We also have a reputation managing company called Ribbons World, a company that is into media buying called Intenciti Media, a professional media independent company. Yes social media has come to stay but we are fully positioned for it. Our social media company works with different banks especially, the things that have to do with the target group that really play in the social media scene of people whose ages range from 14 to 40 year olds.

Have you lost any clients due to the easy use and operation of social media channels?

Not at all, I started our social media marketing company just some few years back and it’s been encouraging. We have a bunch of young individuals that are just ready to exploit the environment and they are excellent at it.

You mentioned you are currently at Harvard doing a 3-year course; tell us what it is and how are you able to run your business alongside it?

The course is called OPM; which means Owner, President, Management program. It exposes you to the whole gamut of business management, and also the global market and finance. It’s been an interesting journey in the last two years plus and I’m going to graduate next year. Of course even while I was away in school, the business has always been able to function without me. The decision we took from day one was to create a well-structured company, where processes are put in place, the boundaries are well defined; everybody knows what they are supposed to do. The structure was built like that from day one and we’ve been developing on them; it’s not that we woke up to start putting these structures in place. So whether I’m there or not, it runs on its own. It’s not a case of Kunle Ogunmefun is travelling abroad and he has the check book of the company in his pocket. It doesn’t work like that. The processes are in place on how to run. The company has its own corporate structure very well thought out. We had a board in place from day one, we had a legal adviser, we had the editors in place, and everything that a proper structured company should have. In fact I took a step back ten years ago. I actually left the day-to-day running of BlueBird in the hands of my successor and what I’ve been doing thereafter is to scale the business up and be the strategic thinker for the company from the sideline. To God be the glory, since the last ten years, we have given birth to a media independent company, a social marketing company, a reputation management company called Ribbons World and we took a very good stake in an out-of-home media company. I’m also the C.E.O of that particular company. The interesting part of it is that all the aforementioned companies, have their own Managing Directors including Bluebird that is the mother company while I provide leadership and run from the sidelines.

Who is the typical BlueBird client?

A client that is discerning, a client that cherishes ethical behavior, a client that holds integrity as key and a client that wants a satisfying service provider. We also don’t want to work for everybody. We want people that would appreciate us and see us as partners in progress. We’ve actually remained a bit quiet is because we do not really intend to work for everyone one. We want to walk with people that will appreciate and our ethical standards. One of the hallmarks of BlueBird is promptness and cost consciousness. If a client says he wants a solution to be provided and delivered to his table within a space of time and we agree on the time, what we have always done is to surpass the expectation of that client. So we play in our own circle. To God be the glory, people that have experienced our service have remained with us for 20 years.

Now that your company is 20, what are your short and long-term goals?

The short terms goals we have met by building a company that is well structured, a company that will stand the test of time, a company that will not disappear within a space of 5/10 years. Thank god we are 20 years

You have products and services to sell, you’ve already concealed the product, you have it on the table, everything is fine but people out there must know about it. So, you need professionals that will help sell those products and know about the value of those products.

I would advocate at any point in time, that whoever wants to venture out there to start a business must be clear about his mission, strategy, ethical conduct and integrity. Your word must be your bound.

now. Let’s build a company that people will be happy to work in, a company where we do things in a very unconventional way, a company that is formless, a company that goes beyond the call of duty, that takes extreme interest in the clients business, a company that goes the extra mile all the time knowing that that extra mile is so narrow and not many players will drive on that mile. That’s what we have done in the last 20 years and it’s gratifying and humbling to see how far a company that started from a one room loaned office has grown in a space of eight years moved into its own building. The balance sheet figures have grown, the clients profile have grown and things have looked up for us ever since we started. I can only just take a peep at the next 20 years and tell you that with the preparations we have laid, even for the next 10 to 20 years I look forward to improved relationships with our clients, a growth in our balance sheets and growth in the lives of our personnels and all the stakeholders in the company.

From your own perspective, what has been the most successful account your company has ever handled?

I will talk about FCMB, I will also talk about Toyota. FCMB because one, it’s an institution that strives for excellence, you don’t just give anything to FCMB, it’s actually one of the companies that have helped us to grow, that have pointed us in the way that we have to continuously improve ourselves. It’s the bank that helped us to realise that even if you do to and fro with your clients. it’s is through this you get to understand and know what your client wants because then you understand the client, you understand the excellence that they strive for and you hit the bulls eyes at the first try. It’s also gratifying to say that we worked for Toyota and managed five of their brands, Hilux, Hiace, Costa, Yaris and Corolla and all those brands are doing very well. It’s humbling to realise it is the number one automobile producing company in the world. They’ve sold the most number of automobiles in Nigeria. Those are things that we point out and say we’ve done. There are also some institutions we launched into the market, Pal Pension, Sterling Bank, WEMA Bank. We have also worked for international companies like IFC, The World Bank etc. We do a lot with many other institutions too.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

Reading, which probably explains why I am in school again. I just love learning. But on the social side, I love the cinemas, I watch movies a lot, I can watch them back-to-back. I love the waters, so I swim, I love boating, I own my own boat. That’s the way I relax.

Who will you say is responsible for the man you are today?

God, I owe God a lot of gratitude because if you understand my background, then you would probably understand that it just has to be God. I lost my Dad very early in life. So it was only my mom that brought myself and my brothers up. It was challenging. Naturally, for a young woman of 34 to fend for four boys without a Father was not easy. She taught us a lot of values which we upheld, she pointed us in the direction of recognising hard work and these are some of the things that have shaped my life. I’ve also learnt a whole lot from reading, from watching highly successful people, and a lot has been learnt from people that invested in CSR. Those are some of the things that have shaped my life but I think over and above it all, it’s been God. And I’ve been lucky to have met quite interesting people that have mentored me and every interaction that I’ve had with them always deposited things that have had impact in my life. One of them is Otunba Subomi Balogun, the Late. Sir Hassan Odukale. Those are people that when you listen to the story of their lives and the kind of things they say to you, you would also understand that hard work pays.

Talking of CSR, has your company or you been involved in any?

CSR is something we hold dear at BlueBird. In our modest way, we’ve contributed our own quota to the development of where we operate and also the society too. There are some schools around Maryland that have felt our impact. We’ve developed their computers rooms, fixed the roofs, sunk boreholes and dealt with the sanitation. There are also a lot of indigene students on our list that we look after. There are people we’ve helped to triumph over renal diseases. We are also happy to have partnered with Little Saints, in the training and education of some of the children in that particular orphanage, to the extent that we have one that is currently doing his Masters degree abroad, that we are very happy about. We’ve always operated in the background. Corporate responsibility is not about going to donate things to an orphanage with gifts worth N200,000 and giving the media N2 million to publicise it. We do our things quietly; we just do our own bit especially for people we know would never be able to pay us back. Usually we do stuff for people we don’t even know and that’s the best CSR I would always advocate for.

Looking back, are there certain people that played a role in this journey of BlueBird?

Of course, there are certain individuals that played very significant but different roles in life of BlueBird. Worthy of mention are our numerous clients who gave us the wings to fly, Dapo Egbeyemi who believed in the dream and supported it from day one, Akin Kekere -Ekun our very first Chairman, Tunji Ogunkanmi of blessed memory, Otunba Subomi Balogun who constantly preached the concept of focus, professionalism, excellence and tenacity to me and lastly Sir Hassan Odukale also of blessed memory, whose constant prayers and advice crowned it all.

Now that your company is turning the big 20 are there any plans to celebrate this milestone?

Certainly, we have a major celebration which is coming up on the 24th of July at the Shell hall of the Muson Centre, it’s a combination of a commemorative play which I really would urge our guests to arrive on time for because that play touches on a lot of things. They will take away something from watching that play. Of course there is dinner and dance. It’s a day I’m eagerly looking forward to and I can’t wait for it to come.

In three words how would you describe yourself?

I’m a focused human being, I’m God fearing and I’m a family man.

What are the traits required for success in anything one does?

I think anyone that wants to do business must have a very clear vision, you must have a very good business strategy in place, you must imbibe the spirit of ethical behaviour for you to be extremely successful because all these other things can’t be in place. And if you don’t have integrity, it is zero . So I would advocate at any point in time that whoever wants to venture out there to start a business, must be clear about his mission, strategy, ethical conduct and integrity. Your word must be your bound.

What is your personal style?

I am a casual dresser, I’m not sure I’ve put on a tie in the last ten years except where it’s compulsory, like going for a formal dinner. I love colours and I’m particular about what I wear.

Do you have any fashion weaknesses?

I really don’t have any, I have things but I’m not driven by them. I love anything that will make me happy andif i can afford it, i get it. But I only lay emphasis on what I need.

Do you have a signature scent?

Amouage.

Any last words to the young ones out there?

Well, ours is an industry that interesting, it’s vibrant but requires a lot of hard work, and tenacity. It has its ups and downs. It an industry that is extremely rewarding and it would pay your bills.