Redeemer’s University Agog for Akingbade’s Lecture

Redeemer’s University Agog for Akingbade’s Lecture The Redeemer’s University, Ede, State of Osun, is said to be agog at the prospect of Mr. Bola Akingbade visiting the campus to speak to the students and the entire university community on the subject of university branding. Bola Akingbade is billed to deliver a Bespoke paper on Building a World Class University: the Role of Brand Management. The conference which holds on Tuesday, March 29, 2016, is expected to be attended by about 2000 students and the entire university community. Mr. Akingbade would be sharing his rich and enduring marketing communications knowledge and experience with students of Redeemer’s University (RUN) as they mark their BrandiQ Club Day at The University Auditorium, Ede, Sate of Osun. Already, there is a high level of excitement within the entire academic community since the announcement that this strategic marketing egghead would be presenting the main paper during the RUN BrandiQ Club Day. Students from neighbouring universities and polytechnics have been invited in huge numbers to grace the occasion. The Vice-Chancellor of Redeemer’s University Prof Debo Adeyewa and the registrar,Bola Oloketuyi  will play hosts to the select personalities across all spheres of life invited to the unique occasion. The guest speaker, Bola Akingbade is one of Nigeria’s most respected brand strategist with vast marketing experience. His experience cuts across local and international marketing assignments mostly in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FCMG). He is a former Chief Marketing Officer of MTN Nigeria. While serving this Telco giant, Akingbade deployed his wealth of experience to create seamless strategic marketing models to boost the firm’s profitability. He also worked with Nigerian Breweries Plc where he rose through the ranks and climaxed as Corporate Affairs Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc in 2004. In 2001, he was at Heineken International, responsible for building the Amstel brand across the African continent.  He also served as the Marketing Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc He has held leadership positions in several professional bodies, including the Advertisers’ Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) where he served as President. He is a member of Nigerian Institute of Marketing; Fellow, Advertising Practitioners’ Council of Nigeria and Member, Institute of Directors. With this wealth of experience, handling a highly interactive and intellectual session that would dissect several burning issues bordering on the question of institutional branding and other related issues comes natural to Mr. Bola Akingbade.  At Tuesday’s event, Students and other members of the academic community will have the privilege of interacting real time with this marketing legend. BrandiQ Campus Club, the organising platform for this programme was designed to intellectually equip all students, especially those in programmes related to Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) in universities and polytechnics, and to also develop their brainpower and creative minds during their formative years in school. Commenting with excitement, after he has seen the impact of the club in schools like Redeemers University, the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of BrandiQ Magazine, Mr Desmond Ekeh, expressed great delight at the pace of the club’s growth in Redeemer’s University. He further stated that the major objective of establishing the club on campuses is to “give students a platform to assimilate the IMC industry and activities of players in the industry and help them transit from the university to the labour market. We have spoken to industry experts who are poised to mentor students in the areas of their endeavour. This will involve the use of conferences, workshops, seminars, symposiums and other professional windows and mediums of supporting the academic world, just like the one we would be witnessing next Tuesday. We hope corporate organisations will respond positively to this cause, even as they will end up being the major beneficiaries of this initiative”. In bemoaning the disconnect between the university and the labour market, in terms of capacity, Mr Ekeh noted that recent experience by employers has shown that it is becoming increasingly difficult for graduates to “enter into the labour market as equipped and ready hands,” hence the need to “fire up their professional spirit,” while still in school, through such initiative. “The purpose is to connect.” The Deputy Editor-in-Chief of BrandiQ, Mr. Agbo Agbo also commended the BrandiQ club of Redeemers University, for their commitment to scholarship and encouraged other students in various universities and polytechnics to make the most of the BrandiQ platform to support their academic endeavours.