Onile-Ere: Succeeding In Digital Marketing Through Innovation

Tolu Onile-Ere,  is the managing director of Playhouse Communication Ltd. Playhouse, is a digital marketing agency based in Lagos, Nigeria, that offers a full range of marketing communications services, including design, social media management, media planning and buying, and tech development support for clients through Idea, which inspires and connects a brand with its audience so that they willingly give their time.

Motivations

According to him, “I have always known I was going to be an entrepreneur. Yes, I studied law and am a qualified legal practitioner, but from as far back as I can remember, I have always done ‘business’ from running a small tuck shop with some friends when I was in secondary school to running a pop-up nightclub when I was in university. In the 1990s, after law school, I set up a sandwich bar called Minny’s in the Apongbon area of Lagos.

“Then I eventually ended up setting up Playhouse, a digital advertising agency, 12 years ago. So I have always had a passion for business, and the motivation has been more about seeing what I felt was a gap or opportunity in a particular area and feeling I had an idea that might work than picking a specific sector.”

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Success Story

“The reality is that I didn’t originally set out to launch a digital agency in Nigeria. I moved back from the UK in 2009 to work at an advertising agency in Lagos, but after a year, they fired me. So I spent a year wandering around trying to decide what to do next until a friend approached me with the idea of setting up a digital agency. He had links to investors who were willing to put up the money, but he didn’t have agency experience.

“So the idea was that he would be the CEO and I would be the COO, looking after the actual operations of the agency. But when we went into the meeting with the investors, they felt that my friend had several ideas that they were willing to back and that I should set up the agency and focus on that, allowing him to do the other things. So, he agreed, and I went off and set up Playhouse Communication Ltd. And here we are, 12 years later.

“Digital transformation is a popular concept globally, with more people spending time online for marketing.
COVID-19 has accelerated this trend in Nigeria. Playhouse has evolved its services to include content creation, influencer sourcing, and exploring opportunities in the Internet of Things. They have also launched StoryStoryHub to collect uniquely Nigerian stories. The platform has been well-received and shows the impact of the digital creative economy,” he stressed.

Challenges

As a Nigerian business, “we have encountered the same challenges that are common to all businesses in this market. These include Access to credit. Fortunately, our investors remained steadfast and continued to provide us with access to funds. Additionally, our clients understood that we were a small business and helped expedite payments whenever possible. Stable electricity: Like many other businesses in Nigeria, we rely on generators for power. Unfortunately, diesel is one of our highest operational costs, despite some improvement in the situation.

“Then, industry-specific challenges also exist: Internet connectivity—both cost and reliability—poses significant hurdles for us as a digital agency that must remain available 24/7. We pass on these associated costs through fees charged to clients while also providing staff with data allowances for seamless service delivery.

Talent acquisition presents another obstacle: locating individuals who not only possess the necessary skills but also align with our company culture has proven challenging. As such, we seek out those with suitable aptitudes and attitudes before investing in their training so they can add value to the organisation.”

Advice

“I think one needs to be in it for more than just the money. If you are lucky, the money will come, but it will take time. So if you are just in it for the money, you won’t last through the difficult times. And there will be difficult times,” he said.

Biography

Tolu Onile-Ere is the managing director of Playhouse Communication Ltd. He studied law but decided to pursue a career in advertising instead. With over 25 years of integrated marketing experience gained at top agencies in the UK and Nigeria, he has worked with renowned blue-chip clients and brands such as Shell, Adobe, Procter & Gamble, Stanbic IBTC, and MTN Nigeria.

His expertise lies as a digital evangelist and an advocate of thought leadership. Throughout his career, he has been heavily involved in pioneering digital projects that have given him a real passion for the possibilities digital offers. He has won many awards, including the Marketing Edge Outstanding Digital Marketing Personality of the Decade in 2023.