Founder of X3M Ideas, President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), avant-gardist, and golfer Steve Babaeko is one of Africa’s foremost business innovators redefining business landscapes in Africa and beyond.

Steve Babaeko Interview on CR8VSPOT USA.png

CR8VSPOT: Please tell us about yourself

Steve Babaeko: My name is Steve Babaeko, CEO/Chief Creative Officer, X3M Ideas. X3M Ideas is a full service marketing communications firm with offices in Lagos, Johannesburg, Lusaka and still counting. I am currently the President of the Association Of Advertising Agencies Of Nigeria (AAAN)

 I started my career as a Copywriter in 1995 with MC&A (Saatchi & Saatchi), then moved on to Prima Garnet Ogilvy, from where I was redeployed to 141 Worldwide, Nigeria, to become the pioneer Creative Director in 2005. On August 1, 2012, I set up X3M Ideas with only 7 people and here we are today leaving our footprint all over the African continent.

“

I got a rude shock! Anchors looked glamorous on TV but were terribly remunerated.

— STEVE BABAEKO

”

CR8VSPOT: In less than a decade, you’ve built X3M Ideas into a leading advertising brand both locally and globally. How did you develop a passion for advertising? Did it find you or did you find it?

SB: I think you can call it a collision. As a little boy I loved singing to advertising jingles and commercials, of course I didn't realize that it was an industry that hire talents who in turn create the lovely jingles. I actually wanted to be a TV personality and I pursued that dream to the extent that I did my national service at a television station in Kano, Northern Nigeria. A few months into my service, I got a rude shock! Anchors looked glamorous on TV but were terribly remunerated. As someone who comes from a very poor background, I didn't need anyone to preach to me about a career change! And that was when I discovered advertising. The rest as they say, is history.

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The only charge I gave to our team is…if we can constantly best our best work, then we'll remain unbeatable.

— STEVE BABAEKO

”

CR8VSPOT: In a country of over 200 million people, how were you able to compete with established international advertising behemoths already playing in the industry?

SB: The Matrix, is one of my all time favorite movies. The scene where Neo goes to see The Oracle, he encounters the young Monk bending the spoon, he told Neo: "Do not try and bend the spoon, that's impossible, instead only try to realize the truth...there's no spoon." I came into the Nigerian advertising space with totally blind optimism. I didn't see the challenges or the competition, as far as I was concerned X3M Ideas was the only advertising firm in the entire country. The only charge I gave to our team is…if we can constantly best our best work, then we'll remain unbeatable. That's still the mantra that drives us even today.

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The thing with this business is that you must genuinely love it. Once the love is real you find the motivation to cut through the bottlenecks and challenges that comes with the job.

— STEVE BABAEKO

”

CR8VSPOT: You’ve been named among the top 13 global creative leaders in the world. How do you stay relevant and sustain excellence at a very high level?

SB: I feel really humbled by all the accolades, it shows that we are possibly doing one or two things right. It's also a good shot up the arm for us to continue to put in our best at all times. The thing with this business is that you must genuinely love it. Once the love is real you find the motivation to cut through the bottlenecks and challenges that comes with the job.

Secondly and most importantly, advertising is a team sport, so getting the right people on the bus is very key to sustaining excellence.

CR8VSPOT: What roles did mentorship play to influence your growth and journey as a creative, advertising practitioner, and entrepreneur?

SB: Mentorship has played a big role in my creative and entrepreneurial journey thus far. I have customized my own mentorship program and it works well for me. It's a distance mentoring process where my mentors are not even aware that they are my mentors. I shadow them from afar, I comb the internet looking for interviews, panel sessions or any kind of clips that illuminates their thought process.

I follow their business decisions and try to mentally simulate the process that got them to that decision point. Sometimes I find myself disagreeing or agreeing with those decisions. I also keenly follow their quarterly financial reports to see how some of their decisions have impacted on the numbers. Mark Read, the CEO of WPP is one of the people I closely follow these days. He has quietly and steadily turned WPP around.

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Apart from being home to the youngest population in the world, we are talking of a market of about 1.3 billion people and still growing.

— STEVE BABAEKO

”

CR8VSPOT: As a husband and father whose wife and Queen also works within the creative space, how do you balance keeping family responsibilities and fulfilling the demands of running global businesses?

SB: I feel blessed to have Yetunde as my wife. As a photographer, she understands the peculiarity of our business, the pressure, the deadlines etc. Beyond that, she's also a great sounding board for ideas that are work in progress. Sometimes we even collaborate on projects. We cover for each other on the home front. In fairness, she does more covering which is why she remains the pillar of our family and we all love her dearly.

CR8VSPOT: What impact did the Covid-19 Pandemic have on the advertising industry in Africa and what in your view is the future of advertising for Africa?

SB: It's like an earthquake that has caused monumental damage but beyond that you still have to live in fear of the aftershocks. Thankfully all the doomsday projection about Covid and the African continent didn't happen. However, it's taken heavy toll on businesses including the advertising industry. The future of advertising in Africa is very bright. Apart from being home to the youngest population in the world, we are talking of a market of about 1.3 billion people and still growing.

As the government of African countries get their acts together, so will per capital income grow, meaning higher purchasing power for the teeming population. Africa is the last frontier for advertising.

“

Leave your ego at home; and do so everyday. That way, you can be more nimble to tackle your responsibilities.

— STEVE BABAEKO

”

CR8VSPOT: You’re always on the move with innovations and startups. Is there something we should be expecting from you in the near future?

SB: We are working on a lot of innovations, some are still at incubation stage so we obviously can't talk about them. Recently our production company, Zero Degrees, produced a documentary on Lagos street gangs called area boys. The title of the documentary is AWON BOYZ, it's currently streaming on Netflix and showing worldwide. We intend to tell more authentic African stories via films, television series, and digital formats. I am also working on a book about the role of African Popular Culture in a digital world.

CR8VSPOT: Do you currently facilitate or offer any mentorship programs/opportunities in advertising to help creatives grow their industry knowledge, capacity and expertise?

SB: For the past 14 years I have a working relationship with the University of Ibadan, I visit the department of Communications and Language Arts to deliver lectures and facilitate creative workshops. One of the products of such sessions is on our leadership team at X3M Ideas today. Under my leadership as President of the advertising association, we also set up the Adcademy, an advertising school in collaboration with Henley Business School, the school is in the forefront of building human capacity for our industry.

CR8VSPOT: What advice can you offer to creatives looking to replicate your success within the advertising universe, and how do young upcoming practitioners position themselves to take advantage of emerging opportunities?

SB: Leave your ego at home; and do so everyday. That way, you can be more nimble to tackle your responsibilities. Don't be afraid to take risks. The worst than can happen is that you fail. Do so swiftly, and get back on the saddle, for with advertising it's usually a long ride.