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By Henry Uche
The chief executive officer, Playhouse Communication Limited, Tolu Onile-Ere, has declared that in the coming years the organisation will be a leading force in the digital marketing landscape, known for innovative and impactful campaigns.
Onile-Ere made the remarks as part of activities marking the organisation’s 12th anniversary, which witnessed the launch of the digital creative economy initiative, named ‘The StoryStoryHub,’ came to a close.
He said: “The StoryStoryHub initiative involves getting people to share their stories. It is about encouraging people in every walk of life, whether they are content creators, individuals using digital platforms, or businesses. By simply asking people to share their stories, we have used that to show the positive impacts that the digital industry have and, hopefully, inspire others who are looking for ways to help grow the Nigerian economy.”
According to him, Playhouse intends to expand its global reach, forge new partnerships and continue pushing the boundaries of digital creativity. The focus, however, will remain on delivering value to clients, nurturing a creative and collaborative work environment and adapting to emerging trends in the industry.
StoryStoryHub centres around storytelling, much like the tales by moonlight that were passed down from one generation to another.
Onile-Ere recalled that, historically, these stories were not recorded in writing but, with diverse technological discoveries, they can now be captured and preserved on digital-enabled storage platforms such as cloud storage and other digital repositories.
The popular view within the creative economy sector is that as the company’s anniversary celebrations conclude, Playhouse has ignited some sort of revolution within the digital space, inspiring the younger generation that, if strategically leveraged, the digital media can make an unknown individual or a small business a brand to be identified with.
Onile-Ere remarked further that StoryStoryHub serves as a platform not only for sharing experiences but also for encouraging others, especially the youth, to share their stories in the digital creative economy.
He explained that, by providing a space for diverse narratives and insights, they aim to inspire, educate, and empower the younger generation to explore and contribute to the digital space: “I think there is a lot of potential in the digital economy, and we are just beginning to explore it. It is vast. We can see the impact of digitals, accessibility and the democratisation that it offers.
“It is enough to pick up your phone and become a content creator and you see a lot more people being able to be self-sufficient and become new business owners on their own. From there you will see a lot more businesses, their potential, especially from the creative digital, to the reach and impacts, and the cost-effectiveness that digital economy offers.
“We consider success to be measured in terms of benefits beyond money. The encouraging stories we selected and the platform’s good reception are proof of the value it offered to our audience. StoryStoryHub has not only enhanced the reputation of our brand but also opened up new avenues for growth in the future.”
Digital storytelling is a powerful tool used by influencers, bloggers and celebrities to share content and connect people. Through this method of storytelling, these social influencers are able to share their life experiences, challenges through life and the motivating factor behind the contents they create. They share everyday stories that resonate with their audience, and this creates learning outcomes and motivation for the audience.
One of the social media influencers who shared his story on the StoryStoryHub platform was Samuel Animashaun Perry, popularly known as Broda Shaggi. Broda Shaggi is one of the big names in skit-making in the Nigerian social media space with a large fan base.
In his interview with StoryStoryHub, he said, “I started off in 2018, but before then I had different characters when I was trying to break into the market such as Akanni Ibadan, and Inspector Perry. I had series of characters because I just like to mimic people.
“Everything started from the University of Lagos, where I studied Creative Arts. After school, I would go for auditions, but I became tired of going for auditions because I always got supporting roles. I don’t blame the producers, because they need frontliners and known names to sell their market. Supporting roles wasn’t what I wanted, so I decided to start my own thing, which was the online skits. My online skits started in 2018 and became popular, and people started enjoying the character and contents.”
Another social media influencer, who shared her story on the platform is Jenny Frank. She said: “I started two years before lockdown, and gained popularity. I can remember I started in the university precisely; it was between 100 and 200 level then. I started not because I had the mindset of being a content creator, I wanted to be an actress, and a model. I have always wanted to be in front of the camera for some reason that I don’t know. So, I would always pick up my phone and record myself doing crazy things. From childhood, I had this desire for acting, I would wear my mother’s clothes and dress like a pregnant woman, then ask my brothers to come and join me. All those things were built for me, and in the university I started modeling and recording for photographers. I even walked on the runway back then. So, entertainment is something I love doing. It comes naturally.”
The Playhouse initiative achieved remarkable success, surpassing its initial projections by reaching double its estimated audience. This exceptional result is attributed to its high impact on the social media space, positive reception by known influencers, and the campaign’s impressive performance. In the metric of engagement, the campaign documented 50 million media reach, 131 million impressions, 13.3 million video views, 204,000 clicks, along with impressive average view-through and click-through rates.
