Why I handed over my certificate to my parents when I graduated —Wale Asifat

Wale Asifat is one man who has his hands in many pies. From branding to public relations, broadcasting and event planning Asifat’s, company, Brandall has its imprint on major entertainment events across the country. The graduate of Accounting, who found passion in promoting brands and positioning them for greatness, speaks with SEGUN ADEBAYO in this interview.

 

Days back, you won the Entertainment Personality of the Year at the City People awards. There were other top personalities doing well for themselves in your field, how do you feel being rated as the best?

I feel very elated. I feel honoured. When I look back at how my journey into branding and public relations started some years back, I couldn’t have come this far without the support of the good people I have had the privilege to work with. I have never seen myself as the best in anything I do; I only want to succeed and excel. I put my heart into my job and I don’t look back when it comes to accomplishing any task that I set before me. I appreciate the orgainsers of the award for considering me for the big honour. It will spur me to keep working hard. I am grateful to God.

 

You are a branding expert, a PR consultant who has a rich clientele at his disposal. You also have a background in broadcasting and your works in the media circle is well pronounced. How did you become what you are today?

I always tell people that I am a man of many parts. I have always noticed some of the traits I am exhibiting since I was a young boy.  Recently, I was discussing with a friend and I remembered that I was actually the Social Prefect in my set when I was in the secondary school. I was in charge of the social activities of my school. As a secondary school student, I was the number one debaters for my school and in fact, I was one of the top in Lagos at that time. I remember vividly when I was in 200-level at the university; I told my friends that I was not going to work for anybody. I have always wanted to be a media person; I wanted have a media firm. I actually started my first company when I was in the university and I had been exposed to the world of different events since that time. At a point I met Yemi Sodimu, who gave me his platform as a broadcaster. I met him through a man called Oreofe Williams.

 

Why did you decide to focus on branding and not stay on as a broadcaster?

I set up a branding company seven years ago when I noticed that I could do well being a brand expert having gone through a series of trainings within and outside the country. I spent a couple of years in the broadcasting industry and I think I made my mark before I decided to focus more on branding that has now become a major part of my life and career.

 

In this part of the world, people don’t seem to appreciate the concept of branding, you seem to be having your way with different clientele; what’s the secret?

I always try to create an identity for the product I have been asked to handle. Let me break it down this way, noodles is a product, but when it came, Indomie created an identity due to the strategic publicity it got. It became a household name. So for me, I concentrate majorly on the art of creating an identity for the product and I discovered that it has been working over the years. When an average person hears the popular sound of a product on the radio or see it on the television, they know the product they are talking about. There are a lot of challenges attached to this because it is not easy as it seems.

 Every world-class brand wants to do business in Nigeria —Seton

When you left broadcasting to start your company, what was the first thing that came to your mind and how did you overcome your fears?

When I left broadcasting, the first thing I did was to head to Mushin to learn about printing. When I understood what it meant to mix colours to get a particular picture that one desires, I knew it would help me in branding my clients’ products. I needed to understand the technicalities involved so that I wouldn’t run into problems. I have never entertained fears.  As I said earlier, I knew what I wanted to do before I got into it and I went through different stages of trainings in order to become an authority in the field.

 

There was a time when you were the one handling most of the jingles of the Yoruba movies, how did you come about that?

It was part of what I learnt when I was working closely with my good uncle, Yemi Sodimu. I was made to understand every part of branding and advertising before I left the broadcasting industry. That gave me an edge at that time and I am still enjoying the patronage even now that I am into branding. It took a lot time to find my feet, but while I was waiting for the big clients to come, I was undergoing trainings; I just wanted to learn more about everything that is media related. People ask me how I got the energy to do the things I do, I tell them I don’t even know where the energy comes from. I know I have this untiring spirit when it comes to job delivery and knowledge-seeking. I don’t think that day will come when I will feel like I have achieved so much; I don’t want to learn anymore.

 

For somebody who studied accounting, how does it feel doing something totally different for a living?

I never wanted to study accounting. As a JSS3 boy, I told my father I wanted to study either Theatre Arts or Mass Communication. But my father, who was a director in the ministry of education then, felt it insulting for someone of his standing to have a child in the Art Class. He told me that if I think I could not excel as a science student, I should go to a commercial class, which was what led me into Accounting. The interesting about my life is that everything I am doing now always popped up at every stage of my growing up, especially when I was in the secondary school. When I graduated, I gave the certificate to those who wanted me to study it because I never used it for one day.

 

You are the brain behind virtually all the events of Adron Homes, particularly the Lemon D Val concert that held in Abuja, Lagos and Ibadan. Tell us about the experience so far?

It has been a long time coming with Adron Homes. It has been five years now since I have been organising events for the company. It started with a Christmas party for the staff of the company and after the event, the chairman of the company asked me to make it a marketing event. We discussed it and it became a big one. At the third year, it was the time the black Friday thing was trending. The chairman called me to let us organsie Lemon Friday rather than Black Friday. We had the first edition and it became an instant hit. So, after the first edition, we decided that we shouldn’t wait till December before we make our clients happy, so we chose the Valentine Day to celebrate our clients. Red is synonymous with Val, but we chose Lemon. And, that gave birth to what people now refer to as Lemon D Val.

 

Tell us about you the other side of Wale that people don’t know?

That should be cooking. In the next couple of months, people will get to know because my company, Brandall is going to have a TV production that is basically about a young man, who is passionate about cooking. Week in week out, we will be discussing marital issues that are caused by cooking.