Landre Andisa from Nigeria started out as a trainee copywriter 29 years ago. In the course of his career, he has worked for some of the top agencies in Nigeria, holding creative leadership positions. His last agency was TBWA\Concept where he was the ECD. He then started Noah & Ark in 2008.
They have grown from a startup of fewer than ten people to Nigeria’s most awarded agency, creating category-shifting work for some of the biggest and most influential brands in the country.
What makes you excited about brand communications? What new skills and technologies do you see coming through in media and advertising right now?
The greatest joy for me comes from being part of a team that consistently proffers creative solutions to our clients’ business problems. We pride ourselves as an extension of our clients and businesses. Seeing these solutions translate to results is the adrenaline that keeps us going.
One common thing that is emerging in our work and, I dare say, that is influencing our market in general, is the rise of storytelling in a way that is relatable to our local experiences. We have deployed this so well that we have been able to convert our audience to fans and advocates of our work. This has been further boosted by the rising power of Digital.’
African and Middle East unique brand communications
The first thing to note is that Africa is a young continent. It is the same thing you’ll find in the Middle East. These young people are smart and tech-savvy. They know what they want and sometimes they bring about change using the power of their numbers and their knowledge of today’s technology as we’ve seen in the Middle East and most recently, in Sudan.
As brand people, this is something that is propelling us to do better work. The rate of urbanisation in Africa is on the rise. Today, content is created and consumed without boundaries. This is where we play today. Understanding our audience and the new reality of our world is driving us to work better and raise our game. We are no more in the business of just creating advertising; we are all about relatable and relevant content that delivers results.
What kind of innovation and creative work will you be looking for as a judge of the Loeries 2019?
‘I am looking forward to the evolution of the African narrative. How are we telling our stories with all the new tools at our disposal? I’ll be looking forward to ideas that deliver solutions we never thought possible using what we know in ways we never could have imagined. I look forward to being blown away by all these beauties.’
When asked if tenets of a successful media campaign are universal, he said, ’By and large, the most effective communication is the one that is able to reflect our realities, be they personal or local, in a fresh and bold way. It may make us laugh, think, cry or take certain actions we weren’t thinking of before. Sometimes the issue may be human and universal. Even then, our audience must be able to relate to it. So it can never be one size fits all. For any work to be successful here, it needs to mine the things that are peculiar to the local audience and express them in a way that is down to earth and entertaining or action-inducing.’
