00:00Yeah, there we go. Good. Great, we can relax now, can't we?
00:06Nearly over the line.
00:11So, thank you. This is our last final panel and we're going to keep it nice and short.
00:17Remarkably, we're only 12 minutes over schedule, so we're going to do another couple of quick questions
00:23and go from there, really.
00:26So, this panel is about media and branding and it's about storytelling and it's about telling our story.
00:38Tessie, I'm going to come to you first. That was a beautiful speech.
00:42I'm still warm. I'm still warm.
00:45Exactly, this is what I'm thinking. It's such a beautiful speech and I guess it was about storytelling.
00:52Like, you told it in a way. The things that we've heard over this day are the ones that we've heard the stories behind it.
01:00So, tell me a little bit about the importance of storytelling in Nigeria's context.
01:06Can we take a microphone? Because these people don't hear.
01:08Can we get a microphone here?
01:10Yes.
01:12Because people will not hear that.
01:13It should be fine.
01:14I can take this one. The microphone.
01:17Yeah.
01:18Because people can't hear it. You cannot hear it in London.
01:20Oh, it's coming. It's coming.
01:22I think this is a good question and that's it.
01:26We can't...
01:27Tell me.
01:33So, here for you.
01:35Say the question again.
01:36Okay.
01:38We don't copy.
01:40Okay, let's do it. Oh, let's go.
01:41That does sound better.
01:42Yeah, really, my question is storytelling.
01:48The importance of storytelling from Nigeria's perspective, but just kind of overall, like, obviously you can tell a story.
01:54What's your take on...
01:56I'll pass it back.
01:57I guess I'm still warm for my keynote.
02:03No, I think we all have stories and we all have businesses and ideas and things we want to do.
02:14And as such, what differentiates you from all of these thousands and thousands and thousands of people who want to do the same as you?
02:23So, it's a story.
02:26And as such, you know, get your story right.
02:29What do you want to portray?
02:31And go hard on it.
02:34We can just pass it.
02:40Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:41We're capable of that.
02:42Yeah, Camila, I'm going to come to you next.
02:45But again, it's about how can brands here and how can companies here tell that story?
02:51Tell the story for themselves, but also the story of Nigeria.
02:54You know, brands often have a global reach.
02:56The media has a global reach.
02:58Like, how do they kind of capitalize on that and come together?
03:01Thank you so much for this question.
03:04I think, you know, what I will say that when you look at the global story, you know, you should come actually to experts.
03:12You should rely, as like Anita was saying one of these days, when you look at lawyers, that they're going to help you with your marriage advising.
03:21And especially if you get married, if you want to get a house, you should go to a good lawyer.
03:25You should do the same when you're looking at experts in the media, advertising and advisory services.
03:30And this is what we are.
03:32So I think when you look at an international global, you know, storytellers, you should come to experts that they're going to help you, first of all, strategize.
03:41Also, put a story out there in the biggest platforms in the world and also most probably you're going to be able to really work on your budget and having some amazing cuts just because we can help you create a content at most probably prices that the international media platforms would not even dare, you know, would reach to.
04:03Most probably a double or triple price.
04:06So it's very important to go to look into the expertise, be very straightforward to what your story should be and rely on people that they are experts to tell the story the way you might not have even imagined.
04:20Great, thank you.
04:23And Anita, a question for you.
04:26In this kind of age at the moment where there are more media platforms than there ever have been, there are influencers, there are people kind of creating huge amounts of context.
04:38What role does, I don't want to say traditional media, but what role does something, a platform like The Guardian have to show, to be that kind of transparent place where people can tell their stories?
04:56Thank you for asking that question.
04:58I wasn't sure what you were going to ask me, but actually it's something that I wanted to talk about.
05:03Yes, in this world there is so much news out there, a lot of it is fake, it's so fast, some of it's written by non-journalists, people are just posting comments, it's not accurate.
05:18So I would say that something like the traditional media, like The Guardian, it's traditional and I'm quite a, I'm going to go off a little bit here, a fan of this, what I call slow journalism.
05:28It's a movement and it means that the news is never lost, you can take your time, it can be timed at the right time and it can be put out there.
05:38And I used to be more of an editor and a writer, but I'm more of a strategist now and for me being a strategist, the use of media is so important to get the story out at the right time.
05:48It doesn't have to be that breaking news at that time, the first to get it out there, it's become so competitive now and I think people are rushing when it comes to news and storytelling and then concentration levels are lower than ever, social media, technology, even the younger readers.
06:05I'm just such a fan of that slowdown, I mean I saw the World Ahead publication and I was just so happy to just have that publication in my hands, I felt the paper, I said to Camila, oh my gosh, how thick is this?
06:21This is better than the last one and just knowing that you can just slow down and take it in.
06:25And one thing I also wanted to talk about, which is off your question, but back to Camila's question, the role of the media is, for me it's about connecting.
06:35So sometimes my juniors ask me, you know, can I check some of their work and I try not to be critical, but if I don't feel connected to what I've read, I say to them, who's your audience, what are you trying to say, what's your story?
06:49I don't feel the connection and that's back to the strategy, the strategy behind it and I think there's actually a place for strategy and media.
06:58We've never had a chief strategy officer at The Guardian, we had the CEO and you probably don't have them in many media houses, but actually it's such a key position, I mean really enjoying it.
07:09I worked part-time because I have another job, I'm a director at Federal Palace, but it's the impact, connecting people and finding the stories, curating events like this, this for me is where media is at.
07:22So we have so many levels of media tonight, we have print, we have live, we have digital, Camila taught me about QR codes that we've never ever launched on Guardian.ng for a publication.
07:36And I just think it's all about strategy. So let me give it to Camila because she wants to add something to this.
07:45So I don't need a question. I would just say that Anita is totally right. I think what we need to say and what everybody should hear is that media can be a tricky thing.
07:56You should always go for fact check with the AI and everything. There is so much misinformation.
08:01Could you go back a bit, take two steps and look at the traditional media, look who you trust that will bring that information, that can't even save your company.
08:12It can be a white paper, it can be research in your domain. Just look at that because this is what will save you.
08:19And again, we are here a bit even to train your corporate communication departments. We're not here to compete, but actually help you get those deals done.
08:30So could you trust us? Are you seeing us? That was your question, Anita. If you see us, then this means we're on the right path.
08:39Thanks a lot. Listen, Tessie, Anita, Camila, thank you so much. A lot of hard work went in today.
08:48And that was also a very brief but insightful chat. And just a final point. This is a conference that is about communication and it's about storytelling.
09:00And as we go off this evening, that's all. We're going to be drinking wine, having some good food,
09:05and we'll be telling our stories to our friends, to our new friends. And connections are going to be made all evening.
09:12And we'll leave it to you too. Enjoy yourselves. And thank you so much. And we'll take one last picture. Yeah, thank you.
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