She started life by earning a living for herself in an advertising agency but an offer which many would have termed leaving certainty for uncertainty came for her, but believing in herself with the spirit of ‘I can do it’, she embraced the offer to start advertising oriented T.V programme. About 14 years down the lane, Clara Chinwe Okoro, is the C.E.O of Brand World Media, and she has sweet story to tell with her influence grown in the world of advertising and brands. With all the exposure, affluence, career fulfillment, the light skinned amiable lady at an advanced age of over 40 years is yet to tie down a man in matrimony. ORUKPE NELSON recently engaged her in an interview session where she talked about her exploits in the advertising world, growing up, marital life and sundry issues…

Could you recall how you came about branding?

This was like almost 14 years ago, I was at an agency where I went to see the media buyers to discuss some ideas and concept, I had a friend at that agency, it was Insight Communication, Dr Ken OnyealiIkpe, now M.D Mediacom Nigeria, who while we were talking suggested we could come with a programne to cover advertising activities since advertising in Nigeria is working at a very fast pace. He gave me the idea to drop a proposal and came back to me that we have a couple of clients who might be interested in putting the programme on T.V. then. I went to design a programme, we called it advertising world. We started off on NTA as a live show and later we progressed to a pre-recorded show to give us leverage to cover a lot more, and over time, a lot of clients saw the need for it, because, we made them understand an event is only witnessed by those in attendance but if we cover it and tell the story it, more people can see it, that was how we started off. Eventually, we realized that advertising was a limiting name because we were having a lot of issues with APCON, telling us we should not bring nonprofessional to the programme. That became an issue but we transcended that and named the programme, Brand World, since brand is a large scope and it’s more connected to the consumers.

Can you relate your experience in branding so far?

It’s been a very interesting journey because we used to say brand is the new wealth creator in any modern economy, and I’m of the opinion that brands are more powerful than government. They are what you buy every day, they are what you spend money on every day. They make money and money is going into some bank accounts because you are purchasing brands…they have more money than government and they can impact more lives than government. So, we needed to make consumers know their power in term of how they are keeping brands in business and it was that platform of broadcast, which is the T.V we needed to use to tell the story, and it’s been amazing. In the last 12 years, Nigeria’s landscape has changed. Branding has become an overtaking factor. Advertising is just an arm of branding instead of what it was before we started the programme, so, we are glad we raised the awareness; a lot of Nigerian brands are being built, because, we open their eyes to possibilities that are endless to them. And it was in the course of this that we suggested to brands; that instead of going abroad, shoot commercials with foreigners and come to place it on Nigerian televisions….we initiated that when you cast, use Nigerian faces to shoot your commercials. These were the things that happened when 2face was used for Guinness and Basket Mouth for Malta Guinness, that was the beginning of the revolution and we are glad we impacted the landscape.

How fulfilling would you say you are?

I’m extremely fulfilled; I think I’m one of the few lucky people that did what I was extremely passionate about and succeeded with it and gradually moving unto other things now, because, the industry has come to a level where it’s now designated as one of the strongest in the continent. Innovations are coming, ideas, and we are glad we initiated and created the awareness for people to create their own brands and people spending money on it and thereby helping your economy rather than spending on foreign brands always and their economy growing at your own expense. I’m also fulfilled we have partnered with some of the biggest events in the world. Like I said, I’m moving on to other things now but my main focus is still advertising.

At what point did you break through and hit the limelight?

It’s a combination of every day thing; we never separated when it got to that point and where it blossomed. I would say it’s the tenacity I embarked on with my work every single day; the effort I put in will transmit into the following day and continue to grow.

You must have also been financially fulfilled?

Business is always motion in progress, you make the money and you spend it. My own take is to do as much as I can to keep the business rolling, so, I spend a lot of money on the business, acquiring equipment, travelling, getting information and the rest, so, for me, the money is not always sitting at the bank but used to energize the business and in the long run, I feel successful I was able to achieve all that. So, I would say it’s fulfilling.

What was your childhood ambition?

(Smiles) it’s very funny. I thought I was going to be a music artiste because I have always been very imaginative as a child and my father took note of that, that I loved music excessively. Even though I did not see it totally but with that display in childhood and my parents noticing it, I thought that was the way I was going to go, but I was a creative person. I love art and I love anything that has to do with creativity, so, it was not surprising that I ended up working in an agency when I left school because that was where my direction was leading. And T.V production for independent producers was just emerging then and a cousin of mine, Ifeayin Dike, was the first who called me to come and present a programme for him on T.V. It was on NTA, I did it, took to the camera and it was just a natural inclination.

Tell us about your stint with television

I have been on a couple of private television stations in Nigeria but like I said, the story started off with NTA, which is the flagship in the country. We moved to AIT when we started the programme as pre-produced programme. From there to Channels, to DBN, and there was a time we were running these together at the same time.

Could you share your academic background with us?

I have lived virtually all my life in Lagos but I was born in the East during the war. I started off from a nursery school in Surulere, Onward Nursery and Primary School, I did my entrance examination and got admission into Queens College, but then the politics of Nigeria did not start today, so, somebody else was given my space but I had another admission offer from Methodist Girls High School and from there, gained admission into University of Lagos, and that’s where I got a degree in Guidance and Counseling. But my English lecturer used to tell me I had a voice for broadcasting and I could take another major in Mass Communication if I was interested.

Ladies who appear on T.V have stories of men to tell. What is your story?

I have never been attracted to that celeb culture, I am more of a cerebral person, so, I look at T.V as a platform for me to transmit knowledge, not as a factor to be termed a celebrity, so, when men look at me as if they need me, I go like I’m sorry for you guys because I’m not your attention seeking individual, I just want us to discuss on a cerebral level and a lot of men are not interested in that, but I respect their feeling and I respectfully transmitted it to them that look, how many of you am I going to say yes to? And if that was the career I wanted to embark on, I might as well just focus on it rather than cracking my brain to present. But I also met some friends in the course of my career, because you can’t throw away the baby with the bathed water. Out of all these people trying to chase you, there are still some very interesting persons that you end up being friends with and learning from also.

I want to believe you must have had feeling for one of these numerous men?

(Mild laughter) well, down the line I normally say I like to keep my private life extremely private, because what’s the point if everybody knows what is going on in your private life, it’s no more private. Yes, there is but I don’t think I want everybody to know about my relationship.

Why are you different because I know women love to flaunt their men?

Because I think when you throw your private life open to people, I think it has actually exposed you to conjecture and I don’t like that. I think I want that little bit of me for myself and my man, so that nobody knows what is going on between us except the two of us.

In one word, how do we classify your marital status?

That is what I’m saying; it’s part of the mystery of who I am. I don’t want people to know my status; I don’t want them to know my private life. I’m not interested in your private life, so, why should you be interested in mine, that’s what I always ask people, because I get that a lot, from facebook, T.V and e-mail. When it’s necessary, I will let everyone know, but at the moment, there is someone in my life but I don’t want people to know the status or whatever it is that’s going on in that area of my life.

I think people who hide their relationships are those who have been hurt. Have you been hurt?

Yes, extremely…I’m human. I have had two, three failed relationships in the past and the only good thing is that you turn situations around for your benefit, I have learnt from it and I’m still a friend with two of them but I have moved on and so also they have moved on.

What was your marital plan when growing up, what age did you plan to marry?

Well, in all fairness, I hoped in my 30s, I would probably be married, have some kids but my business would also have been established to run on its own but it did not happen that way, but one thing I don’t do is to worry over things I don’t have control over and I just figured at some point, if it works, why not, if it does not, why not. The only thing I have focused on strongly in life is my business, so, maybe that’s why it’s always giving me the kind of fulfillment I wanted, as opposed to some other women who think marriage is the focal point of their life.

There is a stigma, so to say, with ladies of marriageable age who are single, do you have an experience in that regard?

(Laughs) I can’t control it. I have no control over people’s thought and perception and I respect that, but the point and the truth is that the second I stepped into this world, you don’t know and the second I’m leaving you don’t know, so, I can never live my life to your own standard. You don’t know my journey, my reasons, so, I don’t think I owe them any explanation or apology for that.

What do you do to keep fit?

I think I am one of those few people who have high metabolism rate, I do a lot of walk. I don’t jug, I don’t gym but I have a bike I use every morning and that helps me.

At this point of your life, what is your ultimate goal?

I have achieved almost everything I want to achieve. The ultimate goal for me is how to give back.