INTERVIEW: Plaqad is a protest against conventional marketing, says Sogbaike

Plaqad, a public relations and digital marketing company, began operations in 2017 saying it wants to democratize paid content management and influencer engagement. TheCable’s Haleem Olatunji speaks with Gbenga Sogbaike, co-founder and chief executive officer of Plaqad, on issues around the shift from traditional to digital marketing and the impact of COVID-19 on the industry.

TheCable: Plaqad was launched in 2017. Three years down the line, the company has proven its ability to leverage new media technology in promoting brands. Can you share your success story with us?

Sogbaike: We launched in April 2017 but we did not really do much. Although, it was significant because it was when the company started but in terms of real activity, building a team, it was in January 2018. Since then it has been good, but as with every business and human endeavour, we have the highs and the lows. With Plaqad we have had quite a number of successes. In terms of revenue we have paid about $1.5 million out to our service providers, we call them programme members. They are members of our community who work with brands that we connect them with. They are influencers, content creators, publishers, bloggers and the likes. We have over 15,000 service providers. We have worked with some of the biggest brands in different industries and market segments. For the ecosystem, we have created some impressive tools. It has been good but there is still a lot to be done.

TheCable: Plaqad started a Campus Ambassadors Programme (CAP) in 2019, what was the rationale behind the initiative? And are students among the beneficiaries of the $1.5 million paid to service providers?

Sogbaike: Yes, they are paid for their service. We include them in some of our campaigns. So beyond helping them to acquire skills and teaching them how to do things on social media, we also get them involved in campaigns so that they can put some of those things they have learnt to use. Digital skill is very important in this age which was why we created CAP.

The funny thing is that we have never been to any campus physically. It started in 2019 and COVID-19 came in 2020 so there was no way to go to any campus. Our main channel of engagement is digital. We have a Facebook group, for example, we have a database of our members, that is how we reach out to them and we engage them through social media. We also sponsor events in schools, such as the Hult Prize event at Obafemi Awolowo University, where we partnered with the students. So we engage them digitally every now and then. We have over 6,000 members from different universities.

TheCable: We have seen a paradigm shift to digital and influencer marketing, how well positioned is Plaqad in this space?

Sogbaike: I think we are perhaps one of the most prepared companies not just in Nigeria but the world. We are doing things that no Nigerian company is doing. Before COVID, the adoption of digital media had seen an increase but COVID has accelerated it. COVID-19 has proven to be the biggest disruptor of innovation. We have created tools that would help brands better market themselves. Recently, we launched the Plaqad.com platform that automates the entire process of running marketing and PR campaigns from the beginning to the end.

Normally the process is cumbersome but with the Plaqad platform, we have eased the process by making it convenient for everybody. So you can discover a new influencer on Plaqad or even work with the existing one you know. You can pay them on Plaqad.com, track the campaign, get a report, and conduct a whole campaign from beginning to the end without having to talk to so many people or combining many tools which are expensive. We also have Social Cred, which is mainly for influencers and brands. We are ready to take any opportunity that comes from the digital space.

TheCable: You are trying to help brands, influencers, students, and build your company at the same time. What are some of the challenges you encounter and how are you trying to resolve them?

Sogbaike: One of the biggest challenges you will encounter as a driver of innovation is change — people’s response to change. If people have been used to a particular way of doing things for a long time, it takes time to get them to adopt the new way of doing things. Many people are used to the old ways of running campaigns, Plaqad is disrupting a process that has been around for hundreds of years, so naturally, we find that it takes a lot of engagement to convince them to switch. Another challenge, especially for tech companies, is internet penetration in the country. You cannot have successful tech companies if the people who are supposed to buy from them are not on the internet, so we need the internet penetration to be deepened. And it is everybody’s responsibility and not just the government.

TheCable: Do you think COVID-19 would change the narrative in the digital marketing space?

Sogbaike: Yes, it will. In fact, it has. Globally, e-commerce and logistics business experienced a surge during the heat of the pandemic because most people stayed at home. That is one big growth that has been instigated by COVID-19. Also, there are more people on social media now than before the pandemic. COVID-19 has disrupted the way we live and that automatically affects digital marketing because brands now advertise online where people can see them. COVID-19 is one of the disruptors of the 21st century and it has changed the entire system. It will never be the same again. In the next five to ten years, we are going to see a greater shift to digital media from the offline space. The future for digital businesses is very bright.

TheCable: You were recently named one of Nigeria’s 100 young leaders in tech by Future Project, what does this mean to you?

Sogbaike: It felt good to be recognized. It’s in recognition of what Plaqad has done. It is not just about me, it is about the company. So it is not about Gbenga, it is a function of what we have done as a team and what we have achieved. Plaqad is essentially trying to automate and disrupt a particular industry and we are using technology to do that. There are very few companies, if any, that can hold the touch with Plaqad as far as influence marketing, content placement and leveraging of digital tools are concerned.

We have a goal to become one of the biggest marketing technology company out of Africa. And it’s not exactly about size but about impact.

TheCable: Where do you see Plaqad in the next five to ten years?

Sogbaike: We just opened an office in the US and then in Dubai, so we are in three countries currently even though you can use the Plaqad platform from anywhere in the world. In the next five years, Plaqad will be one of the most valuable companies out of Africa. We are looking at having the largest database for any marketing platform out of Africa. We will be launching in a few African countries very soon.

TheCable: Plaqad has an employee shareholder scheme. Can you bring us up to speed on this?

Sogbaike: We belong to the BHM group and as a group, one of our philosophies is to put people before profit and we do that in very practical ways. We are trying to give everyone a sense of ownership with the shareholders’ scheme.

Your workplace is where you spend most of your time so your salary and HMO should not be the only thing you benefit from that company. We are giving everybody an opportunity to own a part of the company. So as you work in Plaqad, you own a part of the company. If you stop working in Plaqad at any time, you should be able to cash out because you helped in building the business. It is just our way of taking care of our people and to be sure that they get maximum value for their time building Plaqad.

TheCable: You’ve built the largest community of content creators, publishers and influencers within three years of operation. How were you able to achieve this?

Sogbaike: First, I would say it is the team. We have not been able to attract all the top talents that we want but we have not done badly. Second is also the strategy that we put in place. We have paid more money to our programme members than we have kept for ourselves. We put them first because one of our goals is to help them monetize their platforms and we are really committed to that. There are very few, if any, of top influencers that have not worked with Plaqad. Also, word of mouth has helped in spreading the gospel.

TheCable: How soon should we expect a launch of Plaqad in other countries?

Sogbaike: We plan to launch in some African countries this year, let’s say before the end of the third quarter we will be in a few African countries.

TheCable: Plaqad describes itself as a protest, what exactly are you protesting against?

Sogbaike: Plaqad came from the word “placard” which is a symbol of protest. The goal is to help everyone make their voices heard irrespective of their size, budget, location and all. Plaqad is a protest against the traditional way of doing things. We have created a system that automates the entire PR and marketing campaign flow. Conventionally, people do it in a very cumbersome way. Before now, influencers are owed by brands but such won’t be the case with Plaqad because we have a payment system that ensures that brands pay upfront before you work on the campaign. We keep the money in an escrow system and when you deliver the service, you get paid, so everybody is safe. It minimizes conflict and ensures top quality.

Plaqad is a protest against expensive marketing. Not everyone has the budget of the multinationals but everyone should be able to do marketing. So if you want to work with an influencer for N5,000 you will find them. No matter what your budget is, you will find someone who will deliver value. We have built a platform that has everything you need as a business and the people you need to run a campaign.

We have found that one of the most important rights is the freedom of expression. When people cannot make their voices heard, they feel gagged. The same thing applies to business, when a business is unable to do marketing, it will not succeed because every business needs cash flow, revenue and customers. That is the mission we have personally taken, to ensure that every business irrespective of their size are able to do affordable and effective marketing.