Two-Day Powerhouse Event to Unpack the Future of Marketing in a Data-Driven, Immersive, and Emotionally Intelligent World
Lagos is set to become the heartbeat of Africa’s marketing innovation landscape this week as the Experiential Marketers Association of Nigeria (EXMAN) officially prepares to host the highly anticipated 2025 Brand Experience Summit and EXMAN Awards, a two-day gathering of visionaries, strategists, creatives, researchers, and students from across the experiential marketing value chain.
The event scheduled to hold at the Balmoral Hall, Sheraton Hotel on Thursday and Friday will feature the Brand Experience Summit and AGM respectively.
Held under the theme “Personalization at Scale: From Insights to Impact in a Data-Driven, Immersive World,” the summit is already generating significant buzz within the marketing and advertising ecosystem. The theme speaks to one of the most urgent and complex challenges brands face today, how to harness the power of data and automation while preserving the human soul of storytelling, culture, and emotional connection.
Speaking at a pre-summit media parley in Lagos today, Mrs. Tolulope Apinke Medebem, President of EXMAN, described the summit as “a defining moment for the industry.”
“As we embrace a world powered by AI, big data, and immersive technologies, we are also confronting fundamental questions, how do we scale intimacy without sacrificing authenticity? How do we create emotional resonance in a sea of algorithms? This summit is EXMAN’s response to these questions. It’s not just timely, it’s transformational.”
One of the major highlights of the summit will be the presentation of the Lagos Business School’s 2024/2025 Industry Report on Experiential Marketing Trends and Consumer Behavior, developed in collaboration with top agencies and marketing practitioners. The report will be unveiled by Dr. Uchenna Uzo, offering research-based insights into evolving consumer expectations and how data and culture are reshaping brand experiences in Nigeria.
Two highly anticipated keynote speakers will take center stage:
Mrs. Victoria Ajayi, Group Managing Director of TVC Communications, will present on “Unpacking the Role of AI in Reshaping Consumer Experiences and Enabling Personalization at Scale,” delving into how brands can remain relevant and responsive in a hyper-automated world.
Mr. Feyi Olubodun, Founder and Managing Partner at Open Squares Africa, will speak on “The Intersection of Data and Storytelling: How Brands Can Leverage Insights to Craft Impactful Narratives.”
These keynote addresses will be followed by a robust mix of breakout panels and technical sessions designed to foster reflection, innovation, and collaboration, including:
Data-Driven Creativity: Exploring how brands can use analytics and AI to fuel imagination while staying consumer-centric.
Immersive Storytelling: A conversation on how cultural fluency, emotional storytelling, and technology come together to activate purpose-driven brand narratives.
Pixels & Presence: Understanding how physical and digital brand experiences are fusing in today’s experiential landscape.
Strategic Intelligence Meets Experience: A session examining how emotion, precision, and personalization intersect in designing effective brand journeys.
The Power of Data: Navigating the delicate balance between personalization, privacy, and ethical responsibility in brand engagement.
Another key highlight of the summit will be the Student Innovation Challenge, a bold, forward-looking initiative that offers university students the opportunity to present disruptive ideas developed during a rigorous bootcamp process. Mentored by industry experts, these young talents will pitch their solutions live before an audience of professionals.
“Our future sits in that room,” said Medebem. “This is more than a competition, it’s an investment in the next generation of marketing minds.”
The summit will flow seamlessly into the 2025 EXMAN Annual General Meeting and Awards, themed “Building Bridges and Strengthening Bonds.” This theme emphasizes the importance of industry collaboration, ethical competition, and professional standards across agencies, clients, regulators, and partners.
Speaking at the media engagement, Agnes Ailuelohia, Chairman EXMAN Awards and AGM Committee, stated:
“This year’s awards are not just about celebrating creativity; they’re about recognizing work that is insight-led, ethically executed, and culturally relevant. The judging process has been refined to ensure clarity, transparency, and impact. We’ve brought in local and global experts to raise the standard and the entries reflect that.”
The EXMAN Awards have received a record number of submissions this year, including a significant number from first-time entrants, showing the growing credibility and inclusivity of the platform.
New agencies will also be officially inducted into the EXMAN family during the AGM, an affirmation of the association’s expanding role as a unifying force in the marketing ecosystem.
“EXMAN is no longer just an association, it is a movement,” said Medebem. “It is a collective of futurists, technologists, creatives, and strategists committed to defining what meaningful brand experience looks like in Africa. If you’re delivering experiential work in Nigeria and you’re not yet part of EXMAN, the time to join is now.”
Representing the summit planning committee, Mustapha Owolabi echoed the summit’s collaborative spirit:
“This year’s theme was chosen deliberately to reflect the tension and opportunity that define the modern marketing landscape. The BEX Summit is not just for content consumption, it’s a platform for co-creation, future-proofing, and storytelling that inspires action.”
He urged delegates to go beyond attendance and fully immerse themselves in the summit’s interactive sessions, conversations, and collaborative opportunities.
As the countdown to the summit begins, the atmosphere is charged with expectation. The EXMAN 2025 Brand Experience Summit is not only set to spark critical conversations, but to ignite meaningful action, uniting the industry in a shared vision of what’s next.
