Branding Book Club

In this episode of Branding Book Club, Dola sits down with Nigerian comedian, animator and media entrepreneur Emeka Erem, better known as Ajebo, to talk about the unconventional route that took him from comedy and radio to building the House of Ajebo animation universe.

Ajebo didn't set out with a perfectly mapped business plan.

He wanted to do comedy differently.

Instead of creating skits like everyone else, he chose animation. What started with audio skits and an animator working from his home eventually became Tegwolo, a hugely recognisable character, an animation company, multiple YouTube channels and a growing portfolio of children's IP.

Today, he's thinking much bigger: African animation, global audiences, AI, intellectual property and building a media empire.

We get into what it actually took to build that business — including the years when the numbers were growing but the money wasn't, learning YouTube from scratch, scaling an animation operation, understanding the value of IP and knowing when it was time to create something new.

We also talk about AI and animation - whether AI is a threat or simply another creative tool - and why Ajebo believes the human creative direction behind the technology matters more than the technology itself.

And perhaps most importantly, we talk about taking the less conventional route.

What happens when the market hasn't validated your idea yet? How do you keep going when your friends don't understand what you're building? And when should you stop jumping in and start testing the waters?

Ajebo also shares the lessons he wishes he had learned earlier - including monetising sooner, building partnerships, positioning your IP properly and making yourself visible for bigger opportunities.

• Why Ajebo chose animation instead of traditional comedy skits
• How House of Ajebo started
• The journey from radio and comedy to animation
• Building Tegwolo into a major piece of African IP
• How YouTube changed the business
• Building an animation empire in Nigeria
• The opportunity in African animation
• How AI is changing animation and content creation
• Building intellectual property (IP)
• Taking the unconventional route as a creator and entrepreneur
• Monetisation, partnerships and personal branding

This is a conversation about creativity, entrepreneurship, animation, AI, African storytelling, intellectual property and what happens when you keep building something before the market fully understands it.

How did M&S go from feeling like a legacy retailer to becoming one of the most talked-about brands on the UK high street again?

In this episode of Branding Book Club, Dola and Alex unpack the M&S brand transformation - and why the story goes far beyond better advertising.

Because M&S didn't simply change its marketing. It changed the business behind the marketing.

From store refits, supply chain and pricing strategy to fashion, food, social content and employee-generated content, M&S has spent years making the experience of the brand catch up with the story it was telling.

And then there’s the cultural piece.

How do you attract younger customers without alienating the people who have been shopping with you for decades? Why did M&S choose a long-serving employee like Kathryn Turner to become part of its content strategy? And what can brands learn from turning internal knowledge and heritage into something people actually want to watch?

We also get into M&S and Sephora, what the partnership says about M&S’s position today, and why knowing what not to build yourself can be just as important as knowing what to build.

And, inevitably, we have to ask whether Boots is falling behind. 👀

• How M&S transformed its brand and retail experience
• Why fixing the business came before amplifying the marketing
• M&S and its changing relationship with younger consumers
• How M&S is balancing Gen Z with its loyal older customer base
• The power of employee-generated content (EGC)
• Why Kathryn Turner has become such an interesting part of the M&S story
• How brands can use employees as storytellers
• The risks of building brand personality around individuals
• Why M&S and Sephora make an interesting partnership
• What M&S’s transformation can tell us about heritage brands
• Whether Boots needs a similar retail reset

Is the M&S revival really about becoming younger - or about becoming more relevant without becoming less M&S?

What happens when brands enter a conversation that already belongs to a community?

In this episode of Branding Book Club, Dola and Alex look at three very different cultural moments - and the conversations that formed around them.

Sydney Sweeney × Novig: the campaign generated huge attention and backlash, but did the conversation become more about Sydney than the brand itself? And does the context of the campaign change how we judge the creative?

Premier League × gambling sponsorships: as restrictions around gambling sponsorships tighten, what happens to the commercial model of football — and who replaces the money?

Wiz Khalifa × running: why did a celebrity simply documenting his running journey attract brands, attention and an entire community so quickly - and why did that also bring criticism from parts of the running world?

Three very different cultural moments, but one thing keeps coming up:

When people care, they have opinions.

And where there is community, there is criticism.

More conversations on brands, creators and culture.

Branding Book Club.

There’s so much conversation happening around the creator economy - but too often, we hear from one side at a time.

So for Episode 10 of Branding Book Club, and our very first panel! we brought different sides of the ecosystem to one table to have the conversation together.

Tobi (Creator, Creative Strategist and AI Enthusiast), Uchechi Ihuomah (Founder & Creative Director, Contently Curated | Creative Entrepreneur and Educator) and Femi David (Influencer and Growth Marketing Strategist) join Dola to debate the things brands and creators don’t always agree on: money, creative control, expectations, value, influence and AI.

Who really understands the audience? What is a creator actually worth? Who owns the creative idea? And what happens when brands and creators want very different things from the same partnership?

No neat answers. Just an honest conversation about what needs to change on both sides.

The Great Brand–Creator Debate.

The conversation we need to have. 👀

Apple is finally going foldable. But… why now? 👀

Apple is reportedly launching its first foldable iPhone — years after Samsung and other manufacturers entered the category.

So naturally, we had questions.

Is Apple actually late to the party? Or is this just Apple doing what Apple does best - waiting until a category, the technology and consumer behaviour are ready before stepping in?

In this mini BBC chapter, we unpack the bigger story behind Apple’s move into foldables - from Samsung’s head start and the problems with foldable hardware and software, to whether we’re actually asking the wrong question about what people want from their phones.

Because maybe nobody is asking for a foldable.

Maybe what people are actually asking for is more screen.

We also get into the eye-watering price, whether a foldable iPhone could replace your phone, iPad or laptop, how AI could make the format more useful, and whether Apple entering the category could actually be good news for the Android foldables already out there.

So… is Apple too late? Or do they know something we don't?

The Brands & Business Behind the Ball

Football isn’t just a game anymore. It’s a business, a media ecosystem and one of the biggest cultural battlegrounds in the world.

In this episode of Branding Book Club, Dola is joined by Alex Wortley to unpack the brands, clubs and commercial strategies shaping modern football - from the Premier League and Champions League to the brands competing to own a piece of football culture.

We explore Arsenal’s long-term Emirates partnership, Adidas’ growing influence across the Premier League, challenger brands like Castore and Oxen, and the increasingly creative ways football clubs are turning kit launches and transfer announcements into entertainment.

We also get into Wrexham’s extraordinary rise from non-league football to global media and commercial phenomenon, the changing role of football sponsorship and sportswear brands, the battle for the next generation of fans, and why clubs and leagues are competing for far more than the 90 minutes on the pitch.

From the Premier League to the Champions League, football has become a constant competition for attention - between clubs, brands, players, platforms, creators and the leagues themselves.

Because football isn’t just about who wins the game anymore.

It’s about who wins the attention, culture and relationship with the fan.

In this episode of Branding Book Club, I sit down with Dare Aliu, CEO of TDA Group, to unpack how he built one of Africa's strongest identity brands - from what began as a side hustle driven by fatherhood into a business serving thousands across multiple countries.

What surprised me most wasn't a branding framework or marketing tactic.

It was how often Dare came back to the same idea:

Love people. Build an excellent product. Everything else follows.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why the strongest brands don't just sell products - they create a sense of belonging.
• Why service can become an even bigger competitive advantage than the product itself.
• How TDA built a loyal community by treating customers and employees like family.
• Why speed of execution has become one of the company's biggest competitive advantages.
• Why "the best billboard is a good product."
• Why affordability is a deliberate growth strategy—not a race to the bottom.
• How storytelling became one of TDA's most powerful marketing tools.
• Why money isn't the biggest barrier to starting a business and what is.
• The leadership philosophy behind building teams that think, care and execute like the founder.

If you enjoy conversations about branding, business and the ideas shaping modern brands, you're in the right place.

Everyone's been talking about the football. We wanted to talk about the brands.

In this episode of Branding Book Club, we unpack the biggest marketing moments from the World Cup - looking at the campaigns that stood out, the brands that completely understood the moment, and the ones that missed the mark.

From distinctive brand assets and sponsorships to reactive marketing and cultural relevance, we explore what marketers can learn from one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

Whether you're a marketer, creator, brand strategist - or just someone who loves seeing great campaigns in action - this one's for you.

Topics include:

• The standout World Cup campaigns
• Adidas vs Nike
• Why some brands became part of the conversation
• Distinctive brand assets
• Reactive marketing done right
• What makes a campaign memorable long after the tournament ends

Let us know: Which brand do you think won the World Cup?

Talent isn't the problem.

In this episode of Branding Book Club, we're exploring the gap between being a great creative and building a business that lasts.

Joined by entrepreneur, educator and creative strategist Uchechi Ihuomah, we unpack why so many creatives struggle commercially, what sustainable monetisation actually looks like, and the business skills no one teaches you.

This isn't a conversation about going viral.

It's about building something that still exists years from now.

• Why talent alone isn't enough
• The biggest mistakes creatives make when building a business
• Why so many creators struggle to monetise
• Positioning vs pricing
• Systems, structure and sustainable growth
• The creator economy today
• Management vs no management
• Building trust through community and education
• The mindset shifts every creative entrepreneur needs

Whether you're a creator, freelancer, marketer or founder, this episode is packed with practical insights on building a career - not just creating content.

When I invited Peju onto Branding Book Club, I thought we were going to talk about content creation.

We did.

But somewhere along the way, the conversation became about something much bigger.

Purpose.

Identity.

Fatherhood.

Authenticity.

And what happens when you finally stop trying to be who you think people want you to be.

A few months ago, Peju started taking content creation seriously. Since then, he’s built a growing community online by sharing his life with honesty and vulnerability.

But as he says in this episode, the biggest thing content has given him isn’t followers. It’s purpose.

If you’ve ever questioned your path, struggled with identity, or wondered whether putting yourself out there is worth it, I think you’ll enjoy this conversation.

What's one thing that's given you a sense of purpose? Let us know in the comments.

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🎙️ Branding Book Club is a podcast exploring branding, marketing, creativity and the stories behind the people building them.