by Francesca Uriri

Ifeoma ‘Oma Areh is the driven, ambitious and sassy CEO if WildFlower PR. She speaks about her journey into PR, why it’s important to stay self-motivated, and how she’s organizing the first digital entertainment conference in Nigeria. She’s the Leading Lady Africa for the week. Be inspired!

You’re the Founder of Wildflower PR Company, what does your company do?
WildFlower PR is a 3 year old Public relations agency with particular focus on entertainment PR, Talent wrangling, digital PR, marketing and corporate communications.

How did your journey into PR start? Have you always wanted to be a publicist?
I like to say that PR for me started when I was 13 and in secondary school. Friends of mine in another class had been rude to a teacher or had disobeyed his orders, I forget the exact circumstances. The teacher penalized them and informed them he would not be coming to their class again. My friend asked me to help them out with a letter of apology. I remember I carefully selected the words I chose and threw in the Shakespearean quote ‘Temper justice with mercy’. The teacher not only forgave them, he wanted to know who wrote the letter. As the mini – PR person I was, he never found out. Lol!

While working as a writer for the South African Magazine Screen Africa, I found myself telling so many Nigerian stories that were amazing. And I discovered that there were several opportunities in P.R, there was almost more control over the communication or direction of a brand. That was very exciting to me.

Your company seems to have created a niche in entertainment PR, was this a deliberate move?
Thanks for the words. We do corporate communications and everything else, but yes we have a particular bias for entertainment and digital P.R. It was deliberate to go into entertainment P.R because it’s the art and science of planning the entertainment brand that took me into P.R first.

Who are some of your clients, and what have been your most exciting campaigns?
I’m honestly not a client naming person, for lack of a better phrase. But suffice it to say that we have done a lot of great work across industries from entertainment to telecoms to international Nonprofits, artistes, beverage companies, banking and more. In entertainment we have worked with Waje, MI, Iyanya, Davido, Bez and more.

Some of our most exciting campaigns include Coke Studio Africa – Season 1 & 2. The GLOCAFAWARDS in January, there is also the ONE.ORG/ONE campaign last year with D’banj with got more than 1 million signatures across Africa. There was also The Share A Coke initiative in Nigeria which we were also a part of. Before I forget the Channel O Awards in 2014 was very exciting for us. Every project brings with it a lot of excitement and promise.

So should we assume that you’re rolling in money? Knowing how much entertainers generally earn?
We are not doing bad, but it could be better. When we started doing entertainment and digital first, it wasn’t easy because digital was a field big companies and some individuals were not comfortable with. I call that part ‘the paying-your-dues’ time because everyone must have such a time where they prove their value.

The entertainment industry is not entirely structured as yet as well to have, so I cannot say that entertainment PR is in itself lucrative. The more lucrative parts of entertainment PR are when brands or organizations hire you to be part of their entertainment projects like concerts or incredible new brand experiences.

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as a woman running her own business?
They’ve been mixed actually. In entertainment PR, women are actually more than men, so it’s easier. However when it comes to the digital side, it’s more often than not a man’s turf.

However, I try my best not to put gender in front of whatever I’m doing. I grew up wanting to be the best, not the best woman, the best person at whatever I do. I still stand by that. When it comes to work, the client doesn’t give you female concessions. You have a job to do and you have to do it. Sometimes when I meet people, they say “Oma, for some reason, we thought you were a man!” When I ask why, they usually say, I just assumed or after exchanging emails. They make it sound like a compliment, but it is one I grudgingly accept. Just because I feel that hard focused work and commitment have no reason to be naturally ascribed to gender. Other challenges would include what I know every business in Nigeria faces; exorbitant running costs, especially from running your own power practically every working day from dawn till dusk. There are also things like delay in payments, sometimes outright nonpayment and many more.

Most people don’t know that you’re married with three kids. How do you manage to juggle the roles of wife, mother and entrepreneur?
Like everything that thrives, it takes commitment and work and I work at all of it to the best of my ability. I work at being a wife, a mother, a boss, a woman, a daughter, everyday. It might be longer, crazy hours but that is what I signed up for, so I have to make it work. Having my own business is easier though, because of the flexibility. I try to spend as much quality time with my kids, talking, helping out with homework, reading and practically everything else. However I would say that I am very blessed to have a support system in the place of my husband who is my number one cheerleader.

Let’s talk about the Digital Entertainment Conference that you’re organizing in conjunction with Business Day, what’s the story behind that?
About two years ago, we were approached by Business Day to co-organize an entertainment conference. We decided on the Digital theme because Digital has become an intrinsic part of the entertainment culture today. Every content of value is being digitized. As someone in the entertainment industry, it is my dream to see the Nigeria industry go beyond blog releases and Twitter or Instagram hype. For me, it was important to be part of something revolutionary that will push the industry players to take big steps.

You have a wide variety of speakers and moderators – from Lee Kasumba to Adebola Williams, Toke Makinwa and the likes… what exactly do you hope to achieve with this conference?
With this conference, as we compiled the speakers and panelists, our goal was to get practical stories and case studies of people who have an understanding of the digital space and have been able to effectively employ that space in influencing behavior. We are talking everything digital, from social media to music distribution, to sports entertainment, to entertainment law in digital and so much more.

What is the thing that you are most afraid of?
The ease with which complacency can set in: There’s a Marianne Williamson quote that touches the core of me, because I am naturally introverted. “Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Do you have any future plans to go into the entertainment business – as an actress, or musician perhaps?
In my bathroom, yes. Lol! I have done several Oscar winning movies beside Leonardo Di Caprio. Seriously though, I would love to produce movies. I will definitely get to that in the near future.

What drives you? What is the one thing that keeps you going?
Most of all I would say it is the passion I have for the work I do. However, one thing I learnt is that I have to constantly self-motivate. In whatever situation I find myself in, I have to drive myself. There were times rejection motivated me, there were times just seeing opportunity did. For me, it’s also the possibility that something will change for the better just because of my input. Not to forget God at all, because I’m a very spiritual person and I like to believe I communicate with God.

If you weren’t doing PR, what would you be doing?
Hmm. I would probably be an editor as I previously was or a newscaster somewhere like CNN or France 24.

Who are some of your mentors in the industry?
I am very lucky to have worked with Chude Jideonwo of Red Media Africa, what I learnt from him is big dreaming and the power of making and executing plans. There’s also Debola Williams who I have to say is a master in the art of the pitch.

Where do you see yourself and your business in the next 10 years?
Already, we have done some work across Africa, in Ghana, South Africa and Kenya to be precise. In 10 years, the company would be a group of companies in entertainment and media and production across Africa and we do intend to take a piece of the global pie. Once you have achieved a set of goals, dream more.

I like to tell the legend of the WildFlower. Picture a flower in the forest with all the weeds, trees and shrubbery; it still stands out majestic and beautiful. Take the flower out and put it in a garden or vase at home, its beauty will still awe you. That’s the basic story behind the WildFlower brand. Stand out, stand tall, bloom amidst any chaos and at the centre of any calm. Like Hillary Clinton said ‘Bloom where you’re planted’.

Last words for upcoming PR and media entrepreneurs?
Perfect your craft, study, intern, research, learn more, Ask Questions. Never stop learning. The secret really is learning more, wanting to get better than what you know and putting it into action.

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Follow Ifeoma on Twitter and Instagram on @Omawildflower

The Leading Ladies Africa Series is a weekly interview series that focuses on women of African descent, showcases their experiences across all socio-economic sectors, highlights their personal and professional achievements and offers useful advice on how to make life more satisfying for women.

It is an off-shoot of Leading Ladies Africa; an initiative that seeks to effectively mentor and inspire women, with particular emphasis on the African continent.

Do you know any woman of African descent doing phenomenal things? Send an email to lead@leadingladiesafrica.org and we just might feature her.