Grab a cup of coffee, get comfortable, and join us for an interesting conversation with Damilola Andrew, a dynamic Senior Associate Business & Brands at SentientXT. As she marks two incredible years with the team, Dami opens up about her journey and shares lessons learned along the way.
So nice having you here. To begin with, who is Dami Drew?
I like that you added Drew because, yeah. Laughs. So, I like to think of myself as someone who is thoughtful to start with. I like to think of myself as someone who is quite articulate, organized, someone who likes clear communication, and that’s where articulation comes in. Like, I have to get my stuff right in my head before I even say it out.
Outside of all of these, which has to do with career and stuff, I also would say that I have an eye for good things. Like, I pride myself in that. I say that a lot. smirks. I have an eye for beautiful things.
That was fascinating. What specific effects would you say has greatly shaped your career up to this point?
That’s an interesting question. I mean, it’s about to be my two-year anniversary in advertising professionally. Before now, my experiences have mainly been in the customer service field. And while I actually like to do customer service, I started to crave more. Not something that I would always do by the books. I wanted something that would make me think, you know!, that would just all around make me leave my comfort zone. And that was how I found myself in this space.
Doing advertising, doing marketing, you’re like on the spot thinking of possible ways to find solutions to brand problems. You’re working with diverse brands in different industries. This is what I want to do, and here I am. So yaaay!
How nice it must feel to take a bold step and feel glad that it’s turned out right.
You can say that again!
And I would! but let’s do a little imagination here. You’re stranded on a desert island with three of your colleagues. Who would you pick and what roles would they play in your survival team?
Jesus Christ! Laughs out loud. Wow. On a desert. Okay, this is quite tricky. pauses briefly. Okay! first thing first, I would pick Lyon. And the reason I would pick Lyon is, I mean, we all know how smart Lyon is. He’s that guy that takes pride in looking for solutions when we’re in a problem or stuck somewhere. So, yeah, I’m going to pick him for that definitely.
Then I would say for the second person; Angela. I mean, we all know how that baby girl is quite a drama queen,but yeah, good drama, laughs. She just lightens up the room, you know. Even though, obviously, we’re thinking of how we want to survive,we would still need someone for that role in this situation while attempting to solve how we can survive. So yeah, I’d sign Angela right up.
Finally, I would also say Promise. I think Promise is quite versatile when it comes to being strategic and critical. He’s smart as well. So, I think these three people, all in all, I would say, are essential for our survival on a desert island.
What about me?
You too, of course!. The more, the merrier, or should I say the more, the higher our chances of survival.
Great. Now to the next question. How would you pitch us, SentientXT in just five words?
Okayyy.This is quite interesting. who set these questions again? Laughs
Well, I would say Young. Bold. Brave. Hmm, I would say Lagos because you know why. And lastly, I would say Creative for sure!
Awesome. Please tell us. What are two rookie mistakes that one must avoid as a brand manager?
I mean I’m still in my learning phase, however, one thing not to do as a brand manager will be making a mistake of not being completely responsible for the brands you are in custody of. Once that brand is in your care, don’t leave out any loose ends. Go beyond just being the relationship manager between the agency that you work for and the client. Ultimately, limiting yourself to just that will not get you far.
Would definitely keep that in mind. And the second one?
Oh the second. I would say that don’t work in isolation, or should I say, make sure that you’re ready to Do Teamwork because if you are that type of person who doesn’t like to work with people, you’re not a good team player. And, you would not go far. As we know, there are usually problems to be solved in this field, so being able to do great work with your team members would readily give you your desired results at a high level of quality output. Like I said again, I’m in that phase where I am learning every day. In fact, learning for me never ends. So I’m sure that in two years from now, I’ll be on a whole different level.
If you write a letter to your future self at SentientXT, what advice or reminders would you like to include in the letter?
I would say “well done for how far you have come”.
I would say “well done for how well you have been able to give yourself grace on the journey of becoming you”.
I would say, keep learning,remember to stay curious, I would also say that “I hope that you’ve been able to tick off those places on your bucket list”.
I would say that “I hope you are living life mehn” I hope you’re giving yourself grace that things would eventually unfold beautifully. So yeah.
That’s it from us. Thank you very much for being a demure guest
Chuckles. Thank you too for the interesting questions.
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