Greg
Odutayo has grown to become a notable force in radio production, event
management and television production across Africa. Greg’s first
television content was a cooking programme, ‘Global Cuisine’ and after
that came the phenomenal comedy series, ‘House A-Part’. Others include
Tides of Fate, Edge of Paradise and Doctors Quarters. In this interview
with Tosin Clegg, he talks about his new radio station, television production, and other things
About Greg Odutayo
I’m
the Managing Director of Royal Roots, owners of Royal Roots Television
(R2TV) and R2 92.9FM Ibadan. We are named Royal because we want to do
things differently, in a unique way. Also, we are firm believers in God
as part of your direction. And we believe that God is the root of the
company and He is Royalty. It’s abstract, so to say.
Royal Roots Starting Point
That’s
21 years ago. Yes, we actually started radio production before we went
into television production, and we later started events management, but
our strong niche is in television production and our roots are in radio.
Setting up a new radio channel is going back to our roots, because we
are firm believers in radio and we love it. Radio made the first money
for Royal roots. So it’s not strange we are into it. I like radio and I
have fulfillment in it. On radio, there is more connection with your
audience. Our aim is to establish media platform that are collaborative
and work with synergy with one another.
Chosing Ibadan
The
technical reason is that there are no more frequencies in Lagos, and I
also say, why not Ibadan? Ibadan has the second largest number of radio
stations after Lagos, much more than Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano,
which are major cities. So, there is something in Ibadan. It’s
cosmopolitan, a second Lagos and calmer. So, in its own way it’s safer
and, for me, it’s a growing hub and I believe there is a catchment for
us.
On Impulsive Radio
Between
Oyo and Osun, there is a large catchment of students who are also
within the targets we are after, and when we got to Ibadan we discovered
it desired more. If you look at the radio stations in Lagos, everyone
is probably doing the same thing and it’s the same here in Ibadan too;
so it was easy for us to pitch our tent. That’s why it was easy for us
to get the kind of reactions we were getting. In Ibadan, almost all the
stations are speaking Yoruba so the students are cut off, except from a
few. And they aren’t providing as much entertainment and they abandon
the radio. But we brought excitement back to radio and our strength is
in content.
We are not doing impulsive radio
Everything
we do on radio is planned, and part of the problem I have with radio is
that a presenter is coming to work from home and someone splashes water
on him and he goes on radio and ask have you’ve had the embarrassing
moment he had that day and then goes ahead to share their experience. We
don’t want that, we have show-preps and all our presenters most submit
it a day before, and it says in details what they will do on air within
their bandwidth.
Their works are researched for proper delivery.
The
reality is that we provide more information; like if you are playing
Beyonce, we give you information about her and not just give you the
music.
On Ibadan Youths
We
want to entertain, excite and give that added knowledge and information
people want, because they come to us in the language they easily relate
to. But Yoruba isn’t the basic language and we don’t have a Yoruba
programme. The audience we are talking to wants to feel what we are
doing as they are aspirational. So, they want to aspire; university
students are very inquisitive. We allow the youths to speak for
themselves and that’s what is different about us. I make bold to say you
can’t find this on radio or TV apart from ours. So, we have carved our
niche and we want to stay that way. We are also attractive to people 35
years and above. Our social media is also integrated with our radio and
TV; that’s where the youths are, as they are constantly on their phones.
Our Challenges
When
I say this, I mean power. To run a television and radio for 24 hours
you need power. For our TV, we have four generators and for radio we
have two generators and in both places, we have dedicated transformers.
So, power is an issue for us, especially when it comes to funding the
operations every month; it is a lot of money. We still believe we can
make it work and we won’t run away from Nigeria and with God helping us
we would prevail.
Manpower also is a challenge
You
would be amazed that there are many people out there looking for
opportunities but most of them that passed through our educational
system are not employable. However, we haven’t turned anyone down or
back but we have tried to build their talents and work on them. All of
the people we have hired (young people) have little or no experience. We
have situations where we want to employ people from other places and
they find it hard to work within our frame.
You
would be surprised they can’t write something as little as a report.
But we have been able to train our people. For example, most of them
found the show-preps strange, but now they are enjoying it, because it
shows preparation.
Looking for youthfulness
We
expect to see youthfulness, energy and the right attitude in our
presenters. There are a lot of youths out there and we have been able to
capture a few.
The
industry we are in is an extremely dynamic one. For example, if someone
ever told you that very few people would be reading newspapers today
would you have believed? But the number today is going down. Ours is an
industry such that you buy a camera three months ago and before you know
it’s obsolete. If you ask me to project five years, then that will be
too far, but we want to be a media giant and a force to reckon with in
terms of radio and television, in the proper way. There is a lot wrong
with broadcast today but we have tried to do things differently so we
can make a difference and we are also socially responsible, as it’s
important.
About Nigerian Media
We
are not responsible enough, as we rather project the negatives in our
country rather than the good or positive. I have had to facilitate a
shoot for a foreign client and when we were done, they asked to see
Nigeria and I took them to my Nigeria. They said they didn’t want to see
that but wanted to see the slums and I said I was sorry I can’t show
them that. Every country has its own slums but we don’t see it and I
said I was sorry I couldn’t take them there, but are we all socially
responsible for our country?
Celebrate ‘The Now’ With Moët Nectar Impérial
This
new lifestyle campaign of Moët Nectar Impérial is generating interest.
It shows that unforgettable moment, that memorable dance, that feeling
of success and glamour and that toast that bring everyone together.
It
allows the viewer to live these unforgettable memories that the
characters are living, in a vibrant and bold celebration as only Moët
& Chandon knows how to create.
“Life is happening right now, all around us.
The
Now is about seizing these moments, as we know that every second is an
experience, a #moetmoment to live NOW, and we wanted our new Moët Nectar
Impérial lifestyle campaign to reflect perfectly this bold journey,”
said Arnaud de Saignes, International Director of Marketing and
Communications for Moët & Chandon.
He added: “Moët Nectar Impérial is spontaneous, bold and vibrant, and for all the life enthusiasts around the world.
More
than ever, Moët & Chandon rules the night and the new Moët Nectar
Impérial lifestyle campaign is a perfect illustration, thanks to the
Italian photographer Giampaolo Sgura, who is one of the most talented
photographers of his generation and a true reference in the fashion
industry.”
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