How Ayodotun Akinfenwa is equipping the next generation of marketing experts, global entrepreneurs

Ayodotun Akinfenwa is a Nigerian brand strategist, marketing consultant and the founder of Lifestyle Hues Brand Consulting. With over 18 years experience in brand strategy, communications and marketing, she has played a pivotal role in empowering thousands of entrepreneurs and creatives and is widely recognized for her expertise in brand storytelling and her impactful training sessions. Recently announcing a strategic partnership with Adobe Express, this collaboration positions her as a global influencer and ambassador for the brand, with a focus on equipping entrepreneurs and small businesses—particularly across Africa—with the tools to build compelling visual content.
 
Tell us a bit about your partnership with Adobe Express; What does this mean for you and Nigerian users?

Yes, that’s true! Although my engagement with Adobe has been on since the beginning of the year, this partnership signifies a powerful global step forward for Nigerian creators and entrepreneurs. It brings Adobe’s top-tier design tools and AI-powered features closer to the regular user, allowing them create, customise, and launch products seamlessly. With access to professional templates, fonts, and images, even those without design experience can build high-quality content and brands. This isn’t just tech integration, it’s about democratizing creativity, fueling local innovation and helping Nigerians thrive in the global digital economy. Personally and professionally, this expands my work and vision to empower business owners and leaders to build their brands sustainably by leveraging low-cost, easy-to-use tools.

As a renowned brand strategist and marketing consultant, how do you think the Adobe Express tool would help professionals, brands, and content creators?

I see Adobe Express as a powerful accelerator for organisations and their staff, irrespective of status or budget. It levels the playing field by offering intuitive, high-impact design capabilities, without the steep learning curve of traditional software. For marketing and communications professionals, it means faster turnarounds on brand assets and campaign visuals, keeping pace with today’s always-on marketing landscape. They can bring their ideas to life quickly and beautifully, keeping content fresh, on-brand, and engaging. For large teams and organisations, Adobe Express offers streamlined brand control, enterprise-level security, and a connected content design ecosystem. Adobe Express integrates beautifully with Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, etc, giving teams the flexibility to jump between basic design and pro-level editing.

What does this partnership entail? Can you tell us?

This Partnership aligns with my mission to equip young marketing professionals and non-marketing professionals with the tools needed to build compelling visual content and elevate their brand storytelling. I started as an Adobe Express Partner/influencer, but I was later invited to be an Ambassador, which is a more long-term and strategic collaboration aimed at presenting the Adobe Express solution to entrepreneurs and small businesses across Nigeria and globally. It leverages my extensive experience working with small and medium businesses in brand strategy and marketing. Like my partnership with Canva, this has further plugged me into a global community of creators, offered me the unique privilege to give direct product feedback to the Adobe team, and to contribute to the development of such a powerful offer and the industry at large. I offer social media tutorials, live and recorded YouTube resources, as well as branding insights designed to help users maximise Adobe Express.

What are you hoping to achieve with this remarkable partnership?

I’m hoping to expand my impact and influence with this. A lot of aspirations and dreams find fulfilment when brands are born, and this collaboration offers me the opportunity to serve the industry better.
 
You were a Canva ambassador, will you be tying this new partnership with that as well, or are they separate?

While I can no longer hold the esteemed title of Canva Verified Expert due to my collaboration with Adobe Express, I remain a member of the Canva Community—as a Canvassador (community leader and educator). As a Brand Marketing and Communications Expert, Trainer, and Consultant, I see this as a broadening of my horizon. Whether it’s Canva, Adobe or any other global brand, the mission remains unchanged: empowering others to build and elevate their brands. I continue to receive team and group training requests for Canva regularly, and I’m always delighted to oblige because at the heart of it all, it’s not about the tool, it’s about the transformation.

A lot of people in business these days are unsure of what role branding plays in entrepreneurship success. What do you say to this?

Your brand is your identity, it’s the heartbeat of who you are. It’s what makes you tick as a business, a creator, or an organization. Branding is what sets you apart in a crowded world. It’s how people recognise you, connect with and choose you. That differentiation? It’s powerful. It determines whether your customers, stakeholders and collaborators do business with you or not. The more people, clients, customers, vendors, even top talent, want to engage with you and what you do, the greater the equity of your brand. And that brand equity? It drives real, measurable impact on your bottom line. It’s the reason why the most notable global brands such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, etc, are worth billions of dollars.

You recently published a book, tell us a bit about that?

My book, Fire Up Your Brand, is a practical guide designed to help young marketing professionals, creatives and entrepreneurs build impactful brands through strategic planning, intentional storytelling, and pragmatic executions. Launched in late 2024, my book emphasises that branding extends beyond logos and aesthetics; it’s about creating a movement that resonates with audiences, driving lasting impact. I took a very conversational approach to draw in the reader and help them connect the dots between the different aspects of Brand building and their business goals. It has three core parts: Brand Building, Communications and Content Strategy and Development.

How would you say it was received, especially by entrepreneurs?

My book was well received. To buttress this, a reader said, and I quote: “Fire Up Your Brand by Ayodotun Akinfenwa is a game-changer. It is packed with clear, practical advice that makes branding feel less overwhelming and more exciting. The real-world examples and straightforward tips will provide me and my team with the needed strategy to further rethink our brand direction. Her passion and expertise shine through, making this book both inspiring and incredibly useful. This book will seriously “Fire up your brand”. Highly recommend it to anyone serious about building a standout brand, whether personally or company-wide.”
 
What valuable insight would you share with entrepreneurs and content creators looking to turn things around this year?

Brand Clarity is your greatest accelerator. When you’re clear on who you are, who you’re serving, and what transformation you can bring, everything shifts: your messaging sharpens, your content hits differently and your confidence shows up in every room (virtual or otherwise). Don’t just chase visibility, chase alignment. Align your brand story with your purpose, your visuals with your voice, and your content with the kind of community you want to build.

What is next for you? What can we look forward to seeing from you in the near future?

I’m in a season of expansion and deep impact. You can look forward to more high-impact trainings and community meetings, especially around Brand building and management, Marketing, PR and Communications and content strategy, because these are matters today’s entrepreneurs and creators need to stay relevant and rise. As I explore Adobe Express and Canva, I welcome collaboration with other brands to show that great branding is not about the tool, it’s about the story and strategy behind it. And yes… I’m working on companion resources and courses for Fire Up Your Brand to make the book even more actionable for readers to support the brand-building journey from spark to strategy. So stay tuned because I’m just getting started.