DM2 Group founder Uyi Omokaro has officially exited the advertising industry to launch a new career in real estate as an investor.
This closes the curtain on the ad man’s fast rising decade plus unforgettable career.
Omokaro started out with ad giant SOU Saatchi & Saatchi, before breaking out to establish DM2 Group in 2008.
It was considered an impossible decision in the industry at the time, for a young executive to leave the security of paid employment to compete against industry gatekeepers for clients. The visionary, burning with ideas, believed ad campaigns were becoming bland and wanted to bring fresh spark into advertising. He, with his recruited team of young but ambitious creatives, did just that.
On the strength of their out of the world pitches, DM2 Group challenged international agencies and local giants for accounts and won several times.
The young agency, driven by Omokaro’s creative talents and verve, came to be distinguished for its dazzling concepts and market share growing impact for brands.
The catchy interactive space shuttle launch welcoming viewers on DM2’s site exemplifies the ingenious thinking which distinguishes its execution and creative campaigns.
Omokaro and his multi-million dollar agency enjoyed a celebrated 10 year run in advertising creating many award winning campaign ads for a clientele of multinational brands including Coca Cola and Dangote Group. They reached international limelight with ‘The Spark’ – refreshing TV commercials they created as part of Sprite’s first global campaign.
Uyi Omokaro’s exciting career and groundbreaking body of work inspired a new generation of ad creators and compelled contemporaries to improve creative output.
In 2012, the advertising guru became the first to receive the prestigious Nigerian Future Awards Person of the Year in Media and Advertising. This was in recognition of his contribution to the growth of his industry from an award which celebrates Nigeria’s brightest young minds. The World Bank in fact dubbed Nigerian Future Awards “the Nobel prize for young Africans.”
Nowadays, Omokaro spends his time on another expression of his creative juice – writing, directing and producing stage plays for major dance troupes such as Spirit of David. The multi-talented brand executive first discovered his artistic side nearly 20 years ago as an Economics undergraduate at the University of Calabar. Over the years, he has honed his skills directing plays for Spirit of David.
In 2015, he wrote and produced ‘The Butcher and the Bridge’, an electrifying and compelling musical on the power of faith and love in the face of terror. It features the delectable Yinka Davies and Nollywood veteran Kalu Ikeagwu. Till date, the musical is adjudged one of Nigeria’s best theatre productions.
Uyi Omokaro’s entrepreneurial bug has again launched him into real estate which portends great potential. According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, the market has a 17 million housing deficit. Investing in this space definitely has returns for both Mr Omokaro and the country.
