Olukemi Ogungbemi has been many things—reporter, strategist, ad executive, mentor—but above all, she’s been consistent. For over two decades, she’s helped shape the direction of Nigeria’s media industry, moving between journalism and advertising without losing her footing. As Head of Advertising at Punch Newspapers, Nigeria’s most-read daily, her work sits at the crossroads of storytelling and revenue. And in an industry moving fast toward digital and AI-led systems, she’s stayed ahead by leading change from the inside.
In this interview, Olukemi talks about her beginnings, her approach to leadership, and why Nigerian media more than survival stories, needs strategy, reinvention, and a willingness to take the hard decisions.
What first pulled you into journalism—and what kept you there? (story is a mix of figments of my imagination as well as details from the profile)
I grew up in Lagos, where grabbing the morning paper before my dad noticed felt like stealing something powerful. One headline could light up our breakfast table with debate. Those experiences stuck with me beyond my teenage years, and eventually pulled me into the field, and by the mid-90s, I was already writing for Concord Newspapers, banging out stories on a noisy typewriter in a newsroom that never quite stood still. One of my first big pieces was a supplement on Thunderbolt, Tunde Kelani’s film that stirred conversations far beyond cinema.I also led a special report celebrating the Olukare of Ikare’s 20 years on the throne, pulling in advertisers who saw the cultural weight of that milestone.
All these experiences early in my career demonstrated to me that journalism is rather powerful; telling stories and elevating narratives that matter. However, it didn’t take long to realize that good journalism doesn’t sustain itself on passion alone. You need a business model to fund it. And this is where advertising came in. Advertising, for me, wasn’t just about display space. It was about power; about what got seen, who got heard, and how stories moved through the world. At Punch, that understanding came full circle. I got to craft campaigns for brands like GTBank and MTN, and what made it exciting was the challenge of turning briefs into stories that moved people. In essence, almost from the very beginning, whether in print or on a screen, I’ve always been drawn to the space where strategy meets storytelling.
What’s the hardest part of staying relevant in Nigerian media?
Working in Nigerian media is like being in third mainland traffic with no siren. You can’t guess your way through it. You need grit, a good read of the road, and a backup plan for when things don’t go as expected.
When COVID crashed into 2020, ad revenues dried up across the board. A lot of teams froze. We didn’t. In our Victoria Island office—most times over unstable Zoom calls—we started putting together hybrid campaigns. Some were branded stories. Some pulled in influencers. Others blended radio, print, and digital into a single arc. It was real hard work, if I’m being honest. It wasn’t magic. I’ve stayed ahead by refusing to coast. Even now, I’m still up some nights tweaking Google Ads, studying metrics, running mock campaigns with my team. I don’t believe in outsourcing curiosity. If you want to lead in this space, you need to get your hands in the work and your head in the details. I don’t believe in sitting still, and the truth is, this industry punishes people who do.
How do advertising and journalism shape Nigeria’s economy?
They move the country in different ways, but always together. Journalism builds trust. Advertising rides that trust to direct attention and action. That’s how people decide what to buy, who to follow, where to invest.
At Punch, I’ve seen this happen in real time. During the 2022 fuel subsidy protests, when everything felt uncertain, we ran a campaign with fintech firms like OPay that used editorial coverage and targeted ads to steer users toward mobile payments (please replace example if you have one more adequate or direct). It kept small businesses running when fuel queues blocked cities. We later tracked a 30% spike in digital transactions tied to that campaign window.
You also start to notice what’s coming before the data makes it official. Back in 2021, we saw a wave of agritech companies running ads long before anyone listed them on the national growth radar. That’s the role we play. We don’t just reflect where the economy is, rather we help point to where it’s heading. For many small businesses, placing an ad with Punch is probably their first shot at credibility. And that matters. A lot.
Where does AI fit into all this?
Right now, AI is shaving off the time-wasters. A reporter doesn’t need to spend half a day transcribing an interview. I can name several tools on one hand that can accomplish the same task in a fraction of the time. I tell my colleagues everytime that Ai is not here to replace Nigerian media; it is here to relieve it. Those who refuse to adapt to, and adopt the new skills and practices that AI has to offer would be left behind. In our newsrooms, AI can help `auto-tag content, which speeds up the upload process. These are small gains, but they matter.
On the advertising side, the impact is even sharper. We’ve used AI to fine-tune targeting for national campaigns—like zeroing in on young mums in Abuja for a childcare brand with a level of accuracy that even surprised the client. And we’ve had campaigns rerouted early based on AI forecasts that predicted weak performance. That kind of insight saves brands from wasting money and time.
You wrote a paper, AI Won’t Replace Us—But Leaders Who Use It Will. What was the main message?
Honestly? Frustration. I’ve sat in strategy sessions with top media execs, and the moment AI came up, the mood would change. People I respected would get defensive, worried, or outright dismissive. And yet, younger members of my team were already using generative tools to write cleaner copy, test campaign ideas, and respond to client briefs faster and smarter than before.
See, with AI there really is nothing to fear. Or, to put it better, what we should fear is not the technology in itself, but its impact. In the words of Neil Postman, “technological change is not additive; it is ecological”. In essence, AI is not here to supplement the way we work, but to change it entirely. The same way the internet and the smartphone have done; new habits, new audiences, new skills, etc. We, in the industry, need to face these facts or be left behind. So the paper was my response to this dilemma. Not to hype up AI, but to ground the conversation. I laid out steps that media houses in Nigeria could actually take: internal audits, hybrid roles that combine human instinct with digital skill, and newsroom cultures that reward experimentation instead of punishing it.
Nigeria doesn’t need to import Silicon Valley’s script. We need a framework that fits our rhythm, our constraints, and our strengths. That paper is my way of saying: don’t wait to be disrupted. Step forward and lead the change.
What’s been your experience leading as a woman in media?
It’s like dancing in heels on uneven ground. You move with purpose, but you feel every bump. I’ve led campaigns that boosted conversions and raised millions for clients, helped Punch grow its audience in leaps and bounds and still found myself needing to repeat a point twice to get the same level of attention in some rooms.
But I’ve also learned to turn those moments into leverage. Being a woman in this space sharpens your instincts. You learn to read tension. You sense when a deal is ready to close and when it needs another conversation. To the young women coming up: don’t wait for a title before you start acting like a leader. Learn the core of this work. Understand how budgets move. Know how to read campaign metrics. Watch how a strong story becomes a strong brand. And build habits that speak louder than your job description.
I tell my mentees: be so competent it becomes awkward to exclude you. And when the time comes, don’t whisper your value. Stand in it. Shake the table if you must. But do it with clarity, not noise.
What trends should Nigerian media be paying attention to?
Personalization is one. We’re moving from generic headlines and one-size-fits-all campaigns to content that reacts to user behavior. That shift opens up new space for creativity, but it also demands more precision.
I’m also excited about editorial AI. Let me be clear; when I say “AI”, I don’t mean just tools that write stories for you, but rather, systems that verify facts, suggest sources, flag potential bias. I’d be honest, I’m not exactly sure how these would be shaped or formed, but I know they are going to be disruptive.
What’s next on your radar?
We’re setting up a pan-African leadership lab—starting in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya—for media professionals who want to lead through this AI transition, not be overwhelmed by it. The idea is to build real leadership capacity: people who can rethink newsroom structures, campaign models, and audience engagement in light of what’s coming.
At Punch, we’re also rebuilding our campaign model. Editorial and ad teams are now working in tighter, data-driven pods. Everything is tracked in real-time, and decisions are faster. It’s a way of institutionalizing the experimentation we’ve already been doing.
And beyond that, I’m mentoring women-led startups that are telling underreported stories on climate, health, education. They may not be mainstream yet, but they will be. And they’ll need media platforms ready to support them with clarity, speed, and strategy.
