The 2025 Global WiM Awards shortlist has been announced, celebrating women who continue to inspire through their creativity, leadership, and impact. This year’s theme — The Year of Age — invites us to reflect on experience, wisdom, and the power of evolution, recognising how age, in all its forms, shapes perspective, innovation, and influence. Across Africa, this year’s shortlisted women are redefining what it means to grow, adapt, and thrive in our industry. As we count down to the Awards Ceremony, we honour their journeys and the enduring mark they are making on marketing, communications, and the wider creative economy.
We spoke with Esosa Osagiede - Group Creative Director at Insight Publicis in Nigeria.
WiM Africa: This year’s awards theme is The Year of Age - WiM is using 2025 to shine a spotlight on longevity in marketing careers — especially for women. In an industry obsessed with the new and now, WiM is championing the wisdom and strength that come with age, and the importance of supporting women at every life stage. How does this resonate with you and your work?
EO: This theme speaks to my soul. I’ve spent nearly two decades in this industry, across multiple agencies, and one thing I’ve learned is, while marketing loves what’s new, fast, young, and shiny, it also loves roots… the kind of depth, intuition, and cultural intelligence that only time and lived experience can give.
My career has had chapters. In the early years, it was all passion, late nights, and “yes, we can deliver by tomorrow” energy (who am I kidding, it still is). Midway, I found my voice, my leadership lane, and the confidence to say, “This brief needs work.” Now, I understand the beauty of longevity, the calm, the instinct, the wisdom you can’t Google or rush.
In Nigeria, female leadership in advertising remains under 0.1%. Wild, right?
We build campaigns for millions of women, yet barely have women at the top shaping those decisions. So, when women stay, evolve, and rise in this industry, it’s not just about career growth; it’s about system disruption.
The Year of Age matters because women aren’t just aging in marketing; we’re gathering power. We bring resilience, emotional intelligence, and creativity grounded in life, not just trends. Younger women need to see that there is a fulfilling path beyond 30, 35, 40, and beyond, not a cliff.
Because the best, most culturally resonant work doesn’t only come from fresh ideas, it comes from women who have lived, learned, led, stumbled, risen, and refined their craft long enough to create work that truly moves people.
WiM Africa: Marketing can have such a powerful social impact. How do you see your work contributing to larger societal change?
EO: Marketing in Nigeria isn’t just about selling; it shapes how we see ourselves, our culture, and our possibilities. For me, the work has to do more than win awards or drive sales; it must shift mindsets.
Over the years, I’ve been intentional about telling stories that reflect who we truly are, our joy, resilience, humor, creativity, and humanity. Whether it’s championing more diverse representation, spotlighting local talent, celebrating our fashion and music, or simply showing everyday Nigerians with dignity, my work aims to remind us that our culture is valuable and exportable.
I’ve seen how a campaign can change behavior, open doors for women, create jobs for young creatives, influence policy conversations, or even rekindle national pride. And in a country where people often feel unseen or unheard, marketing can give voice, especially to women, youth, and communities that are usually left out of the narrative.
My goal is simple: to use creativity as a force for good. To tell stories that don’t just entertain, but elevate. Stories that shift stereotypes, create opportunity, spark unity, and move us a little closer to the Nigeria we all want to live in. If my work helps even one young Nigerian see a bigger version of themselves, then I’m doing my job.
WiM Africa: In what ways has your background or heritage influenced your approach to marketing and leadership?
EO: My background has shaped everything about how I lead and create. I was raised by a strong Nigerian mother who was widowed very early and had to raise three children on her own. Watching her navigate life with grace, grit, humor, and faith taught me one of my earliest leadership lessons: strength doesn’t have to be loud to be powerful. It also taught me resilience, the kind that makes you show up, even when life doesn’t hand you a script.
In Nigeria, education encompasses both formal and informal settings. It is what you learn in a classroom and what the community teaches you. The latter being the stronger. Growing up, community, storytelling, and culture were part of my everyday education. In a Nigerian home, you learn to greet well, carry others along, respect people at every level, and never lose your sense of identity. Those values built the foundation of how I lead, with empathy, inclusion, collaboration, and a deep commitment to lifting others as I rise. I don’t believe in the “lone genius” myth; I believe in collective brilliance, the kind that grows when people feel seen, safe, and valued.
From a marketing perspective, my heritage pushes me to tell stories rooted in authenticity, not borrowed narratives. Its why cultural truth is central to my work. I champion ideas that reflect who we are as Africans, our humor, our rhythm, our language, our fashion, our shared spirit, without diluting any of it for global acceptance. We can be world-class and take pride in ourselves.
So yes, my heritage and the woman who raised me are my biggest superpowers. They shaped my lens, my leadership, and my belief that our stories, told in our voice, deserve the global stage.
Check out all the 2025 Global WiM Awards Shortlisted nominees.