HIP TV, The Headies, Jumia, Pepsi, Etisalat, Intel, Fanta, Ric Hassani, Glo, Coca Cola, MTN…to mention just a few of the household names he has worked with. He is Eshio Joseph, the man behind the brand name Mr Eshio and he is a man with many caps.
Mr Eshio is the founder of 102 Ways, a Digital Strategy Company that helps brands reach their target audience. Recently, he launched an event ticketing platform, ekhie.com which has taken off on an impressive note.
In this edition of My Brand and I, he walked us through his journey so far in the entertainment, media and tech space. Enjoy!
Give us a Quick Peek into your Career Journey
I started as a social media and event manager in 2015 handling accounts for a media house called GistOven. I joined HipTv in 2017 as a Social Media Manager handling the Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts.
At the time, HipTv had about 300k Instagram followers. I committed myself to learn and acquire new digital skills that could help improve digital engagements and growth. All of these I applied to my role which significantly helped boost HipTv’s online presence.
Within a short while, I grew to become head of the department. I and my team came up with strategies and tactics, which we carefully implemented. Among other results, one that is glaring is that HipTv now has over 2.3 million Instagram followers.
I went on to start my own digital strategy company, 102 Ways, in 2018. The company has worked with so many known talents and brands within such a short period of time. As a matter of fact, we have an ongoing campaign for a known Nigerian artiste which is gaining impressive tractions.
Tell us More about 102 Ways
Though written 102 Ways, the right pronunciation is One or Two Ways. As the name implies, it is coming up with strategies that will provide more than a way to solve brands’ challenges in the digital space.
I’m happy to say we’ve done that successfully for several brands including God is Good Motors, The Headies, Afrimma, Pepsi, Baba Ijebu and a host of others.
Tell us More About Your Event Ticketing brand, Ekhie
Ekhie means Market in my local language, Edo. The idea is to create a seamless platfrom where event ticketing can take place.
Ekhie is out to put a stop to printing hard copy tickets because of the various flaws that come with that approach. For instance, hard copy tickets can be duplicated and passed on from one person to another.
How Ekhie works is; whoever wants to attend an event would register on ekhie.com and pay the required fee. Then an e-ticket would be sent to them from a customized email. Those e-tickets have scannable barcodes which cannot be duplicated.
This is what would be presented at the event venue. Once the barcode is scanned, it shows that the person who bought that particular ticket has arrived. No other person can use the ticket or barcode.
So far, this has been working perfectly well for the events organized using ekhie.com. What’s even interesting about Ekhie is that it doesn’t just stop at ticket selling. We have a team of influencers who will help you put words out for your event. We also engage in mobile and email marketing for events.
By the way, Ekhie.com is barely two weeks old and we have over 15,000 contacts already. That’s a clear indication that we are on the right path.
15,000 Contacts in Just Two Weeks is Really Impressive, Kudos to you and your team. Now, What Would You Say are the Challenges You Face Running 102 Ways and Ekhie.com and What Keeps You Going?
Well, I don’t see whatever we are going through right now as challenges, instead, I see it as the necessary sacrifice.
For a brand that is growing, it’s normal that people would be sceptical about working with such brand. When I started 102 Ways, a lot of brands were not sure I could handle projects. So, they would rather just give the small projects which we always made sure we executed perfectly.
So, our success with small projects helped boost their trust in us and they started giving us bigger projects. 102 Ways is now a strong force in the digital space as all the brands we have worked with can now attest to our ability to deliver.
For Ekhie.com, up till yesterday, I was still turned down by the organizer a forthcoming major event. His concern was that it is a new platform and he is not sure he can trust it with such a big project which is totally understandable.
What I know for sure is we would deliver, irrespective of how big the event is. Meanwhile, after some of the events we have organized successfully, we’ve been getting good recommendations which is really good for the business. Nothing beats word of mouth, you know.
I’m sure really soon, these same people that are turning us down now will come back later to work with us. So I don’t really see all of these as challenges, I just see them as the necessary sacrifice to be made. And to be honest, God has been really faithful.
Who is that Nigerian Entrepreneur that Really Inspires You and Why?
I am a self-motivated person because I have mental pictures of where I want to be and I know in a couple of years I will be there.
Having said that, there are a number of people who I can say I love their energy and drive. One of them is my boss, Mr Ayo Animashaun, the CEO of HipTv and organizer of The Headies Awards.
He has taught me that you should go for whatever you want with the moving train mentality – no one can stop you. He has been running all his brands with the same mindset.
I have been privileged to be with him and have conversations about entertainment, business and life generally. That is a huge source of inspiration to me.
If I’m allowed to mention more than one, another person I draw inspiration from is Michael Collins (Don Jazzy). He is a strategist and an intelligent investor who has plans for the next couple of years already. And he is taking on his plans one step at a time. That scheming characteristic is something I’m learning from him.
Another person is Efe O, an international talent manager. He is also a huge source of inspiration to me. There are few others, but these are like the top 3.
How Do You Relax?
Music, Family time, Visit the Beach and Reading.
What are Your Favourite Gadgets?
My PS4 Consoles, Laptop and Phones
Finally, Take a Side
Wizkid, Eshio and Mut4yFavourite Football Club – Barcelona
Wizkid or Davido (Both are amazing talents)
Messi or Ronaldo
Android or IOS
Mac or Windows
MI or Vector (Both are my friends, not taking anyone’s side)