A Landmark Night in Nigerian Experiential Marketing
It was a defining night for Nigeria’s experiential marketing landscape as Watermark & Victoria stole the spotlight at the 2025 Experiential Marketers Association of Nigeria (EXMAN) Awards. Held at the Balmoral Convention Centre in Lagos on Friday, July 18, the event — themed “Building Bridges, Strengthening Bonds” — gathered the industry’s best and brightest. Yet among over 100 competitive entries, one agency stood apart.
Watermark & Victoria took home an astonishing nine awards, including the prestigious Grand Prix, the highest honour of the night. Their trailblazing work on campaigns for brands like Jameson, Martell, Nivea, and NBC earned accolades in multiple categories:
- Best Consumer Activation
- Best B2B Event
- Best Trade Activation
- Best Use of Technology
This clean sweep did more than affirm the agency’s creative prowess — it signalled a shift in the experiential space, one driven by cultural insight, innovation, and narrative power.
Purposeful Storytelling Over Performative Metrics
While many agencies remain anchored in campaign metrics and performance dashboards, Watermark & Victoria takes a different path — one rooted in purposeful storytelling and cultural immersion. For CEO Victoria Adewunmi, the wins are not just a celebration of creative excellence but a validation of the agency’s bold strategy.
“These awards affirm our belief that purposeful storytelling can foster meaningful, lasting connections between brands and their audiences,” she stated.
“We are dedicated to working closely with our clients to transform cultural insights into bold concepts that reflect each brand’s unique story.”
The agency views campaigns not merely as tactical touchpoints, but as platforms to embed brands into culture, turning brand experiences into shared, resonant moments that consumers carry with them — emotionally and behaviorally.
Victoria Adewunmi, CEO of Watermark & Victoria
Building Brands Through Cultural Moments
From street-level activations to high-impact B2B events, Watermark & Victoria crafts marketing experiences as cultural expressions. Their work moves beyond traditional formats, blending technology, experience design, and narrative thinking to build campaigns that speak directly to the soul of the consumer.
Each activation becomes a cultural moment, designed to reflect the values, identities, and aspirations of the audience it serves. This approach doesn’t just drive engagement; it builds brand affinity, deepens loyalty, and often leaves a longer-lasting mark than conventional strategies.
“At the outset of every project, our mission is clear,” Adewunmi noted.
“We aim to create work that exists within culture — not just within a campaign calendar.”
Redefining the Future of Experiential Marketing
With this latest haul of awards, Watermark & Victoria has cemented its status not just as a top-performing agency but as a transformational force in experiential marketing. Their success signals a growing appetite for campaigns that are not only strategic and tech-savvy but also culturally intelligent and emotionally resonant.
In an age when consumers crave authenticity and deeper meaning in brand interactions, Watermark & Victoria’s philosophy is more than relevant — it is revolutionary.
As global and local brands look to build real connections in an increasingly fragmented landscape, Watermark & Victoria stands ready — not just as an agency, but as a movement reshaping the future of brand experience in Nigeria and beyond.