“Marketing isn’t just promotion, it’s emotion. Getting people into cinemas isn’t plug and play, it’s heart and strategy”. Damorela Olasunkanmi says with quiet certainty. As Digital Marketing Manager, he sits at the intersection of strategy and storytelling, helping films not only reach audiences—but resonate with them. In a landscape where visibility is everything, his job is to ensure that no good film goes unseen, unheard, or misunderstood.
Behind every trailer that trends, every poster that becomes a meme, and every campaign that cuts through the noise, there’s someone like Damorela—crafting the narrative, shaping perception, and building momentum before the first frame even hits the screen. His work exists between hashtags and headlines, but its impact is felt far beyond the feed.
In this conversation, we speak to Damorela about the nuance of marketing Nollywood films to both Nigerian and international audiences, the future of fan engagement, and why what happens online is just as important as what happens on screen.
What drew you to digital marketing—and specifically, why in the film space?
I’ve always seen digital marketing as the art of human influencing disguised as data and algorithms. But what truly pulled me in was the power to tell stories that travel together with word of mouth. After years of working and reporting on various digital campaigns in FCMG, Entertainment and Energy Industry, I realized content, storytelling and strategy go hand in hand, so, I had to venture into film marketing with Nile Entertainment being the perfect fit to master the ropes. There’s nothing quite like watching a story leap off the screen and land directly into someone’s heart and knowing you helped it get there.
When you get a new project, what are the first things you look at before building a digital campaign?
First, I listen, to my takes discuss the story, the stakeholders, and the sentiment, then I watch out for the movie’s screening. While watching, I ask in my mind ‘What is this film really about beneath the genre?’, what are the themes I can generate from this film? Then, I look at the content keenly with the eye of the target audience: not just who they are, but how they live online. From there, I map out where the story and the audience naturally intersect. Content, caption tone, timing, and traction points follow, but it all starts with the screener’s link.
What’s one campaign or film rollout you’ve worked on that you’re especially proud of and why?
There was one Nollywood title that didn’t have the biggest stars or marketing budget, but it was a very good film – Blackout movie. We leaned into organic marketing by hosting a watch party leveraging nano influencers we are friends and pleading with them to post their organic reviews on their platforms, we had 30 of these influencers attend —building a campaign that turned the film’s social themes into conversation starters. In essence, we didn’t just promote the film organically; we sparked a digital movement. Seeing people create their own content in response, hearing “I saw this because someone I follow wouldn’t stop talking about it”.
What do you believe separates a forgettable film campaign from one that goes viral or drives real engagement?
Emotion. Authenticity. Timing. You can have high production value and a great marketing budget and still flop if the audience doesn’t feel anything. Viral campaigns usually tap into a cultural moment, a shared truth, or a tension that’s itching to be released. It’s not about shouting louder; it’s about whispering something so true that it becomes word of mouth.
Nollywood is speaking to more global audiences now—how does that impact the kind of marketing strategies you design?
It changes the lens at which we view our homemade talents and content. We now build campaigns with layered messaging: one that speaks to the local heart and another that travels across borders. I think of them like subtitles and undertones, what’s said and what’s felt. Community engagement, collaborations with diaspora creators and blogs, creating content that resonate with the diasporan audience, running behaviour and interest-based targeted ads, and time zone-aware rollouts now shape my thinking.
What’s something about digital marketing that filmmakers or even industry professionals often misunderstand?
That “going viral” isn’t a strategy, it’s a result of a coordinated campaign implementation. Many filmmakers think of digital as a final sprint before release, but it’s more effective when it’s integrated from the development stage right from the screenwriting. Marketing isn’t just promotion, it’s story expansion. It’s how the world first meets your film before they ever see a frame. It shouldn’t be an afterthought.
You’re also dealing with trends, analytics, and changing platforms. How do you stay sharp and creative when the algorithm is always shifting?
I chase curiosity more than I chase trends. I pay attention to how people behave online especially by building communities to delve into the psyche of cinema goers, not just what’s trending. Platforms and algorithms will always evolve, but human emotion? That’s been consistent for centuries. Also, I treat campaigns like live organisms, I test, adapt, and learn as we go. Creativity lives in knowing that nothing is static for life.
From your perspective, what makes a marketing team and distribution teamwork in sync?
I believe it’s shared vision and early collaboration. When marketing understands the distribution goals from day one and vice versa, the whole campaign execution becomes like music, sweet in the ears.
What excites you most about the future of digital marketing in Nollywood?
Hmmmmnnn, the unwritten chapters. What excites me is that we’re not just following global models, we’re building our own playbooks. For example, Funke Akindele’s Everybody Loves Jenifa film, you’ll easily notice the blend of grassroots community power (Jenifans) with digital sophistication is a uniquely Nigerian advantage. I’m excited there will be more immersive campaigns, data-driven storytelling, and bold, genre-defying narratives that digital will help amplify globally. TBH, we’re just getting started.
This interview is part of Industry Voices — Nollypedia’s spotlight on the minds shaping the art and business of Nigerian cinema.
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