Mixing Things Up

The atmosphere was positively charged with a rather pleasant cacophony of loud voices greeting, laughing, ordering delicious cocktails made by BEST Nigeria and revelling in some great vibes.

Guests enjoyed mouth-watering finger foods prepared by Smokehouse, tasty, frosted peanuts by Mr Ekpa and later, were soothed into a spectacular emotional space through a live performance by Nigerian indie afro-soul artist, Mich Straaw, along with supporting acts, Honey and Big Foot.

The RADP team created ThirdThursdays as a way to foster deeper relationships with key clients, spread awareness of the RADP brand, create spaces for different brands to collaborate on projects together and essentially, spearhead a kind of community for those in digital marketing, content and all areas of creative production and consumption.

This first edition was attended by some major figures in the industry: Tunji Andrews; lead economist at Time, Trade and Commodities (TTAC), Roland Ebelt; Managing Director of Lacasera, Lanrewaju Ladipo; COO & Co-Founder of Mr. Ekpa, Archie Sadza; Director Erarah Business Enterprises,Solomon Nnanna; Director Sahara Jet, Kevin Johnson-Azuara; Corporate Communication Manager Axxela and many others.

Of course, ThirdThursdays would not be complete without the attendance of our very own Mark Slade; Managing Director, Operations and Overhead - RADP, Zubby Emodi; Creative Director of Operations - RADP, Elizabeth Oputa; Director of Accounts - RADP, Osagie Alonge; Editor-in-Chief - RADP/Pulse Africa and Aniekan Etuhube; Managing Director and Head of Video RADP/Pulse Nigeria.

Prior to December 2017, Ringier Digital Marketing and Pulse Africa were separate entities, often collaborating on projects and working side by side to create amazing digital content for both marketing and pure consumption. However, by mid-December last year, things changed as RDM and Pulse became one body, merging to provide top-notch creativity to achieve digital-first marketing solutions as well as, world-class entertainment. Thus, birthing RADP, a force ready to fully take on the responsibility of becoming Africa's complete digital partner.

Consequently, our first edition of ThirdThursdays was the perfect way to celebrate and present Ringier Africa Digital Publishing to key clients, prospective clients, influencers and the like.

To mark and celebrate this wind of change, throwback music from the late 90s and early 2000s filled the air. Bodies moved with ease and lips effortlessly synced the lyrics of timeless classics. Guests rocked to bangin' music, shouting often, "my jam!" "Wow! this is my song!" "chuneeeeee!" and one could see a beautiful syndication of souls remembering epic moments of their lives, some marked by deep changes and others reflected in the music that enveloped us all. This first edition was one that conveyed a strong message of change, that while thankful for the past, the RADP team is incredibly hopeful and ready for what is to come.

As the party continued late into the night, the vibe took a gentle and emotional turn when the performing artist, Mich Straaw, took the stage. Along with him were two supporting acts, Honey and BigFoot and the magic they created together through sound made it quite impossible to believe that they had all just met for the first time. It was a sight to behold, and a performance to be watched and re-lived all over again.

While Mich crooned some of his most touching, love-inspiring songs like "Come again", "Ready," and "Guile," drawing each and every single spectator in, Honey played melodiously on the strings and BigFoot brought the harmony together with his cool, electric keyboard and some magical device that played with the textures of his voice. It was a marriage of gorgeous symphonies.

The spectators were all drawn into this charming musical performance. At one point, Honey, the guitarist, freestyled his way into flirting with one of the guests and it was an absolute pleasure to watch the hilarity that ensued in this warm, intimate space.

One thing was clear by the end of the night, Mich is a brilliant lyricist, and his light, raspy, beautiful voice resonates deeply with you. Together with the lighting and space that complimented this phenomenal performance, it was the best part of this sublime evening.

It could have been the fact that the event was held on the rooftop balcony of the RADP HQ office. It could have been the excellent throwback music filling the air by way of DJ Venum's spinning. It could have been the amazing ambiance created by the globe lights provided to us by Murphy Udeh of Colored Events. It could have been the cool breeze that swayed joyfully around us, the heart-warming music and rapport between audience and artists during the live performances, the great drinks that induced ease after a hard day's work. Whatever the reason, guests had an unforgettable time at the first edition of RADP's ThirdThursdays. ThirdThursdays is definitely a vibe and a half and we're here for it. We can't wait for the next one!