About

Background

First degree training in foreign languages, FSL, early childhood education policy, education policy, and higher education policy.

MBA in Entrepreneurship and Advanced Corporate-Level Strategy from the Quantic School of Business and Technology.

M.A. in Communication from Clemson University.

9 years of consummate experience in journalism, PR, marketing, branding, and communications, spanning both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors.

Co-Founder and Chief Strategist, Ije Africa.

 

Who Am  I?

I am Theophilus Femi Alawonde. I started my career working with early-stage startups across PR, content, and marketing functions. On the other hand, I found the utmost satisfaction working with nonprofit organizations on an intermittent basis. Working within both sectors soon made me realize a deep-seated conundrum faced by nonprofit organizations: the inability to scale their organization’s visibility, occasioned by different factors.

I noticed that branding was not standardized among nonprofit organizations. Marketing was more output-based than strategic. There was the classic institutional brand tone and voice that further constrained organizations’ reach, especially on mediated platforms like social media.

These interconnected factors have formed the foundation of my work so far. My mission is to serve mission-driven organizations, including nonprofit and civil society organizations, social enterprises and startups, nonpartisan think tanks, and trusts. My goal is to implement a ready framework that mitigates the visibility disadvantages that these organizations face and amplifies their impact and message.

Select Work.

OLLI at Clemson (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute)

Brand and Marketing Communications

  • Developed a sub-brand identity system for OLLI at Clemson University to unify fragmented marketing communications and support enrollment goals.
  • Delivered full brand identity documentation covering brand foundations, verbal identity, visual identity, and messaging architecture.
  • Developed a brand strategy to activate the brand as an organizational asset, aligned with the organization’s broader goals, and grounded in the brand identity.
  • Created an action plan to cascade the brand strategy for operational effectiveness.
  • Re-branded and re-designed the OLLI at Clemson website, creating a new website architecture, adding website features aligned with the brand, adding brand-consistent elements, and auditing technical SEO to rank the website at 98% website health.
  • Handled social media marketing, email marketing, and local SEO, increasing Instagram reach by over 1,000%.

Comic Con Ibadan

Media, Publicity, and Public Relations

  • Marketing strategy and communications for one of Nigeria’s leading pop culture events.
  • Brand positioning, audience development, and event promotion across digital channels.
  • Developed the brand identity and ran the Why Ibadan campaign to shape the brand image.
  • Ran personalized WhatsApp messaging to keep prospects engaged and activate a network diffusion strategy for publicity. Included billboard marketing and social media advertising to create brand awareness.
  • Adopted a media insert tactic that led to information diffusion and ripple-effect earned media.
  • Successfully attracted over 1,000 attendees for the maiden event, well above the 500-attendee expectation.

DABA (Crypto/Fintech)

Email Marketer & Copywriter/Lifecycle Strategy & Message Architecture

  • Lifecycle and message architecture contributing to N100M ARR. Webinar registrations grew from 432 to 3,211 — a 734% increase — with approximately 1,000 live attendees. Event email campaigns averaged 58.2% open rates and 47.7% click rates.
Full Work Record