We are all familiar with the popular saying that goes, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," by Lao Tzu. I only truly understood this saying when we took a trip to Ibadan on July 15th, 2024. My name is Amanda Nwankwo, and I am a Marketing Executive at Terminal Africa. Terminal Africa is a logistics software company that makes it easy for anyone to ship from Nigeria to any location in the world.
Our Journey to Ibadan
Our goal when we travelled to Ibadan was to make shipping easier for individuals and businesses. When I was chosen to be part of the team representing Terminal in Ibadan, I remember thinking to myself, ‘What is Ibadan like? I've never been there, and I hope it will be a pleasant experience.' My immediate response was, 'Yes, I would love to go on this trip.’
We began preparing for our trip to Ibadan months ahead of our departure. From brainstorming sessions to planning, designing marketing materials, writing radio jingles, and more, the entire team was involved. You know how they say, "It takes a village to raise a child"? Well, for us, the whole Terminal team was the village, and our expansion to Ibadan was the child.
What’s the Ibadan Experience Like?
If you are reading this and you are either from Ibadan or live in Ibadan, pause and give yourself a round of applause because your city is very organized. That was the first thing that struck me: the roads are properly tarred, no traffic (Lagos, I love you, but Ibadan has this one).
The second thing that got me really excited was how incredibly warm and welcoming the people were. It was something completely new to me, and my colleagues felt the same way. Whenever we went to people's stores, they greeted us with big smiles and were genuinely eager to hear what we had to say.
On our first day in Ibadan, we went to check out the markets to find out where our target audience was and to reach them directly. We also had to visit the Babaloja and the chairman of Gbagi market, and they were so kind and receptive towards us. The weather, however, was quite the opposite. It started to rain heavily when we were out trying to find the best spots to organize our roadshow, but in true Terminator fashion, we didn’t back down because of the rain. We walked and ran under the rain because we were people on a mission. Refer to the pictorial evidence below.
We had a media round with Splash FM 105.5, and it was a good time. I didn’t realize that we had OAPs on our team because our guys, Genny and Damola, nailed it.
Our Roadshow Experience
There was a slogan that we had for this campaign, and it was Ìbàdàn Kí ni Sóò, which translates to "Ibadan, what’s up?" It is a thing in Ibadan: when you say Ìbàdàn Kí ni Sóò, they respond with “So sure ni,” which means “It’s sure.” That’s mostly what we said when we were in the city.
This really helped with our roadshow because the back of our shirts had Ìbàdàn Kí ni Sóò printed on them. Wherever we went, people would read out what we had on our shirts, and we would respond to them saying, “So sure ni,” and it was an easy conversation starter.
Our roadshow reached every area of Gbagi market. We played music, we danced, we connected with the people, we shared our flyers, and most importantly, we onboarded new T-Hub partners. Special shoutout to the people of Gbagi market; they made our roadshows the most amazing experience. They cheered us up, showed up for us, and received us with warm hugs. We couldn’t have asked for anything better.
How Does Our Expansion to Ibadan Benefit You?
If you are based in Ibadan, you can now ship internationally from your doorstep. You don’t have to send the items to Lagos first. Our courier partners will come pick them up directly from your doorstep, or you can drop them off at our T-Hub station located at the third gate, Gbagi Market, Ibadan.
On this trip, we also visited a couple of our partners—FedEx, UPS, and DHL—to discuss how to make shipping even more seamless for you. Now, whenever you book with Terminal, you get a smoother experience, from faster pick-ups to more convenient drop-offs. Aren't we the best?
In addition, you will now have access to faster resolutions for any shipping issues or complaints through our dedicated T-Hub partners in Ibadan. This means that any concerns you have will be handled promptly and efficiently, ensuring a higher level of customer satisfaction.
To conclude this beautiful article, our journey to Ibadan was just the beginning. With the warm reception and exciting prospects, we are thrilled to expand our services with more T-Hub partners. If you aren’t in Ibadan, stay tuned for more updates on our socials @terminal_africa as we continue our thousand-mile journey to your city. So sure ni!
