Founded in 2021, Piano People now operates all over the UK and globally bringing world class Amapiano & African Dance Music to some of the most renowned stages in the world. 

Including artists such as Kabza de Small, DJ Maphorisa, Uncle Waffles, Major League Djz, Focalistic & many many more! 

Currently Piano People has partnered with brands such as Afro Nation to present the World’s biggest Amapiano stages to date. 

At the centre of our mission, is & always will be, the Piano People.

Boutique/underground feel

Electronic meets Afrofuturism & Diaspora

Artsy, alternative Black crowd, creative scene

Art spaces, clubs, culture-led venues

Hipster

Afro-electronic, DJs, experimental sound

Futuristic, Black electronic futurism

Fans of Afro Punk

Afro Nation Portugal, which debuted in 2019 and holds its fifth edition on 9-11 July this summer (2025)

Portimão is the birthplace of the global Afro Nation movement.

Praia da Rocha (Beach) has become an iconic gathering place for our growing community.

The vision was to showcase music and culture across the full diaspora of African influence and make it centre stage, compared to mainstream festivals where prominence, or even a presence, was rare. Upon the great success of the Portugal edition, the festival quickly expanded to its first event on the African continent in Ghana and planned to launch in Puerto Rico.

Emerging from the Afro Nation universe. From the clubs of London, to the streets of Paris, to the beaches of Portimao…

🔥 Lit Everywhere

• Emerging Festival/Brand: Much smaller and newer compared to Afro Nation. It's typically UK-based and targets local or regional audiences, often catering to Gen Z and younger Millennials.

• Urban + Viral Appeal: Heavily leans into social media-driven culture, streetwear, TikTok trends, and high-energy youth environments.

• Line-up: Focuses on upcoming artists, viral names, and UK-based Afro-Caribbean genres (Afrobeats, Dancehall, Amapiano, UK Rap, Bashment).

• Affordability: Generally more accessible in price and more localised, often held in major UK cities like London or Birmingham.

• Experience: Less about luxury and more about turn-up culture — bold visuals, party vibes, and less infrastructure-heavy than Afro Nation.

• Curation: May include club nights, parties, and concert-style setups rather than full festival grounds.

If this were a typical, mainstream music or festival role, I wouldn’t be as interested, but the diasporic lens is what makes it meaningful. The opportunity to help bring those cultures, perspectives, and trends to the forefront is what drives me. There’s so much richness in the music, the stories, and the people, and that deserves to be reflected on global stages.

TMG’s work on platforms like Afro Nation speaks directly to this. The ambition to shape the future of live events through culture-led experiences is something I strongly align with, and I’m excited by the possibility of contributing to that vision.

Your connection to African/Black diasporic culture, your passion for culture-led marketing, your desire to help shape the global future of live events with meaning. Mention their work on Afro Nation and your alignment with their vision.

Your approach to translating culture into brand growth.

Examples of building multi-year audience or brand equity.

Prep Stories Around:

Repositioning a festival or campaign to grow relevance or diversify audiences.

Introducing a new region/market and localising effectively.

How you've executed multi-channel strategies (paid social, CRM, partnerships, OOH, press).

Any experience with influencer-led campaigns or ambassador programmes.

Prep Stories Around:

A culturally nuanced campaign (esp. Black British, African, Caribbean diasporas).

A campaign that used paid + organic + experiential for results.

Using data (sales pacing, demand modelling, audience insights) to tweak campaign rollout.

Pricing/tiering decisions for ticketed events.

Prep Stories Around:

Reforecasting sales based on market conditions.

Driving a late campaign sales boost via comms strategy.

Making pricing decisions in line with audience sensitivity.

Balancing hands-on leadership with senior stakeholder management.

Training junior marketers or building teams from scratch.

Prep Stories Around:

A time you reshaped team culture or ways of working.

When you’ve unified messaging and creative across touchpoints.

What makes a culturally-led brand campaign successful?

What do you think Afro Nation stands for right now — and what could it evolve into?

How do you balance brand building with short-term sales targets?

Tell us about a time you had to pivot a marketing strategy mid-campaign.

How do you brief creatives to ensure brand alignment and cut-through?

How do you approach audience development across the UK, US, Africa, and Europe?

How do you handle creative disagreement with senior stakeholders or artists?

You’ve worked on festivals and multi-channel campaigns across diasporic audiences.

You understand brand-building and short-term ROI — and balance both well.

You can lead teams, creatives and stakeholders while driving execution at speed.

You’re passionate about what Afro Nation represents and are ready to elevate it further.

Prepare questions to ask them (e.g. “What’s the long-term vision for Afro Nation in North America?” or “How do you balance Afro Nation’s core cultural mission with scale?”).

Mention the impact of representation and global Black culture — speak personally if it feels right.

Cultural fluency + brand strategy

Fluent in diasporic Black culture and translating that into clear, scalable marketing strategies.

Multi-channel campaign expertise

Proven record of delivering digital, press, influencer, OOH, and CRM campaigns — end-to-end.

Festival & ticketed event experience

Experience leading sales-driving strategies for cultural festivals with tiered ticketing and audience segmentation.

Audience development

Known for engaging underrepresented communities and new audiences through nuanced and creative approaches.

Leadership & collaboration

Strong leader who can brief creatives, manage agencies, and align internal teams across functions.

“Launching Afro Nation in a new market” (prep Q)

Consider local partners, cultural relevance, on-ground ambassadors, localised PR + influencers.

Long-term brand building vs short-term ticket sales

How you’d use data (pacing, insights) while building brand equity across touchpoints.

Positioning Afro Nation

Currently: World’s biggest Afrobeats festival. Future: Leading global Black music and culture platform.

LIFT Festival 2024

Diverse marketing mix: website, digital campaigns, artist takeovers, IWD email campaign (sales > target), culturally sensitive comms.

The Podcast Show+

Built branded on-demand platform, managed CRM and promo codes, created UX aligned to brand identity.

Future Collect @ iniva

Led campaign for a Black and Asian artist commissioning programme; included partnership comms and long-lead press.

Audience segmentation

Used nuanced tone and platform-specific content (e.g. Twitter for press vs IG for visuals).

Forecasting & pacing

Experience working with pacing reports, adapting spend + creative to boost sales mid-campaign.

Sales recovery strategy

E.g. Mid-campaign pivot using discount codes, urgency-based messaging, or spotlighting sell-out content.

Audience insights

Used segmentation, CRM data, social engagement patterns to target comms and tweak campaign rollout.

Diasporic audience segmentation

Caribbean, West African, UK, US — not a monolith. Tailor tone, artists, channels, and references.

Language & tone

Respectful of local nuances, slang, and cultural codes — across different Black communities.

Global vs local

Brand consistency but room for local flavour: visuals, partnerships, radio, social, community.

Briefing creatives

Example: Giving designers clear brand tone, deliverables, moodboard and audience expectations.

Stakeholder management

Managing funders, artists, agencies, and internal teams. Balancing vision with delivery.

Team culture

Building culture that encourages boldness, speed, collaboration — especially in live event timelines.

"What’s your approach to leading a global campaign?"

"How would you grow Afro Nation’s reach in the US?"

"Tell us about a campaign you’re proud of and why."

"How do you manage conflicting creative opinions?"

"What would your 90-day plan look like?

Vision & growth

Where do you see Afro Nation evolving in the next 3 years?

Team structure

How does the marketing team currently operate — in-house vs agency?

KPIs

What does success look like for this role beyond ticket sales?

Culture & workstyle

How does TMG support a culturally rooted but globally ambitious approach?

🧠 Example Answer:

Start by aligning the brand’s global narrative — Afro Nation as a cultural movement — and then layer in market-specific insights.

For example, when planning The Podcast Show+ launch, I created a strong brand platform, then adapted messaging per platform (LinkedIn for B2B buyers, Instagram for podcast fans, EDM for subscribers).

For Afro Nation, I’d use data + on-the-ground intel to build location-relevant storytelling, local ambassador strategies, and tiered ticketing rollouts, while keeping visual identity and key messages consistent worldwide.

2. “How would you grow Afro Nation’s reach in the US?”

🌍 Example Answer:

Tap into diasporic communities already engaging with Afrobeats and Caribbean music in places like NYC, ATL, and LA.

Partner with local influencers, community radio, college networks, and promoters — using brand-aligned but culturally localised campaigns.

Run geo-targeted pre-sale campaigns, and build hype through artist-led content and early access tickets.

I’d also explore US media partnerships (e.g. The Shade Room, OkayAfrica) for organic credibility.

3. “Tell us about a campaign you’re proud of and why.”

💡 Example Answer:

The LIFT 2024 campaign stands out. I oversaw creative direction, social strategy, and digital performance.

We built a multi-platform approach: Instagram takeovers with artists, email marketing tailored to themed shows (e.g. International Women’s Day), and dynamic ticket links.

My culturally sensitive tone of voice led to strong engagement from underrepresented audiences, and we exceeded early ticket sales targets mid-campaign.

4. “What would your 90-day plan look like?”

📆 Example Answer:

Month 1: Audit — team structure, campaign performance, current tools, pacing, and brand guidelines. Meet all stakeholders and understand existing ticketing + digital ecosystems.

Month 2: Refresh strategy — define audience segments, key markets, messaging frameworks, budget allocations, and performance metrics.

Month 3: Activate — Brief creatives and agencies, realign timelines, introduce or optimise campaign funnels, and run at least one high-impact, test-and-learn campaign (e.g. regional push or partnership activation).

5. “How do you manage conflicting creative opinions?”

🧩 Example Answer:

Start by returning to the brief — is the work aligned to the brand strategy, audience, and goals?

In a past project, two designers clashed over visual direction for a campaign. I brought it back to our audience personas, and testing insight showed which direction performed better.

When collaboration feels tense, I anchor decisions in data and audience needs — not egos.

6. “What’s your experience with pacing and sales performance?”

📊 Example Answer:

At LIFT, I used weekly pacing reports to track sales vs. targets. When certain shows lagged, I deployed tactics like email spotlights, discount codes, and creative storytelling on social to drive urgency.

I’ve also used pacing to reallocate budget in real time — for example, shifting paid social to shows with strong engagement-to-click ratios, while deprioritising underperformers.

7. “What’s your leadership style?”

🧑🏽‍💼 Example Answer:

I lead with clarity and calm — especially in high-pressure, time-sensitive environments like festivals.

My style is collaborative but decisive. I ensure everyone understands the 'why' of what we’re doing.

In my freelance and consultant roles, I’ve led multi-agency campaigns, briefed designers, and mentored junior marketers, always creating space for creative contribution while keeping strategy tight.

8. “How do you measure the success of a marketing campaign?”

📐 Example Answer:

I look at both performance metrics and brand impact.

For ticketed events: CTR, conversion rates, pacing vs. targets, email open + click rates, and ROI on paid spend.

But I also track engagement sentiment, share of voice, press quality, and social amplification — especially when the campaign has a cultural or brand-building goal.

For example, during the Podcast Show+ launch, we measured how many people upgraded from free to paid content based on email journeys and site behaviour.

High-Profile Line-up: Books top-tier artists — Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido, Asake, Tiwa Savage, etc.

Afrobeats-Centric but Diverse: While it champions Afrobeats, it also includes Dancehall, Amapiano, Hip Hop, R&B, and artists from the African diaspora.

Destination Festival: Known for its luxury, travel appeal, beach settings, and international crowd.

Higher Cost: Travel, accommodation, and ticket prices make this a premium experience, often tied to cultural tourism.

Infrastructure + Partnerships: Backed by larger commercial sponsors, global media coverage, and more structured production.

Medium/small, UK-based, regional, local, city

Afrobeats, Amapiano, Bashment, UK Rap

Gen Z/young Millennials, Black British

UK clubs, warehouses, city venues

Turn-up culture, high energy, viral

Hype and viral artists

Hype and viral artists

Amapiano (South African house subgenre)

Amapiano lovers, dancers, creatives, ravers

Club nights, raves, experimental spaces

Bass-heavy, dance-forward, community-led

Deep cuts, South African DJs, extended sets

Stylish, minimalist, rooted in house culture

Dance-floor heads, Black underground ravers

• Lit Everywhere: Viral and vibrant - the UK’s street-smart, Gen Z-led party brand.

• Afrotronic: Afro-electronic, alternative - where Afrofuturism, art, and bass meet.

• Piano People: The home of Amapiano - pure dance floor joy for deep music lovers.

• Afro Nation = premium, global, international headliners, travel destination, high production value.

• Lit Everywhere = hyped, local, Gen Z-focused party culture, affordable, UK-based.