BTPRS Industry Leaders Q&A: Sade Ayodele, TIDAL – Head of Global Communications

Last month, we were honored to introduce our new Q&A series highlighting senior leaders in communications and their impactful journeys in the industry. We’re back with another edition to celebrate another industry champion and their impactful work and their excellence in the world of comms.

We were thrilled to catch up with Sade Ayodele, Head of Global Communications at TIDAL. In this role, she leads global communications efforts to include dynamic storytelling for products and key executive voices at the organization. She has been a longstanding advocate of DE&I within PR agencies – where in 2020 she co-launched Hold the PRess, an organization committed to increasing diversity across the PR sector. Through this initiative, she helped empower more transparency in statistics regarding the hiring of women and people of color. In this edition of the BTPRS Industry Leaders Q&A series, Sade shares more about her passion for tech at the intersection of music, sports, and entertainment, her beginnings working with Google, and career gems for emerging communications pros.

BTPRS: What has been your journey in the communications space? – Is there anything initially that drew you to the field?

Sade: I actually started out as a Community Manager in the social media space. At the time, I was working in a contract role for Google on products like Google Plus and then Google Glass, which both no longer exist today. I decided to move to New York and pursue my passion of working in sports and started my stint at agencies – where I worked at about four to five agencies over eight years which led me to my role now. My role at TIDAL has allowed me to blend my passion for sports entertainment and when I initially came over after they were acquired by Square which is now Block – it further cemented the technology focus of the company.

What got me into the field – I was in college trying to decide on a major and my dad’s Nigerian so I originally was thinking maybe pharmacy or computer science haha. Someone brought the idea to me of public relations and thought it would be an ideal fit based on my personality, organization, and the way I work. I started to learn more about PR and communications during that time and then majored in corporate communications – the rest was history!

BTPRS: What is one characteristic that you feel every leader should possess?

Sade: I think it’s important that every leader have empathy. In a world where you can’t relate to everyone on every issue or challenge, I think empathy helps you create that connection with the people you lead on a human level and not get solely lost in the deadlines. Sometimes within the deliverables, timelines, and KPIs, people forget that there are humans behind the work. However, if you remember that human component it will allow you to build trust that is deep enough to create an environment where people are happy to deliver for you, and they’re transparent when things may be happening behind the scenes that can lead to personal barriers.

BTPRS: Wellness is a significant area that often doesn't receive enough attention in public relations. Do you have any self-care tips to share on how you stay grounded during a busy workflow?

Sade: For me, I love getting a manicure because it truly allows me to unplug and not pick up my phone or laptop. Sometimes I’ll even try to extend it and get a pedicure as well or even a massage – then treat myself to my favorite lunch. It’s so important to find time to take care of yourself and even extend those self-care moments!

BTPRS: Do you have any favorite trends or insights related to your industry at the moment?

Sade: Everyone is watching AI and I feel that it’s here to stay – you can’t put it back into a box. What’s fascinating to me is that if AI is done correctly meaning: meeting the right licensing requirements, people are paid for their work, and you’re not seeing people duplicate artist voices, etc., I think it has the potential to be the next shift in music that streaming was years ago.

I’m also keeping an eye on TikTok because there is so much music discovery potential. Streaming platforms once didn’t view social media platforms as direct competitors until now. It will be interesting to watch how people continue to leverage emerging social media platforms compared to traditional methods like American Idol or music labels where there was more gatekeeping. Now the door is open even wider for rising artists to be discovered.

BTPRS: When it comes to public relations and marketing, there are always emerging tools to make our jobs easier. Do you have a favorite innovation or platform and why?

Sade: To me, Google Docs is one of the most simplistic but, genius platforms. Considering that I run a global team across different time zones, where we’re sometimes on different work hours – combined with being a fully remote company, it’s key to have the ability to craft a collaborative document in one place that includes the ‘version history’. Google Docs has so much functionality and it’s very slept on – my first question is always, “Do you use Google Docs”?

I love that it’s the only platform that’s free and easy for everyone no matter where they are to access.

BTPRS: What has been your greatest success in working in communications?

Sade: My greatest success was being named on the PR Week 40 Under 40 list in 2021 when I was 31. It was rewarding because they had a dinner and my parents flew out, there were friends from different journeys in my career that attended alongside other PR professionals in the field. This was at a time coming off the back of a lot of Hold the PRess work – so I felt it was an opportunity to be acknowledged for the 8-10 years I had put into the field ranging from client work to community relations. It was an amazing moment to celebrate with friends, my husband, and other loved ones.

BTPRS: What do you think is one of the biggest challenges that communications leaders face today? – particularly in the tech space.

Sade: The biggest challenge that communications leaders face in general and in the tech space is that the news cycle is more accessible than before and the bar for what’s break through and newsworthy continues to move. As a Comms leader in tech, you might set out to tell a story about your product but, someone you think is your competitor isn’t your competitor because everything overlaps. We even see this when it comes to pitching to journalists because there are so many things that exist within an intersection of tech. A lot of companies for example that weren’t necessarily meant to be competitors have become one, based on the intersections they are pursuing in culture to reach consumers.

BTPRS: What is one piece of advice that you would share with other PR professionals and new leaders?

Sade: The piece of advice that I would give to up-and-coming PR executives and leaders is to show up to work as your authentic self. I believe that who you are and what got you to where you are is your magic and superpower. You should always lean into that to bring that differentiation into the room because we’re all made from different experiences, upbringings, views, and perspectives.

In order for the best work to come forward you have to have diverse voices at the table and in order for your voice to be heard you have to show up as yourself. If you show up emulating someone else or what you think is acceptable or what's the right answer you're going to end up with a generic, bland campaign that reaches no one – however, if you want to create breakthrough work you have to show up and break through as yourself!