2023: What a year for IMC!

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Just like other sectors of the nation’s economy, the integrated marketing communications (IMC) sector, also had its fair share of the economic topsy-turvy of the outgoing year. For instance, for this multi-billion sector, it was simply a year to remember by stakeholders.

Of reforms and rebellion

The ‘rebellion’ to the reforms embarked upon by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), especially the Advertising Industry Standards of Practice (AISOP), introduced in 2021, intensified in the year. Ironically, this is despite the buy-in of all the other sectoral bodies in the industry and other stakeholders. The strident opposition to the set of rules, designed to regulate and guide advertising practice in the country, from the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) became more intense in the year, with the association resorting to judicial process against the apex regulatory agency in the industry.

The association’s ‘grouse’ was that the apex regulatory body never got the input of its members before going public with the document, a claim ARCON had since refuted. The association had described the document as unconstitutional attempt at infringing on the rights of private entities to determine their contractual terms.

For instance, one of the areas of friction is the prolonged system of payment, which industry watchers had identified as being responsible for the huge industry debt being experienced in the sector. While the apex ruling body in the industry believes that delaying payment by up to 90 days, which had been the norm before the advent of AISOP, was no longer fashionable, and must therefore be shortened, ADVAN, on its part, insisted that the common dictum of ‘he who pays the piper, dictates the tune’ should be made to apply here. Since its members are the customers here, they should be treated as king by being allowed to determine when it is convenient for them to pay such debt. But ARCON has vehemently opposed this position, insisting it would no longer be business as usual.

“If these same people could pay all these foreign media, the CNNs of this world, on time, and sometimes prepay, why treat the local media differently? This is what we are against, and what we are simply saying is that it is no longer going to be business as usual,” argued the Director General of ARCON, Dr Lekan Fadolapo.

Currency redesign, cash crunch and its attendant effects

Interestingly, the decision of the then Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, to redesign the naira, withdraw the ‘old naira’ notes from circulation and the attendant currency scarcity, no doubt, impacted the industry gravely. For instance, operators, especially in the Fast Moving Consumer Good (FMCG) sector described the policy as a major setback for their businesses.

“Since consumers no longer had unfettered access to their funds, they became very choosy when it came to how and where to spend their very limited cash,” argued Afolabi Ayodeji, a player in the nation’s FMCG.

Coming on board of new sectoral heads

Another highlight of the year was the coming on board of new leadership of the Experiential Marketers Association of Nigeria (EXMAN) and the Out of Home Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), seeing to the emergence of Tolulope Medebem, the CEO of Aster Integrated Marketing and Sola Akinsiku respectively.

Noteworthy is the decision of OAAN to rebrand and transform from Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) to Out-Of-Home Advertising Association (OAAN). Of significance too was the inauguration of the women version of the association, Women in Out of Home Advertising of Nigeria (WOHAN) set up with the aim of driving industry growth and enhance personal development for women in the nation’s ad space.

Subsidy removal and its attendant effects

The pronouncement of the new government, immediately after inauguration on May 29, 2023, on fuel subsidy removal, also has its effects on the sector. For instance, prices of goods and services have so far increased, while inflation has continued to surge from 22.4 percent in May, this year, when the pronouncement was made, to 22.79 percent (June 2023); 24.03 percent (July 2023); 25.80 percent (August 2023); 26.72 percent (September 2023); 27.33 percent October 2023; 28.20 percent (November 2023). This has also resulted in a decline in the purchasing power of the average Nigerian consumer.

Price war in cement industry

The pronouncement by one of the nation’s major players in the cement industry to slash the price of its products, in October this year, no doubt ignited discussions within the space about the need for appropriate pricing in the sector, especially with the leadership of the Cement Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (CMAN) insisting Nigeria remains the only country where customers in the sector have to break their neck to buy the product. Unfortunately the impact of such slash was not felt by users of the commodity, due to logistics inadequacy.

Nigeria’s creatives gradually getting global attention

One of the positives of the outgoing year remains the exploits of some of the nation’s creative agencies on the global scene. For instance, X3M Ideax remains the cynosure of all eyes in the year, as it clinched various awards both on the local and global scenes.

Besides its exploits at this year’s Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAIF) held in Lagos, some of the global honours earned by the agency in 2023 included two notable awards at the 2023 edition of Lisbon Advertising Festivals Group, after it had earlier broken years-old jinx at the Cannes Advertising Festival in France.

Painful deaths, too

The deaths of former president of Media Independents Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) and Chief Executive Officer, Media Reach OMD, Tolu Ogunkoya; and former helmsman of another sectoral group, the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria, now Out of Home Advertising Association of Nigeria, and Founder/Partner, Media Link, Mr Kole Ademulegun, shook the industry to its foundation.

If the duo’s deaths were shocking, that of Abdul Imoyo, the Head, Media Relations, Access Bank, few weeks ago, also left the industry disoriented, going by the deceased’s uncommon ways of relating with the media. Imoyo was said to have passed on after a protracted illness.

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