Interestingly, the general feeling and consensus in the industry are that of hope and optimism of a far more rewarding 2018. Though the new year may not be a ‘tea party’, as many would want it to be, stakeholders are however of the firm belief that there are some events, that would be thrown up in the new year that would, no doubt, have its trickle-down effects on the industry.
For instance, with the nation’s economy, technically out of recession which it had been for the most past of 2017, market watchers are of the opinion that the new year would come with business opportunities that, if well managed, would turn the fortune of the nation’s advertising industry around.
“With the nation’s economy technically out of recession, one can be hopeful of new business opportunities. But the fact remains that they won’t come on a platter of gold, they would be ‘fought’ for, and only the fittest might survive in the new year,” argued Lanre Adisa, Chief Executive Officer of Noah’s Ark, while gazing into his own ‘crystal ball’ for the year.
Perhaps, one of such opportunities, waiting to be harnessed, is the global soccer fiesta, the World Cup tournament, scheduled to take place in far away Russia between June and July, in the year.
With the nation’s soccer team, the Super Eagles, competing for honours at the Mundial, not a few are of the opinion that critical stakeholders stand some dignified chances of reaping bountifully from the tournament, if the opportunities are well harnessed.
For instance, a lot of advertisers, from different market segments, would want to key into the tournament to give publicity to their
products in the cause of supporting the nation’s senior soccer team.
Some of such big brands in the country that had done this in the past, are Guinness Nigeria Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Peak Milk and other notable brands in the nation’s business firmament.
“The World Cup is a gold mine for countries, especially brands anytime, any day. With the huge number of followership the game of soccer commands all over the globe, brands see it as a veritable platform to get exposures, and I think Nigeria can not be an
exemption. That has been the long-established tradition of the tournament and there is no way this year’s edition can be different,” argued Sesan Fasuyi, a practitioner in his assessment of the new year.
Fasuyi believes the attractions in this year’s edition to local brands is the fact that the country’s team, stands a good chance to do well at the tournament, and as a result some of the brands might want to go the whole hog with the team.
But besides the World Cup, the Total African Nations Championship, billed to hold between January and February, this year, in Morocco, could constitute one of the defining moments for the industry, this year.
Though the tournament may not have the clout of the Mundial, and as a result, may not make the same impact the World Cup would make on the nation’s advertising industry, but the passion with which the game of soccer is being followed in the continent, makes it a goldmine for advertisers, any year the tournament is being hosted.
Not a few also believe that activities on the nation’s political space might also have ricochet on the industry this year. While some states would be holding their governorship elections in the year, another significance of 2018, remains its closeness to 2019, the year of another general elections, in the country.
“We expect political activities to begin to pick up in the year. INEC has released the election time table for 2019, and it is obvious that the average Nigerian politician will now begin to do what he had not done in the past few years and make a public show of such activities, just to curry favour from the electorates. The nation’s advertising industry is expected to be a major beneficiary of this,” argued Fasuyi, in a chat with Brands & Marketing, on the issue.
But another practitioner and fellow of the profession, who would not want his name in print, would however want such unbridled optimism to be exercised with caution.
According to him, though it is a period that would churn out more communication materials and advertisements, from the political landscape, such activities, in most cases, do not always have a direct impact on the industry, since they are always handled by non-professionals.
“In what way would you say the industry has gained or impacted positively when politicians still believe in using their cronies and family members, that are non-professional, to handle most of their communication materials?” he asked, rhetorically.
He argued further that the reluctance on the part of the relevant regulators in the industry to wield the big stick and ensure that the laws, governing advertising, are strictly adhered to, might turn what, ordinarily should have been a blessing for the business to a nightmare.
“Ordinarily, we practitioners in the industry ought to be salivating by now, with 2018 around the corners, because of the business opportunities we are supposed to reap, especially on the political scene. But that is always not the case. The average Nigerian politician does not have respect for the rules governing advertising in the country, and as a result the industry is the worse for it.
“For instance, how do you explain a situation where political parties would prefer to look beyond the shores of the land, for their
perception managers? How again do you explain a situation where more than 80 per cent of communication materials that you see in the print are deployed by non-professionals? In what way does that favour advertising business in the country?” the practitioner queried.
The announcement of Hon. Sunday Jacob as the new Chairman of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, at the twilight of 2017, is no doubt seen by many as another critical development that would shape the nation’s advertising landscape in 2018.
The choice of Hon Jacob, not known to be a practitioner, was made known in an official statement, announcing new boards of federal government agencies and parastatals in Abuja, few days ago, a development some stakeholders have described as ‘rather strange and bizzare’.
For instance, APCON had been without a board following the dissolution of the Udeme Ufot-led board two years ago, through a circular with reference SGF.19/S.81/XIX/964, empowering the Chief Executive Officer/Registrar of the agency to run the affairs of the apex regulatory body in the industry.
Therefore, this new appointment has been likened to that of Prince Ngozi Emioma, who was roundly rejected by stakeholders in the industry, including Heads of Sectoral Groups (HASG) of APCON, for not meeting the requirements of that exalted office, when his appointment was also announced few years ago.
HASG, comprising of the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), Advertising Agencies Association of Nigeria (AAAN), Outdoor Advertisers Association of Nigeria (OAAN), Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) and Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) had argued that though the federal government had the statutory powers to appoint a chairman for the agency, there were rules to be followed.
One of Group’s grievances was that it was not consulted by the federal government to enable the FG understand how the council was constituted as stipulated in the laws, establishing APCON.
Not a few stakeholders therefore believe that, with this appointment, the stage seems set for another round or protests in the industry in the new year, a development that may still continue to retard growth in the industry.
Bolaji Okusaga’s movement from Quadrant MSL, after ten years as the chief executive of the PR agency is also seen as one of those developments of the outgone year that may have far- reaching effects on the industry, especially PR, in the new year.
and then