NAC 2026: OAAN boss solicits more attention for OoH practice

•Says sector remains ‘most traumatised’

PRESIDENT of the Out- of- Home Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), Dr. Sola Akinsiku, has called on organisers of the annual National Advertising Conference (NAC), and other stakeholders in the nation’s advertising space, to give more attention to Out- of- Home Advertising practice, to enable the sector effectively deal with the myriad of challenges facing it.

Akinsiku, who made the call in Lagos, at a media briefing on this year’s edition of NAC, said the call became imperative;  since the sector had become the most traumatised, in the nation’s integrated marketing communication space.

Commending the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) for organising the annual conference, the OAAN boss expressed the readiness of members of the association to always participate at the conference, even though, he argued, it had issues with some of the previous engagements.

“We have always been participating even though we’ve had issues with some of the focus of the previous engagements. We have always  wanted OoH practice, which has become the most traumatised sector in the country, to  enjoy higher focus, discussion,” he stated.

Akinsiku expressed the concerns of members over  the schemes by the ruling parties in the states to prevent opposition from using the OoH platforms in their respective states.

This, the OAAN boss stated, is being perpetrated through the different rates, approved by the state governments, considered rather exorbitant by professionals and even politicians in those states.

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He decried a situation where presidential candidates would have to pay as high as N200 million in some states before being allowed to put up their signages.

“Unfortunately, if not quickly addressed, besides affecting the campaign chances of the opposition who may find these rates exorbitant, it may also affect the practice,” Akinsiku added.

While congratulating the apex regulatory body in the sector for the annual conference, the OAAN boss charged practitioners to envisage the challenges likely to face the practice in future, with the aim of preparing for them in the present.

“We have an industry that is getting challenged more than it was in the past. What was in vogue 40 years ago, is no longer in vogue today. And what is in vogue today, due to technology, in another 3 to 5 years, may be obsolete. That is why projecting into the future going by the theme of NAC 2026 is absolutely relevant,” he added.