OoH yet to fully recover from COVID-19—OAAN boss

Sola Akinsiku, OAAN President

DESPITE the gradual recline of COVID 19 memories from the consciousness of individuals and businesses globally, the President of the Out-of-Home Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (OAAN), Mr. Sola Akinsiku, says the effects of the pandemic, which affected lives and livelihood, still live with the nation’s out-of-home (OoH) advertising, till date

The OAAN president, in an exclusive interview with Brands & Marketing, stated that OoH, which thrives on eyeballs and frequent interactions with human audience, was the worst hit, since there was a lockdown, forcing individuals to stay indoors for a period of time, this hampering such interactions.

He, however, stated that despite the hit on the practice, during the period, members of the association were still actively involved in the awareness campaigns against the deadly disease, in the country by donating their billboards for such campaigns free of charge.

The OAAN boss explained that one of the strategies adopted by members to survive the period was rate reduction in order to bring individuals and brands back to their feet and in sympathy with the advertisers.

He, however, expressed the delight that businesses in that advertising sub-sector has begun to bounce back, from 2023.

“So I think 2024 was a better year compared to the years immediately before it, and we are expecting that 2025 will be better. But, we have not completely shaken off the effects of COVID-19 on the business, but we are gradually getting out of the wood,” he added.

On the frequent face-offs between the association and authorities at the states’ signage agencies, Akinsiku assured that the relationship with states’ signage agencies had improved tremendously over the years

For instance in Lagos, he explained, a committee, comprising members of the association and officers of the Lagos State Signage and Advertisements Agency (LASAA) had been set up to resolve issues considered inimical to the growth of the practice in the state.

“And, in case any of the issues can not be resolved by this committee, it is always referred to the chief executive of the signage agency and my humble self. And, since coming to office in 2023, we’ve resolved five of such issues,” he stated.

The OAAN boss, however, used the opportunity to call on government to always ensure that whoever becomes the chief executive of the agency is preferably a practitioner knowledgeable about the practice.

“Government sees OoH as a revenue-making venture, and you can’t blame them. No responsible government will close its eyes to a viable revenue source, especially with a myriad of commitments, which requires money to deal with. But we believe with a professional at the helm of affairs, he should be able to advise such government on how to go about this without stifling the growth of the business, because businesses must survive first before paying any bill,” he argued.

Akin Adewakun