Outdoor advertising practitioners hinge hope on Russia 2018, debt repayment

DESPITE difficulties being faced by the outdoor advertising sector in the past few years, practitioners are however of the strong belief  that the forthcoming  global soccer fiesta, in Russia, this year and payment of some of the huge debts owed practitioners might change the outlook of the sector, for the better, this year.

A top practitioner in the industry, who is also the Publicity Secretary of the Outdoor Advertisers Association of Nigeria (OAAN), the umbrella body of  outdoor advertisers in the country, Mr. Femi Ogala, described  this year’s World Cup  as the tonic needed by the sector to check the continued decline in bottom-line, which has been its lot, of late.

Ogala, in an interview chat with Brands & Marketing, maintained that the industry had been experiencing a decline in growth in the past few years, due to crippling industry debt and hostile regulatory environment.

For instance, the outdoor association, in the past few years had been in a running battle with the state government over some policies it described as a disincentive to members’ businesses in the state.

One of such policies, OAAN had  argued, remains the state government’s insistence on payment, by members,  on vacant billboards in the state, a policy outdoor practitioners in the state and  members of the association are diametrically opposed to.

Besides, the association claimed, members are still being owed over N100billion, by a political in the state for works done for the party during the 2015 general elections.

The OAAN spokesman however believes the World Cup tournament, scheduled to hold between June and July, this year, would  change the tide, positively, as far as the sector is concerned.

According to him, in spite of the not-too-encouraging business environment in the country, a huge number of  multinational companies would still be involved in the tournament, especially with the nation’s soccer team participating at the tournament.

“If you ask me, business had been bad in the past few years. We, practitioners, have not been experiencing the best of times. But we are hopeful, especially with the coming of the World Cup tournament later in the year. Many of these  multinationals will want to leverage the competition to enhance  brand visibility, especially with the nation’s soccer team, participating at the Mundial. We are hopeful that some of our facilities (billboards) would be put to use during this period,” he stated.

Corroborating the above argument,  another practitioner, Mr. Segun Awaye, however believes there is the need for practitioners to devise a means of ensuring that the huge debts, owed the industry, are recovered.