Ad Practitioners Task Operators on Modern Approach

In order to compete very well on the global scene, Nigerian advertising practitioners have been tasked on the need to brace up and incorporate the modern day technology and approach into their operations.

Stakeholders who spoke at the 2011 business retreat of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), want local practitioners to explore new media, online platform and technology.

Speaking at the retreat, AAAN’s President, Mr. Funmi Onabolu, emphasised  the need for practitioners to be in tune with modern trends in the industry, which is fast changing the global advertising business.

He predicted that the changes that would be witnessed in the next three years would be radically different from what had happened in the industry in over one-and-half decades ago, if members are keen about the new trend.
“The average consumer is becoming increasingly sophisticated since the Internet has exposed him to global trends; so he can no longer be deceived. Meanwhile, advertisers too are becoming more demanding. This therefore puts a lot of pressure on practitioners,” he stated.

He advised practitioners on the need to build new capabilities in order to meet clients’ ever-increasing expectations.
In his remarks, the Chairman of Advertising Practitioners’ Council of Nigeria (APCON), Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi, noted that advertising practitioners in the country are being left with no choice than to embrace change since the industry is changing globally.

He noted that what should be of paramount importance to practitioners is how to position themselves to be able to enjoy the benefits of globalisation.

“We should be able to manage the changing profiles of today’s consumers, the changing profile of advertisement itself and the changing profile of the media. And until we are able to devise a means of managing these key elements, we may not be able to play in the business in the nearest future,” he concluded.

Speaking on the changing nature of advertising business globally, President, Advertising and Communications Agencies, South Africa, Mr. Wayne Naidoo, said: “Advertising has never been as complex as it is today. Agencies have had to spread themselves over a multitude of disciplines to try and tempt clients through their doors.

The result is a paucity of specialized, talented people working in agencies. This is because the talented people have themselves been tempted away to work in specialized areas of post-production, web design, digital media and so on”.

Using South Africa as an example, he stated that the practitioners in the country had woken up to some unpleasant facts in the advertising industry, which bordered on respect for intellectual property.

He also disclosed that South African agencies have not worked together in the management and marketing of their intellectual property and that failure to do this had put the industry in trouble.

While advising Nigerian practitioners on the need to raise the bar, he said: “A research firm, eMarketer said ad spends in Africa and the Middle East currently stands at $14 billion a year. While only representing 2.9 percent of the $482.6 billion global total. These regions are among the fastest growing, anticipated to achieve 3.5 percent share by 2014,”

Source : Thisday