To industry operators, Biodun Shobanjo, Chairman, Troyka Holdings, is a core professional.

Biodun Shobanjo, Chairman, Troyka

In this interview with Princewill Ekwujuru shortly after receiving the Brand Personality of the Year Award instituted by Marketing Edge Magazine, he spoke on new developments in the advertising industry and the economy. Excerpts.

What does the award bestowed on you by MarketingEdge mean to you?

If one has been in a profession for over 40 years and if those who are watchdogs in that profession decides to recognise you, that perhaps means that the greater part of those years you have been doing things rightly, especially as it relates to your profession.

For me, the media plays a major role as watchdogs and this is applicable to those who monitor what goes on in marketing communication, one cannot but take the award. I feel grateful to God that at 40 years, MarketingEdge, along with other people who had given me awards at various times, recognised my contributions to the industry.

It appears you’re the only one receiving awards in the industry?

It is not Shobanjo alone that is receiving awards. Even if your assumption is correct, it is not to say there are not others in my industry making their marks. For the past six years, I have retired. I don’t get involved in advertising matters anymore.

The award is the ripple effect of what one had done in the past. The marketing communications business is growing and expanding.

When you compare the industry in the last 30 years and now, what pictures do you see?

There is no basis for comparison. Life is too dynamic. What has happened 30 years ago is not happening now? Take media for instance, the media has changed tremendously. Media was a successful factor for us in those days. The consumer has changed and the practice of advertising will also change.

Thirty years ago, there was no digital media, but today, digital media is a very major part of what is happening in terms of communicating to the consumer.

Today, consumers are too much in a hurry. They call them the ‘Now Generation’. That is why the fast food industry is booming, because they cannot afford to go to a restaurant, sit down and have a proper meal. They often eat on the move.

From that perspective alone, advertising has to change. It is changing for the better. I foresee more sophisticated communication because the consumer is more sophisticated. I see more entertaining communication coming up because the consumer laughs more.

The whole thing has changed. Even office environment has changed in terms of office equipment. When I look back, I just laugh because 30 years ago, you rarely find people to work for you, but now there are over supply of workforce.

30 years ago, you need to drive to meet the client, but now you can talk on mobile phone.

What has Challenges in the industry as regards the fast pace technology changes done to the Ad industry, and how is the industry coping?

The challenge now is the pace at which technology is changing things. It is very difficult for people to catch up with technology. As you are trying to settle with one, something else has happened. Even the way the media has gone is fast.

Before, it could take a week to hear what is going on in England, but now every minute you are inundated with information across the world. By the time you go to a client with some information, the client calls you the next moment and intimates with latest strategy.

Again, the world has become a global village as nobody will accept what is Nigerian in that sense, now your benchmark is the best in the world. This is putting the pressure on practitioners and they ask themselves how they can be relevant globally, it is no longer Nigeria.

Why are agencies jumping to foreign affiliations?

I think those who seek affiliations today are sufficiently knowledgeable enough to know why they want to go into it. You do not affiliate for the sake of affiliation.

Affiliation has advantages and some who went into it did that for business expansion. If anybody went into affiliation for expansion, he may regret it. Affiliation can be beneficial if you go into it with some knowledge. In affiliation, both parties can benefit.

For us in Troyka Group, we went into affiliation to improve our manpower capacity to grow our Nigerian business.

It’s been noticed that Agencies now cut rate to outwit competitors, what is your view?

I am not aware of that. But if you want to play this game by promising clients that you would undercut, you won’t get anywhere. I have no record of a small agency who tries to undercut by taking business from us. We hardly lose business.

Africa is the next market and how is the industry prepared for this emerging market?

The multinational companies are coming back to Africa full time. When we went to them, we told them that we want to be their affiliates and they accepted. Now they have seen that Africa is the next big market.

This is because the international agencies know that their own clients are coming here, they have no choice than come here too. Those companies have told them that they are investing in Africa now.

There appears to be a trend where clients are evading agencies and take their creative work to road side people; is this healthy?

You cannot compare oranges with apples. You cannot find sophisticated clients do that.

Serious companies would always thrust their business on the hands of professionals.