Stories by Princewill Ekwujuru

IMPACT of technology and changes in consumers behavioural pattern will  continue to  transform global ad landscape, with  ad video download projected to increase  by 82 percent by the year 2020.  This was the position of participants at an international summit on advertising organised by Advertising Practitioners  Council of Nigeria, APCON and  BSP Media International, UK.

The summit which was entitled “Overview of the Nigerian Advertising Industry-Past, Present, and Future,” in Lagos, was sponsored by the beer Sectoral Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN.

The Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria, BON, Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria, MIPAN, and the Advertisers Association of Nigeria, ADVAN also supported the summit. The communiqué after the event noted among other things; the growing importance of digital technology as the platform of choice for advertising. The summit sited the key role played by the Internet in the future of advertising, and that advertising is moving into a future of fragmentation, disruption, and highly disruptive campaigns.

Smart-technology

The participants also noted how disruption and balancing of multi-dimensional situations are the new reality in advertising, e.g., the challenge between the Ipad and the Notepad, and the explosion of new players in the industry. The summit resolved that no arm of media will be obliterated as all media platforms would co-exist and complement one another in future.

The increasing challenges for advertising in the area of trust, transparency, and respect for consumer rights were also noted.

The summit was of the view  that interdependence of broadcast media and advertising is necessary  for survival, while calling for the need for a stronger alignment between APCON and NBC. The participants called for the necessity of enhanced capacity of regulators given changes in the advertising ecosystem and the  need for agencies to evolve into gatekeepers for knowledge of client brands, with the ability to integrate all the competencies necessary to enable clients to win.

The communiqué also recommended commendable compliance by key players in the Nigerian alcohol marketing industry with the 70/30 standard that favours advertising to adults rather than minors. On the other hand, the summit called for an increased self-regulation by professionals in all areas of the advertising value chain, pointing out better monitoring and measurement as a basis for regulation of advertising in Nigeria.

The communiqué also recommended that professionals in advertising must commit to the highest level of compliance with the advertising and broadcasting codes.