By Akin Adewakun | Lagos
WITH the dusts raised at the last general elections gradually settling, and elected officers getting set to take up the tasks of governance, practitioners in the nation’s integrated marketing communication (IMC) space, have called on incoming national and sub-national governments to accord advertising the utmost respect and recognition it deserves.
The practitioners, in exclusive chats with Brands & Marketing, noted that the industry has not experienced the much-needed growth because practitioners in the sector have not been getting the recognition they deserve, from government, despite etching their marks in the sands of time.
They argued that despite producing individuals that had made their marks in different sectors of the economy, successive governments at the centre had not leveraged such feats, by involving some of these practitioners in the affairs of the state.
Besides giving practitioners better recognition, the Chief Executive Officer, Absolute PR, Mr. Akonte Ekine, believes IMC, just like any other sector of the economy, should be given the enabling environment to grow.
He identified the refusal of the outgoing government, at the centre, to constitute a board for the sector’s apex regulatory body, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), as one of the incontrovertible evidences of the disdain the government at the centre has for the sector.
“Will Nigeria Medical Council exist one year without a council? It only confirms the low level of recognition, accorded the industry. How would a body, registered by government, be without a council, for this long? I think the incoming government should look into this because if there is any sector that is supposed to get utmost attention, it’s the advertising industry,” he added.
Former President of the Advertising Agencies Association of Nigeria (AAAN) and Chief Executive Officer/ Lead Consultant, Ladybird Advertising, Mrs. Bunmi Oke believes the incoming government has a lot to do towards repositioning the country, in the eye of the world.
She urged the incoming government to set up a committee, consisting of marketing communications professionals, that will oversee the repositioning of the country, to attract the much-desired FDIs into the nation’s economy.
Oke also called on the incoming government to find a way of mobilizing every Nigerian to enable them play their roles in these repositioning efforts.
“The country has a lot to do image-wise. There is the need to mobilize all Nigerians, and make sure they participate in the image-building efforts of the government,” she added.
Oke also tasked the incoming government on the need to embark on image-laundering drive for the country, and saddle professionals in the sector with the task of doing that. She decried a situation where cronies of government, mostly non-professionals, are saddled with the responsibilities meant marketing communications professionals.
Speaking on the industry’s expectations from the incoming government at the centre, the President of the Outdoor Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (OAAN), Chief Emma Ajufo demands a level-playing field for practitioners in the sector, especially the outdoor ad subsector.
“We want some level of transparency and equal opportunities for all practitioners in the sector,” he stated.
Ajufo also called on the incoming government to insist on professionalism by ensuring that only certified ad professionals are allowed to practise in the country.
The OAAN boss also rooted for a quick constitution of the ARCON’s board, noting that it would provide the council the opportunity to exhaustively deliberate on policies before bringing them to the public domain.
He however commended the incumbent Director General of the apex regulatory body, Dr. Lekan Fadolapo, for the series of reforms, introduced since assuming office, few years ago.
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