THE Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) says its decision to establish the continent’s first indigenous stock image bank, the Nigeria Stock Image Bank (NSIB), stems from the need to boost local contents and create more jobs.
The apex regulatory body in the nation’s advertising space also believed the steps have become necessary to truly reposition Nigeria’s integrated marketing communication space for growth.
Director-General, ARCON, Dr Lekan Fadolapo, explained that the initiative aimed at revolutionising the continent’s media landscape and when fully functional, will engage over 100,000 photographers, 10,000 models, content creators and other professionals at inception.
He disclosed that the council has inaugurated a 10-member Stock Image Bank Committee that will be in charge of the initiative, which he described as part of the agency’s ongoing industry-wide reforms aimed at growing and projecting the advertising ecosystem and making it a force to reckon with in the global advertising market.
He expressed the belief that creating an Afro-centric image repository will empower its local talents, while also ensuring that the continent’s visual narrative is authentically represented on the global stage.
The ARCON boss explained that the 10-member committee to be chaired by ace photographer, and President, Professional Model Managers Association of Nigeria (PROMMAN), Kelechi Amadi Obi, has been carefully selected to represent various sectors of the advertising and media industry.
He, therefore, charged the newly- formed committee to excel in their assigned task while setting a deadline of three months for the submission of an interim report expected to lay the groundwork for implementing Africa’s first comprehensive stock image bank.
The report, he added, will address key areas such as technological infrastructure, copyright protection and intellectual property and strategies for global market penetration.
Obi, in his acceptance speech, expressed delight to be part of ARCON’s efforts at pioneering change in the nation’s advertising sector and giving local content the opportunity to thrive.
He believed the initiative will give local content creators living in Nigeria the opportunity to tell the story of Nigeria.
Obi said: “An initiative like this is not just for the business aspect. I believe it is existential for us to be able to tell our stories. It is very important for us be our own storytellers.”
He went on to highlight the current disparity in online image searches, noting that a query for ‘African man pounding yam’ often yields results captured outside the continent by non-African photographers.
“With the Stock Image Bank, we are at the cusp of a turnaround. This bank will not only serve the Nigerian people, it will serve the world since it provides the bank of images that will decide how the world sees Africa. Once we wake up, the rest of the continent will as well,” he added.
Interestingly, not a few industry watchers believed the latest move by the industry’s apex regulatory body aligns with the growing trend of cultural authenticity in global media and advertising since it provides a platform for African visual narratives to be shared with the world.
“As Africa continues to assert its place on the global stage, initiatives like ARCON’s stock image bank are crucial in shaping how the continent is perceived worldwide,” said a practitioner who would not want his name in print.
