Brand Visibility

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Vol. 001 Issue No. 001, OCTOBER - DECEMBER, 2014 N1000 US$7.50 Promoting Excellence in Visibility Communication OAAN Rewards Creativity Dangote Cement Takes Branding to the Next Level Adopt Innovations Promasidor Boss Biodun Sobanjo Donates Building to UNILAG Outdoor Advertising In Nigeria Signage Agencies Truncate Growth Brands and Social media platforms Tips on Effective Branding ... Hampper Brand Communication

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Transcript of Brand Visibility

Page 1: Brand Visibility

Vol. 001 Issue No. 001, OCTOBER - DECEMBER, 2014 N1000 US$7.50

Promoting Excellence in Visibility Communication

OAAN Rewards Creativity

Dangote Cement Takes Branding to the Next Level

Adopt InnovationsPromasidor Boss

Biodun Sobanjo Donates Building to UNILAG

Outdoor Advertising In Nigeria

Signage Agencies Truncate Growth

Brands and Social mediaplatforms

Tips on Effective Branding

... Hampper Brand Communication

Pro

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CONTENTS

News

7

Dangote Cement Brands Depots,

Customer Warehouses,

Sales Offices & Regional Offices

24

OAAN Rewards Creativity

Events

34-35

Story

40 DWINDLING FORTUNE IN THE

OUT-OF-HOME INDUSTRY.

Biodun Shobanjo

Donates Building To

Mass Comm.

Department,

UNILAG

43

At Jaiz Bank, We Serve The

Needs Of People Of All Religions

Apcon To Be Without

A Chair For Now

BRAND VISIBILITY

3 Brand Visibility

Interview

Interview Prince Yinka Adepoju,

Director General of Oyo State Signage and Advertisement Agency (OYSAA).

He speaks on how he is changing

the face of outdoor Advertising

practice in Oyo State to meet world

standards and the Agency's fight

against indiscriminate erection

of billboards.

25

Mr. Emmanuel Ajufo,50 General Secretary of the Outdoor Advertising

Association of Nigeria (OAAN), and MD/CEO of Opportunity To See Limited

He spoke with Brand Visibility on a number of industry related issues, including what he considered most pressing: the dwindling fortunes in the industry and the formation of West African Outdoor Advertising

Association.

Odun Fadoju, Managing Director, DP Partnership FCB,55

He x-rays issues relevant to the

marketing communications

industry in Nigeria.

He reveals the secret behind the Media

Link's success and offers informed

opinion on how to halt the dwindling

fortunes of the Outdoor Industry

Chief Babu Akinbobola, Chairman, Media Link Limited

13

Technology

David Zhu Country Marketing Manager

Liatronics’s Limited

37

Liatronics Invades Nigeria with

LED Indoor and Outdoor Platforms

Dozie Mbanefo Buries Mum, OAAN

Floods Nnewi

...and the Oparaekes gave out their daughter in holy matrimony

48

49

9

Industry

Lanre Fasehun Installed 48th

President of Ikeja Rotary Club78

Special Report

NIGERIAN BREWRIES PLC: Winning With Nigeria

38

OAAN Strategises For The Future68

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EDITORIAL

5 Brand Visibility

ear in, year out, corporate organizations across the world invest a whole lot of resources Y

to create and promote the personality they desire for their brands, in a bid to enhance what is popularly termed brand personality. Today, creation, promotion and sustenance of brand personality have assumed prime positions in marketing communications. As such, it is necessary that they are taken seriously, in terms of crafting the message, which must be meticulous, and execution, which must be professional. To achieve this, there are right steps to take, just as there are pitfalls to avoid.

has come as a medium through which useful contributions will be made in the effort to achieve effective brand visibility communication. Our intention is to adequately inform and educate brand owners and promoters on the most profitably efficient way to promote their brands. This we shall do by keeping them up to date with new and effective brand communication strategies, while also highlighting the pitfalls to avoid. Our primary focus is the Nigerian environment. We shall nonetheless share the experience in other lands, especially the more buoyant economies, with our readers. We also offer to constantly present educative features on aspects of brand communication. The aim is to bridge the gap between town and

Brand Visibility

gown; between the lecture room and marketing/brand communications departments, with a view to exposing both students and practitioners to the p r a c t i c a l a s p e c t s o f b r a n d communication and management. To achieve this, each edition shall feature well researched features in areas relevant to the promotion of brand education.We shall be thoroughly analytical and critical as the need arises, while remaining focused on our primary objective of contributing to brand p r o m o t i o n t h r o u g h e f f e c t i v e communication strategies.To help in the assignment that we have set for ourselves, we shall rely on the g u i d a n c e , a s s i s t a n c e a n d contributions of seasoned and well-grounded professionals – men and women who have devoted much of their lives to the creation, promotion and management of brands. Some of the brands are leaders in their respective categories, and are major contributors to the growth of the nation's economy.Above all, we shall constantly be guided by the tenets of informative and educative journalism, such that our readers will find us a useful ally in their quest for relevant, up-to-date information in all areas that pertain to brand promotion and management.Of course, your contributions will be highly valued, and your feedback deeply appreciated. We shall rely on them to guide our steps in our conviction that we are both working to achieve a common goal: improved visibility for the brands!

The Eagle Has Landed!

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this Edition

This Edition The Team

6 Brand Visibility

Publisher/Chief Editorial Officer

Editorial Consultant

Editorial Advisers:

Contributors:

Reporter/Researcher;

Correspondents:

Designed By:

Graphic Artists:

Marketing Consultants:

Published By:

’Sola Akinsiku, frpa; mnipr

Haniel Ukpaukure

Prof. Ralph AkinfeleyeDr. Dayo Daramola

Dr. Joe-Bel Molokwu, frpa

Dr. Abigail OgwuezzyDr. Odion Oscar Odibo

Dr. Kunle AdeyemiChief Akin Babafemi (Ph.D)

Mr Bankole EbisenujuAlhaji Bola AgboolaEngr. Dayo Akinola

Ibrahim Olalekan

Adebayo Tosin Blessing

Toyin Ebisemiju

Akinsiku Motunrayo

Maxima Designs & Prints80, Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja,

Lagos State.

Awolumate JoshuaAigbe Edo Otasowie

Isaac Phritnol Professional Services

Visibility Dynamics Publising Limited

80, Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja, Lagos State.

In this maiden edition of , we present some of the issues

that are germane to effective brand visibility communication, especially as they affect the exercise, whether negatively and positively. For instance, there is the issue of the signage and advertisement regulatory agencies. Since the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA) was c r e a t e d , s i m i l a r a g e n c i e s h a v e mushroomed across the country. Virtually each of the states in the South West, South-South and South East now has a replica of LASAA. Nothing wrong, except that some states have copied the Lagos example word for word and error for error! Interestingly, this appears to be the only issue on which the political parties seem to agree: the need for a signage agency to shore up their internally generated revenue (IGR). But, in what other areas have they added value to the practice of outdoor advertising in Nigeria?

also had chats with a number of practitioners: Chief Babu Akinbobola-Chairman Media Link and member, OAAN Board of Trustees; Yinka Adepoju, DG Oyo State Signage and Advertisement Agency (OYSAA); Emman Ajufo, MD/CEO Opportunity To See and General Secretary, OAAN; Yinka Okesiji, formerly of Optimum Exposures and now CEO, Allied Outdoor, and a host of others whose views are really important in the industry. And then Odun Fadoju, MD/CEO DP Partnership thinks Outdoor Operators got what they deserve from government agencies. We also share his views in this edition.

It is no longer news that the fortunes of the outdoor sub sector are fast dwindling. Signage agencies are seen as the main culprits, because they allegedly suck outdoor agencies dry. But what are the operators doing? We present a report of the efforts of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria, (OAAN), in stemming the ravaging and

thrampaging tide. The association held its 29 annual general meeting in Owerri, the Imo State Capital, and came off proud owners of a landed property, courtesy of Owelle Rochas Okorocha, the state governor. You won't find the details elsewhere.

thYou probably were not at the 8 OAAN Poster Awards event that held recently at the Eko Hotels. And if you were there ,you already know that Nigerian Breweries, makers of the “Chairman of all beer drinks:” Heineken and other top leading brands went home with the Grand Poster Award that night. But you most probably were having a nice time, and so, you must have missed certain other fine details. Not to worry, the juicy details are served in this edition. And we know you won't find them the way we have served here anywhere else.

And in line with our commitment to brand communication education, we present details of a paper presented on: Brand Management Exposition. Readers will find it quiet illuminating.

We have a whole lot more: on how to keep you well informed, such that your brands will get more visible not only in the market place but also in the opinion of your audience.

Happy reading!

Brand Visibility

Brand Visibility

Sola Akinsiku, frpa Publisher/CEOBrand Visibility

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Brand Visibility: Comment on the business philosophy of Jaiz Bank.

The business philosophy of Jaiz Bank Plc, is “To deliver world class

sharia compliant financial services to our clientele irrespective of class,

creed, race or religious belief and to contribute to the socio-economic

upliftment of humanity.”

Idris:

Brand Visibility:

Brand Visibility:

There is this

notion in certain quarters that the

Bank is an Islamic Bank, and so

the practices and processes may

not be favorable to the business

interests of Christians and the

people of other faith. What do you

say to this?

Jaiz Bank is established

based on Islamic principles of

fairness, transparency and ethical

standards which prescribe for trust

and justice in dealing with all class of

people irrespective of their religion,

tribe or race. The bank is open to

everyone and customers cut across

different religion.

As a matter of fact, our first ever

financing as a Bank was to a

Christian. Besides him there are

other several Christians that we

have provided financing for. It is

important to stress here that Jaiz is

not an exclusive club. It is a business

and a bank that is open to all

irrespective of race or religion. It is

therefore erroneous to say that Jaiz

Bank is for Muslims alone. Our

employees are made up of both

Christians and Muslims alike.

We know that for

now the Bank's operations are

largely and predominantly

concentrated in the Northern part

of the country. Is it a Northern (or

a Northerners') Bank?

The Bank's presence is

currently predominantly in the North

East, North West and Abuja (FCT)

because our operating license as at

now is a Regional Operating

License which allows us to open

branches and to operate in the areas

Idris:

Idris:

For well over 20 years, he has been in the Corporate

Communications terrain-variously at FSB Plc, Fidelity

Bank Plc, and at a point was on the Vision 20:20:20

team. Now he is the Head, Corporate Communications,

Jaiz Bank Limited. Idris Salihu is, by all standards a

gentleman. He is equally intellectually sound, and a

thorough bred Corporate Communications expert.

Not too long ago, there was a chance meeting with

Brands Visibility and the magazine took full advantage

of the opportunity. Below, we serve excerpts from the chat.

You no doubt will find it interesting and illuminating to know

that Jaiz Bank caters for the needs of people of all religion

AT JAIZ BANK, WE SERVE THE NEEDS OF

PEOPLE OF ALL RELIGIONS- IDRIS SALIHU

Banking

Brand Visibility

Page 8: Brand Visibility

the bank’s property. However, you

are given an option to purchase the

asset on the expiration of the lease

period.

The third way we make money is

through partnership or what we call

Musharaka (partnership through

profit and loss sharing). So one can

safely say that we make money

through three main financing

outlets; Ijara (lease), Musharaka

(partnership), and Murabaha

which simply means buying and

selling at a profit.

What are the

major strengths of Jaiz Bank,

and how will such mark it out

from the crowd of banks

operating in the country at the

moment?

Our strength lies in our

unique model of banking which

emphasizes fairness, justice,

t ransparency, h igh e th ica l

standards and above all social-

economic welfare of the society at

large where profit is not the ultimate

objective, but it is guaranteed and

will come only as a logical

sequence of the value that we

deliver to our customers.

And finally,

how, and where do you see Jaiz

Bank in another 10 years?

First, we want to be a national

bank with presence in all the State

Capitals of the Federation. Then we

will expand our footprints beyond

the shores of Nigeria by expanding

to Sub-Saharan Africa. Then we will

be seen and respected by most of

these other banks. They would

respect us for our unique model,

qual i ty service, special ized

products, high ethics and for our

professionalism. Simple!

Brand Visibility:

Brand Visibility:

Idris:

Idris:

BV

8 Brand Visibility

mentioned above. However, we

have applied for a National License

from the Central Bank of Nigeria

and we are optimistic we would get

it very soon to enable us spread

across the country.

So, how does

the Bank plan to nationalize its

operations?

As stated above, as soon as

we receive our National operating

License from the CBN, we will go

national or as you put, nationalize

our operations.

In what ways is

the Bank different from any other

Bank in Nigeria, both in terms of

outlook and product offerings?

Jaiz Bank as a Non-Interest

Financial Institution operates under

the Islamic principle of not giving or

receiving interests. For instance,

under the interest-based system,

deposits are taken as loan from

customers to the bank and a fixed

return is guaranteed to depositors

regardless of the performance of

the institution. Under the Islamic

Non-Interest, the Bank receives

deposits from depositors and invest

same on behalf of the depositors.

The profit earned therefrom is

shared between the depositors and

the bank, otherwise called the

fund's manager..

Conventional banks give loans at a

fixed rate without any risk on their

part. However, under the Non-

Interest model, the bank shares

both the risk and rewards. Profits or

losses are jointly shared based on a

pre-agreed ratio and to the level of

capital contributed by both parties.

In what specific

ways can Jaiz Bank be of

significant help to businesses,

especially the SMEs?

Brand Visibility:

Brand Visibility:

Brand Visibility:

Idris:

Idris:

Idris:

Idris:

If I may take you back to our

business model, an integral part of

our business philosophy, is to

contribute positively to socio-

economic upliftment of the society

through meaningful investment in

capacity building. We have since

our inception remained true to our

ideology and have partnered with a

lot of businesses in this regard. We

have a dedicated SME desk and

potential entrepreneurs can contact

us for more details.

Is it true that the

Bank does not charge interests

on loans? And if yes, how does it

plan to break even, and even

make profit?

We make money through

three basic means. One is through

buying and selling or what we call

Murabaha (Cost-Plus Mark-UP).

You see non-interest banks are the

only ones who are authorized to

engage in trading. Here a customer

can approach us with a need to

acquire an asset. We will in turn

look for that asset that he/she

requires, purchase it on his behalf

and we put our little mark-up (profit)

and sell to him/her. If the terms are

acceptable to both parties then we

enter into a sale contract whereby

the customer is given the benefit to

conveniently pay on agreed

installments.

Secondly, is through Leasing or

what we call Ijara. Here customers

(Individuals or Corporate bodies)

approach us based on the need to

acquire equipment say a generator

for their businesses. Consequently,

we will acquire the generator and

give to you on lease basis, but you

will be paying us rental for the use of

the generator also based on agreed

terms and conditions. Note that

under the lease agreement the

leased item is not your property; it is

Brand Visibility:

bANKING

Page 9: Brand Visibility

9

In fulfilment of its commitment to promoting and rewarding creativity in the out-of-home advertising subsector of the Nigerian economy, the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) has held its 8th Poster Award ceremony in Lagos. The event, which was witnessed by leading practitioners and operators in the advertising industry in the country, held at Eko Hotels and Suites on Thursday, May 15, 2014. It was a colourful event.

The awards were in nine different categories: D a i r y / F o o d / B e v e r a g e s ; N o n - A l c o h o l i c d r i n k s ; Electrical/Electronics; Public Service; Telecoms/ICT; Household; Financial Services, and the Grand Poster Award. The categorisation, according to Bankole Ademulegun, Chairman of the Planning Committee, and OAAN's immediate past president, was intended to cover all the sectors of the Nigerian economy. It was however primarily focused on those sub-sectors that are generally active in engaging the out-of-home platforms to connect with their intended audiences.

Speaking to welcome guests at the event, Mr. Charles Chijide, president of the association, said the ceremony was held to reward creative excellence in outdoor advertising. He said the

OAAN Rewards CreativeExcellence

Brand Visibility

- CEOs of some OAAN Member-Companies

- Chijide

EVENTS

- Chijide field questions from a reporter

Page 10: Brand Visibility

10 Brand Visibility

event was also aimed at encouraging and promoting the creative thinking ability of those who create the advertisements that are exposed on the various platforms of the out-of-home subsector of the advertising industry.

“It is our way of appreciating the cerebral work that has gone into creating the messages through which our clients have connected with their various targets using our platforms”, Chijide said.

He also added “A lot has been said and written about the fact that our media platforms increase exposure and that they are the most flexible when compared to other media groups; and that they are highly efficient as they help to reach higher number of viewers repeatedly, making them the most cost effective media. They have the lowest cost per thousand.” He said: “While the messages on other media are fleeting and pass away very quickly, messages on the outdoor platforms are dazzling and more permanent. All of this has been scientifically proven to be authentic, and we believe that it is only proper that the creators of the messages should be rewarded, at least to commend, encourage and promote their creative ingenuity. It is our way of helping to promote creativity in the larger advertising industry in the country”

In his speech at the event, Senator Enyinanya Ababribe, Chairman, Senate Committee on Information, commended the leadership of OAAN for its foresight and for creating a platform for the promotion of the advertising industry in Nigeria. He said that efforts were being made to protect the interest of industry players in the country.

The rule and law the Federal Government has is to ensure foreigners in Nigeria are allowed to practice,” Abaribe said. “But the issue is, while that is allowed, the Federal Government will not allow for impoverishment of Nigerians. We are doing our best to protect the industries that are already built.”

He spoke on the yoke of multiple taxation currently strangulating operators, especially in the out-of-home sub-sector, noting that it was not an insurmountable task. He said it would require federal legislators to design a legal framework that would address it.

“…our media platforms increase exposure and they are the most flexible when compared to other media groups; they are highly efficient as they help to reach higher number of viewers repeatedly, making them the most cost effective media. They have the lowest cost per thousand... While the messages on other media are fleeting and pass away very quickly, messages on the outdoor platforms are dazzling and more permanent”

The rule and law the federal government has is to ensure foreigners in Nigeria are allowed to practice... But the issue, is while that is allowed, the federal government will not allow for impoverishment of Nigerians.

The OAAN outing received the endorsement of the international community of outdoor advertising operators, as Mac Philips, general secretary of the global association, FEPE, was also there to represent the association's president at the event.

In his speech, the FEPE president commended OAAN's efforts to position Africa, especially the West African sub-region, as the outdoor advertising hub. He assured OAAN of the support of the international association in its fight against multiple taxation and other frustrating regulations.

Winners at the memorable event were Loya Milk, in the Diary Food & Beverages category; Star Beer in the Alcoholic Drink category and LG SmartTV in the Electrical/Electronic category. For the Household products, the award went to Mouka Foam, while Fanta won in the Non-Alcoholic category. Swift 4G Lite was the winner in the Telecoms/ICT category. In the Financial Services category, the winner was Fidelity Bank's Fidelity One Card.

EVENTS

Left: Geoge Noah(MD LASAA) with Lolu Akinwunmi Chairman, APCON

Left: Mac Philips: General Secretary FEPE with Garba Belo Kanarofi, Registrar/CEO, APCON

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EVENTS

The Grand Poster Award also went to Star Beer, while the Special Award was won by Rota Panel, one of the leading international suppliers to the Nigerian outdoor advertising market. The marketing director of the Netherland-based firm, was personally in attendance to receive the Award.

At the colourful event were Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi, immediate past chairman of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON); Alhaji Garba Bello Kankarofi, registrar of APCON’s Registrat/CEO and Mr. Ade Akinde, chairman, APCON's Advertising Standards Panel. Others were Chief Odunmoluwa Fadoju, MD/CEO, DP Partnership FCB; Mr. George Noah, MD/CEO L a g o s S t a t e S i g n a g e a n d Advertisement Agency (LASAA) and Honourable Aliu Oluwadare, immediate past chairman, Ondo State Signage and Advertisement Agency, as well as dignitaries representing the sub-sectors of the advertising industry in Nigeria.

Chijide announced that the next

edition of the annual event had

been scheduled for May 15,

2015.B&V

-Left to right; Bayo Adio, Charles Chijide(OAAN President) Dozie Mbanefo and Kole Ademulegun

-Kole Ademulegun fielding questions from a brand journalist from Channels Television

A winner Receiving an Award from Lolu Akinwumi

12 Brands Visibility

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INTERVIEW

Brand Visibility recently met with Chief Babu Akinbobola, Chairman, Media Link Limited at his Ilupeju Office, Lagos; and despite his busy schedule, he had a chat with the duo of Sola Akinsiku, and Lekan Ibrahim. In the excerpts below, he reveals the secret behind the Media Link's success and offers informed opinion on how to halt the dwindling fortunes of the Outdoor Industry

Chief Babu Akinbobola

Who is Chief Babu Akinbobola ?

Professional career.

My name is Folusho Akinrolabu

Akinbobola. I was born in Idanre. I

am an Ondo State man. The Babu in

my name, by which all and sundry

now know me, is a corruption of

Akinrolabu, my first name. How I

came about the name Babu. This is

an abbreviation of the name

Akinrolabu. It was the coinage by

one of my teachers in the primary

school then. He found it more

convenient to call me Babu, as a way

to distinguish my own Akin from the

numerous Akins that were in my

class then. And, so it has stuck. Even

my parents, relatives, colleagues –

all call me Babu.

Thirty years ago, I joined Media

Link as managing director. I joined

Mr Bankole Ademulegun to start

Media Link as the founding

managing director. About 10 years

ago, I became the chairman. I'm

married to Funmilola Akinbobola

and I have grown up children.

I came into advertising in 1974 when

I joined the then Ogilvy Benson. I

was in the media department. I was

there until 1976 when Ondo State

was created from the then Western

State; and having established its own

radio station, the state had need to

engage professionals into the

various departments.

So I joined Ondo Radio as the Lagos

Office Manager and Head of

Advertising Traffic. As the Head of

Lagos Office, my main duties were

to get advertising businesses from

the advertising agencies.

Unfortunately, I didn't quite find the

new environment as challenging as I

was used to . While I was

contemplating on my next move, I

was invited by Grant Advertising to

join them by the then media group

head (We had worked together in the

media department at Ogilvy). I

remember I had my interview with

Mr Biodun Shobanjo and they

employed me immediately. That was

my new beginning in advertising.

I joined Grant Advertising in 1977,

and rose through the ranks of media

executive; media manager; media

group head; then media director, and

became a member of the executive

council. I left at the end of August

1984 to join Mr Ademulegun, who

had started Media Link a couple of

months earlier

Outdoor advertising is still big

Outdoor Advertising still big

business; with more challenges

13 Brands Visibility

-Babu Akinbobola

Brands Are Successful because of Advertising

Page 14: Brand Visibility

business; but now with serious

challenges. The major problem

outdoor advertising has now is that

politicians are focusing on it as a

source of huge internally generated

revenue (IGR), and that is creating

some serious problems for outdoor

advertising. In fact, it is becoming

bigger business but unfortunately

the owners of the business are no

longer feeling the gain; they are not

really getting adequate returns for

their investments and efforts, as

expected.

Today, governments across the

country and at all levels concentrate

much of their IGR drive on the

outdoor advertising industry.

The painful thing is that they

are going about it in a way

that is destroying outdoor

advertising practice.The

rates (permit fees) being

demanded are unjustifiable

and are very outrageous.

A situation where a state

government is demanding

for about 40 per cent of the

r e v e n u e o f o u t d o o r

advertising can only be

inimical to the growth of the

business. Practitioners in the out-of-

home industry now compete

favourably with their counterparts,

in terms of professionalism,

expertise and innovativeness,

anywhere in the world – in Europe,

Asia and everywhere. But the sad

th ing i s tha t the Niger ian

practitioner has got to contend with

m o r e c h a l l e n g e s t h a n h i s

counterparts anywhere in the world!

There are no billboards that you

have anywhere in the world that you

don't have here. The problem we

have is that the cost of doing

business here is enormous, and

government has not made the

environment conducive as a result of

excessive taxation. Outdoor

companies obtain loans from the

banks at very high interest rates, to

bring in new generation billboards.

Then the state governments come,

making unreasonable demands so

you have nothing left for further

growth and to compensate your

workers. That is the danger outdoor

advertising is facing right now,

because of the huge demand by state

governments.

It is so bad that our clients are now

running away from using the

medium that used to be the cheapest

medium. This is because the once

cheapest medium has now become

the most expensive medium,

because the agencies of government

have, by their action, increased the

rates beyond reasonable limits. Most

of the users of the outdoor medium

have now left. Only a few sectors of

t h e e c o n o m y l i k e

telecommunications and breweries

are there and even those ones have

reduced their budgets on outdoor

advertising. Other sectors are going

for other media like internet and

social media. Having said all that,

however, I say it is still big business;

but now with bigger challenges. The

major challenge is that it is now seen

as an expensive medium because of

the stifling taxation by the various

agencies of governments.

On the signage and advertisement

regulatory agencies

Ordinarily, I would have been one of

the people that should welcome the

activities of the signage and

advertisement regulatory agencies.

At the initial stage, when we were

told by former Governor Ahmed

Bola Tinubu's regime that they were

going to start such an agency, we

were in total support because at that

time, outdoor advertising was poorly

managed and had badly affected the

environment.

At a point, former Governor Raji

Rasaki of Lagos ordered

t h e d e m o l i t i o n o f

billboards in Lagos in

January 1991. Then, we

had a horrible situation in

terms of uncontrolled

installation of billboards

all over Lagos. For

example, between Palm

Grove Bus Stop and

Maryland (in Lagos), we

had a total of 771

billboards. That was how

horrible it was. So we

knew something had to come up to

cleanse the environment of

undesirable billboards.

So when Asiwaju Tinubu came up

with the idea, we wanted it. What we

didn't know was that apart from

planning the environment to

accommodate billboards in such a

way as to remove cluttering and the

visual blight that we had then, the

other aspect which they saw in the

whole exercise was that it was also

going to be a veritable source of high

revenue generation. If I can illustrate

their being unreasonable with their

rates, I will use the Unipole billboard

as an example.

INTERVIEW

14 Brand Visibility

Chief Babu Akinbobola Photo: BV

Page 15: Brand Visibility
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Prior to the enactment of this law, the

local governments charged less than

N200, 000 per annum regardless of

the number of faces. The Lagos State

Signage and Advertisement Agency

(LASAA), right from the onset, took

the rate to three million naira per

face!

So, for the three-sided billboard for

which you were paying a total of

N200,000 as ground rent, the Lagos

S ta te Government , th rough

LASAA, is now demanding nine

million naira. That is outrageous and

should be seen as such by any

reasonable person. Now, the greed

for more money by the signage

agencies is the major problem of the

industry.

The law that enacted LASAA was a

fantastic law. It was intended to

make the environment to be more

beautiful; and to make billboards

more environment-friendly. We love

the control that the LASAA law has

brought into the practice. But the

revenue generation aspect is a

serious problem.

As should be expected, outdoor

companies had to add the additional

rates by LASAA into their existing

rates, and I think the average rate we

were charging then was about N4

million per face. So suddenly, clients

were being asked to jack up their

budget from N4 million to N7

million per face. And as a way of

resisting the outrageous increase, a

great number of advertisers who

were on outdoor simply walked

away. There was no way most of

them could do with the charges. And

I'm quite sure that was not the

intention of government for coming

up with the signage law. The

intention could not have been to kill

the business. They just wanted to

derive more revenue out of it. But

they have gone beyond reasonable

limits.

What the signage agencies are

charging is about 40 per cent of our

income and that is getting too much,

and so unreasonable. Government

should encourage companies to

grow. This is the only way the

economy of the state and that of the

nation can grow.

I will still go back to say there is

nothing wrong with the signage laws

that I have seen. In the LASAA law

as an example, again, you find out

that in their wisdom, they made

provision for a governing board

which is to have the various local

governments and the Outdoor

Advertising Association of Nigeria

(OAAN) represented. By design, the

board was intended to sit as an

appellate body on issues of

complaints brought against the

a g e n c y b y a n y a g g r i e v e d

practitioner.

Yes, there was a board, but this board

initially met for one or two years and

it stopped. For the past seven years,

no meeting of the board has been

convened. If the board has been

functioning, maybe we would have

been able to resolve all the problems

we now have.

I will say that in the '70s, as far as I

can recall, we did a

fantastic job up till early

80s. In those days

N i g e r i a n s h a n d l e d

everything in-house and

here at home. They were

d o i n g t h e i r f i l m

productions here at

home except for a few

m u l t i n a t i o n a l

c a m p a i g n s . T h e y

weren't jumping from

What needs to be done?

Advice for improvement in brand

promotion and communication:

nation to nation all in the name of

shooting commercials.

Today, people go to Kenya and the

U n i t e d K i n g d o m f o r f i l m

productions. I'm appalled that hardly

can you produce any commercial in

Nigeria without going to South

Africa or wherever. What happened?

I remember that in those days, too,

advertisers and their agencies had

relationships with international

agencies. When we were in Grant

Advertising, we had the Resident

Consultants. Could it be because

they do not have that anymore that

they have to go and meet them?

But I do know that brands are as

successful as they are today because

of advertising.

I think it was better then. I have been

wondering what happened. Could it

be because most of the agencies had

resident professional consultants

here then? I just told you that they

produced their commercials in

Nigeria and that they did so much

without going anywhere. These

days, they hardly can do anything

without going to South Africa. But in

the 60's, 70's, they did them in-house

and they did beautiful jobs. I still

don't know why. But having said all

that, I must also admit that certain

changes even in market ing

The marketing communications

industry then, and now:

INTERVIEW

16 Brand Visibility

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Page 17: Brand Visibility

communications analysis may have

led to this. But then, most of those

trips for commercial production

may not be necessary, after all as

these things can still be done locally,

and the results would still be as

outstanding, if not more.

Yes, Nigeria is a part of the global

village and by now Nigeria should

be creating for the rest of Africa. So,

my own concern is that we

are going to a level where

Nigeria should be a hub

where these things should

be created and sent to

similar “villages” around

the world. But that is not

happening. Now we go to

South Africa and other

such “global villages”

when we could get all the

resources and facilities for

excellent jobs here.

Why can't Nigeria be the

hub? We have very

intelligent people here.

Talking about this global

village, I believe creatives

are made for similar

markets. Markets across

the world are similar in all

ramifications. If you are creating

for what can be understood in

Nigeria, similar things will be used.

And you can then use such a

commercial in markets like Ghana,

Sierra-Leone, Liberia, and some

other parts of Africa. My question is,

'why are they not produced in

Nigeria? ‘

But what I have observed is that

affiliation seems to be in total

control of everything. Every day you

see accounts moving from one

media buying agency to another one,

just as even creatives move from one

agency to another.

Impact of globalization?

I would say that in total, the

Advertising Practitioners Council of

Nigeria (APCON), has done well.

Ye s , t h e r e a r e r o o m s f o r

improvement. I think where

APCON might have deviated a little

bit is the fact that we have tied

ourselves too much to the apron

strings of the Federal Government,

and this is obviously affecting us

very badly.

The signage and advertisement

agencies shouldn't have any control.

But then the organ that government

has given total authority to control

the practice of advertising could not

do everything they should do. The

states, through their signage and

advert isement agencies, are

beginning to take onto themselves

certain powers that they do not have,

and which they should not even

have.

The signage agencies should only be

in the business of allocating sites and

collecting revenue on whatever they

APCON's performance so far: have allocated, not to be in the

practice of advertising. Thus, the

ground rent which they should

collect should be the same as the

tenement rate for buildings. It

should be calculated based on the

total size of land used for the

billboard, and nothing more.

Talking about APCON, I think the

Council has done very well, but it

could do better. For example, I

noticed that the Council has started

generating revenue. I think the next

goal will be for the Council to seek

autonomy from government.

It is not only APCON that got a

charter form government. We have

Architects Council, ICAN (Institute

of Chartered Accountants of

Nigeria); NIPR (Nigerian Institute

of Public Relations), among others.

APCON would do better if it breaks

itself from the apron strings of

government. We should stop

co l lec t ing subvent ion f rom

government, and instead, tax

members and let members run the

affairs of APCON. The Council is

lucky to have highly experienced

practitioners that we have not even

used.

There are so many of them, and if we

are able to break away from this

strong link with government, I'm

sure this people can be called upon.

They will come in with ideas that

will assist APCON to grow. We have

people like Mr Biodun Shobanjo, Sir

Steve Omojafor, Senator Akin

Odunsi, and Mr Ayo Owoborode.

They all played a significant and

commendable role towards the

establishment of APCON. None of

these pillars of the industry has been

made Chairman of the Council. I

think we should look towards using

these people to give us more ideas

17 Brand Visibility

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and allow APCON to grow. But for

them to be able to do it, we need to

run APCON like other professionals

are running theirs – free from the

encumbrances of being tied to the

skirt of government.

I've talked on this lightly when I

spoke about APCON getting

subventions from the government.

We don't need subventions from

government. If you take subventions

from the government, government

would want to dictate some things

but I believe this is a mistake from

the government.

When the late Mr. May Nzeribe was

chairman, government announced a

board comprising just politicians.

He went to Abuja and met with the

minister and it was reversed. I'm sure

the i ssue of the purpor ted

appointment of a non-practitioner as

Council Chairman was a genuine

mistake on the part of Mr President,

and I'm sure if taken up with him, he

will reverse it quickly. But to avoid a

re-occurrence, APCON should do

what other professional bodies are

doing. Practitioners in advertising

should learn to stand on their feet,

a n d n o t b e d e p e n d e n t o n

government.

The government has been wonderful

in giving us a charter. We should

now run our own affairs without

r u n n i n g b a c k t o m e e t t h e

government with a bowl in our

hands. If we do that, then we should

expect this type of interference once

in a while. But I do not think such an

appointment will hold. It cannot

hold because there is no way

politicians will come around to

control professionals. It will also be

Appointment of the next APCON

Council Chairman:

a gross violation of the law that set up

APCON.

The constitution makes it very clear

that the local government is the only

organ that should control and derive

revenue from outdoor advertising.

It's clearly stated in our constitution.

But like they say, politicians are very

smart people. They set up agencies

and said they want this body (signage

agency) to collect revenue on behalf

of the local governments; and we all

know what has been happening.

If there is a way of being more

specific in the amendment of the

constitution, to make it clear that

state governments should not

interfere, I would like it because if

you want to set up an agency that will

be national, that may not work.

People are saying that we should be

more of federal than a unitary

system. Some of the problems we

have in Nigeria is that the federal

government is trying to control the

states and control everything. If we

are truly a federating country, we

should not be asking for a national

law for everything. But if we could

strengthen the local government or

authority, especially over

ou tdoor adver t i s ing

practice, I will go for that,

because that would be

f a s t e r a n d m o r e

meaningful than what we

are seeing now.

What we are seeing now

is really very wrong. The

v a r i o u s s t a t e

governments see outdoor

as another source of

revenue generation, and it

is ridiculous. Having a

national law may not

really solve the problem.

The call for a national signage law:

Tough times for outdoor practice:

How APCON and OAAN can

bring about change:

I think the major problem outdoor

advertising has is the signage

agencies. The signage agencies

should have been a welcome

development, because outdoor

a d v e r t i s i n g i s n o w m o r e

environment-friendly and the

practice in Nigeria now competes

favourably with the rest of the world.

The truth is, the signage agencies

have contributed to this development

but, unfortunately, they are also

concentrating on how to generate

huge revenue to the government. As

a result, the permit fees are now so

unreasonable. And since this has to

be borne by the clients, this is driving

them away from the outdoor media

platforms. Clients now believe if

they put their money elsewhere, say

on other less expensive media, they

could get much more benefit because

the main advantage of outdoor in the

past was because it was cheap. But

now it is changing from being the

cheapest to being the most

expensive. That is not good for the

medium; that is causing a major loss.

I think this is more of a task for

OOAN to resolve, than it is for

19 Brand Visibility

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APCON. OAAN needs to be bold

enough to shout. It needs to meet

with media agencies and other

stakeholders. Just to let the public

know about the problem on hand.

It is OAAN that should take the first

step. There has to be that

determination and commitment on

the part of OAAN as a group to do

something about it.

I think the code that APCON

i n t r o d u c e d u n d e r M r. L o l u

Akinwunmi, as Chairman, came a

little bit late. It came towards the end

of the tenure of the initiator as

chairman. The code is fantastic. We

needed it, but he brought it too close

to the end of his tenure and right now

there is no Council Chairman to pilot

the implementation of the code.

One of the conditions of the code is

that you should be a registered

practitioner; and that your company

should also be registered. I think he

modified the definition of a

practitioner. An individual and

company practicing advertising

should be registered. I love it

because it is another way of getting

the practice on a more sure footing,

much more than it is for getting more

funds for APCON. If we are going to

gain our independence from

government, we need to be able to

stabilize and to have enough funds.

By the new arrangement, every

company in this industry should be a

registered practitioner. So, Media

Link, for instance, should not

practice illegally. The company

should also be licenced to practice

and then pay the prescribed annual

license fees which is very good.

And another thing is the way it is

done. For you to be licenced, there

are conditions. You have to be a

Nigerian company; and there is a

clear definition of what a Nigerian

The APCON Code of Practice:

company means. If you come in

from a foreign country and you want

to practice here, you can't own more

than 25 per cent. That enables

Nigerians to be part of your

company. It is good. No company

from Nigeria for instance can go to

any other country, say, South Africa

to practice, without meeting the

requirements. So why is it so easy

for them to come here with their

briefcases and start practicing?

Thus, the code is very good. But

unfortunately, Lolu brought it too

close to the end of his tenure. He was

courageous to have done what he

did. If we can effect it, it is going to

help us.

I was the media director at Grant

Advertising, and Mr Ademulegun

was also there. It happened at a time

when many people were leaving, I

think, it was in 1979.

Mr Biodun Shobanjo had left to

form Insight Communications.

Shortly after he left, everybody was

l e a v i n g a n d o n e d a y, M r

Ademulegun came into my office

and he told me we could come

together to form a company. He was

thinking of us forming Media

Advertising Gift, and I said it was a

great idea, more so he was the first

person to come to me and I

appreciate it. But I suggested that

instead of doing Advertising Gift

alone, we should also consider

outdoor advertising which had

caught my fancy by then.

So we agreed and I think we were

both careful, because we had heard

stories of people coming together

only to split within some couple of

months. But we wanted to get it

right, so we then decided to discuss

further on the kind of business we

The Success Story:Media Link

were going to have: one that would

stand the test of time, on all fronts.

Kole (Mr Ademulegun) was my best

friend. I don't know how to make

friends easily, because I easily get

hurt. I don't know how to keep some

things, but within a week of his

joining Grant Advertising, we

became friends, to the extent that

when some weeks later, I was to get

married, Kole did most of the

a r r a n g e m e n t f o r m e . H e

recommended a hall, the band that

was to play, the cake maker, the

programme maker. All the ones he

recommended I accepted. So I

wasn't surprised. That was how we

became very good friends, and that

was in January 1980. He came in at

the end of 1979 and I got married

February 9, 1980. So I was not

surprised when he came to me in

1983 because that bond had been

there.

We decided to set up the company

but from day one, we decided to

make it 50/50 share holding.

But we didn't have money, even

though we had an idea. We went to

several banks. We wrote a feasibility

study and a number of banks that

didn't believe in us, threw us out. We

even went as far as meeting the

director of a bank and he listened

carefully, after which he said our

proposal was nice but wanted to

know what we were going to give in

return for the money (a form of

collateral). We wanted N200,000.

We said we had nothing. He said

“just leave my office.”

So we went to another bank and the

manager listened to what we had to

say and he said “Sorry, you have

nothing to give me in return, no

collateral”. He told us the bank

couldn't help us. So we left. Later

that day or the following day, we got

a phone call from Kole's uncle,

informing us that somebody was so

20Brand Visibility

INTERVIEW

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impressed about our proposal,

presentation and determination and

had paid N10,000 into our account.

That was it!

The then Lagos State governor,

Alhaji Lateef Jakande, announced

he was going to set up ferry services.

So I ran there and met the general

manager. I told him to give us

exclusive advertising right. He

agreed and we paid, I think it was

N3,500 then. This we took from the

N10,000 we had in account.

The next thing was how to install the

billboards. Kole and I went to meet

Mr Shoaga, and told him we liked

his billboard design and that we

wanted to copy it.

After we had installed it, Lintas

bought and paid and within a period

of two months, we had collected

about N46,000. We paid back the

N10,000 and rented a duplex in

Ilupeju, and furnished it. We spent

all the money. We bought furniture,

made the place real beautiful and

then we announced Media Link to

the Nigerian advertising market.

So Media Link was born, and today,

by the grace and mercy of God, we

have done 30 years. Now, we should

be looking at pulling back for a new

generation and we are very fortunate

that today we have two of our

children here. We have Ladi

Akinbobola as marketing manager

a n d Wo n u A b o d e r i n ( n e e

A d e m u l e g u n ) a s b u s i n e s s

development manager. Wonu and

Ladi are doing very well. And I am

so confident that they will do greater

than we have been privileged to do.

Ladi and Wonu are better educated,

much more exposed and they are

young. I am sure they will take the

Media Link dream to higher heights

by His grace.

The Breakthrough:

A t M e d i a L i n k ,

P a r t n e r s h i p i s

Working:

In our case, we have

divine intervention. But

I t h i n k t h e r e a r e

ingredients you have to

look out for, and if they

are in place, partnership

in business will work.

One is sincerity of

purpose. Some people

set out to “use”, (take

undue advantage of) the

other. Two, each partner

must come to the table

with something the

other person doesn't have.

Like I discovered that where my

partner is strong is where I'm weak

and where I'm strong is where he is

weak. You find that the company will

benefit in such an association and the

other thing is, you must trust your

partner. At least let him fail first. A lot

of people do not trust people. They

don't even want to give him a chance.

If God is blessing your union, He

may also bless you in return and you

must share the same goal for the

company.

For instance, if I have an idea, I

discuss it with Kole, because he has

the killer punch and he will execute

the idea immediately. Left alone, I

will just be thinking of the idea but

Kole has the killer punch, he will

take the decision, and run with the

idea with the swiftness that it

requires.

There are many ways I have also

contributed to the partnership too.

If you are able to get the right partner,

chances are that you most probably

will succeed. It is better to have 10

per cent of a successful company

than to have 100 per cent of a

company that is not doing well.

Another thing that has helped us is,

we didn't allow our wives to interfere

in the business. We are friends

outside the office and our wives are

friends. But when it comes to Media

Link business, there are only two

partners not four partners. But then,

it is by God's grace.

Initially, our plan was not to involve

our children. Our plan was to run a

company that at any point in time,

when Mr Ademulegun and I have to

disengage, the company will still

continue. When things were even

hard, we did not sack people. But the

unfor tuna te th ing we have

discovered overtime is that anytime

we decided to promote somebody to

a very high level and get him

involved in management, they

always resign. But now, and by

Divine arrangement we have our

children Wonu and Ladi, who have

willingly joined us. They are

catching up very fast and I have no

doubt that they will take over from us

and do better than we have been able

to do.

I think the objectives for which the

Succession plan:

OAAN has come a long way:

22 Brand Visibility

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association was set up are being met,

because it was set up to protect the

interest of members, and also to

project outdoor advertising as a

viable advertising medium in

Nigeria.

The only problem is that the level to

which it has met these various

objectives varies from president to

president. For some presidents, they

focus on some aspects effectively.

For others, they have shifted to other

aspects, and we had a few that were

able to cut across evenly.

In view of the fact that we are getting

reports that outdoor advertising is

falling in terms of revenue in

comparison with other

media groups, what we

would have expected is

that OAAN would be

focusing seriously on

research, if only to

prove that outdoor

advertising is very

effective. That is not

there at the moment and

it is really unfortunate.

The last research we

did, I championed it. I

was president from

1994 to 1998. But we've

a l s o h a d s o m e

presidents that were

handicapped by crises

they met on ground. We

had presidents that spent almost

their four years managing all forms

of crises. In spite of all this, the

existence of OAAN has helped to

maintain the integrity of outdoor

advertising practice in this country.

If we didn't have OAAN, imagine

what could have happened. The fact

that OAAN is there has been a

blessing for us. But I would want to

see us taking care of the welfare of

members, and at the same time,

projecting the medium; making sure

that the medium is not relegated to

the background.

In the past, some things were put in

place to ensure this was done. We

created things like Poster Award. We

did research, and we introduced

quarterly luncheon so that things

affecting the members and the

industry would be discussed every

three months, such that we didn't

have to wait until the OAAN annual

general meeting (AGM) to sort out

issues that could be resolved before

the AGM.

Some of these structures that were

put in place in the past are no more

there. Even the Poster Award is done

maybe once in four years now. It

used to be, and it really should be, an

annual thing.

By the Grace of God, when I created

it in 1997, I had done two years

already; the idea crossed my mind

and I discussed with the late Walter

Egbueze, and he gave me some

papers. I wrote a paper on Poster

Award, took it to my council and it

was approved. We did the first one

that year, and the second one in my

last year in office as president.

We need to do more of such things.

We need to carry out extensive

23 Brand Visibility

INTERVIEW

research. There are so many things

we could research about.

I believe in terms of quality, it will

continue to increase. We will get

more professionals and I hope that

we will have the kind of leadership

that will save us from losing the kind

of money we are losing now.

I see that something is happening

that was not there before .

Governments do their own outdoor

advertising these days, even

campaigns including presidential

campaigns. Can you imagine?

Q u a c k s , i n c l u d i n g

government officials who

now handle most of these

campaigns know next to

nothing. Most of them are not

registered practitioners. So

they are quacks. They are

practicing illegally. But I do

hope that in the next 10 years,

we would have succeeded in

e n s u r i n g t h a t e v e n

government would respect its

own law that stipulates

clearly that you have to be a

registered practitioner to

h a n d l e g o v e r n m e n t

advertising.

My advice is to encourage them to

believe that advertising is a beautiful

and glamorous profession, and that

the best way to keep it so is for us to

be professional. We should not be

too much in a haste to win an

account, to the extent that we

jettison professionalism and

embrace unethical practices.

The new generation of practitioners

should relax and do their profession

quite professionally. They should

not be too much in a hurry.

The advertising industry in the

next 10 years:

Advice for advertising

practitioners:

B&V

- Chief Babu Akinbobola Photo: BV

Page 24: Brand Visibility

News

It does not appear that the issue

of a successor to Lolu

Akinwunmi as Chairman of

the Governing Council of the

Advertising Practitioners Council

of Nigeria would be resolved any

moment now. This is largely for the

r e a s o n t h a t t h e F e d e r a l

Government is yet to appoint a

popular candidate.

The tenure of Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi th

the 5 Chairman of Council expired

on September 27, 2013. However,

he still attends industry related

functions and reluctantly performs

the role of the Council Chairman,

as no acceptable substantive

chairman has been appointed by

government to take over from him.

The law that established APCON

vests the power to appoint the

council chairman in the President

and Commander-In-Chief of the

Armed Forces of the Federal

Republic of Nigeria, upon the

recommendation of the minister of

information. The chairman could

be appointed from among the

relevant sub-sectors of the

advertising industry bin Nigeria,

notably: AAAN (the Association of

Advertising Agencies in Nigeria);

OAAN (the Outdoor Advertising

Association of Nigeria; BON (the

Broadcasting Organisations of

N ige r i a ) , and NPAN ( the

N e w s p a p e r s P r o p r i e t o r s

Association of Nigeria). One major

criterion that the successful

applicant must possess is the

fellowship of the advertising

practice in Nigeria.

There are currently up to 100

fellows (FRPA) of the practice. Out

of this number, only five (including

Akinwunmi) have been appointed

chairmen. Others include Mr.

S y l v e s t e r I f e a y i n c h u k w u

Moemeke, the pioneer Council

Chairman and Chief Olu Falomo,

who took over from him.

Falomo handed over to Mr.

Christopher Awusa Doghudje who

passed the baton to the late May

Nzeribe. Akinwunmi took over

from Nzeribe. The question on the

lips of all practitioners in Nigeria

today is: Who takes over from

Lolu Akinwunmi?

Information available to Brand

Visibility has it that six names

were forwarded to the former

minister of information, and the

supervising minister of APCON,

Mr. Labaran Maku, from which the

government is expected to pick

one, as chairman.

It was revealed however that the

most seemingly eligible of the

applicants did not convincingly

meet the laid down criteria. While

the relevant sub-sectors from

which a chairman could emerge are

now seriously searching for their

best hands to push forward.

Akinwunmi, who wishes more

than anything else to go back to the

waiting arms of his colleagues at

Prima Garnet, still has the task of

having to answer “Mr. Chairman

Sir” at all APCON functions.

One serious worry, however, is that

the statutory functions of APCON

may be put on hold as it takes a

Council, presided over by a

Chairman, for it to properly

function.

Another worry, a more serious one,

is the recent attempt in certain

government quarters to give the job

to a politician who has never had

anything to do with the industry.

Some concerned industry watchers

b e l i e v e t h i s w a s a n o t h e r

demonstration of politicking, when

there are so many “loyalists to be

s e t t l e d w i t h p o l i t i c a l

appointments”. And, the trouble is,

in their concern, should this error

stand the industry would be the

worst for it.

But a school of thought argues that

there are more than 90 eligible

Fellows of the industry to choose

from, and that, as such, the

Honourable Minister, working

through the various relevant

sectors should not have any

p r o b l e m f i n d i n g a n d

r e c o m m e n d i n g a s u i t a b l e

practitioner for the job to the

President and Commander-in-

Chief. In any case, the industry may

not have to wait for too long!

Brand Visibility hopes so, too. BV

APCON TO BE WITHOUT A CHAIR FOR NOW

24 Brand Visibility

Page 25: Brand Visibility

Director General Oyo State Signage and

Advertisement Agency (OYSAA).

In this interview with Ibrahim Olalekan, he speaks on

how he is changing the face of Outdoor Advertising

Practice in Oyo State to meet world standards and the

Agency's fight against indiscriminate erection of

billboards. He insists:

“We are not ready

to joke with the emerging

beauty; we are not ready

to sacrifice it and we are

not going to compromise it

for anything.”

Prince Yinka Adepoju, frpa

INTERVIEW

25 Brand Visibility

Brand Visibility

Brand Visibility

: We congratulate you

on your return as the Director

General of the Oyo State Signage &

Advertisement Agency. What would

you say was the secret?

God is my secret, as far as I'm

concerned. God has been faithful and

good to me over the years. So, if you

see me achieving or making any

remarkable achievement in life, I will

ascribe it to God. God has been so good

to me. Sometimes if you want to give it

to any human, you can say hard work,

integrity and prayer. Yes, as humans

we have paid our dues as far as the

advertising industry is concerned in

this country. We have done a bit of it;

we have been around for a while. Let

me just say it is God. For me to be away

for a while and for me to return, it is

God. God made it possible.

: We will like you to

take us through the history of the Oyo

State Signage & Advertisement

Agency

I think I can trace it back to

2011. I was privileged to be among the

team of the 30 wise men that was put

together when the incumbent

governor, His Excellency, Senator

Abiola Ajimobi, was elected into

office. It was a transition committee

put in place to midwife the take-off of

the new administration. Senator Abiola

Ajimobi, had set up a transition

committee of 30 men, and I was

privileged to be one of them. Our

mandate was to look at the records and

make recommendations to the

governor-elect then on how to move.

And all of this we did in about one and

half months – about 45 days. We came

together as transition committee

members and in the course of that, we

presented a proposal that as part of

moving Oyo State forward, there will

be need for the state to create an

Adepoju:

Adepoju:

Page 26: Brand Visibility

INTERVIEW

26 Brand Visibility

Outdoor advertisement regulatory

agency, and that proposal was

looked into and a bill was sent to the

House of Assembly, because

without an enactment of the law, it

might be difficult as had been

experienced in other places. So, a

bill was sent to the House for close

to seven or eight months. The bill

was properly looked into and

eventually the House of Assembly,

having been convinced that it was

good for the state, and one of the

things that could help move the state

forward, the bill was passed into

law, and that made it possible for the

agency to be created. Today, we

have what is called the Oyo State

Signage and Advertisement Agency

(OYSAA), created by law in 2012.

Of course, having created the

agency, the agency needed someone

to pilot it and I think Governor

Ajimobi, in his wisdom, thought it

appropriate to appoint Yinka

Adepoju to be the pioneer Director

General. That was how it came into

being and that was how I became the

first Director General of the Oyo

State Signage and Advertisement

Agency (OYSAA). We are two

years old. I was appointed April

2012, and I resumed work May

2012. So the agency is two years old

now. You can see that the agency is

pretty young, but we thank God for

the achievement so far. God has

been good to us.

: Before the

creation of OYSAA, a court ruling

had pronounced the then

OSOAMAG as illegal. How would

you explain the creation of OYSAA

against the backdrop of this

ruling?

The OSOAMAG of that

time had no legal backing and it

Brand Visibility

Adepoju:

might also interest you to know that

I was on the other side then. I was

one of the plaintiffs then, because I

led the Outdoor Advertising

Association of Nigeria (OAAN), in

the first fight against OSOAMAG in

Oyo State. I was the General

Secretary of the Association then. I

had a president, but the two of us

were always in the witness box for

18 months. We were coming all the

way from Lagos, but all we said then

was that the OSOAMAG of that

time was not properly constituted.

And again, the helmsman then was

arbitrary in nature. All of the

advances OAAN made to make him

see reason with us to do things in a

way that people would not be badly

affected, he rebuffed all. And so,

OAAN didn't have a choice then

than to go to court and the court

settled it.

On the point of law, OSOAMAG

was not legally constituted and that

is the difference. You can see the

difference yourself. I just told you

that a bill went to the Oyo State

House of Assembly and for seven to

eight months, the lawmakers

scrutinized the bill. They either

removed or added and at the end of

the day the bill became a law which

we now know as the OYSAA Law

2012. So you can see that for

OYSAA, we have a solid and legal

foundation. OYSAA was created on

a solid rock. OYSAA was properly

created as against OSOAMAG.

They are two different institutions.

And thank God for the Governor of

Oyo State, His Excellency, Senator

Abiola Ajimobi, who knew his

onions and who made sure that

everything he dealt his hands in is

properly done.

: There is this claim

that the control of outdoor

advertising and collection of

revenue therefrom should reside

with the local government. Now, a

number of states have also passed

laws that have legally constituted

signage agencies in their respective

states. Do we now say that the law

of the state is superior to the

prov i s ion of the Niger ian

c o n s t i t u t i o n ? O r h a s t h e

constitution also allowed that states

should make laws that may

supersede the provisions of the

constitution?

Brand Visibility

An example of how it used to be in Oyo State before OYSAA

Page 27: Brand Visibility

27 Brand Visibility

Adepoju: Yes you are right by

saying the constitution makes

provision that advertising control

and revenue should be in the

purview of local government. But

don't also forget that we run a three

tier system – local, state and federal

– and that the state is superior to the

local government. So, local

governments are under the state.

And in a situation where the state

feels, depending on who is in charge

or who is in control, that if we do it

this way, it will benefit

b o t h t h e l o c a l

government and the

citizens, the state has a

right to call the local

gove rnmen t s and

c o m e i n t o a n

agreement which is

exact ly what has

happened here and the

state is not doing it

unilaterally. The state

did it by bringing the

local government

chairmen in their

capacity as heads of

t h e i r l o c a l

governments, brought

them together and

advanced reasons why

it should be done the

way it is now. The state

did not stop at that. It

went to the House of Assembly,

which determines what should

happen in the state and by so doing,

for Oyo State, as well as other states

that are into this, they secured the

c o n f i d e n c e o f t h e i r l o c a l

government chairmen.

I still remember vividly that I led the

OAAN team to Ogun State some

years back to pursue this same

course and surprisingly, the local

government chairmen in one voice,

represented by the state ALGON

Chairman, said that, “It is what our

governor wants. We have seen that

the governor meant well and we

have released whatever power we

had to the governor.” So I could have

as well said that even here in Oyo

State, the local governments were

not left out of it. They were brought

into it and they saw the vision and

the mission of the governor as

something that would benefit the

greater majority of the people of the

state, as well as visitors to the state.

And they succumbed. And by so

doing, the state is now benefiting;

the local government councils are

also benefitting. So, there is no crisis

about that. It was mutually agreed

and that is how we are moving on.

There is no crisis, no opposition to

the OYSAA project. The way we

have done it, both the state and the

local government councils, and the

people of the state are beneficiaries.

In terms of landscape, everybody is

enjoying what we have now,

because it is better managed, well

controlled and well regulated

because the people we have that are

managing it are professionals.

Brand Visibility

Brand Visibility

: Practitioners in

outdoor advertising are groaning

as a result of fees being charged by

the signage agencies. How do you

think this can be addressed?

Well, I think we need to be

very explicit when we talk about

fees being charged by the signage

agencies. What and what are we

looking at? Are we looking at fees

being charged now to what it used to

be? If we are looking at fees being

charged now and fees charged in the

days when the controlling power

was with the local government, they

are not at par, because a lot of things

have gone into it now. But when you

look at what the different signage

agencies are charging, as far as I

know here in Oyo State, our fees are

quite affordable and they are also

quite good. Whatever rate we are

charging in Oyo State, they are very

affordable and reasonable. We still

give room for negotiation; listening

to OAAN and meeting ourselves at a

mid-point and that has been a lot of

encouragement, especially on the

side of our stakeholders. We are not

rigid. We listen and when we listen

we take decisions together;

decisions that will move both the

industry and the State forward.

: In a recent

publication by MediaReach OMD,

one of the leading Media

Independents in Nigeria, the cause

of the dwindling fortunes and

relevance of OOH media are

directly traceable to the activities of

the signage agencies. How do you

react to this?

That experience will soon

be over and I must tell you that we

are advancing by the day. So, even at

the signage agencies, we are not just

sitting down. We have also observed

Adepoju:

Adepoju:

INTERVIEW

Yinka Adepoju

Page 28: Brand Visibility
Page 29: Brand Visibility

29 Brand Visibility

the decline in patronage on the side

of our stakeholders. Take, for

example in my state now, there are

billboards that are vacant, a good

number of them, and we know that

something must be responsible. It is

either the budget of outdoor is

getting reduced by the day or

something. We are also concerned.

We are not just interested in taking

money from our practitioners or

stakeholders; we are also concerned

that their business must continue to

move forward and grow. So we have

also looked at it from that point of

view and we are asking questions

about what could be responsible.

And in view of this, we are trying to

come together as signage agencies,

maybe perhaps form a body, a group

or an association whereby we can

look at some of these challenges,

and by so doing we may be able to

speak with one voice. So, soon and

very soon, you may find out that

rates being charged by signage

agencies may not be too different

from one another. Although the

issue of how busy, how important

roads are, you cannot rule that out. If

you look at the OYSAA rates, you

will find that they are not the same

as what you have in Lagos, because

we have our factors in place and we

look at all of these. So I won't say

because Lagos is charging X

amount then I must charge the same

in Oyo. Even though I know Oyo is

not a second class rated state, not

even with what we are doing in

t e r m s o f u r b a n r e n e w a l

p r o g r a m m e s . O y o i s f a s t

developing, infrastructures are

changing ; roads a re be ing

constructed, the peace we enjoy in

Oyo is fantastic and everybody is

moving to Oyo now because things

have really changed. Things are

rea l ly ge t t ing be t te r. Tha t

notwithstanding, we are so careful

a n d v e r y

accommodating

that we still want

practitioners to

c o m e a n d

develop our state

f o r u s b y s t

br ing ing 21

century outdoor

structures, so

that we also can

be at par with the

developed world

and I tell you, it's

happening.

In the last two

years, we have

changed the face

of Oyo State. Two years ago, there

was no single electronic board.

Today, we have about eight standing

and we are expecting more to come

in the next couple of months,

because we have assigned and

allocated sites to those who will

develop such sites. The way we do it

here is that we have a level playing

ground. If you come and you tell us

where you are able to identify by

yourself, fine, we look at it and if it

goes with our guidelines we give to

you. All you need do is to pay the

required fees. And, if also you say

where can I put this thing? We have

mapped out some locations that we

will give out because we are more

interested in our landscape. We want

our landscape to be beautified.

However, with all of this in plan and

in the making, outdoor practitioners

will soon begin to enjoy or begin to

see that rates are reduced. Then for

Oyo State, I tell you that it is not as if

the revenue is not important to us,

but we are more particular about the

environment. We want a saner, safer,

more beautiful and an attractive

environment, because we know that

when the environment is good, the

money will come.

INTERVIEW

Some years back,

some advertisers

didn't want to come

t o O y o S t a t e

because of the way

billboards were

arranged. They

w e r e b a d l y

arranged, clustered

all over. But today,

it is like I must be in

Ibadan, I must have

my presence in

Oyo State. In as

much as we are

i n t e r e s t e d i n

g e n e r a t i n g

revenue, we like to

b e a u t i f y a n d

improve our environment first;

make sure that the environment

looks good. And so far, so good.

There have been commendations

here and there, but we are not yet

there. There are rooms for

improvement. Roads are being

constructed, they are being

dualized. Roundabouts are being

created, existing ones are being

refurbished on daily basis and you

find out that infrastructures are

being improved upon on daily basis.

Everywhere is opening up so that is

more important to us than the

revenue. But for all of these, I will

say that the rates that are being

charged in Oyo State are reasonable,

appropriate and affordable.

: You have a

reputation for being a leading light

in the industry prior to your

appointment. In what ways do you

plan to make your assignment bear

pos i t i ve l y on the ou tdoor

advertising industry?

: By the grace of God, with

the cooperation of the practitioners,

I can say it without mincing words

Brand Visibility

Adepoju

Page 30: Brand Visibility

INTERVIEW

Brands & Visibility

that the period of two years that I

have spent on this seat has been

beneficial to both the state and the

practitioners. The practitioners are

coming in good number. They have

supported Oyo State in developing

the state by bringing all the

sophisticated, all the ultra-modern st21 century innovative billboards.

They have come with them and we

have also supported them by making

sure we have a place for them. I want

to say that we want to continue this

k i n d o f r e l a t i o n s h i p . T h e

relationship is very good, very

cordial and of course don't expect

that we will not have one or two

instances where we have to look at

each other in the eyes and all of that.

If you have your billboards in the

state enjoying exposure or visibility

all over the place, then the onus is

also on you to pay for such service.

And if you have reasons to put up

billboards on our highways, the

onus is also on you to ensure the

boards are well maintained. We

have some boards around that are

not tagged, and when they are not

tagged, there is no way you can trace

them to the owners.

We must be able to identify these

boards with their owners so that

they can have their bills and settle

such bills. So I must say that because

we have been in the profession for

this number of years, we know what

we should give back to the

practitioners and we know what

they should also give back to the

state. And because we understand all

of this, we expect we will be able to

coexist without any serious issue.

But let me appeal to the practitioners

that they should meet up with their

obligations to the state, because

when they don't do this, we may not

have any alternative than to also

clampdown or use the big stick. We

don't like using it, but when the

stakeholders are not doing what they

are supposed to do, we will not have

any choice than to do that.

Having said that, we put the

experience that we have acquired

over the years to bear, and it will

help to move both the industry and

the state forward.

What do you think

of the proposed Association of

S i g n a g e & A d v e r t i s e m e n t

Regulatory Agencies being

spearheaded by LASAA? Don't you

think such would be taking the

signage agencies off the course of

their primary purpose?

No. Some of us who are

there are professionals and we will

not deviate or derail, so to say. Some

of the things the association is likely

to be looking at, are issues that

concern the practitioners majorly.

We have noticed the decline and by

the grace of God, it will be one of the

things to be addressed. And how do

we address such issues? By the time

we begin to meet and come together,

we are also going to look at the

challenges our practitioners are

facing, and then there will be a way

out. We will be able to push some of

these, especially in the area of rates.

If it is a problem of rate, what stops

us from saying because of this, you

have this rate discounted and all of

that. So by the time we come

together, every member will be able

to bring his or her own experience to

the table. And when we bring such

experience to the table, we marry

them together and we find a way of

solving these challenges.

So, I see the association of

regulatory agencies to have a

positive effect. It is going to have a

positive effect on the industry and

the business we do. The merits are

going to be more than the demerits.

In fact, I see it having a lot of

benefits and merits. You will all

Brand Visibility:

Adepoju:

30 Brand Visibility

INTERVIEW

stand to gain from it and don't forget

there will be interactions. It is not

going to be a master-servant

relationship. We are going to look at

it as business partners; partners in

progress. With that, we have

meetings together, we would relate

together, share exper ience,

common interest and challenges

together. And we will be able to

meet ourselves midway. So that is

what I see that is going to happen.

So nobody should worry; nothing to

fear, nothing to worry about. I'm

assuring you that the interest of all

stakeholders will be adequately

taken care of.

The environment

in Oyo State is getting better and

gradually, the state capital is

wearing the look of a megacity. The

credit goes to the administration of

His Excellency, Abiola Ajimobi.

But how do you intend to prevent

illegal operators in outdoor

advertising from indiscriminate

erection of billboards, which

eventually would badly affect the

emerging beauty of the city?

We are not ready to joke

with the emerging beauty. We are

not ready to sacrifice it and we are

not going to compromise it for

anything. It is costing this

government a lot to put the

environment right, to put it in good

shape, to beautify and allow the

aesthetics to come up. It is costing

the government huge sums in terms

of money, manpower, and all of that.

So, no government would do all of

that and at the same time allow

ind i s c r imina t e e r ec t i on o f

billboards to scatter whatever

arrangement we have made. So, I

can assure you that with this

administration in power, and by the

Grace of God, this administration

will continue to be in power.

Brand Visibility:

Adepoju:

Page 31: Brand Visibility

31 Brand Visibility

Whatever we have done, we must be

able to also consolidate. It has taken

us time to put all of these things

together, and we will not for any

reason allow derogation to come

into it.

At this point all I need to plead for is

cooperation on the part of

practitioners. You can be sure that

we will not allow quacks to come

and deface or abuse the beauty that

God has given us the vision to

create. For God to have allowed us

get to this level, we would also

jealously ensure that we guard it and

not allow any infiltration or

anybody to just come and debase

whatever we have put together. And

what that tells you is that OYSAA is

going to be on its toes to ensure that

billboards and signage are well

regulated in Oyo State. So

regulations will come into it. It is

going to be well regulated and well

controlled and well managed. So,

for no reason whatsoever, we will

not allow the standard to fall.

Rather, we should be looking

forward.

: How do you see

the future of outdoor advertising

practice in Nigeria?

Very bright. And why did I

say so? Number one, you discover

that more people are coming into

this regulatory thing. We must face

the reality, facts must be told. The

more regulatory agencies we have in

this country, the better for the

industry. But there is a caveat, and

that caveat is, as the regulatory

agencies are being established,

those who are responsible for the

establishment must ensure that they

are putting the right people to

manage them. It should be a case of

a round peg in a round hole. You are

Brand Visibility

Adepoju:

establishing an agency, don't look at

it from the point of view of revenue.

Look at it from the point of view of

management of billboards and

signage in the state. That is, look at it

from the point of view of regulation.

That takes me to the next statement,

that is, put the people who have the

know-how, somebody who has the

experience, the techniques, what it

takes to head the agency. In a couple

of months, he would transform and

change the face of whatever outdoor

looks like in that state.

Take the case of Oyo State, for

example. Without being immodest,

in less than six months, we have

changed the face of outdoor in Oyo

State. And like I said, we are still not

there yet; it is a continuous exercise.

Whatever we have done so far, we

have received commendation even

from our colleagues. It doesn't come

easy for professionals or people to

say you guys have done well.

What we are clamouring for, here in

Oyo State, is that we need the

cooperation of the practitioners, the

stakeholders so to say. We are not

only concerned with the third party.

We have first party signage all over

the place and they are also part of

what will make the city look good. If

they are not well managed and well

positioned, they will also devalue

the outdoor life of the state.We

intend to manage them well and if

this is happening all over Nigeria,

then the industry will be better for it.

: As a veteran in the

practice, a fellow of the Advertising

Practitioners Council of Nigeria,

and a former first vice president of

t h e O u t d o o r A d v e r t i s i n g

Association of Nigeria (OAAN),

you are a source from which

current and future practitioners

should draw knowledge and

Brand Visibility

wisdom. In what areas would you

advise that the practice of

advertising be improved upon?

Very simple: people

should keep to standards. People

should operate on guidelines,

whether in the outdoor or in the

general advertising. What we are

saying is that people should put

professionalism into it because it is

the only way. Then the regulatory

body, which is the Advertising

Practitioners Council of Nigeria

(APCON), and of course the

sectoral groups. They must all be

a l e r t a n d a l i v e t o t h e i r

responsibilities. APCON must

ensure that advertising is practised

according to the rules; the rules of

the game must be put into it. Then,

all the sectoral bodies too must

ensure that they apply the rules. We

must be able to curb our members

and where they fail in their

obligations, we must sanction them.

These are ways through which

advertising can be moved forward

in this country.

We must discourage a situation

whereby quackery is put into this

business. Quacks must not be

allowed. Whatever it is going to

take, APCON as the parent body

and the sectoral associations must

ensure that in their different groups,

only registered practitioners are

allowed to practise and operate.

And for me and our colleagues, all I

need to say is that money is good

and important, but we should not

allow money to rule us; we should

be in control of money. And if we

can put all of that into place, then

this issue of undercutting here and

there, short-changing, trying to play

smart, will not come in.

So, to my colleagues in the

advertising industry, either in

OAAN or in BON, ADVAN or

Adepoju:

INTERVIEW

Page 32: Brand Visibility

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Page 33: Brand Visibility

33 Brand Visibility

AAAN, I am saying that they should

play by the rules and they should

bring discipline into whatever they

are doing, because it is indiscipline

of the highest order when people

beg in to shor t -change and

sometimes they will even run down

their colleagues and fellow

agencies, just because you want to

take a job from a client. No, it does

not work that way. So, let us apply

the rules and let us operate as

professionals.

Please let us have

your profile. We know but a little

about you. Now tell us about Prince

Yinka Adepoju!

Yinka Adepoju is an

advertising practitioner. I came into

the industry in the year 1986, having

just finished my Youth Service then.

I read Mass Communication. I'm a

Mass Communicator by profession.

I have my stint in broadcasting, I

have done a bit in print, but today, by

the Grace of God, I am in advertising

and I've been in advertising since

1988.

In 1986, I was in the broadcast

Brand Visibility:

Adepoju:

medium. I worked briefly at NTA

Akure, and I also worked briefly at

NTA 7, Tejuosho, after which I

moved to Vanguard newspaper,

where I have the print experience

and then all of a sudden, I left for

advertising in 1988.

I worked with an advertising agency

called St. Georges Publicity Limited

of those days. From there, I moved

to Media Link limited. That was

where I caught my teeth as an

outdoor advertising practitioner. I

went in there as senior client service

executive. I became the commercial

manager and rose to become the first

general manager in 1992. I resigned

my appointment in 1994, and

established my own company called

Royal Communications Limited. I

was the MD/CEO of Royal

Communications Limited until

2010 when I stepped aside to do

other things.

In 2011, I was here in Oyo State to

put in my own contribution as a

member of the transition committee,

and by 2012, I was appointed

pioneer director general of the

newly created Oyo State Signage

and Adver t i sement Agency

INTERVIEW

(OYSAA). I started it by the Grace

of God. So, along the line, of all of

these years, I played my role very

well in my own professional body. I

became the first vice president of

OAAN, which I vacated in 2011.

Even at the apex body level which is

the Advertising Practitioners

Council of Nigeria (APCON), I

have served on so many committees.

I served in the Tribunal and

Privileges Committee; ASP (the

Advertising Standards Panel), I

served under the late Sesan Ogunro.

I was a representative of OAAN on

APCON Council. I have made my

own modest contribution to the

development of advertising in

Nigeria, and to the Glory of God, I

will still continue to. So, I thank God

for everything. I have paid my dues,

and I have played my roles. I am not

tired yet. In any role, whichever

way they still want me to, I am

willing and I am ready to make

further contributions to the success

and the forward movement of the

advertising industry in general.

Finally, how Brand Visibility:

Emerging aesthetically fulfilling city of Ibadan

Page 34: Brand Visibility

INTERVIEW

34 Brand Visibility

would you want posterity to

remember you, especially in your

sojourn in the industry in which

you have spent the greater part of

your life?

: The good thing about

life is you want to be remembered

for whatever little or modest

contribution you have made. For

example, I have over 30

certificates which I can present to

you of doing or serving in one

committee or attending one

p r o g r a m m e , s e m i n a r o r

workshop. There are also awards

i n r e c o g n i t i o n a n d i n

commendation of what I have

been privileged to do. Last year, I

got two awards. I received the

Best Out Of Home Media

Regulator of the Year Award in

Nigeria 2013, and the Platinum

A c h i e v e m e n t Aw a r d o f

Exce l l ence , p re sen ted to

O Y S A A , o r g a n i z e d b y

International Brand.

We have a catalogue of this in

terms of awards, plaques, medals

and all of that.

And like I said, we are not tired

yet, so we still have a long way to

go. We are still in the mainstream

of it so whatever God gives us the

enablement to do, we will still do.

Human beings too love to be

remembered. I like to be

remembered for all of those

things.

Adepoju

I want to be remembered for

coming here, playing my role,

participating well, making my

l i t t le contribution to the

development of the advertising

industry and the growth of Oyo

State.

BV

Da n g o t e

C e m e n t

P l c . ,

Nigeria's leading

c e m e n t

manufacturers with

growing presence on

t h e A f r i c a n

c o n t i n e n t , h a s

e m b a r k e d o n a

nationwide branding

exercise that is

a i m e d a t

consolidating its No.

1 position in the

count ry ' s economy. The

company is currently installing

a uniquely-designed directional

signage in all its depots across

the country. The exercise is

coming in the wake of the

company's engagement of

billboards in major cities

including Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan,

Kaduna and Kano to announce

the birth of its extra strength

42.5 grade brand, appropriately

named Big Boss.

This exercise is seen by industry

watchers as an effort by Dangote

Cement to properly position the

brand as the clear market leader in

line with its current market

expansion activities. And with the

introduction of its 42.5 grade of

cement to meet international

standards, the company is now

Dangote Cement Brands Depots,

news

Page 35: Brand Visibility

NEWS BRIFE

35 Brand Visibility

clearly ahead of its local peers. And

so, to cope with the high demand

for its product across the country,

the company is currently adding to

the existing depots and regional

salesOffices in the country. Sales

offices are also being established

across the country, to make it easier

for existing and prospective

customers to get the product. The

Depots, Regional Offices as well as

the Sales offices now wear the

Dangote unique blue colour, and

also adorn its logo (the watchful

eagle with its firm hold on the

Crescent).

Many of the company's depots

across the country currently wear

the new look. The branding

exercise has also been extended to

distributors' warehouses, to make

for easy access for customers. This

is making branding purposeful and

result oriented.

But much more importantly,

Dangote Cement is painting the

country blue. As a result, the

brand's image is soaring higher,

like the eagle the brand has on its

logo. BV

Customer Warehouses, Sales Offices & Regional Offices

Page 36: Brand Visibility
Page 37: Brand Visibility

technology

Practitioners in the out-of-home

industry are redefining their

mode of visual display,

especially now that there is an influx of

LED boards in the major cities. Many of

these LED boards which can be seen

along major highways not only beautify

the environment, but they also add to the

glamour the products projected on them

enjoy.

It is simply obvious that the era of the

archaic outdoor advertising platforms is

gradually coming to an end, as digital

and electronic platforms are now the

vogue in industry. Indeed, the landscape

is changing, and more and more

advertisers are switching to LED

platforms. operators in the outdoor

industry.

Though some are yet to key into the new

trend of technological innovation, yet

many have taken advantage of this to

win more clients to their side and enjoy

patronage from buyers.

Expectedly, manufacturers of LED are

also making inroads into the Nigerian

market. One of such manufacturers is

the China-based Liantronics. The

company is targeting the Nigerian

outdoor market both with the outdoor

LED and its indoor electronic display

platform named eTotem.

The Liatronics’ eTotem is a super-sized

LED digital signage, and it is a

combination of hi-tech and artistic

creat ion which a lso combines

information transmission, artistic

expression and time connotation all

rolled into one highly innovative and

captivating platform. eTotem is

designed to be durable and to enjoy high

grade protection from vandalisation.

The eTotem board is designed to access

for WiFi/3G wireless and wired

network. It is embedded with a video

monitor and ammeter and a 4.1 sound

Liatronics's LED Births in Nigeria ... eTotem Coming Soon

inbuilt centralized cluster network and

remote control system to monitor and

manage the status of the LED screen. Its

hot backup system and double backup

power supply are of the required

international standards and help define

electronic communication in digital

terms.

The eTotem boards, suitable for indoor

display, can be perfectly placed at

airports, subway stations, train stations,

large shopping malls, star grade hotels,

book stores, pavilions, conference

centres, cinemas, banks, offices, etc. Its

system components include LED

display, that is, eTotem, and control

system with contro computer, LED

display controller, distributor and the

control system software.

When displayed, the front face features

include LED module x 40 pcs, tempered

glass and metallic painted base, which is

located at the bottom of the board. Fan

and access panel are the two main

features designed for the back face of

eTotem LED board.

David Zhu, Liantronics’ Marketing

Manager was recently in Nigeria, and

visited a couple of leading outdoor firms,

including KOK Visibility Edge and also

spoke with Brand Visibility. He said

that users of the eTotem board can test

each part without connecting with LED

control system. He also said that it

supports pixel level brightness/colour

calibration. The eTotem board according

to David is designed to allow users enjoy

the Nova LCT-Mars control system,

used to configure and control LED

display through PC in graphics user

interface.

Analysing its power distribution system,

David is confident that practitioners

using the eTotem board will find it more

advanced in terms of its air switch,

leakage protection switch, fuses, and AC

contactors.

The system he insisted has protection

from overvoltage, overcurrent, under

voltage, short circuit, open circuit and

leakage. The main switches in the power

distribution cabinet he said, are made of

the Schneider devices to meet

consumers demand and all other

accessories, while the wire has CCC

certification.

David is so sure that the latest

technological devices in the Liantronics

e To t e m b o a r d m e e t r e q u i r e d

international standards, and that users,

most especially practitioners in the out-

of-home industry, will find it cost

effective and highly profitable. BV

37 Brand Visibility

David Zhu

e Totem Platform

Page 38: Brand Visibility

NIGERIAN BREWRIES PLC:

WINNING WITH

NIGERIA

Nigerian Breweries Plc, the p ionee r and l a rges t brewing company in

Nigeria, was incorporated in 1946. The company recorded a landmark when the first bottle of lager beer rolled off the bottling lines of its Lagos Brewery in June, 1949. The company has undergone several optimization processes and as at today boasts of one of the most modern breweries in the country.The company now has other breweries across the nation. They include Aba Brewery, established in 1957; Kaduna Brewery, in 1963 and Ibadan Brewery, in 1982. In 1993, the company acquired its fifth brewery in Enugu. In October, 2003, a sixth brewery, sited at Ameke Ngwo in Enugu State, was commissioned and christened

The latter is, today, one of the biggest and most modern breweries in Africa. Operations in the old Enugu Brewery were however discontinued in 2004, while the company acquired a malting plant in Aba in 2008.In October 2011, Nigerian Breweries acquired majority equity in teres ts in Sona Sys tems Associates Business Management Limited (Sona Systems) and Life Breweries Limited from Heineken N.V. This followed Heineken's acquisition of controlling interests in five breweries in Nigeria from Sona Group in January, 2011. Sona Systems' two breweries in Ota and Kaduna, and Life Breweries in Onitsha have now become part of Nigerian Breweries Plc, together

Star

Ama Brewery.

Special Report

38 Brand Visibility

Page 39: Brand Visibility

39 Brand Visibility

with these three brands: Goldberg Lager, Malta Gold and Life Continental Lager.

Nigerian Breweries Plc. has a rich portfolio of high quality brands. Star Lager Beer, the first in its portfolio and the flagship, was launched in 1949. This was followed by Gulder Lager Beer in 1970. Maltina, the nourishing malt drink, was introduced in 1976, followed by Legend Extra Stout in 1992. Amstel Malta was launched in 1994, while Heineken, the international premium Lager Beer, was re-launched into the Nigerian market in 1998.Maltina Sip-it, packaged in Tetrapaks, was launched in 2005, while Fayrouz was launched in 2006. In 2007, the company introduced Star, Heineken and Amstel Malta in cans. In 2013, the company sold a total of 30 stock keeping units (SKU's), including Gulder can, L e g e n d c a n , H e i n e k e n Magnum, Maltina can & PET, Fayrouz cans, Fayrouz PET, Climax energy drink, as well as Goldberg Lager, Malta Gold and Life Continental Lager, which became part of the family in October 2011. Two brand extensions – Star Lite and Fayrouz Exo t i c – were introduced in the first quarter of 2014.

As a brewing concern, the company encourages and sus ta ins many anc i l l a ry

Brand portfolio

Ancillary industries

businesses locally. Several of these o rgan iza t ions and individuals depend largely on the company for their means of livelihood. These include manufacturers of bottles, cans, PET resins, crown corks, labels, cartons, plastic crates and such s e r v i c e p r o v i d e r s a s hotels/clubs, distributors, transporters, event managers, advertising, PR and marketing communications agencies, etc.

Nigerian Breweries is a socially r e s p o n s i b l e c o r p o r a t e organization with good track record of corporate social initiatives in identified and strategic areas.

Over the years, Nigerian Breweries has been very active in supporting the country's development aspirations in line with our commitment of

We have continued to identify and respond to major challenges confronting our nation through o u r c o r p o r a t e s o c i a l investments, especially in the a reas o f educa t ion , the e n v i r o n m e n t , t a l e n t development and sports , amongst others. T h e c o m p a n y i n 1 9 9 4 established The Nigerian Breweries-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund with a take-off grant of N100 million to take a more active part in the funding of educational and research activities in Nigeria.

C o r p o r a t e s o c i a l responsibility

“Winning with Nigeria”.

This is in addition to its secondary and university e d u c a t i o n s c h o l a r s h i p programmes for children of its employees. The company is a l s o i n v o l v e d i n t h e development of leadership, musical and movie talents, through various programmes.

Nigerian Breweries has a significant presence in Nigeria with seven breweries, two malting plants and distribution centres strategically located across the country. Some of the impacts of the company's operations on the Nigerian economy are as follows:In 2011, the company's operations represented 12 per cent of Nigerian manufacturing in terms of value added. In that same year, Nigerian Breweries generated N245 billion revenue and N345 billion consumption of its products.Nigerian Breweries operations have a value added impact of N243 billion on Nigeria's economy, which represents 0.65 per cent of Nigeria's GDP.In 2011, N87 billion was paid directly and indirectly as taxes, which represented 4.02 per cent of Nigeria's non-oil tax revenue. Nigerian Breweries has a high value direct work force of 3,200 employees, and the company's operations support indirectly 586,000 jobs, which represents 0.64 per cent of the total labour force, of which 54,000 are within the Sorghum value chain.

Our socio-economic impact

Special Report

Page 40: Brand Visibility

It is no longer news that operators in the out-of-home industry in Nigeria now

grapple with dwindling revenue, consequent upon the activities of

Advertisement and Signage Regulatory Agencies across the country. Today, the

subsector has come under the life-threatening yoke of the various agencies dubiously

code-named as outdoor advertising regulatory agencies.

The harrowing journey commenced with the establishment of the Lagos State

Signage & Advertisement Agency (LASAA) in 2006, via the instrument of a Lagos

State Law. Primary among its functions, the LASAA law requires that the agency

should ensure that the environment is beautiful and that the installation of billboards

be controlled to prevent the chaotic situation that outdoor contraptions had been

before then. However, good as government's intentions were, the reality today is that

the signage agencies have become the task masters for operators in the industry.

Prior to the establishment of signage agencies across the country, cities were littered

with all sizes and shapes of billboards that were more of environmental nuisance.

Badly positioned banners and posters made various cities look ugly and, in some

cases, had caused fatal road accidents.

The intervention of the state governments through the establishment of the various

regulatory agencies like LASAA, OGSAA, OYSAA, OSSAA, KWASAA, and

others like them, was therefore initially welcomed by all stakeholders. As in the case

of Lagos, there was sanity. The intervention thereafter truly contributed to the

aesthetics and beautification of the states.

In the course of time, however, it became apparent that what is of paramount

importance to the signage agencies is more of pecuniary consideration than the

environment. It is now obvious that they are assessed by their principals (the

governors) for what they contribute to the internally generated revenue (IGR) of the

states. For most of them, revenue generation is now more important than the

environment. Virtually all the agencies are under targets of hundreds of millions, (in

some, like Lagos, billions) by the respective state governments that now see outdoor

advertisements as veritable means of boosting their IGR.

Not too long ago, Grorge Noah, the managing director of LASAA, was named the

Lagos State Man of the Year. It is not clear if the award was popularly on account of his

achievements on the environment. But in a television interview sometime after his

investiture, he touted his agency as the one that generated the highest income into the

coffers of the state in 2013. The LASAA example has become a model for other states.

And so today, we have advertisement and signage agencies in almost all the states. It

is worthy of note that this is about the only institution that cuts across the political

divide in Nigeria. Even though it was first launched in an APC controlled state, states

being controlled by other parties have also set up similar agencies.

Constitutionally, the regulation of outdoor advertising is under the purview of

local governments. But in an effort to justify the creation of these otherwise

illegal agencies, local governments have been in a manner of speaking, arm-

twisted, and presented as lacking in technical and manpower by the various state

governments.

Thus, by some political manipulations, states have forced local governments into

OUTDOOR ADVERTISING IN NIGERIA: HOW ADVERTISEMENT AND SIGNAGE REGULATORY AGENCIES TRUNCATE GROWTH

s ign ing memoranda o f

understanding with them,

allowing the signage and

advertisement agencies to

handle the job on their behalf.

Realising that this is not

enough to give the agencies

the needed legal status, state

Houses of Assembly have

been made to pass laws that

have legalized the otherwise

unconstitutional action.Industry watchers, however, b e l i e v e t h a t s t a t e governments may not be in a hurry to call these regulatory agencies to order on the issue of illegality, for as long as the agencies continue to bring in huge revenues for them.

It is worthy to add here that

h e a d s o f t h e v a r i o u s

regulatory agencies are

political appointees, and no

effort has ever been made to

ensure they have any

professional certification

that qualifies them to occupy

such position

Mr. Yinka Adepoju, director

general of Oyo State Signage

and Advertisement Agency

(OYSAA), a thorough bred

professional and one time

vice president of the Outdoor

Advertising Association of

Nigeria (OAAN), is the only

exception here.

Little wonder, therefore, that

the best the various signage

agencies can do has been to

concentrate on how to

40 Brand Visibility

cover story

Page 41: Brand Visibility

increase the IGR they deliver, not

minding the effect of their activities

on the industry. The experience

today is such that can be safely

likened to a situation where

butchers are made to carry out

surgical operations. This is more so,

because most of those who preside

over the agencies have never

operated any serious business. Thus,

they do not really know more than to

concentrate on revenue generation,

even if that would mean that the

industry they regulate is stifled to

death.

The regime of pioneer managing director of LASAA, Mr. Makanjuola Alabi , was reputed to have embarked on massive destruction of billboards worth several billions of naira, with impunity. Many companies that could not meet the demands of LASAA then were forced out of business. Even those who remained in business did so for the reason that they had hoped the insanity would abate with time. Businesses suffered and hundreds of thousands of the employees of the affected outdoor companies lost their jobs and means of livelihood, all because the government had suddenly discovered a new source of increase in IGR in outdoor advertising.

T h e o n s l a u g h t o n o u t d o o r advertising did not start with LASAA, the forerunner of signage agencies. And it is not true that there has never been organized resistance against such onslaught by the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN).

It is on record that OAAN successfully c h a l l e n g e d t h e O y o S t a t e government over its attempt to regulate and control outdoor advertising in the state through an agency then popularly called OSOAMAG(Oyo State Outdoor

Advertising Monitory and Advisory Group). That was many years before the establishment of LASAA. In a suit filed by the association in the Oyo State High Court, presided over by Honourable Justice M.O Bolaji-Yusuf, the court decided as follows:

1. That the control and regulation of outdoor advertising by the government of Oyo State through the agency of Oyo State Outdoor Advertising Monitoring and Advisory Group (OSOAMAG) or any other agent, consultants or whatsoever was illegal, unlawful, unconstitutional and ultra vires the power of the Oyo State Government.

2. That the activities of OSOAMAG, in so far as it involved the control and regulations of outdoor advertising in the state and collection of levies, taxes or any form of revenue there from on behalf of the government of Oyo State, was illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional.

3. That the removal and destruction of billboards erected by the st ndplaintiffs, by the 1 and 2 Defendants, purporting to act on behalf of

the government of Oyo State, was illegal, unlawful and a violation of the legal and constitutional rights of the plaintiffs to their property;

4. That the control of land on federal highways is legally vested in the Federal Government and its relevant officials, and no agency of Oyo State government had the legal authority to control the use by the plaintiffs of any part of the federal highway in Oyo state. It is not known if the Government of Oyo State ever appealed the judgement

But what appears more baffling is that state agencies across the country

have not been challenged by OAAN, the relevant subsector of the economy

that is most badly hit by the illegal and largely unconstitutional activities of

these agencies.

However, in the opinion of Mr. Yinka Adepoju, OYSAA helmsman, there is a

world of difference between OSOAMAG and the new signage agencies, in the

sense that the latter are backed by law, and therefore cannot be compared to

OSOAMAG, which had no legal backing. Adepoju said it was on the basis of its

illegality and arbitrariness that OAAN went to court to challenge OSOAMAG.

And now, with the planned formation of an outdoor advertising regulatory association being spearheaded by LASAA, a disaster may be looming, and operators in that subsector may be in for tougher times ahead.

In a press statement widely circulated and published in major newspapers, LASAA helmsman, Mr. George Noah, said, “The Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency is spear-heading the formation of an association, to protect the interests of outdoor advertising regulatory agencies.” He also said a number of states were already buying into the project. But, the objective is suspect. Perhaps LASAA and the other agencies are not aware that outdoor advertising practice in Nigeria is gradually going into extinction due to their activities. In a recent publication by Mediafacts, it was established that in 2012 alone, the billings of out-of-home operators went down by about N12 billion, owing to the economically unfriendly disposition of these agencies.

It is simply unclear therefore, what interest of the signage agencies are threatened and by whom. Perhaps the agencies are seeking autonomy from the state governments that set them up.

cover story

41 Brand Visibility

Page 42: Brand Visibility

Or could it be that their IGR interest has been so badly affected that they now want a platform to help them prevail on advertisers to increase their outdoor budgets? OAAN cannot be a threat; at least not from the attitude of the association to readily accept whatever is hauled at the members and their practice by agencies whose leadership are at best novices in the practice of outdoor advertising. And what is more, from all indications, the association is not complaining, at least not loudly enough to register any form of displeasures.

In some states there are also consultants whose primary business is to drive as it were, help the signage agencies in the drive for IGR. With some of them, it has become so ridiculous that outdoor companies are asked to make payments into some private accounts belonging to such consultants. It is now a free for all!

There is also the African Outdoor Conference and Exhibition put together by LASAA. While it is tempting to applaud the agency for this, some industry oparators say it should take caution not to further strangulate the outdoor advertising in Nigeria.

J. C. Decaux, whose helmsman d e l i ve re d a s p e e c h at t h e conference, is said to have a very deep pocket, and is ever willing to use this to sniff life out of local operators. The company is said to have tried it in some other leading West African countries, but was vehemently resisted both by the operators and the government. It did not succeed there, but since that attempt was unsuccessful, Nigeria may simply be the next target.

The worry in certain quarters is that Nigeria may be an easier prey, given the very high level of official

impunity and reckless executive corruption in the land. The conviction is that should the company be determined to come, some officials may not blink an eyelid to sell off the entire nation, so long as it gives them enormous wealth and other opportunities, including being on the board of directors and other such pecuniary considerations.

Today, the popular fear in some quarters is that J. C. Decaux is set to take over the out-of-home industry in Nigeria, if allowed and given approval to practice in the country. “The purported promotion of creative excellence which is the theme of the conference and on which the chieftain of J.C.D is billed to make a presentation, should not be a ploy to cede out outdoor advertising practice to an investor with a deep purse”, a Nigerian practitioner had advised shortly before the conference. He warned that if such happened, it would “be calamitous for the Niger ian economy, as hundreds of people employed by the local operators would have to be out of jobs and employments, thereby worsening the already very bad economic situation in the land.”

Mr. Emmanuel Ajufo, Managing

Director of Opportunity To See, who

is also the General Secretary of

OAAN, in expressing his own

opinion, pointed out that state

r e g u l a t o r y a g e n c i e s h a v e

contributed to industry failure, to

the extent that practitioners spend

between 33 per cent and 40 per cent

of their revenue on paying tax

(otherwise known as permit fees), a

In other words, the industry seems to suspect every move of the signage agencies. The thinking that is very popular is that it is the internally generated revenue target that is really driving every move of the signage agencies, especially LASAA.

cover story

42 Brand Visibility

development he describes as

counterproductive. He believes the

high rates of the agencies are not in

any way justifiable.

He said as a result of the high rates,

small-scale advertisers have been

forced out of the market, and that

even the available big spenders are

already complaining of strangulating

rates which may also force them out

of the out-of-home media platform.

This has to be checked, otherwise the

platforms may soon be empty, and

operators forced out of business.

This, Ajufo warned, is a destructive

disaster waiting to happen.

In the opinion of Mr. Yinka Okesiji, a

seasoned practitioner, formerly of

Optimum Exposures and Promo

World, the real problem is that

“majority of the signage agencies are

run by non-professionals.” The only

exception, according to him, is the

Oyo State Signage & Advertisement

Agency (OYSAA), which is being

run by a first-class outdoor person.

He decried the practice whereby

regulatory agencies fix rates

arbitrarily from the tax point of view,

which is not even justified. He noted

that the regulatory agencies fix rates

a s d i r e c t e d b y t h e i r s t a t e

governments, and not based on the

percentage of the rates charged by

operators, or on the percentage of

their income. This he said was not

right

“They can fix a rate today, especially

in Lagos, by the time you are sending

your estimated costs, based on those

rates, to your client, say in another

one or two months, the rates have

increased, thereby making planning

very difficult,” he lamented. “It is a

major issue and until we get out of

this, the industry will not grow. It is

not like that everywhere, it is not like

that, for instance, in the United

States, the United Kingdom and even

the United Arab Emirates.” BV

Page 43: Brand Visibility

Th e Departme

n t o f M a s s Communication, University of L a g o s , n o w wears a new look w i t h t h e completion and commissioning of a two-storey building donated by Mr. Biodun S h o b a n j o , Chairman of Troyka Holdings, one of the leading lights in the Marketing Communications industry in Nigeria.The department was known to be in shortage of lecture rooms. It was usually a difficulty for both students and their lecturers to attend to their lectures and other academic activities as a result. It was a common experience for studenst and lecturers to wait in the sun for hours pending the availability of rooms for their lectures. But that now belongs in the history books as a result of the building recently donated by one of the leading icons of professional advertising practice in Nigeria, Mr. Biodun Shobanjo, a fellow (frpa) of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, APCON. The newly commissioned building has more than enough classrooms to accommodate more than five lectures at the same time. There are also offices for the lecturers.Appropriately named THE BIODUN SHOBANJO MULTI-M E D I A C E N T R E O F EXCELLENCE this contribution will enable the Department meet in physical terms the Centre of Excellence in Media Training

Biodun Shobanjo Donates Building To Mass Comm. Department, UNILAG

-LEKAN IBRAHIM

status awarded to it by UNESCO.In a chat with Dr. O l u b u n m i Ajibade, a lecturer at the department, he told Brand Visibility that the former structure t h a t w a s demolished to give way to the new building could not c a t e r f o r t h e

department's need and so the call for new classrooms became inevitable. “ T h e r e a r e s o m a n y programmes- founda t ion p r o g r a m m e , d e g r e e programme, full-time and part-time programmes, and post-graduate programmes.

43 Brand Visibility

NEWS

Mr Biodun Shobanjo, frpa

Side view of the building

Page 44: Brand Visibility

We were suffering acute space shortage. Apparently, it was not good enough and we could

not expand because we did not have space within our environment. The space-constraint was enormous, and so the project was timely, a saving grace” Dr. Ajibade said.Ajibade disclosed that the construction started in 2012, and the project was completed and commissioned in 2014, adding that there was no delay whatsoever in the execution. Rather, the project was executed as scheduled and the design, just appropriate for the present day need of a university department. And Ajibade's view is that Mr. S h o b a n j o s h o u l d b e c o m m e n d e d f o r t h i s

w o n d e r f u l g i f t t o t h e Department. Brand Visibility however

observed that the building was yet to be put to use as it was yet to be equipped with the relevant furniture items and the required instructional materials to aid learning. Also, the air conditioning system, and internet facilities were yet

to be in place. Alofun Oluwatayo, a Master's Degree s tudent of the Department expressed his hope to see the building put to use soon. His words: “it's q u i t e a m o n u m e n t a l architecture but I can only hope that it will be put to active use and not left like a mere museum for tourists.” That perhaps sums up the expectations of lecturers and students alike. But intending users of the building may not have to wait for long, as, we learnt, the relevant authorities of the University Council was a l ready consider ing to approve funds for the purchase of all the necessary items to make it possible to put to effective use The Biodun Shobanjo Multi-Media Centre of Excellence, BSMCE! BV

44 Brand Visibility

News

Another view of the building

Mr Shobanjo at the presentation of the building

A close up on the inscription

Page 45: Brand Visibility
Page 46: Brand Visibility

Brand building has for so

long been a global trend

and has now become a

major strategy adopted for

penetrat ing, reclaiming, or

dominating a market, as it is an

effective way to connect with the

target consumers. And lately, at the

turn of this decade, the engagement

of the social media platforms has

become the darling of brand

communicators.

Over time, corporate organizations

h a v e d e p l o y e d o t h e r

communication platforms to build

their brands, giving them the

desired personality in order to

attract and sustain consumers: both

present, prospective and future.

And now the advent of social media

has added a most formidable

platform to connect and engage

millions of individuals, especially

the youths and the young at heart,

that are regularly on Facebook,

Badoo, Twitter and the rest of

them.These are now helping

marketers and their consultants to

showcase their brands and promote

a bond with the target.

With over 55, 000, 000 internet

users in Nigeria, corporate

“…the advent of social media

has added a most formidable

platform to connect and

engage the millions of

individuals, especially the

youths and the young at

heart, that are regularly on

Facebook, Badoo, Twitter

and the rest of them.”

organizations should have enough

reasons to also deploy the social

media platforms to engage with

youths, with the commercial

messages of their brands, to the end

that their overall marketing

communications objectives are

achieved.

T h e s e d a y s a n u m b e r o f

Facebook“Like” pages and

sponsored Twitter “Handles”

appear on the individual's timeline

and she has a choice to “Like” the

page or to discard it. By “Liking”a

page , “ f eeds” g e t t o t he

individual's “Timeline” and latest

updates from the organization

deploying such a platform pops up

at regular intervals. And the

individual cannot miss these

updates which most times are

How Brands Can Connect

through Social Media Platforms

Investigation

46 Brand Visibility

Page 47: Brand Visibility

commercial messages about a

brand or a group of them.

Further, organizations can also

take advantage of the social media

platforms to build a strong bond

with their intended target by

engaging “online commentators”.

These are individuals with

hundreds and thousands of

“followers”, and the discerning

marketer is also “following” such

individuals to connect and engage

o t h e r “ f o l l o w e r s ” w i t h

commercial messages subtly

passed on about their brands.

The social media specialists

“tweet” the brands and products to

their followers and with a number

of “ re tweets” f rom other

followers and friends, the message

spreads across the social media

platform, exposing all followers

(now a captive audience) to the

message, and it may become one

of the ‘trending topics’’ if it

garners more retweets. And in

course of all of this, the

commercial message becomes

“viral”, becomes so popular with

the intended audiences. The

brand's image ultimately gets a

boost as intended.

However, while social media may

be seen as an effective platform to

reach out to millions of youths,

there is the critical question of

whether the message truly appeals

to the potential consumers. The

effectiveness of a social media

campaign therefore is vital in

determining the quality of

messages and resources to be

invested in it.

Opening a social media account is

not a difficult thing, but the

“Likes” and “Follow” it is likely to

get few hours after the account has

been activated, is what will

determine how internet users will

connect with the brand.

In Nigeria for instance, when a

celebrity opens a social media

account, such personality is set to

get over a thousand “Followers”

and “Likes” within an hour.

Meanwhile, brands tend to angle

for such instantaneous popularity,

and most times, have to pay to

appear as sponsored page on

internet user's timeline. If a brand

an can't get a likely hit of a

thousand “followers” hours after

the opening of a social media

account, what then is the

possibility of the brand getting the

in tended engagement and

connectivity with the internet

users who are on the social media

platform?

No doubt, most marketers desire

that their brands enjoy improved

bonding with the teeming internet

users. Most have introduced

inducements by way of offering

gifts and free tickets to watch

important events or even through

recharge cards. When these are up,

increase in followership usually

occurs, the number of “Likes”

expectedly comes up quite

significantly, and the product

becomes the subject of discussion,

perhaps for as long as the

inducement strategy is deployed.

It may even become one of the

‘trending topics’’.

However, the question to ask is,

with the promos and presentation

of gifts that happen on the social

‘While social media may be

seen as an effective platform

to reach out to millions of

youths, there is the critical

question of whether the

message truly appeals to the

potential consumers’’.

media platform, do the winners

remain connected with the brand?

Will they not switch loyalty at a

better offer or to something more

promising?

While we must appreciate the

advent of social media and the

positive impact it has had when

deployed for brand promotion

purposes, brand managers must

take cognisance of the need to

effectively and strategically use

this platform to truly connect with

the reality. Brand engagement on

social media should produce

expected result like we have for

the out-of-home advertising media

platforms. Brands should put into

use such innovative and marketing

communications strategies that

p r o m o t e e n g a g e m e n t a n d

interaction with the social media

audience, in order that their efforts

may guarantee accomplishment of

t h e s e t s o c i a l m e d i a

communication objectives, having

the desired impact, and which will

help in advancing their frontiers

and gaining more loyalists and

adherents to the side of their

brands.

It is also important that while

engaging other social media users,

messages must be made to really

appeal to online customers. Legal

traps should also be avoided and,

since many are on social media for

different reasons, brand messages

must be precise and catchy, so as to

have a more long-lasting effect on

the audience's memory. Taking

this into use will not only help in

getting customers, but will also

boost patronage and improve the

bottom line. BV

Investigation

47 Brand Visibility

Page 48: Brand Visibility

The remains of the late Lady

Mbanefo, was laid to rest

recently at the Mbanefo

C o m p o u n d , O t o l o N n e w i ,

Anambra State. It was an event that

took to Nnewi virtually everyone

that had anything to do with

advertising in Nigeria. Top on the

list of advertising sectorial groups

at the event were the members of

t h e O u t d o o r A d v e r t i s i n g

Association of Nigeria, OAAN.

Perhaps, it was one event that has,

in recent times witnessed the

largest gathering of members of

the Association. Members led by

the Association's President,

Char les Chi j ide , the Vice

President, Alhaji Danladi Yaro and

the General Secretary, Emmanuel

Ajufo were all at the event.

Most of them arrived Owerri two

days before the event and stayed to

be part of the thanksgiving service

on Sunday, before leaving for their

different destination.

It couldn't have been otherwise

anyway as one of the children,

Engineer (Sir) Dozie Mbanefo,

Managing Director New Crystal

communication, is the Publicity

Secretary of the Association.

Dozie Mbanefo Buries Mum, OAAN Floods Nnewi

48 Brand Visibility

event

Page 49: Brand Visibility

Event

...and the Oparaekes gave out their daughter in holy matrimony

49 Brand Visibility

Page 50: Brand Visibility

Interview

50 Brand Visibility

Brand Visibility: It is evident that

the fortunes of outdoor advertising

media operators are dwindling in

recent times. What do you think are

the reasons?

For me, we lost our share, but

I'm not in a position to tell you that

this is the value we lost, except we do

proper calculation. You would recall

that in 2012, some major spenders in

our business did not engage our

p l a t f o r m s t o e x p o s e t h e i r

advertisements until the end of the

second quarter. And when they did,

some of them only did three-month

campaigns. That itself affected our

Ajufo:

business very seriously.

Secondly, our medium suddenly

became too costly for advertisers and

so advertisers are looking at other

ways of getting their products known

to the consumers. The third one is the

issue of insecurity in the northern

part of the country. A lot of people

are no longer advertising up north for

obvious reasons. Again, you will

notice that the advertising spend is a

product of what people buy; a

function of the profitability of the

business.

The loss in 2012,

for whatever reasons , was

Brand Visibility:

monumental, and the 2013 figures

are not yet out. Do you hope that the

performance in 2014 will be any

better?

Definitely, we hope that

things will improve. But on our part,

we must also do the needful for those

things to improve. The issue of rates

in the industry is a major issue.

Before now, our business used to be

seen as the cheapest medium. Today,

it is now the costliest medium, and

people are running away. What we

need to do is to find out why we are

that costly.

We have been told that the rates in

Ajufo:

OUTDOOR PERMIT FEES OUTRAGEOUS;

NEGATIVELY AFFECTING BRANDS - AJUFO

Mr. Emmanuel Ajufo is the General Secretary of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), and MD/CEO of O p p o r t u n i t y - To - S e e Limited, an Ikeja-based Outdoor Advertis ing firm. He speaks on a number of industry related issues, including what he considers most pressing: the dwindling fortunes in the industry and the formation of West African Outdoor Advertising Association, and other relevant issues.

Page 51: Brand Visibility

Interview

51 Brand Visibility

Lagos are the costliest in the world. A

research exercise is being conducted

(to ascertain the veracity of that

claim), and until the result of that

research comes out, we can only

guess.

But one thing is sure, a situation

where you spend between 33 per cent

and 40 per cent of your revenue on

paying tax is obviously not right, and

so the signage agencies are

contributing to our failure as it were.

But until we have the result of that

research exercise, we can only say

these are our issues. And once

advertisers have an opportunity to go

elsewhere onto another media

platform) and are successful in the

experiment, it becomes difficult to

come back, and so we also as

practitioners in the system must

engage the advertisers and partner

with them properly in this fight to

reduce the rates.

In specific terms,

what should the industry do to get

out of this situation?

We should partner with the

advertisers. We should engage the

regulatory agencies, and we should

also come out with the result of our

research that we can use to justify

whatever we are talking about.

Let's talk

generally on issues that affect the

industry, especially the APCON

Code of Advertising Practice?

We embrace the new code,

because we feel that it will help our

business. What the new code is

saying is that APCON will now

directly regulate our practice, either

through the association (OAAN) or

by having a direct regulatory

relationship with the operator. In

Brand Visibility:

Brand Visibility:

Ajufo:

Ajufo:

standing alone (operating without

belonging to any association), there

are some stringent conditions that

APCON has made known to us.

Which means that by the time you

stand alone, you would have met a lot

of stringent conditions; and once you

can do that, there is really no

problem. Otherwise, you are ready

to go through an association. And if

you decide to choose this path, it

means that you also need to abide by

the rules of the association. To that

extent, we embrace the code. What

we now plead for is that APCON

should ensure that the code is

enforced, because, today, APCON is

also licensing companies. Before

now i t was on ly l i cens ing

practitioners. We now have two types

of licenses for those who belong to

the relevant sectoral groups of which

OAAN is one. And you are also free

to be a stand-alone, to choose to

operate without being in any

association because, of course, the

constitution of Nigeria allows for the

freedom of association. So this

should help our business if we are

ready to enforce it.

The coming of

signage agencies has no doubt

translated to some huge problems

Brand Visibility:

for operators in the outdoor

advertising sub-sector. What steps

do you think should be taken to

address such problems?

The major problem is that the

permit fees they charge are too high

and outrageous. I have not seen

anywhere in the world where our

business is seen as a major IGR

(internally generated revenue)

contributor to any government at

whatever level. But that is what we

are having in Nigeria today. What we

need to do is to talk to them (signage

agencies) and engage them. We need

to talk to them about the need to soft

pedal on the issue of IGR. What I

know of government is that

government should create an

enabling environment for business to

thrive, hoping that if business

thrives, all those unemployed people

will be taken. It is not by killing the

business. What we need to do is to

engage the government and tell them

why they need to be a little bit softer

on us.

What do you

think of the proposed Association of

Regula tory Agencies be ing

spearheaded by LASAA?

For me, there

i s f r e e d o m o f

association. The only

issue will be the

reason for such an

assoc ia t ion . The

same way we have

our reason for the

a s s o c i a t i o n o f

outdoor advertising

practitioners, they

too can have their

own association. In

so far as they have

good intentions, the

f r e e d o m o f

Ajufo:

Ajufo:

Brand Visibility:

Page 52: Brand Visibility

Interview

association is a constitutional right.

In your opinion,

what are the effects of the activities

of signage agencies on individual

brands?

My opinion is that the rates

(permit fees) that they are charging

are making it difficult for most

advertisers to give their brands the

required exposure through outdoor

advertising platforms. In the last 10

years they have gradually, so to

speak, killed small advertisers,

because not all the advertisers can

afford the high charges that the rates

of the signage agencies have caused.

Most of our platforms are no longer

a f fo rdab l e fo r sma l l s ca l e

advertisers. Today, what they have

succeeded in doing is that they have

only allowed the big spenders to

advertise and even then the so called

big spenders are complaining. So, all

the people who would have made the

business environment to be more

vibrant have been frustrated by the

unreasonably high rates. Also, the

practitioners themselves, a lot of

them, have been chased out of

Lagos, because if you cannot pay the

high rates you have to relocate. And

this is very sad indeed.

What in your

opinion are the best ways to change

the face of outdoor practice and

check the excessive taxes and

strangulating regulations?

We will continue to engage

the people in government, especially

those people whose activities are

having direct negative impact on our

business and practice. We will talk to

them; we will dialogue with them.

What i s

Federation of West Africa Outdoor

Brand Visibility:

Brand Visibility:

Brand Vis ib i l i ty :

Ajufo:

Ajufo:

Advertising Associations?

We believe that FEPE is for

a l l associa t ions of outdoor

advertising in the world and that

charity must begin from home. That

is why we said we should bring our

brothers in the West African sub-

region together to have an

association where we can compare

notes. By the time we come together,

we will all harness and then begin to

help those who are weak and

leverage on those who are strong. We

expect that when we get running

properly, we will in partnership with

ECOWAS, help the smaller

countries to bring about a world class

kind of delivery to the various

countries so that every part of West

Africa that you go to, you will see a

kind of uniformity in standards. We

also want to handle this issue of

government and taxes, and hope that

with our various experience, we can

help one another. That is the essence

of the association. And OAAN's

president, Mr. Charles Chijide, is the

president of the Association and

yours sincerely is the general

secretary.

In a nutshell,

what is the philosophy of this

association, and what are the

primary objectives?

I believe the philosophy will

grow with time. And as for the

primary objectives, I have just stated

them. But let me summarise this

way. It is for improved and uniform

standards and conditions of practice

in the West African sub-region.

How popular

would you say the association is,

with the Nigerian audience and in

the participating countries?

Ajufo:

Ajufo:

Brand Visibility:

Brand Visibility:

Ajufo:

Ajufo:

Ajufo:

We just returned from Cote

D'voire and with the level of

government presence at the meeting

there, it seems to us that we are on the

right track, because we have a lot of

government support from Cote

D'voire. We have also been to Ghana

and we have a lot of government

support there, too. So, from the little

we have seen, I think it is an

association everybody wants to

come up and I think we are even late

in starting it.

What does it

portend for Nigeria in terms of

benefit and challenges and

responsibilities?

We are in a planning stage.

What we have done now is that we

have put in place some officers. We

have interacted with all the countries

in West Africa and we have had a few

meetings in Ghana and Cote D'voire.

We are also going to have in Togo.

We have also adopted a constitution.

So, we are still at the early stage. The

next stage we are going to now is for

people to now talk about their

challenges and then we set up the

various committees that are

supposed to handle the various

challenges. The success of Togo will

be the adoption of the constitution.

We will then have laws that are going

to guide us in our relationship.

How is the

Association funded?

It is going to be funded by the

countries that are being represented.

For instance, OAAN is representing

Nigeria, so the various associations

in each country will also fund, by the

time we agree on what we are going

to be charging. Then it will be shared

among the countries. Presently, the

secretariat is in Nigeria.

Brand Visibility:

Brands Visibility:

BV

52 Brand Visibility

Page 53: Brand Visibility

Shopping

On l i n e s h o p p i n g i s

gradually but steadily

becoming a fashionable

trend in the country, and the multi

billion naira industry is now

opening job opportunities for

thousands of Nigerian youths. On

the front row of this new business

are Jumia, Konga, DealDey, and

OLX. While these ones are

expanding their frontiers and are in

some kind of neck-breaking

competition to outsmart one

another especially Jumia, which is

said to be the leading online

shopping concern in Nigeria,

has it on good

authority that some others are

warming up to join the fray.

Online shopping found its way into

the Nigerian market a few years

back. And with the large number of

youths who have access to internet

via their mobile phones and other

platforms, and whose flare for

online shopping and transaction is

on the increase, the operators may

just be in for a huge haul, as long as

they are also committed to prompt

and excellent delivery of services.

The social importance of online

s h o p p i n g c a n n o t b e o v e r

emphasised. It has opened the

f l o o d - g a t e o f b u s i n e s s

opportunities for entrepreneurs to

meet and trade their stocks. Not

only that, the advent of online

shopping has allowed young

Nigerians to promote their brands,

explore business opportunities, and

Brand Visibility

Gradually but Steadily: Online Shopping Takes Root in Nigeria

expand frontiers. For a number of

skilled young Nigerians who for

instance are into shoe making, art

and other skills, but who have

difficulty promoting their products

and skills via the traditional media

due to the high cost of advertising,

the launch of online shopping has

now provided a formidable

platform for them to connect with

the teeming online audience that

will find their products relevant to

their needs.

Another interesting aspect of online

shopping is that rather than go

through the conventional way of

physically visiting shopping malls

or the local neighbourhood markets

to source for goods or services,

these can now be found online.

With the likes of VConnect and

some other organizations whose

primary engagement is the

provision of addresses and contacts

of service providers to the people

online, all that a prospective buyer

needs to do is type the location of

choice and the type of services she

wants, and several options will pop

up.

Online shopping has also enabled

people to dispose of used wares,

goods and products on online.

Here, both used and new products

are displayed on the site for

interested buyers to contact the

seller. The site only provides the

platform for buyers and sellers to

meet at no cost and doesn't interfere

in the transaction.

While the advantages of online

shopping abound, some otherwise

prospects are yet to trust them for

quality service, especially in the

areas of prompt delivery and

quality assurance. This fear may

53 Brand Visibility

-Olawunmi Hotonu

Page 54: Brand Visibility

not be unfounded, as there have

been cases where promised

deadlines were not met, products

tampered with and services not

provided as agreed, or as

expected. While some see this as

the risk that comes with business,

some agree that it is basically an

act of incompetence.

While it is obvious that most

online organizations try very hard

to meet demands, especially in

the seasons of celebration, when

orders expectedly are high,

meeting deadlines may be a little

challenging. But then, the client

is not interested in efforts. She

wants service, and she wants it

promptly delivered.

This leads to the question of the

steps being taken by the

Consumer Protection Council

(CPC), founded to protect

consumers from dissatisfied

s e r v i c e s , t o e n s u r e t h a t

organizations found wanting,

especially in the online shopping

sector are sanctioned. The

e x p e r i e n c e n o w i s t h a t

organizations are trying to

outsmart one another in the

business, and in the process, it is

not unlikely that the customer

may be taken for granted,

deceived and their rights

trampled upon. It is important

therefore that the CPC should

anticipate and be proactive.

While there are yet to be reports

of high profile fraud cases and

other criminal activities in the

industry, the CPC and all other

relevant organizations should act

fast to maintain full sanity by

checking from time to time

a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e o n l i n e

organizations and ensuring they

conform to the required standard

practice and norm. BV

Shoping

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54 Brand Visibility

Page 55: Brand Visibility

Interview

Brand Visibility:

Brand Visibility:

Please let us meet

you.

My name is Chief

Odunmoluwa Fadoju. I am the

Managing Director/Chief Executive

of DP Partnership FCB. I have been

in the industry for almost 30 years

now. I have worked with various

advertising agencies. And this is my

last halt. I am a co-founder of this

agency. It was founded about 11

years ago.

You certainly

have been around in the marketing

communications industry for so

long. How, in your opinion has

Fadoju :

the

industry fared and what future does

it have?

Odun Fadoju, Managing Director, DP Partnership FCB, recently spoke with Brand Visibility's Ibrahim Olalekan. Expectedly, he x-rayed issues relevant to the marketing communications

industry in Nigeria. His views are as captured below:

Fadoju: If there is no future, I won't

be what I am today. I have been in the

industry for close to 30 years. If I

have not seen that there is a bright

future ahead I won't still be here.

Tomorrow is still very good; it is

going to be better than what it is today

My today is better than yesterday and

I believe my tomorrow will be better

than my today. When we started

advertising, it wasn't as big as what

we now have; the technology,

exposure, training opportunities

were not there as we have them

cheaply today and I believe that

come tomorrow, it is going to be

better than we currently have. So, I

think the future will be very good.

The industry is very lucrative for

those who manage their details very

well. You don't have to be

unnecessarily loud. If you know your

onions, and you know how to

manage your agency, you will

discover that the industry can be

highly fulfilling and rewarding. But

you must be hard working.

Tell us the DP

Partnership story.

We started about 11 years

ago. But before then, I was the

managing director of Sunrise DBM

& B, and I worked there for about

eight years. I left that place to set up

my team with the other owners of

this place as the pioneer General

Manager. I later became the

Executive Director/CEO. When we

started 11 years ago it was very hard

and tough. Today, you probably will

think this is how we started, and that

it has always been this ok. No. We

did not start this way at all. We

started from ground zero. We did not

have any account or client. But when

you know that this is your vision, you

don't have any alternative. You either

die or you survive; you either sink or

you float.

When we started, some clients whom

I had worked for in my previous

agency, and who so much believed in

me gave us opportunities, especially

clients like P&G, Union Bank and

about three others. For the first three

years, that really stabilized us until

after about five years later that we

started pitching for accounts. We

then won Swift Network and

Honeywell, among others. Since

then, the story has been different.

Then fortunately, about three years

ago, we had what could be described

Brand Visibility:

Fadoju:

55 Brand Visibility

GOVERNMENT ERRORNEOUSLY THINKS THERE’S MASSIVE

MONEY IN OUTDOOR ADVERTISING -FADOJU

Page 56: Brand Visibility

Interview

as an ear thquake , a major

breakthrough, a positive change and

turnaround. We had a big leap; we

got affiliated with FCB, which is the

second largest advertising group

globally. And for us to get affiliated

then, it was a big leap and that has

been of good help and has also

transformed us from being a small

agency to becoming a big player in

the industry. We are not yet a very

big player, but we are no longer the

small agency of yesterday you used

to know.

Now that you are

in an affiliation relationship with

one of the leading international

advertising global groups, how

would you describe the experience

and how would you advise Nigerian

agencies seeking international

affiliations?

The exper ience is

wonderful, but the key issue is that

before seeking international

relationships, you need to have

developed yourself locally. Never

depend on international affiliation

for all of your needs. If you do that,

you are on your own; anything can

happen tomorrow. If we had

depended on that from day one, we

would not be where we are today. We

first of all developed our systems

and processes locally. We got almost

six different accounts on which we

were doing very well . The

relationship with FCB has only

further stabilized us and has given us

opportunities to get better and to soar

higher. The issue is, you don't go and

set up an advertising agency because

you are thinking of affiliation, but

because you are a professional, and

you really have the passion to give it

whatever it takes to meet the

challenges. In the process of time,

you get to the level where you are

truly ready for international

Brand Visibility:

Fadoju:

relationships. That is how it should

be. You don't have to seek

international affiliation before you

can be successful. There are so many

agencies practising now who do not

have international affiliations and

they are doing very well.

It seems there is a

lull in advertising activities. What

would you identify as the reason for

this?

That is relative. I would not

say there is a lull because if you have

clients that you know they cannot do

without advertising, it won't be a lull

for you. If you are really practising

advertising and you have the

accounts, it shouldn't be. It might be

a case of reduced spends, or a cut

down in budgets, but you still do

your professional job. I can assure

you in another two or three months'

time, it won't be a lull. There will be

political advertising. The politicians

want to contest elections. The local

government election is coming. The

“ … b e f o r e s e e k i n g

international relationships,

you need to have developed

yourself locally. Never depend

on international affiliation for

all of your needs. If you do

that, you are on your own;

a n y t h i n g c a n h a p p e n

tomorrow.”

Brand Visibility:

Fadoju:

governorship election is coming and

the presidential election, too. A lot of

other stuffs are coming. So, for those

who know how to play the game,

there won't be lull at all. There won't

be any dull moment of inactivity.

The fortunes of

outdoor advertising media owners

seem to be dwindling. For instance,

in the year 2012, outdoor

advertising lost over N12 billion,

compared to the performance in

2011. What do you think accounted

for the loss?

First of all, when we talk

about outdoor, there is inconsistency

in government policy. How can you

wake up one day and you start to

demolish outdoor boards? You

should have given them at least a

grace period of six months or one

year notice. You have thrown a lot of

people into unemployment and

business collapse. So there are

inconsistencies in government

policies. There has to be an enabling

environment for the outdoor media

owners to practice. But suddenly

you just wake up and declare the

practitioners are not doing it very

well. No. You should give a period

like “in the next one or two years,

this is how I want outdoor

advertising to be practised.” So there

is inconsistency in government

policy.

Secondly, governments, especially

at the state level, erroneously think

there is massive money in outdoor.

So they want to have a taste of the

money. This is self delusion. It is as

a result of uncontrollable greed on

the part of government officials and

politicians who want to have their

hand in every business they wrongly

believe will give them a lot money.

Then there is a third reason. The

outdoor practitioners also have

themselves to blame. In the main,

Brand Visibility:

Fadoju:

56 Brand Visibility

Page 57: Brand Visibility

Interview

they have not practiced

professionally. You see

outdoor billboards at

any available space on

every corner of a street.

In a particular spot, you

can have about five

billboards in the same

location jostling for the

same campaigns. This

does not augur well.

And that gives room for

government to intervene

in order to bring in

sanity, and, in the

process, to also exploit

the operators. If they had

s t a n d a r d i z e d

themselves and their

practice; if they had put within their

association and practices acceptable

standards, exploitative and stifling

government's intervention most

probably would not have happened.

What do you

think operators in the outdoor

sector of the advertising industry

should do to get out of the present

challenge?

What the outdoor subsector

is currently going through may one

day happen to the creative agencies.

It can happen to the agencies

someday. One has to be futuristic.

You have to plan. Anything can

happen in business. A good

b u s i n e s s m a n a l w a y s p u t s

contingency and logistics (plans) in

place. You might think a business

will continue to flourish, and then

suddenly it collapses. What did you

put in place to prevent or to absorb

the shock? So it is left for owners or

practitioners to put in place shock

absorbers. You need to spread your

tentacles of business. Some people

have been in outdoor for over 30

years and they still remain the same.

Brand Visibility:

Fadoju:

There have not been serious

id sposition towards innovations.

e There are oth r things you can do in

o y outdo r. Why can't ou go to mobile,

d o r fcinema an the means o outdoor

advertising? Advertising is also a

m nbusiness, apart fro bei g a

f o tpro essional job. So, to get out f he

p t rresent quagmire, practi ione s in

o uutdoor advertising sho ld think

outside of the box. They have to be

-m ninnovative, and business i ded

p tabout their rac ice.

In your opinion,

in what ways should the AAAN help

dreverse the ownward trend of

patronage in the entire industry?

N i i AAA s an associat on of

g e avoluntary a encies. Th ssociation

ais not a creation of law as we have

A ef o r A P C O N ( d v r t i s i n g

gPractitioners Council of Ni eria).

r NAnd for that eason, the AAA

cannot enforce any intervention

ausing the instrumentality of any l w,

i although t can help to make sure its

b amem ers don't che t OAAN

smember and that bills are settled as

w d and hen ue. AAAN can also help

a i iBr nd V sibil ty:

Fadoju:

to stabilize the industry. But

APCON, by law, is the one with

power to regulate and make

policies that can significantly

help not only OAAN, but the

entire industry. It is APCON

that has the legal power to

sanitize and to help. And in my

own opinion, part of what

APCON should do to bring

about the desired sanity is the

n e w p r o c l a m a t i o n o f

advertising practice. I am

referring to the new Code of

Advertising Practice. The law

now requires every company to

be registered by APCON. To be

able to practise advertising in

whatever form in Nigeria, you

have to get the APCON licence. That

will also help. Now, you cannot just

wake up someday and put up a

billboard somewhere, and claim to

be practising outdoor advertising.

That has now become illegal. So, it is

APCON that can, and should help to

stabilise the industry. And this it can

do by faithfully implementing the

new code of advertising practice.

AAAN or OAAN alone cannot do

much.

DP Partnership

no doubt is doing very well at a time

that most other creative agencies

are groaning. Please let us into the

secret.

“APCON, by law, is the one

with power to regulate and

make pol ic ies that can

significantly help not only

OAAN, but the entire industry.

It is APCON that has the legal

power to sanitize and to help.

And in my own opinion, part of

what APCON should do to

bring about the desired sanity

is the new proclamation of

advertising practice.”

Brand Visibility:

57 Brand Visibility

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Interview

Fadoju:

Fadoju:

Well, I don't know about

secrets. But let me share some

thoughts that I think are necessary for

business success with you. First, you

must know the ABC of the profession

in which you operate. You also need

to prudently manage your funds very

well. Number two has to do with the

avowed passion to do excellent jobs

at all times. That is what will bring

your clients back to you and you can

only do that when you know this job

very well. It is not enough that you

just work in an agency for three

years, and the next thing is you are

going to establish your own agency. I

have spent close to 30 years. It is by

God's grace; it is not by my power.

But now I can confidently say I know

what it takes. Then, there is the

question of the quality of your

people. Advertising is all about

people. I have to manage people very

well. I have to appreciate them,

because I know without them I

cannot do much. So for me to

survive, I also need to treat them very

well.

Still on the

problems of outdoor advertising

practice in Nigeria, how do you

assess the relevance of the signage

agencies that seem to have

increased the burden of OOH

practitioners; and what suggestions

would you proffer for the

resolution?

The outdoor practitioners

have a lot of the blame, because they

gave room for the signage agencies

to come into existence in the first

place. There were sharp practices.

Most operators were not doing the

job professionally. If they had

standardized themselves in-house,

the signage agencies may not have

likely had a chance to come into

existence. Like I said earlier on, there

Brand Visibility:

was so much chaos at that time, I

mean before the signage agencies

came. Then, at every corner on every

street, you could see up to 30

billboards of various contraptions

scattered everywhere. The billboards

h a d b e c o m e , t o b e m i l d ,

environmental pollution to the

society. But today, there appears to be

some sanity. So the practitioners

invited the signage agencies. The

same way, if advertising agencies

behave like that, government will

just wake up one day and give us a

similar law. But because within the

AAAN, we are able to manage and

put ourselves together fairly well,

such may not be our lot for a long

time to come.

What do you

think of the proposed Association

o f R e g u l a t o r y A g e n c i e s

spearheaded by LASAA?

Don't forget this is politics.

All these states (championing the

establishment of such an association

in the South West) are members of a

particular political party. In my

opinion, there is politics in the

conception. They started with Lagos,

they saw that they are making profit

from it; they saw that they can

s a n i t i z e t h e i n d u s t r y a n d

environment so we can't stop it. They

are government and they are

politicians. We may not be able to

stop them from coming together. But

that is not to say there is any sense in

“…there was so much chaos at

that time, I mean, before the

signage agencies came. Then,

on every corner in every street,

you could see up to 30

b i l l b o a r d s o f v a r i o u s

c o n t r a p t i o n s s c a t t e r e d

everywhere. The billboards

had become, to be mild,

environmental pollution to the

society.”

Brand Visibility:

Fadoju:

forming any such association.

Please talk

generally on issues that affect the

industry, especially the Code of

Advertising ractice?

Well, the Code of

Advertising Practice has been

formulated, but I have not seen

APCON fighting. I have not seen

APCON taking one or two outdoor

agencies; taking radio/television

stations, taking government official

or illegal practitioners to court. I only

hope we are not just barking.

APCON needs to put a little bit of

force and also set examples like a

leader, one with power and authority.

But for now, I've not seen anything to

indicate that APCON will live up to

expectations.

And your nuggets

for individuals who are desirous of

making a career in advertising?

If you want to be in

advertising, you must learn patience,

hard work and prayer. The (Biodun)

Shobanjo you see today, if he tells

you his own story, you will be

amazed. Shobanjo did not become

what he is today without patience,

hard work and prayer. If you want to

be a success in this industry, you

need to have patience and learn the

trade very well. In everything,

especially in advertising, you must

know about client service, brand

management, creative art, copy,

media planning and research. All of

that will come together to make you

an accomplished practitioner, and a

successful CEO.

Brand Visibility:

Band Visibility:

Fadoju:

Fadoju:

“…APCON needs to put a little

bit of force and also set

example like a leader, one with

power and authority. But for

now, I've not seen anything to

indicate that APCON will live

up to expectations.”

BV

58 Brand Visibility

Page 59: Brand Visibility

Brands

BRAND

MANAGEMENT:

AN EXPOSITIONBy: Chief Odun Fadoju

In every advertising discussion

and activities, efforts are

a lways gea red towards

achieving a simple but tedious task

of brand building and brand

management.

In the words of Philip Kotler, “the

art of marketing and marketing

communication is largely brand

building. If not a brand, it will be

viewed as a commodity”

So, what is a brand and what is

management? A brand evolves

from a product/commodity or

intangible products. When nurtured

and enhanced consistently through

innova t ion and aggress ive

marke t ing communica t ions

activities, such as advertising,

activations, event marketing,

promotions, corporate social-

responsibility, attractive and

unique packaging, niche type face,

font, colour scheme, icons and a

host of other variables with the sole

aim of creating a distinctive name

and uniqueness among the

customers, it will have its own

distinct personality; and this will

set it way, way apart from

competition. It will help the

product to grow into becoming a

brand, with a distinctive and unique

personality.

When a product reaches this level

of acceptance, passionate loyalty

and fanaticism, it then transforms

from being a mere product and

becomes a brand. A brand therefore

is the total sensory experience a

customer has as a result of having

c o m e i n c o n t a c t w i t h a

company/product/service. A brand

is an experience that's embedded in

the mind of every person who has

ever come into contact with a

company's service or product. The

brand then becomes an institution

within its category, with a

distinctive and unique personality,

cha rac te r, fo rm and i t i s

“unrivalled” on the promise of

service it provides to the customer.

Therefore, it is safe to say that “a

brand is a non-generic product

designed to set a product apart from

competition”. This is why a

customer will, for instance, go the

extra mile to buy Guinness Extra

Stout, the same reason is why

customers of soft drink keep on

referring to every other soft drink

as Coca-Cola. At that level, a

successful brand simply becomes

the generic name or description for

all products in its category.

The act of managing such a brand is

called Brand Management. Brand

M a n a g e m e n t i s p a r t o f

communication functions in

marketing that includes analysis

and planning on how a brand is

appropriately and effectively

positioned in the market place; how

59 Brand Visibility

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to develop the unique marketing

communication strategy for the

brand and the best way to maintain

the desired reputation that has been

s k i l f u l l y , c a r e f u l l y a n d

professionally crafted for the

brand.

A brand manager within the

advertising agency or from the

client's perspective relates to the

person who is skilled in the art of

managing, understanding the

product/service offerings, the

image and character of the brand,

the consumer, the market place and

operating environment, as well as

understanding the totality of

competing brands within the

category. This art requires a

thorough and deep knowledge of

m a r k e t i n g , m a r k e t i n g

communications and human

psychology, and an all round

knowledge of all the relevant

aspects of the economy.

Developing a new product and

brand extension

One of the major challenges in

marketing planning is how to

painstakingly develop a new

Brands

product, name the product and

nurture it to a level that it

becomes a brand. By brand

extension, or product extension, it implies a new version of the existing

product/brand within the same category. This may just be:

§by adding new flavours

§reformation for enhanced performance, or new usage

§by changing the size or other features of the product

§coming up with a completely new package format

§and any other activity that seeks to extend the value of the product.

Product extension is usually a strategy deployed to leverage on the

success of the “mother” product. That is, using the already successful

product name as a platform to create, maintain and sustain an

advantage in another product category.

With intensive competition in the market place, one truism is that any

company that does not develop a new product or engage in product

extension risks so much. Such companies may find their products

falling victims of changing consumer needs, tastes occasioned by new

technologies, changing product life cycles and increased domestic and

foreign competition. This is why in every 12 months or so, consumers

are bombarded with new versions of mobile phones, new models

designs of existing products like cars and electronic gadgets.

The process:

The new product development process starts with the search for ideas

and the need for such ideas by the consumers. These ideas often come

out of:

§ Inspiration

§ Perspiration

§ Techniques

The management of a company defines the need for the new

61 Brand Visibility

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Brands

product/product extension, which varies from the need for increasing cash

flow for the company, market share domination, imitating the market

leader so as to have a share of the market etc. The idea for the new product

or the line extension may come from one or a combination of the

following:

§Company's scientists (research and development)

§Customers

§Competition

§Sales representatives

§Independent researchers

Going forward, the new product development process can be filled in two

ways: acquisition or new product development in its entirety.

The acquisition route can take three forms:

§Corporate acquisition programmes involving the search for a

smaller company that has attractive product lines, as it is the case

with Nigerian Breweries acquisition of Consolidated Breweries,

the manufacturers of 33 Lager Beer. This acquisition is virtually

making Nigerian Breweries the dominant beer manufacturers in

Nigeria.

§Patent acquisition programme in which the company buys the

right to produce a new product from their patent holders. P&G's

patent acquisition of manufactures of Oral B Toothpaste, Oral B

Toothbrush in the United States is a good example here.

§License acquisition programme for manufacturing various

products.

New Product Development as a strategy:

New product development as a strategy for growth can come in about five

categories:

(i) New to the world product: These are products that create an

entirely new market

(ii) New product line: This allows a company to enter an established

market for the first time.

(iii) Addition to existing product lines: This is a new product that

supplements a company's established product lines. We may

refer to this as product existence.

(iv) Repositioning existing product: This is usually the strategy

targeted at a new market or market segment for an existing

product.

(v) Cost reduction: Here is a new product that is able to provide

similar performance at lower cost

Generally, a new product development process will involve the following

eight stages

(1) Idea generation

(2) Idea screening

(3) Concept development and testing

(4) Marketing strategy development

(5) Business analysis

(6) Product development

(7) Market testing

(8) Commercialization

Product naming

In naming a new product, there is

no hard and fast rule, but there are

basic principles to adopt. Among

these principles are:

§The name must be simple

and easily pronounceable.

The name should not be

jaw-breaking.

§The need to bear in mind

the consumers, their life

style, use of words,

psychographics of the

consumers and other

elements that will make

the market accept the

name of the new product.

§New product name should

not distant itself from the

product promise/service

itself. The new product

name may do well to

suggest to the consumer

what the product is all

about. This creates room

f o r p r o d u c t / n a m e

association that will

enable the consumer to

remember and recall the

product’s name so easily.

Taking the three essentials listed

above into consideration, the new

product name could be derived

from such situations as:

o Naming the new product

after the inventor. e.g Ford,

Mercedes Benz, Toyota.

o Naming the new product

after a notable figure or

personality within the

society or the company.

o Naming the new product

after alphabets, animals,

birds or nature.

However, whatever the name given

to a product or product extension,

62 Brand Visibility

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we need to briefly note that this is not a guarantee that the product

will succeed. Then, why do new products fail? We may consider

the following.

(i) High level executives pushing a favourite idea through in

spite of negative marketing research findings.

(ii) Idea is quite good, but the market size is over-estimated.

(iii) Product not designed as well as it should be, to effectively

fill the gap identified.

(iv) Lack of adequate marketing communications support.

(v) Over-pricing of the new product.

(vi) Competitors fighting back harder than anticipated.

(vii)Fragmented market competition leading to increasingly

fragmented markets, as companies may aim new

product at a smaller market segment rather than the

mass market. This means low sales and profit for each

product.

(viii)Social and government constraints. New products need to

satisfy public criteria, consumer safety, ecological

compatibility and government requirements and

regulations.

(ix) Capital shortage. The need to raise funds needed to

research new innovation may also be a factor to the

success of new product emergence in the market.

Brand positioning and customer-based branding

In the process of brand building, it is pertinent to note as a pre-

requisite that for the exercise of brand equity building to be

successful, there is the absolute need for customer-based brand

equity and brand positioning. By customer-based brand equity, I

mean that the customers must be the focus of all activities of the

brand. These activities engender loyalty and sustain patronage of

the brand. Effective customer focus activities include the

following:

(i) Corporate social responsibilities that have direct impact

on the life and environment of the target audience.

(ii) Sponsorship of programmes/sports/events that the target

audience can identify with, that will bring expected

benefit to the target audience and the brand.

(iii) Events that will bring the brand and customer much closer,

like market storms, sales promotion to reward

customers, activation etc.

(iv) Brand/customer relationship management like Dealer's

Forum for brand/customer's feedback mechanism,

deployment and management of social media, e.g,

facebook, twitter, instagram, etc.

However, before the brand can effectively achieve the goal of a

friendly customer-based brand, the first step is to put in place a

proper positioning platform for it. Brand positioning is the image a

brand has in the customer's mind, especially in relation to

brands

63 Brand Visibility

competing brands. Brand positioning is the

decision brand owners make to create,

sustain and maintain a certain product

concept in the customer's mind. The brand

owner determines after due consideration,

the mindsets of his target audience, taking

due cognisance of such issues like, whether

the brand should be for a mass market or a

segmented market; where in the market to

operate; product benefits; environmental

issues; and competition to determine how

he wants to position the brand in the minds

of the target audience. Whatever way the

brand owner positions the brand, the

positioning cannot exist or survive in

isolation of the support of a good marketing

communication strategy, professionally

and skilfully executed. In theory and in

practice, to see a brand or position a brand

in a particular manner, brand owners must

create a unique NICHE in the mind of

consumers for the brand and differentiate

the brand within the category. The brand

owners therefore have to take such

decisions as:

§I want to position this car as rugged

– Mercedes Benz

§I want to position this car as sleek

but not premium – Honda

§I want it to be the car for everybody

– Toyota

§It has to be seen as milk for

everyone – Cowbell

§This ball food must be seen as good

as pounded yam – Honeywell

§This drink needs to be seen as a

drink for real men – Guinness

Extra Stout

§I want this canned fish to be

premium – Titus Sardines

§This drink is for elders and prayers

– Schnapps

§This car must be seen as a mark of

success – Rolls Royce or Buggati

Essentially, therefore, it is the decision of

the brand owners, influenced by a number

of factors (product research, market

research, marketing research, etc.), that

determines to a great extent the direction

the brand goes. BV

Page 64: Brand Visibility

public pelations

The primary objective of every

commercial enterprise is to

satisfy the needs of its

defined target, and at a profit. But

the relationship between corporate

entities and their targets goes

beyond merely identifying and

satisfying needs profitably. It

includes creating and sustaining an

atmosphere that will enhance

mutual understanding through

effective communication.

All organizations, both profit as well

as non-profit, desire to understand

their targets, and to be understood

by them in return. This is crucial as

mutual understanding smoothens

the relationship between an

enterprise and the individuals and

groups it cannot but relate with, as it

goes about fulfilling the objectives

of its existence. This goes to stress

that a business concern, even if it

sets out to be a money-making

venture, does not exist only for

profit. And this most certainly

explains why businesses are

concerned with how to continue to

be relevant in the estimation of all

the people and groups of people

with which they relate.

How to do this effectively and

efficiently is primarily the focus of

public relations – one of the

engagements of man through which

mutually rewarding relationships

are purposely and deliberately

planned, maintained and sustained.

What is public relations?

One popular definition of Public

Relations or simply PR is the one by

PR & Corporate Governance In The Insurance Industry

’Sola Akinsiku, frpa; mnipr

the Institute of Public Relations in

Britain (IPR) it says PR is:

“The deliberate, planned and

sustained effort to establish and

maintain mutual understanding

between an organization and its

publics”

This definition emphasizes the need

for public relations programmes to

be deliberate, well-thought-out and

carefully sustained. In other words, it

is not a one-off thing. It is a

continuous exercise aimed at

achieving and sustaining a goal over

a period of time, which may not have

a terminal date.

It is also important to hear the

opinion of Bertrand R. Canfield. He

says of public relations that it is “a

social philosophy of management

expressed in policies and practices

which are communicated to the

public to secure its understanding

and goodwill.”

That is, the PR programmes of an

enterprise will involve the way it

relates to its publics through its

policies and practices – with a view

to being better understood, and

making it win a measure of

goodwill.

Contributing to the topic “Building a

Public Relations Definition” Dr. Rex

Harlow, a social scientist and public

relations practitioner, proffered the

following:

“Public Relations is a distinctive

management function which helps

establish and maintain mutual lines

of communication, understanding,

acceptance and cooperation

between an organization and its

publics; involves the management

of problems or issues; helps

management to keep informed on

and be responsive to public

opinions; defines and emphasizes

the responsibility of management

to serve the public interest; helps

management keep abreast of and

effectively use change, serving as

an early warning system to help

anticipate trends; and uses

research and sound ethical

communication techniques as its

principal tools”.

From Dr. Rex Harlow's postulation,

therefore, will emerge the following,

which may be described as the

characteristics of public relations:

i. It is a management function

that seeks to establish

and maintain mutually

rewarding relationship

b e t w e e n t h e

organization and her

publics

ii. It studies and evaluates

public attitudes and

opinions

iii. It provides an early warning

signal – about an

impending crisis.

iv. It uses certain tools –

r e s e a r c h a n d

c o m m u n i c a t i o n

t e c h n i q u e s . I t i s

obvious therefore that,

for every business

c o n c e r n , p u b l i c

relations is useful for

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View point

corporate image-making. It makes it possible for the enterprise

to enjoy the understanding, support, cooperation, rapport,

goodwill and good opinion of its relevant publics, which will

include employees, competitors, shareholders, regulatory

agencies, the immediate community, etc.

Corporate strategy and public relations

Every business concern has its own “private interest” which is established in

terms of the “public good” and which has to be effectively communicated

because the success of the enterprise depends on how well the

organizational goal is communicated. Communicated, an enterprise's

objective is a question of the entity's “strategy”!

The question: “what is strategy?” now arises, as the following two

definitions will suffice here:

In the view of David R. Hampton , “it is a unified comprehensive and

integrated plan that relates the strategic advantages of the firm to the

challenges of the environment in such a way as to ensure that the basic

objectives of the enterprise are achieved”

The legendary Philip Kotler says it is “the managerial process of developing

and maintaining a strategic fit between the organization's goals and

capabilities and its changing marketing environment. It relies on

developing a clear company mission, supporting objectives and goals, a

sound business portfolio and coordinated functional strategies”.

But for a company to be able to realize its objectives, it has to rely on such key

publics as:

·Customers/Patrons

·Financial Institutions

·Suppliers of its goods/services

· Government/Regulatory bodies

·The relevant local and international communities

·Shareholders and stakeholders

·Labour organizations and employee unions

·Media organizations and practitioners

·Other equally important publics.

It is therefore important for an organization to put in place a strategy that will

bring about the attainment of its goal; but such an enterprise has to consider

the following factors:

·The economic factors

·Legal/political factors

·Technological factors

·Social/cultural factors

·The competition

·International development, etc.

These are environments within which an enterprise operates and which

have implications for its operations.

So, where does public relations come in? As proffered by the IPR ... “To

establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization

and its publics.” Public relations has the task of helping to position an

organization within the framework

of all the factors critical to its survival

in order to receive the highest

degree of understanding, assistance

and contributions from the relevant

publics, including those listed

above.

Some basic principles of corporate

strategy communication are:

i. Communicating a vision

ii. Articulating corporate

strategy

iii. Establishing a corporate

identity

iv. Sharing core values

v. C o n s e r v i n g a n d

enhancing/promoting

corporate values

vi. Anticipating and managing

crisis

All these will help not only to

activate corporate objectives; they

will also help to consolidate the gain

of effective corporate/strategy

planning.

Corporate strategy management

also includes a system of evaluation,

for the success of any strategy

depends to a very large extent on

what plans are in place to minimize

the possibility of future gains.

Adegboyega Ogunsanya proposes

three broad parameters for

evaluating a strategy:

I C o n f o r m i t y : T h i s i s

assessment of a strategy to

see whether it conforms with

t h e o b j e c t i v e s ,

environmental assumptions

and the desired internal

conditions.

ii. Suitability: This is the need

to determine the suitability

or otherwise of the strategy

in the context o f the

c o m p a n y ' s r e s o u r c e s ,

capabilities, focus and time

frame.

iii. Possibility: There is need to

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View point

determine whether the

strategy is possible, and to be

able to ascertain that it will

elicit support from all publics.

The insurance industry in this

context:

Insurance is one of the sub

sectors of the service industry

of any economy. Like all

operators in the service

industry, insurance products

are not tangible. Its only

products are the policies. And

until not too long ago, not many

people liked to willingly do

business with any operator in

the insurance subsector. except

where it became mandatory for

statutory Reasons.

Operators in the industry had

earned for it the notoriety for

not being faithful to the letters

and terms of business with

policy holders.

Insurance companies were

noted for “doing business in

small prints”, with the intention

of “cheating out on policy

holders” whenever it comes to

claims settlement.

It is heartwarming to note

however, that within the past

10 years, some operators have

tried to bring innovation in the

areas of communication and

reputation management into

the industry. The result?

Improved reputation.

The question now is, what roles

for public relations in the desire

to sustain the current positive

perception in the insurance

industry?

The Canadian Public Relations

Society defines public relations

as the management function

w h i c h e v a l u a t e s p u b l i c

attitudes, identifies the policies

and procedures of an individual or organization with the public interest,

and plans and executes a programme of action to earn public

understanding and acceptance. In other words, it is that part of the

management task concerned with the management of important

relationships and influencing the behaviour of groups which are parties

to those relationships. More directly stated ,PR helps in the

management, sustenance and continuity of positive public perception.

Whether in the petroleum industry or the banking sector or in insurance,

the purpose of public relations is one and the same: to help an

organization effectively interact and communicate with the key publics

and sustains mutually rewarding relationships, on a continuous basis.

PR in Insurance

The environments and publics of the insurance industry are basically

similar to those of other operators in the service industry. The key issues

to consider however include:

i. Staff motivation/employee communication

ii. Being socially responsible

iii. Thinking globally and acting (surviving) locally

iv. Fighting falsehood with credible dialogue

v. Developing a sustainable house style

vi. Crisis plan.

Staff motivation and employee communication

Employees constitute the bulk of the internal publics of any

enterprise and as such, they should be adequately motivated. This

helps to retain high quality staff that will make possible the

attainment of corporate goals over a long period of time. There is

therefore need for a broad-based and responsive manpower

development agenda, put in place by management, and such should

take into consideration:

i. the organization's corporate objectives

ii. the main tasks to accomplish the objectives

iii. matching ability of staff with the identified tasks

iv. the industry level of remuneration and motivation

v. effective employee communication

The list is indeed inexhaustive, as it will always include all steps that a

company should take in order to promote good employee relations.

For our purpose in this presentation, we shall single out Employee

Communication for further discussion, as it is one strategy of public

relations which an enterprise can use to promote a sense of

belonging among staff. Some of the tools of effective employee

communication are:

i. House journals/newsletters

ii. Anniversaries (personal/corporate)

iii. Special awards

iv. Special days and weeks

v. Staff meetings

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View point

Social responsibility:

To be socially responsible, requires for an

organization to engage in activities that will have

positive impacts on the society where it operates.

Thus, a socially responsible operator in the

insurance industry has to “react to the total

environment (the entire society) and not merely

to markets”. In other words, an insurance

company should identify with the aspirations of

the community. For, as noted by Steiner et al in

Management Policy and Strategy:

“… it is in the enlightened self-interest of

corporations to promote the public welfare in a

positive way … indeed, the corporate interest,

broadly defined, can support involvement in

helping to solve virtually every small problem

because, people who have a good environment,

education and opportunity, make better

employees, customers and neighbours for

companies than those who are poor, ignorant

and oppressed”.

That absolutely sums both the essence and

benefits of being socially responsible, for a

discerning corporate entity. For one operating in

the insurance Industry, being socially responsible

can manifest in being involved in as many of the

activities as are listed below:

i. Community development projects

ii. Community related social-cultural

projects

iii. Environmental (sanitation) issues

iv. Sponsorship of popular events- games

and sporting activities in which the

people participate and which make them

happy.

v. Donations to charity homes

vi. National events - Independence Day;

Workers' Day; Children's Day, No

Tobacco Day, etc.

vii. Scholarships/awards for indigent

indigenes of the community.

viii. I n v e s t m e n t s i n e m p o w e r m e n t

programmes

ix. Public enlightenment programmes on

the benefit of healthy programmes.

x. Public enlightenment programmes on

the benefits of insurance.

Investing in these areas will further promote

a company's corporate image, enhance the

amount of goodwill it enjoys and consolidate

its foundation for future business.

Thinking globally

The world is now a global village, and it is

shrinking further by the day, and now

communication technology has collapsed it

into one small global reading table. ! There

doesn't seem to be any hiding place for any

one anymore and, so, the insurance company

that will continue to be profitable in the next

decade must put in place a strategy that

makes it possible to draw from the

experience in other lands, in order to survive

locally. That is saying in clear terms that there

is need for a clear understanding of global

issues which ultimately will negatively or

positively affect the local operator in the

insurance industry.

For an insurance company to profitably deploy tools of

Public Relations to achieve corporate objectives,

therefore, it would be required that the following

steps are taken:

I. Analyzing trends in the global insurance

industry in terms of identifying what

implications they have, or which they are likely

to have on the local sector

ii. Understudying industry leaders in the global

insurance market with a view to adopting their

strategies for improved local operation.

iii. Investing in information technology and in the

automation of operations – to make for

i m p rove d ef f i c i e n c y a n d h i g hte n e d

effectiveness, as these are a given in the

international market.

In the words of Ogunsanya:

“Operating locally with international orientation and

in the medium term, active involvement in effective

international marketing are important requirements

for survival and steady growth in the next decade and

beyond”.

67 Brand Visibility

...to be continued

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INDUSTRY

t is often said that he who fails to plan has inadvertently signed on to a life of failure. This was no I

doubt the motivation for the leadersh ip of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), for holding an Executive Retreat for the Chief Executive Officers of its member companies. It was attended by more than 40(forty) member companies from across the country. It was a two day affair which held on Thursday and Friday 21st and 22nd November, 2013 at the prestigious Le Meridian Hotel, Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State Capital.Sources close to the OAAN leadership disclosed that the well-attended retreat was propelled by

the jolt the industry had upon learning from Mediafacts a research based publication by Media Reach OMD Nigeria, one of the leading media specialist companies in the country, that in terms of relevance in 2012, the outdoor media subsector had lost quite significantly. In m o n e t a r y t e r m s , t h e publication had put the drop in the billings by outdoor media owners to close to N12 bn (twelve billion naira). That represented a drop of 40% of the sector’s performance in 2011. The leadership of the Association was therefore worried and decided to get to the root of the very poor

OAAN STRATEGISES FOR THE FUTURE…Goes to Uyo for Executive Retreat

showing. Thus it decided to put the retreat together.The whole idea was to provide a platform for participants to try and identify ways that would lead them out of the quagmire. To put participants in the right frame of mind, a paper was p r e s e n t e d b y P a s t o r Ay o Oluwatosin, the pioneer General Manager of Starcom Media and currently the Group Managing Director of the Rosabel Group. Aptly, titled “The OOH Playbook: Let's Rework”, the paper examined the Out-of-Home industry both locally and on the foreign scene, juxtaposing the two climes in the areas of service and delivery,

innovativene s s and so on. In Oluwatosin's submission, operators in t h e Outdoo r Adver

tising sub-sector in Nigeria should seek new ways of doing their business if they ever hoped to stem the current tide of events especially in terms of relevance in the market place.

especially in terms of relevance in the market place.Expectedly, Ayo Oluwatosin's paper which no doubt was point-blank in revealing the true picture of the way the practice and the practitioners were perceived by the buyers, became the platform for intense scrutiny by participants at the retreat. It was subjected to thorough discussions by each of the three syndicate groups set up for that purpose.Each group later presented their positions based on the aspects of the paper and on certain prevailing realities in the industry which they also considered germane, to getting

out of the dwindling fortune of owners and operators of the outdoor media platform, especially those who belong to the OAAN fold.Whether the industry gets better or

not in years to come, will significantly be influenced by what OAAN does with the issues listed in the communiqué. Suffice to say however that the Retreat succeeded at laying the much needed foundation for operators in the subsector to take more than a passing interest in the emerging d e v e l o p m e n t s i n t h e industry. In specific terms, operators should invest more in the areas

68 Brand Visibility

Ayo Oluwayosin delivering his paper

R - L Charles Chijide, Mr. Aniekan Umanah, Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information, and Sir Emaka Okezie, MD GraproR-L Charles Chijide, OAAN President; Maureen Umanah and Emma Ajufo

Page 69: Brand Visibility

INDUSTRY

of innovation and relevant information (data).This has become all the more expedient in the face of globalization

that has made it imperative for nations to open their markets to foreign participants. The buyers and users of the local outdoor media platforms now, more than ever before, insist that standards that apply in other climes should also apply here.Thus, it is simply imperative that Outdoor Advertising operators should wake up and be more alive to the demands of the indus t ry-put differently, the demands of the buyers. For now, and forever it does seem, the days of guess work are gone and gone for good. Operators should truly operate as professionals, investing in innovations in human capital development, and in data acquisition.The OAAN Executive Retreat was not just papers and communiqué; it also offered participants the much needed opportunity to be away from the neck-breaking demands of the industry and to have some time for some other socially and intellectually enriching activities. The exercise actually started on Thursday with an excursion to s o m e h i s t o r i c a l locations in Akwa Ibom State. Such places of National h i s t o r i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e tectorates of Nigeria i n 1 9 1 4 ) - o n e hundred years ago. The visitors were shown the radio gadgets purportedly used by Lord Lugard to make that proclamation that has now grown into

69 Brand Visibility

Members at “bridge of no return”

Members in front of the house where Lugard “Lived’’

By the mass grave of the murdered women

one of the leading nations of the World.visited were in Ikot Abasi (Iko’rabasi!) where the OAAN CEOs were shown a thoroughly dilapidated structure which

the Tour Guide said was Lord Lugard's Office ( a n d w h e r e h e purportedly pronounced the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates of Nigeria in 1914)-one hundred years ago. The visitors were shown the radio gadgets purportedly used by Lord Lugard to make that proclamation that has now grown into one of the leading

nations of the World.It was so hard to believe that such a monument that is part of the History of our nation could be in such a very sorry state!The OAAN Team also visited the building where Lord Lugard was said to have lived. Other places visited were, the cenotaph built in memory of certain brave and courageous women who were said to have dared the colonial officers on the issue of taxes on women. The s t o r y g o e s t h u s : w o m e n , m o s t l y traders, were up in arms against the oppressive taxes imposed by the

colonial administration of the overlords at that time. The women had gathered and were protesting against the exploitative tax policy. But as it was

the usual approach of the colonial police, the women were to be subdued by the force. In the ensuring struggle, thirty of the unarmed women were reportedly killed; but not before one of them had valiantly wrestled with one of the white policemen, disarmed him and then broke his gun! The brutally murdered women were given a mass burial-and the OAAN Team visited the site of their mass grave.oppressive taxes imposed by the colonial administration of the overlords at that time. The women had gathered and were protesting against the exploitative tax policy. But as it was the usual approach of the colonial police, the women were to be subdued by the force. In the ensuring struggle, thirty of the unarmed women were reportedly killed; but not before one of them had valiantly wrestled with one

of the white policemen, disarmed him and then broke his gun! The brutally murdered women were given a mass burial-and the OAAN Team visited the site of their mass grave.So also did the Team visit the Bridge of No Return. This location, no doubt is a very sad memorial to the insanity and inhumanity of slavery. The Team was shown the dungeon where slaves were kept preparatory to their being ferried away into a life of slavery and servitude. The bridge was so appropriately named as most of those who crossed it over, never returned.To most participants on the highly memorable pre-Retreat “excursion,” it was an educative trip that had also added to knowledge gained. It was also a moment of deep excitement as the Tour Guide kept the Team alive with his rib cracking jokes... on bananas and such things!

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news

r. Onyekachi Onubogu,

commercial director of MPromasidor Nigeria

Plc., has emphasised the need for

practitioners in the out-of-home

media sector to adopt innovations

and to be more creative in the

deployment of their platforms, as

this was the only way they could

continue to stay relevant to the

marketing communications needs

of advertisers.

Onubogu gave this advice while th

addressing the 29 Annual General

M e e t i n g o f t h e O u t d o o r

Advertising Association of Nigeria

(OAAN), which held recently in

Owerri, Imo State. He said

innovation had become the soul of

out-of-home communication, and

that only those operators that were

clever enough to key into the new

trend could hope to continue to do

business profitably, adding that

those who lagged might be forced

out of business in the next couple

of years. “The out-of-home media

industry should be the most

creative, dynamic and financially

rewarding advertising segment in

Nigeria,” he said, adding that

practitioners in the industry stood a

very bright chance to be the biggest

beneficiaries, if only they would

Adopt InnovationsPromasidor Boss Calls on OAAN Members

take the issue of innovation more

seriously.

He commended the investments in

the digital revolution, saying it had

enhanced the opportunity to

effectively connect with and

engage the viewing public with

market ing communicat ions

messages.

Onubogu said further that creating

and sustaining opportunities to

help marketers engage in effective

a n d e f f i c i e n t v i s u a l

communication had become

imperative, for the reason that most

customers spend more of their time

in traffic or at the airports. He

advised out-of-home media

practi t ioners to create the

necessary and relevant platforms

that would effectively engage the

attention of the intended audience,

while commuting or at the airport

waiting for their flights. Such new

trends, he said, would enhance the

aesthetics of the environment and

make clients proud of their out-of-

home media investments.

“O u t - o f - h o m e m e d i a pract i t ioners should create the necessary and relevant platforms that will effectively engage the attention of the intended a u d i e n c e w h i l e commuting or at the airport waiting for their flights. Such new trends, he said, would enhance the aesthetics of the environment and make clients proud of their Out-o f - h o m e m e d i a investments.“

Onubogu however advised that

practitioners willing to adapt

innovations must be ready to bear

the cost of the shift that is coming to

the out-of-home media segment in

the country.

“It is coming in three ways. First,

the plethora of options is

increasing,” he said. “We have

more intriguing and beautiful sites

all over the country. Companies

will start demanding a different

payment model for sites they

occupy. No longer will they be

willing to pay for long term leases,

but will demand short-term

activity-based costing model for

OoH acquisitions.” He also

advised practitioners to go back to

the drawing board to renegotiate

with regulatory bodies on how fee

for sites would be paid.

Onubogu further counselled that

practitioners should influence the

city's look positively, and through

that, create wealth for themselves.

In this view OAAN had a

formidable role to play in seeing

that everyone in the industry

adheres strictly to the codes

guiding the practice, in relation to

the environment. He also called on

the various regulatory bodies set up

by state governments to ensure that

cities are not littered with

billboards in their drive for

internally generated revenue.

He examined the present state of

regulations in the industry and

declared that what would be

witnessed in years to come would

be a more of a regulated industry,

funded by more value demanding

users in a more competitive

environment, which would also

come with a huge growth potential.

BV

70 Brand Visibility

Kachi Onubogu

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71 Brand Visibility

President of the Outdoor Advertising Association of N ige r i a (OAAN) ,Mr.

Charles Chijide has advised members against running down the association, as this might hinder progress of the institution. The president gave the advice at the

thopening of the 29 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association held from July 3 to 5, 2014, in Owerri, Imo State.Chijide advised members that rather than vilify or speak negatively about the association and its leadership, they should speak well about the uniqueness of their offerings as a business. He advised against all acts of ind i sc ip l ine borne ou t o f selfishness and greed on the part of some members.Giving an account of his stewardship, he announced that the OAAN House, currently under construction, would soon be ready and that the association would partner the world body of outdoor advertising association, FEPE, to

thOAAN holds 29 AGM in Owerri

Gets landed property from Gov. Okorocha

conduct research o n a l l relevant areas to show up to date t r e n d s and the r e a l value of outdoor advertising media platform

s to businesses.Also on the in te rna t iona l engagements of OAAN, Chijide informed members that the West African Outdoor Association was waxing stronger. Educating members on the need to expand their business frontiers, Chijide advised them to invest more in current innovations that would be relevant to the viewing trends of the Nigerian audience. He also stressed the need for members to be conversant with the changing demands of media buyers, and adapt their existing billboards to meet the requirements of current trends. He counselled members to use their sites whenever not engaged to sell out-of-home offerings, as such industrial communication engagements would go a long way in helping to reposition the sub sector. He also advised members against being fraudulent in their claims. In order that members would continue to deliver quality services at all times, thereby enjoying uninterrupted loyalty and

News

patronage, Chijide advised them to regularly update their clients on the values they add to their market ing communicat ions efforts, as this would pave way for more opportunities in future. The association also used the platform to raise serious concerns on issues affecting the fortunes of members, especially in the area of permit fees, and called for tax holiday from governments at all levels, to provide room for investments for members that have been under the unbearable burden of multiple taxations.Members felt that governments should appreciate the industry for its contribution to the economic growth of the country and the value it has added to the aesthetics of the cities.Dr. T. O. E. Ekechi, Imo State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, praised the leadership of OAAN for choosing Owerri for the AGM and expressed optimism that the association would take advantage of the gesture of the Governor by citing its regional headquarters in the city. He stated that the best way to move OAAN forward was to engage an E x e c u t i v e S e c r e t a r y ( o r Registrar/CEO) to run its affairs.High Chief Jas Kolawole Oyekan, Chairman of OAAN's Board of Trustees (BOT), who was present at the meeting, could not hide his excitement at the impressive turnout of chief executives of member companies. He praised the leadership of the association and urged it to be part of the

Rendering the national anthem

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struggle to move both the associat ion and the outdoor adver t i s ing business forward.The meeting was later addressed by two leading practitioners drawn from other sectors of the advertising industry in Nigeria. They were Mr. Emeka Okeke, Managing Director/CEO Media Fuse, and Mr. Onyekachi Onubogu, Commercial Director, Promasidor Nigeria PLC. In his presentation, Okeke emphasised the fact that the Out-of-Home industry was the only one that had survived the internet storm and the oldest platform of effective communication with the people. He however called on members of the association to seek ways to make their platforms more engaging, and relevant to the viewing needs of consumers of outdoor advertising messages. Such, he said, would help them quite significantly to create more wealth from their engagements. Onubogu's presentation centred more on strategies for more profitable client engagements. He advised outdoor operators not to build their business on the basis of personal friendship with the clients, as such might not be sustainable in the long run. He advised that the industry should be driven by creativity and business quality service. In the same vein, members, he advised, should adapt new technology and diversify into relevant areas that would enhance creativity and p r o m o t e i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h consumers at lower cost. He said

they should also invest constantly in consumer behaviour research. This, he said, was the only way to making the business profitable. On government's excessive regulation of the industry, Onyekachi said the only way to manage the problem was through self-regulation by members, to be championed and enforced by the industry, using the bigger umbrella of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON).He described the cost of doing business in Nigeria as very high, asserting further that the country was the most expensive market in Africa. He therefore advised members to not only present themselves as offering services to the clients, but to also be interested in seeing themselves as partners who are genuinely interested in their clients' business survival and profitability in the long run. He said this was the only way to win the hearts of clients.Alhaji Garba Bello Kankarofi, Registrar/CEO of APCON, was represented by one of the Council's Directors , Mr. Joe-Eugene Onuoha. He praised OAAN for

b e i n g h i g h l y p roac t ive and visible on the Council and as one of the most p r o m i n e n t p a r t n e r s o f APCON. He said OAAN members h a d c o m m e n d a b l y e n h a n c e d t h e aesthetics of the environment, and t h a t t h e

association had been very effective. He however called on members to strive for greater professionalism and stricter adherence to industry ethical standards.Earlier, the President and some members, including High Chief Oyekan, had taken time out to pay a courtesy call on the Governor of Imo State, His Excellency Owelle Rochas Okorocha. The OAAN P r e s i d e n t h a d u s e d t h e opportunity of the visit to appreciate the government and people of the State for making one of its leading members, Dr. T. O. E Ekechi a commissioner.The association also used the opportunity to induct the governor as one of its patros.Governor Rochas Okorocha w e l c o m e d O A A N a n d commended it for the choice of Owerri to host the meeting. He encouraged members to increase the level of their business in the state. He also announced the gift of a landed property to the association and requested that the parcel of land be used for the a s s o c i a t i o n ' s r e g i o n a l headquarters in the South East. BV

News

72 Brand Visibility

-Governor Okorocha with Chijide

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News

Brand Visibility: what in your views are the issues that have had the most negative impact on the practice in Nigeria.

The issues affecting Outdoor Advertising practice in Nigeria are many and they include location, lack of infrastructural support, and the epileptic nature of electricity. Most of the LED billboards run on generators. But the honest question to ask is, how many hours will the generators run to make it profitable for the owner? So at what cost is the business running? Can we also talk about the bottom line in the face of the highly prohibit ive costs, including government permit fees being squeezed by the signage agencies? There is also

Okesiji:

OOH BUSINESS RUNNING COST PROHIBITIVE -Yinka Okesiji

the frustrating and stifling regulation, multiplicity of taxes and fees at the state and the local government levels. And there is the communal social problem of miscreants and area boys. The challenges are monumental and hydra-headed.

Then how do we get out of the quagmire?

We need to be more creative and innovative about the problems. We need to adopt more cost-effective approach in developing and deploying the OOH media platforms. We should begin to form alliances so that where you are inefficient, another outdoor company might fit in. It now depends on those who are behind the alliances. We should form partnerships and

Brand Visibility:

Okesiji:

strategic alliances. We should go into collaboration with people of like minds, and take a common pitch with one or two practitioners. That way, we will be able to begin to get out of some of our problems.

What is your opinion on signage agencies and their s t rangulat ing policies?

The real problem is that majority of the signage agencies are run by individuals who are not professionals. Apart from Mr. Yinka Adepoju, the Director General of Oyo State Signage & Advertisement Agency (OYSAA), who is a thorough-bred outdoor person, and a fellow of the advertising practice in Nigeria, I don't think any other signage agency helmsman is qualified to be given such an appointment, as they do not know how the outdoor business is run. What we have now is a set of people whose only understanding is how much revenue to generate for government. So, they look at the practice from the tax point of view. Most of these things (rates) are not realistic and they are not justifiable. They are not based on any verif iable yardsticks. Rates are arbitrarily fixed and are usually at the whims and caprices of the man in charge. They make planning difficult. It is a major issue and until we get out of it this, the industry will not grow.

Brand Visibility:

Okesiji:

BV

73 Brand Visibility

Yinka Okesiji

Page 74: Brand Visibility

Tips for Branding Your Company By: Leslie Mckerns of Mckerns Development

branding tips

As the say ing goes ,

perception is everything.

The whole essence of

branding is simply to appropriately

and effectively influence the

perception of the intended

(relevant) audience in the market

place. Without any doubt, it is

important to create the most

positive image for every product or

service, to the end that the

marketing effort command the

right perception, thereby helping in

meeting the intended sales

objectives.

In this edition, we borrow some

useful tips on how to increase your

name recognition, as integral part

of effective branding effort, from

Leslie Mckerns of Mckerns

Development. We have also added

some views, before presenting

them for your consumption, not

only to help your understanding,

but to also make it easy to adopt in

the overall best interest of your

brands. The tips are indeed

pointers to follow to keep your

brand in the hearts of your

identified targets and to

constantly generate the right

perception for it. Here we go:

1 . Hire a branding

company: To bring

y o u r i m a g e a n d

message under a brand,

it is important to

develop all collateral

and image materials

(web, stationery, logo,

t a g l i n e , m i s s i o n

s t a t e m e n t , c a r d s ,

postcards, brochures,

e l e v a t o r p i t c h

newsletters, letters, project sheets, resumes, bios, firm description

etc.) to coincide with the brand and your message. It goes without

saying therefore that you need the services of highly skilled

professionals to help create, nurture and sustain the growth of your

brand. Nothing should be left to chances, and nothing should be

done haphazardly.

2. Develop a Mission Statement: Your mission statement should

show your reason for the value you provide to your customers.

Your mission statement is like your guiding philosophy. It is, in

sum, a statement of what gap you have identified and how you are

going to provide the required solution. It is important to remember

at all times that every brand has a set of values to add to the

identified target. As such, how the brand intends to achieve it must

be clearly encompassed in the mission statement. More

importantly, it must be the guiding principle, so as to give the

brand the uniqueness needed in the market place.

3. Develop a memorable tagline: This should express who you are

and what you do. Your tagline is what distinguishes your

product/brand from others that purport to offer similar solutions. It

must therefore be carefully and professionally crafted in order for

it to be unique and distinctive.

4. Make a Matrix: This is a list of all those you'd like to reach in the

next year and the potential influencers on those people. Develop a

timeline and calendar of outreach. Branding also requires

planning. You must identify those whose patronage and goodwill

74 Brand Visibility

25 Effective Ways to increase Your Name Recognition

Page 75: Brand Visibility

branding tips

will be relevant to the success of your brand, and put in place a

workable plan of reaching, courting, attracting and sustaining and

retaining them. Your message and branding positioning must

effectively target such groups.

5. Regularly, write and issue press releases to the media: This

activity keeps you and your brand in the hearts of your most

relevant audience. One very effective way to gain the most

maximum publicity reward is for the brand to be the sponsor of a

regular column on issues that are germane to the life of your

audience.

6. Regularly write and post press releases to your website: As for

(5) above, this helps you to effectively connect with your critical

on-line audience. Such write ups should be on relevant and topical

issues that will get a hold on the readers, and, more importantly,

which would make them look forward to your next release.

7. Regularly write and post press releases directly on the

Internet. As for (5) and (6) above, the internet is also a veritable

platform for you, (your brand's number one ambassador) to

engage your audience on issues relevant both to them and which

will ultimately, positively impact on your brand's image.

8. Regularly write articles and do all three of the above: Yes. You

must take into account that you do not always have a second

chance to make the first impression. So, those platforms must be

professionally deployed to enhance the visibility of your company

and brand in the market place.

9. Regularly write and pitch feature story ideas to the media:

Ensure that your contributions are on issues of the moment, be

they national or international. Care must however be taken to

ensure such do not end up pitching your company against the

powers that be, especially the government. Otherwise, it could be

counterproductive.

10. Diversify all marketing, PR, and media: To reach the markets

where your clients are to be found (as opposed to marketing within

your own service industry), you should deploy all communication

opportunities and avenues to keep up the image of both your

company and your brands alive in the minds of the relevant

audiences.

11. Participate (attend, speak, host, present, and show) in at least

two national and local industry conferences: Overtime, these

avenues throw you and your company up as a sure source of

intellectual and intelligent contributions in your relevant field.

And the positive effect of this is that, in no time, you become

distinct and distinguished

as a veritable source of

useful information in your

industry.

12. Create and issue an

online or direct mail

newsletter: This helps you

to reach a wider audience

geographically. It also

gives you an edge over

c o m p e t i t o r s i n t h e

reckoning of the audience.

13. Get known for niche

expertise or specific

industry knowledge

(speak, write, present,

teach): Seek all avenues to

“show off” the stuff you

are made of in terms of the

amount and quality of

re levan t in te l l ec tua l

information that you have

acquired. The challenge

here is that this demands

that you are constantly

seeking and acquiring such

relevant information on all

aspects of your industry. It

also demands that you

constantly update your

knowledge to be ahead of

y o u r c o m p e t i t o r s

intellectually. Remember,

what was in vogue 20

years ago is now obsolete;

and what is in vogue today

was mostly unknown and

perhaps unimaginable 20

years ago. And it goes

without saying that what is

in vogue today, will most

certainly be in the dustbin

of time in another 20 years.

So, you need to constantly

update your knowledge in

order to keep pace with

current developments and

75 Brand Visibility

Page 76: Brand Visibility

discoveries in and around your industry.

14. Participate in professional internship programmes: This

platform should be employed regularly to enable you share views

and rub minds with professional colleagues on relevant issues. It

should be a platform through which you must deliberately plan to

gain new knowledge, as well as to make useful contributions to

the growth of the industry in which you operate, even to the

benefit of your competitors, but not in any way to the

disadvantage of your brand.

15. Participate and sponsor local charitable efforts: Get a place

for your brand name in the programme of every charitable cause

and conspicuously get your brand mentioned in the press and the

media blitz surrounding every charity event, especially within the

locality relevant to your marketing activities. This way, you not

only contribute to the growth of your brand, you also through this

effort contribute to the growth and development of the immediate

community where you operate, for it is one way to give back to the

society at large. No doubt, this is one sure way. But, more

importantly, you and your brand get additional points as being

socially responsible and relevant to the growth of the community,

and it is one effective way to write your name on the sand of time.

In no time, with constant and continuous participation in such

worthy causes, your brand becomes “a native” of that locality.

16. Get to know the potential learning partners in your new

geographic area: Let them know your people, your areas of

expertise and potential for cross referrals. This will be mutually

rewarding and your group stands to benefit tremendously, if

properly and professionally managed. To the extent that you are

willing to help the others in your locality to grow intellectually,

you too will grow in like manner. For, others will trust and rely on

you, and will ultimately be willing to share information and

knowledge with you.

17. Develop collateral material with a regional bent: Think on

what projects, services, people or elements might be important to

this new market and capture this regional tone in all collateral

material. This strategy helps you to identify with the people in

your new environment; and it has the potency to project you as a

caring organization that can be trusted. You become a highly

valued organization, and you are treated as a reliable and

dependable corporate citizen of the locality.

18. Develop tip sheets as to how your company or brand is

different from your competitors: Do not hesitate to show why

this makes a difference to learning partners and to your end users,

that is, your potential and existing clients. Include these

differentiating tips as the basis for all your branding statements.

This helps to give all the

relevant information about

your company at a glance.

It also provides the reader

an opportunity to see the

u n i q u e n e s s i n y o u r

operations, services and

products, especially your

disposition to humanity

issues. They are instantly

able to decipher issues that

separate you from the

others.

19. Develop a calendar of

local and regional events:

This is one way to make

your company visible in

the areas most related to

your brand and your

potential clients' interest.

Such will increase and

enhance your visibility

among the locales. It helps

in strengthening the

bonding between the

people and your company;

a n d y o u r c o m p a n y

becomes named in their

hearts as an ally, a “blood

brother”, and one that

shares in the aspirations of

the people, and that also

identif ies with them

socially and culturally.

20. Post your calendar of

a p p e a r a n c e s a n d

participation on your

website: This helps to

project your company's

participation beyond the

immediate locality. Even

to people in other markets

where you operate, you are

seen as a “grassroots

indigene” of your local

markets.

21. Plan a media release

branding tips

76 Brand Visibility

Page 77: Brand Visibility

before and after each event: If you are proud enough to identify

with the community, you should not be ashamed to talk about the

events even loudly. This should however be done professionally.

It should be meticulously planned and creatively executed, so as

to get the most from it.

22. Hire an industry professional to conduct a survey on your

behalf: From time to time, you need to know “how others see”

you in the market place. You should also regularly post the results

on your website. Publicise the results that are most important to

your industry. The importance of self-assessment cannot be

overemphasised. Even when the findings are not favourable, it is

an opportunity for you to seek ways to do better. But, hopefully,

when the results show that you have an edge over competition in

any area, by all means, go to town with the news. It is good news

and if you don't do it, no one will do it for you. But again, it must be

professionally crafted and creatively posted.

23. Update your website to be informational based: This makes it

easy for search engines to find you, and your clients can access in-

depth material demonstrating your expertise. Your website must

be active and provide opportunity for engagements with your

audiences, notably your current clients; just as it is a veritable

strategy to entice others who are not currently doing business with

you. Thus, you must ensure that whatever is posted is factual,

verifiable and truthful, and must be absolutely relevant and rich.

24. Add international website contents a minimum of four times

per month: This will help to broaden your “catchment area”. It is

a potent and highly effective way to take your popularity beyond

your immediate locality. This becomes all the more important if

there is a consideration that you are branching into the

international market in future.

branding tips

77

25. Establish your brand by

regularly updating the

f i n a n c i a l v a l u e o r

p o t e n t i a l v a l u e

associated with your

brand quality results

achieved: Add these

results to your brand value.

Communicate through all

methods, the value of your

brand to those associated

with it and whose positive

perception your brand

needs to continue to be

profitable. At the end of

the day, most clients are

interested in financially

solid companies. There is

also a psychological angle

to it. It gives the clients a

sense of security, trusting

that financial buoyancy is

also a guarantee for quality

service or product.

Final Notes:

Taking steps to effectively and

p rofess iona l ly b rand your

company is one very important key

to influencing a memorable

perception in the minds of your

chosen audience. It is not only the

name recognition of your firm, but

also the perceived value of both

your organization and the products

that will be positively affected. If

you could professionally capture

these 25 essential branding

elements, chances are very bright

that you would begin to cement a

positive brand image for your firm

and product or service. And, much

more importantly, you are most

certainly on your way to effectively

dominating the sub-sector of the

national economy in which you

operate. BV

Brand Visibility

Page 78: Brand Visibility

Event

T h e p i o n e e r M a n a g i n g

Director/Chief Executive Officer

of Universal McCann, Rotarian

Lanre Fasehun, was recently installed

President of Rotary Club of Ikeja, at a

colourful event which took place at the

Sheraton Lagos Hotel & Towers.

Ro t a r i a n Fa s e h u n ' s i n d u c t i o n ,

e x p e c t e d l y, a t t r a c t e d l e a d i n g

practitioners in Advertising, who were

there to felicitate with one of their own,

who was being colourfully decorated to

be at the drivers' seat for the 2014/2015

Rotary Year of the Ikeja Club.

Among those present were Mr Steve

Laoye, Vice Chairman of Stb-McCann

Lagos; Mr Kole Ademulegun, MD/CEO

Media Link Limited, Hon. Tunde

Adedoyin, MD/CEO Media Views Ltd;

Ladi Sole, MD/CEO Unik Sites and Sola

Akinsiku, MD/CEO KOK Visibility Edge

and Publisher, Brand Visibility.

The Fasehun dynasty of Ondo Kingdom

was ably represented by a host of

members of the family prominently led

by Dr. Frederick Fasehun, founder of the

Oodua People's Congress (OPC), and

National Chairman of the revived Unity

Party of Nigeria, (UPN).

Also present at the memorable occasion

was Pastor Femi Adeshina, SAN.

Rotary Club of Ikeja was founded in

August 1982. It is the second club to be

established in Lagos, and the sixth in the

country.

Rotarian Fasehun took over from

Rotarian Adejuwon Akinfolurin who

decorated his successor with a charge to

build upon the accomplishment of the

immediate past administration.

The Ikeja Club has been led by some of

the leading lights in all spheres of life in

Nigeria. They include Prince Julius

Adeluyi (of Juli Pharmacy); Chief Ade Ojo

(of Elizade Motors), Chief Olusegun

Osunkeye, Chairman Lafarge Africa, and

Oba Adedapo Tejuosho. BV

Lanre Fasehun Installed 48th President of Ikeja Rotary Club

78 Brand Visibility

-Fasehun with some members of the Club

-Fasehun being Congratulated

-Fasehun being Installed

Page 79: Brand Visibility
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In years gone by, big names in the

retail business in Nigeria were

Kingsway Stores, Challerams,

Kewalrams and UTC Stores. They

were the places to go for shopping,

especially by the well-to-do members

of the society. Then came the

economic down turn, coupled with

mismanagement on the part of the

owners or managers. And, one after

the other, the big names fell by the way

side.

With the current turnaround in the

Nigerian economy, which is evident in

the fact that it is now the largest in thAfrica and 26 in the world, retail

business in the country is experiencing

a boom once again. The establishment

and spread of new names in the sector

is proof. The list of the current leading

players includes such big names as

Shoprite, Just Rite, SPAR, PEP and

Gamestore. And there are few others

Retail Stores In Nigeria:

Who Is Taking The Lead

?that now dot the major cities,

signalling a favourable investment

climate in that sector.

Shoprite, the South African brand, is

the undisputed leader, with outlets

strategically located in choice areas in

major cities like Abuja, Ilorin, Lagos,

Enugu, Kano and Ibadan.

The brand's number one position is

currently being threatened by SPAR,

also a major competitor. The latter has

lately been spending heavily on media

campaigns to appeal to shoppers,

hinging its offering on low prices. The

company also leverages on its

partnership with manufacturers and

marketers of computers and household

products like HP Computer, Chi, Peak

Milk and other consumer goods to woo

shoppers. SPAR also offers shoppers

opportunity to walk into any of its

stores and buy at highly discounted

prices that may not be offered by any of

its competitors.

In addition, for every product bought,

the shop offers a gift voucher to the

shopper. For example, shoppers that

buy any of the available HP laptops in

any of its retail outlets are instantly

given a N3, 000 shopping voucher. Not

only that, the retail store also gives

same amount of shopping voucher to

shoppers who flash a given mobile

number advertised in some newspaper.

If Shoprite has an answer to SPAR,

there is also the PEP challenge that is

equally formidable, for PEP is also

coming up stronger. It has chosen to

compete by facing and meeting the

desires and demands of all ages, from

infants to adults, for quality and

affordable clothes and clothing

materials.

The ability to offer a range of quality

products while maintaining the lowest

prices seems to have paved the way for

shoppers to identify with PEP, as most

people who could have opted for the

bend down select alternatives in places

like Aswani and Gatan Kowa markets

in Lagos, now have a more dignifying

mall in PEP.

Omobolanle Adetayo, a mother of two

who patronizes PEP, told Brand &

Visibility that the store affords her the

opportunity to buy quality baby wears

at very cheap prices.

“Their product is cheap; they have

good baby wears,” she says. “What

seems surprising is the fact that PEP

products are not common, yet they sell

at cheaper prices.” She said she would

continue to patronize the store, rather

than visit other malls where similar

products are sold.

Adetayo's position seems to be

reflective of those of other shoppers

who have found solace in the store. A

visit to the PEP store on Obafemi

Awolowo Way, Ikeja, Lagos, confirms

her position.

Shopping at these stores no doubt has

given their customers some sense of

pride, confidence and perceived

comfort. These are sure ingredients of

building a brand's image as well as

enhancing and boosting the customers'

confidence, continued patronage and

unhindered loyalty. They ultimately

often result in a lifelong of repeat

patronage; just as they are also very

formidable pillars of referrals.

Among those that will gain from the

consumer outlets

80 Brand Visibility

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presence of the retail stores in the

country are local manufacturers and

suppliers in the country. Some of the

stores like Shoprite buy in bulk from

local suppliers in order that customers

may also buy at cheaper prices, while

they still enjoy a world class shopping

experience.

The cheering news about Shoprite,

“Shopping at these stores no

d o u b t h a s g i v e n t h e i r

customers some sense of pride,

confidence and perceived

comfort. These are sure

ingredients of building a

brand's image as well as

enhancing and boosting the

c u s t o m e r s ' c o n f i d e n c e ,

continued patronage and

unhindered loyalty. They

ultimately often result in a

lifelong of repeat patronage;

just as they are also very

formidable pillars of referrals.”

undoubtedly the

one with the

leadership cap

of the pack of

retail shops in

Nigeria, is that it

has also joined

the league of

organisat ions

that are deeply

committed to

social responsibility engagements. For

instance, Shoprite is known for its

“Change A Life” campaign established

to enrich the lives of many under-

privileged children and youths in

Nigeria. The campaign started in

December 2010, and has assisted

various orphanages and foundations

such as the Red Cross in Nigeria and

the SOS Children's Village.

It is recommended that other leading

retail stores should strive to emulate

this by embarking on some corporate

social responsibility programmes that

will be beneficial to the society,

especially the immediate communities

where they have their outlets, and the

nation as a whole.

Expansion of the retail stores will also

add to, and boost job creation

opportunities across the country.

Perhaps this is one major reason most

states are encouraging promoters of

CONSUMER OUTLETS

81 Brand Visibility

retail shops to consider having outlets

in their major towns. In some cases,

governments at the state level are

partners with the shop owners.

However, as laudable as this

development may be, it is important

that the relevant agencies of

government take steps that will

guarantee that workers, especially

Nigerians, are not unduly exploited

and that no employer takes undue

advantage of them.

Having gained customer loyalty and

confidence and with increase in

revenue, it is expected that these stores

also contribute to the development of

their host communities.

Shoprite and SPAR, and indeed all

other retail stores, practically offer the

same product range including food and

grocery, wines and spirits, butchery

and bakery, fruits and vegetable,

electronics, IT products, mobile

phones, furniture, fashion and lifestyle

products. However, each of them

seems to have identified a niche, one

that separates it from the others,

whether in terms of pricing, delivery

strategy, or concentration of product

offerings.

Truth is, the race is on, one more time,

for retail stores in Nigeria. The focus

is, however, not necessarily which of

them eventually becomes the market

leader, but how their efforts will

ultimately affect both the Nigerian

society and the nation's economy.

“Expansion of the retail stores

will also add to, and boost job

creation opportunities across

the country. Perhaps this is one

major reason most states are

encouraging promoters of retail

shops to consider having

outlets in their major towns. In

some cases, government at the

state level are partners with the

shop owners.”

BV

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Advertising has evolved from the time

when it was just a helpful suggestion

to something you might need or want,

like a pen for instance, to the giant

industry that it has now become.

But over the span of several centuries

basic human needs were met, industry

niches filled up with multiple

companies each competing for a few

seconds of your time to meet every

conceivable need you have or the

acclaimed needs of consumers by

producers. Today, there are hundreds,

and counting, adverts crying for the

viewers' attention. They all clamour

for one to buy this, try this, taste this,

change to this, and test this. But who

wins this battle? Which adverts gain

the upper hand? Is it usually the most

captivating? What influences or

impact do advertisements have on the

audience, in relation to what actions

are consequently taken?

This seems to be the major task of

creators of advertisements. They are

thrown to constantly toy with

strategies they feel convinced would

bring about the desired connectivity

between the product or brand and the

audience. Perhaps the most prominent

of these strategies is the infusion of

entertainment, music most especially,

into advertisement. Music in its own

r ights is easi ly retained and

remembered. When effectively

combined with the commercial

messages, music helps such messages

to fulfill one of its objectives of

holding the attention of the listener or

viewer. Further, music helps an

advertisement to be more appealing to

the viewer by simply making it more

memorable. And this helps to increase

the volume of attention the product or

brand is able to get.

Music does not need to manifest any

special affinity with a product, services

or business in order to play an effective

and useful function. Music serves as a

bridge of connectivity between the

audience and product or brand being

advertised. No doubt what really goes

for music is that it tends to linger in the

listeners' mind for longer than an

ordinary speech.

The success story of many products or

services can be traced to the

captivating effect of the accompanying

music which has transferred its own

attributes to the story line and to the

product and in the process creating the

desired coherence and effectively

making such connections that are not

easily achieved in words or in pictures.

In a nutshell, music interprets an

advert. Thus, the objective of the song

Investigation

platform for such a commercial has

been accomplished with honours.

Culling examples from some recent

ads of MTN involving Yoruba actor,

Afeez Oyetoro popularly called Saka;

he is an identified figure in the

entertainment industry and he also

depicted the theme of the advert which

made it easy to pass the message. Also

the infusion of dance and music no

doubt gave the advert its retentive

power in the minds of its consumers.

Children, and adults will not forget the

Honey-Well Noodles commercial:

Honeywell, noodles, bam bam la la..

bam bam la la… The entertainment

effect was almost so effective that most

times both children and adults sing

along. It’s target being children, it was

rhythmical and simple enough that

even a 2 year old remembers it easily

and all they need do is sing the chorus

to pass the message along.

The use of music in Advertisements

h a s t r e m e n d o u s l y h e l p e d

memorability of the concept just as it

has also helped the message recall.

The question however is whether

music also helps brand loyalty, and,

ultimately purchase. And that’s a

subject for someday soon.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MUSIC IN ADVERTISEMENTS

-OLUWATOSIN ADEBAYO

83 Brand Visibility

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BOOK REVIEW

Kill or Get Killed: The Marketing Killer Instinct is the sum of Kolawole Oyeyemi 's 23years hard fact experience documentation of the Market as a war zone where battles are “fought, won and lost” not for a place in the market, but for “increase”in its size that the winner could grab and add to his current share. Here meekness is not a virtue. It can only provide a spot in the market, but does not guarantee ones stay. Prisoners do not even exist in this war because there is no budget for them, hence, being caught by competition is not an option, and elimination is the game. The book is filled with insights on three basic knowledge areas that must be available for a marketing battle. These are; knowing who you are fighting, knowing what you are fighting for and having an immense knowledge of the battle field.

The book i s packaged as a

philosophical and practical roadmap

for greenhorns in the marketing field,

outlining the type of mindset and

know-hows that wins the heart of

market. It also doubles as a subtle

challenge to traditional beliefs which

will no doubt leave his contemporaries

and veterans nodding in agreement.

Laced with interesting African

marketing battle case studies such as;

Sabmiller's first entry and quick exit in

Kenya, the Milk War between

Promasidor’s Cowbell and WAMCO’s

Peak Milk, the Stout War between

Nigerian Breweries and Guinness,

Etisalat vs MTN, the entrance of

Globacom in to the Niger ian

telecommunication industry, the

failure by Cadbury to be the first to

introduce Poundo Yam to Nigerians

among others. The writer leaves deep

Title:

Author:

Publishers:

Reviewer:

Kill Or Get Killed: The Marketing Killer Instinct

Kolawole Oyeyemi

TP House (2014)

Ebisemiju Toyin

insight on the flanks that are

vulnerable, how they can be reinforced

and strategies for launching attacks.

Tactically, the consumer is presented to

be the Market. She/he is the prize that

must be won – A dynamo whose ever

changing confusing preferences must

be understood with on the spot

strategic adaptation. The life of any

brand is to be nurtured and protected by

greasing the emotions, beliefs,

behaviour and culture of the consumer,

Any attempt at change should be

t i m e l y a c c o r d i n g t o t h e

conscious/unconscious changes

experienced by the consumer. A brand

that thinks its size will intimidate the

consumer, Oyeyemi insists, is as good

as dead.

He admonished that the creation of

advertising campaigns especially for

radio and television should not just

entertain but attract spend – the brand

manger is also a business manager. It

should not be developed from the

biased view of the brand manager or

marketing director, but from a

researched viewpoint of the consumer.

More importantly, execution should be

as good as strategy.

Writing on strategies for taking-on

competition, Kolawole stressed the

need to always be a challenger even as

a market leader. In other words, one

must not underestimate competition.

Hitting below the belt is allowed as

long as it guarantees submission.

Copying one’s competition, for him,

should not be seen as an aberration;

however it should be done with style

and with a difference. Also relying

solely on price reduction should not be

long-term marketing strategy because

consumer spend is not determined by

price alone. The consumer wants to be

ultimately satisfied and will most

likely settle for the best. For him speed

or being first to the market does not

guarantee success, what does is quality

coupled with swift calculated

innovation that leaves little or no space

for competition. It is also pertinent

that a brand's marketing soldiers, even

the creatives must be from diverse

academic backgrounds. This will help

enrich strategy and enhance execution.

In a nutshell, ''if you stay on top of your

game in terms of accurate consumer

insight; sound, robust and relevant

value proposition development;

excellent go-to-market strategy,

efficient route to market; adaptive and

flexible organisational agility to

exploit and ride the waves of

marketing opportunities and changes,

all effectively communicated better

than competition, you may lose some

battles, but you are in good stead to win

the war'' Oyeyemi affirms.

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