Industry Experts Urge Gov’t To Constitute APCON Council, Advocate Collaboration At OAAN’s 35th AGM

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L-R: Mrs Deola Odesanya, Dr. Charles Chijide, Mr. Kole Ademulegun, Mr. Emmanuel Ajufo, President, OAAN: Mr. Tunde Adedoyin and Mrs Dupe Adewuyi.  Back row from left: Mr Sola Akinsiku, Mr Akinola Dosu, Mr. Churchil Nwagwu, Mr. Babatunde Oyekan, Mr Babs Fagade, Barr. Rufai Akanbi, Mr George Onwujiariri, Mr Felix Ehinkweme, Mr Omo Abunene, Mr Olufemi Ogala and Mrs Chiddy Ibiam during the 35th AGM of OAAN held virtually on Tuesday 28, 2020.


The Federal Government has been urged to constitute APCON Council in order to make the agency saddled with the responsibility to vet advertisements among other functions to perform its duties effectively.

This was part of the discussions at the 35th virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) of  The Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) held recently, making the association to be among other sectoral bodies that have organized their AGMs digitally

 Themed, ‘’OOH Business and Emerging Realities,” the AGM played host to heads of key sectoral bodies who proffered solutions capable of lifting advertising industry from the effects of Covid-19 pandemic on the industry.

 Emmanuel Ajufo, the OAAN President, while addressing the gathering said that it was the resolve of the association to organize the virtual AGM considering the situation at hand. He said that the webinar would critically look into the recommendations suggested by the participating practitioners and stakeholders in the advertising sub-sector in order to come out of the arrays of challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ajufo also decried the prolonged absence of APCON Council and other challenges as the bane of the sub-sector. He, however, wondered what a comparatively operational APCON without a Council would do if a Council were constituted.

“Our industry is like a flock of sheep without a shepherd. This is because APCON has no Council, and this had been going on even before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Meanwhile, APCON without a Council is doing fairly well. One can only imagine what will happen if there were a Council,” Ajufo said.

In her presentation, Mrs. Ijedi Iyoha, APCON Acting Registrar, thanked the OAAN leadership for organizing the AGM despite daunting challenges. She also appreciated heads of other sectoral bodies who were present at the meeting for living up to expectation despite serious challenges confronting them as a result of the pandemic.

“I must commend OAAN and all the sectoral bodies for meeting the challenges, posed by the global pandemic, head on. Let me mention that OAAN, through the current leadership, has been steering the ship of the association in the right direction,” she noted.

In his message, Prince Adedamola Docemo, MD/CEO of Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency (LASAA), thanked OAAN for organising the digital AGM. In his passionate appeal for cooperation among industry practitioners and stakeholders, the LASAA boss said: “It is my belief that we can win together when we work together.”

Similarly, Dr. Babagana Adams, Director, Department of Outdoor Advertisement and Signage (DOAS), urged practitioners to be professional in their practice, while incorporating world best practices. He warned that the proliferation of boards and the presence of non-registered practitioners would no longer be tolerated, especially in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Guest speaker, Jude Odia, Managing Director of Starcom Media Perspectives while presenting his paper emphasised on audience measurement, stating that for Nigeria’s out-of-home to take pride of place in the advertising sub-sector, accurate measurement technology must be put in place. He noted that the days of competition among marketing communications practitioners were dead and urged OAAN to go beyond creating awareness to nurturing an environment that would encourage industry collaboration.

‘We must understand that the reason we are in business is because of the consumer. So, collaboration is the new normal because at the end of the day, we have only one industry to build,” he said.

Corroborating Odia’s position on audience measurement, the President of Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), Bunmi Adeniba called on the industry practitioners to embrace data-driven marketing, adding that accurate measurement, especially in the out-of-home, will help to drive growth in Nigeria’s SMEs sector.

Steve Babaeko, the President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), in his short presentation, denounced the non-constitution of an APCON Council, cataloguing the challenges such prolonged absence of authority poses to the entire ad industry. He, however, expressed optimism on the OAAN AGM webinar, saying that it was a sign of a great thing to come in terms of creative collaboration.

On his part, Femi Adelusi, the President of the Media Independents Association of Nigeria (MIPAN), noted that the global out-of-home industry, Nigeria inclusive, had been doing well up until the outbreak of the pandemic. He expressed confidence that the advertising sub-sector will emerge victorious out of the current crisis.

Adelusi hinged his confidence on the possible innovation that the pandemic-induced crises may foster among practitioners, while hoping that governments will do more in the areas of financial incentives and relaxing certain regulations.

Otunba Kole Ademulegun, the OAAN Chairman of the board of trustees, in his vote of thanks, advocated a level playing field for the industry practitioners, believing that such will create a vibrant out-of-home industry in Nigeria.

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