Service At Any Level Is An Opportunity To Add Your Quota, Dr. Adelusi Says As He Reflects on Tenure, Achievements As MIPAN President
Dr. Femi Adelusi, the immediate past President of the Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) and the outgoing Chairman of the Heads of Advertising Sectoral Groups (HASG). With four years in the saddle as the president of MIPAN, Adelusi has been at the forefront of championing the growth and advancement of the association.
In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with Brand Communicator, Adelusi recently shared insights on his tenure: “It’s been a privilege to serve as MIPAN president. When you consider the capabilities and talents within our sector, many of our colleagues are equally qualified and capable of being in this role and doing a good job. I want to thank my EXCO and many Media Agency Heads for the support they gave me during my tenure.
“For me, service at any level is a privilege, an opportunity to serve and add your quota to change, transformation, and legacies. It’s an opportunity that we must cease with humility and a sense of accountability. We must see leadership as responsibility, and trust has been bestowed on you. You must be fully aware of your stakeholders and their expectations of you to move the industry or that organization forward to benefit your stakeholders,” he stated, stressing the need for humility and accountability in leadership roles.
Despite his accomplishments, Adelusi who belongs to the exclusive league of professionals in the industry who have had experiences across the both the agency and client side of industry business, believes that so much more needs to be done. “Though I am happy with the progress made, my personal and business philosophies are that “best does not exist.” Every result or achievement today can constantly be improved on or surpassed, which is the role of leadership, raising professional and ethical standards, and setting new pillars for a stronger and better tomorrow.
“Obviously, I’m still in the industry, an ex-officio member of the MIPAN Executive Committee, and I will gladly continue to serve and work with the new EXCO team. For me, it’s a continuum. We will continue to work together, whether President or not, as we are all stakeholders and must continue to work as such,” he said.
During his four-year tenure as MIPAN President, Adelusi and his team focused on enhancing professionalism, promoting collaboration among industry stakeholders, and implementing reforms to benefit agencies, clients, and the industry at large. He lays bare these accomplishments:
“In my role as President of a sectoral body like MIPAN, success is determined by the level of influence and results from collaborative projects that have more significant national impacts than just sectoral impacts. One of our remarkable achievements includes playing a pivotal role in the first-ever industry report of the marketing communication industry’s contribution to the economy in the recent GDP Multiplier Study commissioned by ARCON in partnership with all key sectors in our industry in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The need for that study was one of the identified action plans at the 2022 Annual National Advertising Conference.
“As Chairman of the GDP Multiplier Committee, I want to thank all the Marketing Communications sectors that contributed to our success, sectors such as MIPAN, AAAN, OAAN, EXMAN, and BON in the core team, and we had other associations in consulting capacities. That report has been released and is widely available to everyone; we hope to share it at the next Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG).
“We have also made significant progress in developing the Television Audience Measurement Platform (Data and Tool) as an industry. I still serve as a member of the National Task Force on Audience Measurement and the Head of the Technical Committee of the Task Force. We are on the cusp of releasing the Phase 1 report with the progress of the establishment survey by FMEIL (First Media & Entertainment Integrated Limited), marking a significant advancement in audience measurement to the benefit of Advertisers, Agencies, Media Houses, and media content developers and other Creative Industry in general. With reliable and consistent audience measurement data in Nigeria, we can rapidly show the results of our advertising/media strategies and executions. The marketing communications ecosystem will thrive better when advertisers can measure the outcomes of advertising/media investment decisions and see actionable and precise insights and consumer preferences.
“I served on committees that delivered the First Advertising Industry Standard Of Practice (AISOP) Guidelines in 2022. We have witnessed the increasing adoption and usage of the guidelines by many advertisers and agencies across various segments/sectors in Nigeria. Many multinational companies are also adopting the guidelines in their engagement with agencies. We appreciate the proper attention given to local laws. I remain fully committed to the principles of AISOP and believe a strong and sustainable agency business is in the client’s best interest in a partnership relationship. However, we should continue to engage and explore areas for improvement in the guideline to ensure that identified gaps are addressed in the subsequent updates when they are released soon. We must also ensure that the client’s business is protected.
“As an association, we were also concerned about the health and wellness of professionals in the industry. Some of our initiatives along this line are collaborating with OAAN to drive the annual OAAN/MIPAN Health Walk to promote a healthy work environment, adopt healthy lifestyle habits & choices, and promote mental health awareness,” he revealed.
Other areas of impact and new initiatives MIPAN under the leadership of Adelusi has made include the annual President’s Dinner, a platform for social engagement, rewards, and business networking. Others are deliberate and active engagement and collaboration with the Association of Digital Marketing Professionals ADMARP to promote the understanding of the unique opportunities of the digital marketing space. On this, he adds, “As MIPAN, we reviewed MIPAN membership categories and requirements to attract and encourage capability expansion and offer clients digital marketing/media solutions aligned with the dynamic media landscape and consumer understanding. We, therefore, welcomed digital agencies as members; many MIPAN member agencies also have specialized digital divisions, and training and development programs have been incorporated into our capacity-building program and events. This enabled the registration of Digital Agencies and supported the training/development capabilities of many of our members who already had thriving digital media departments.
“Again, looking at the Media Ecosystem, in March 2024, we held the First Commercial Media Sales Conference to enhance knowledge & professionalism in the media ecosystem, support content developers/producers, and build business operations for media partners and Electronic Media Content Owners. MIPAN is very industry-centric and committed to the growth and sustainability of the marketing communication ecosystem through the marketing communication value chain value chain.
Despite these accomplishments, Adelusi acknowledges that significant challenges remain. “We must address technology adoption in our processes, review digital regulations, remove speed-to-market barriers, and reduce the high cost of doing business,” he stated. The industry also aims to increase its influence in creative and digital economic sectors while growing its contributions to the Nigerian economy.
To tackle these challenges, Adelusi revealed that MIPAN has several initiatives in the pipeline which includes the Media Productivity Summit – an upcoming event focused on integrating digital marketing technology in partnership with international digital corporations and technology platforms; Curriculum Updates where the Alphabet Media Academy (AMA) has revised its courses to emphasize digital and technology capacity building and the newly instituted Commercial Media Sales Conference.
As the industry continues to evolve in response to technological advancements and changing consumer preferences, the groundwork laid during Adelusi’s tenure positions MIPAN and the broader marketing communications sector for continued growth and impact. We will particularly remember his words and popular sayings, “Best does not exist” and “Collective Triumph for the common good.”… He has done his best, and as GenZs say, he deserves his flowers.