Nigeria’s IMC Industry Needs Collaborative Investment Fund To Drive Innovation, Says Exposé Boss
Oloye Abayomi Ayoola is a foremost marketing communications professional and one of the continent’s finest experiential experts. In this candid interview with Brand Communicator, Ayoola who is the CEO of Exposé Marketing Solutions, brings sharp insights into the evolving landscape of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) in Nigeria. His perspective spans the intersection of traditional marketing and emerging technologies, offering a unique window into how African agencies are adapting to global marketing trends. Speaking with characteristic optimism about 2025’s outlook, Ayoola addresses critical challenges facing Nigeria’s IMC industry, from economic instability to talent retention, while highlighting promising opportunities in social commerce, green marketing, and entertainment tourism. His observations on industry collaboration and technological innovation reveal both the hurdles and potential pathways for growth in Africa’s marketing sector.
How would you describe the IMC business terrains of 2024? Would you describe it as challenging or exciting?
2024 was an incredible year for us as a business. The IMC business terrain was a rollercoaster of challenges and opportunities. While the economic playbook wasn’t friendly to many businesses, we exceeded our billings target by 138% at year’s end. It was an innovation-led year, with massive opportunities emerging from technologies like AI, blockchain, and other emerging initiatives. The Hoomans of Exposé were able to leverage these technologies to deliver cutting-edge marketing solutions for our clients, and we saw significant returns on investment.
How do you visualize the business outlook for the IMC industry this 2025, especially in the sectors you operate?
I’m extremely optimistic about the business outlook for the IMC industry in 2025. With the increasing adoption of digital technologies, the growing importance of sustainability and social responsibility, and the rise of emerging markets in Africa, I believe the prospects are looking better than ever. Our agency is well-positioned to capitalize on these trends, and we’re expecting significant growth and expansion in the coming year.
We know the CAF Nations Cup is in December for agencies and advertisers to exploit, what are the other expected action spots for 2025?
“Aside from the CAF Nations Cup, we’re set to play big into untapped events, one of which is in the pipeline already. We are aware of the evolution within the e-commerce platforms, some of which are delivering numbers astronomically. But as a forward-thinking agency, we are beginning to prepare ourselves for the rise of the new commerce platforms, that is, the social commerce platforms. This is typical of what Nigeria experienced during the Detty December. Being alive to global trends, we are driving conversations and partnerships around green marketing which helps us drive ethical balance in sustainability and social responsibility. Leveraging AI, AR, and VR for consumer immersive engagements is one big pull for us with our partnering brands. In addition, seeing Federal and State government’s interest in raising awareness and sustaining the entertainment tourism in Nigeria, new day and nightlife platforms will emerge, increasing our entertainment tourism participation and revenue.”
What would you say are the key challenges facing the IMC industry in Nigeria now? What solutions would you suggest to tackle these challenges?
In addressing the key challenges of the IMC industry in Nigeria it is best to say that the unstable reality of the nation’s economy is a major challenge as this goes a long way to impact what can be done and how best these things can be achieved. Clients are only ready to invest related to their revenue to grow their brands but in situations where many of these clients constantly struggle to keep their feet in the market, the IMC agencies and companies then have to reinvent possible solutions, some of which can only guarantee minimal solutions at its best.
Disinterest in participation is another brewing challenge the industry is facing. We have seen a major attrition from the experiential marketing industry, as a result of unrealistic timelines by clients, health challenges due to impact of fire brigade approach to executions, imbalance in remuneration and benefits amongst others have led to most talents retreating.
Disunity amongst key industry players as they often take competition to a different level as opposed to redefining collaborations. I believe the best way to win, especially in a vast market like Nigeria, is to have a huge opportunity to jointly invest in technology, creating a winning marketing continent.
Another key challenge includes low investment in technologies and digital infrastructures. This becomes key in winning in the markets as digitalization seems to trigger consumer excitement, data collection and engineering which drive practicable solutions for the brand. For me, talent retention is another challenge that tops the list because it is very tasking to secure top talents and even when you have them, one might have to pay through one’s nose to keep them because losing them can be more expensive than keeping them in this very competitive space.
To address these challenges, I would suggest that the industry drive a need for a collaborative investment purse that scatters the need of its members to drive innovative solutions. Also, there is a need for increased collaboration between agencies, clients, and industry stakeholders with greater emphasis on innovation, creativity, and professional development.