Executives from various integrated marketing communications industry organizations have identified strategies that practitioners can explore to revitalize the industry. says Rahim Akingbolu.
Leading industry bodies in the country's Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) space have urged practitioners to adopt brainstorming tools to help their companies emerge from the economic quagmire caused by the coronavirus pandemic and other challenges, rather than feeling sorry for themselves. .
They spoke at the Virtual IMC Business Outlook 2021 organized by the Advertising Practice Council of Nigeria (APCON) on the topic “IMC Business Outlook 2021 Navigating a Fractured World”.
dr Olaleka Fadalapa, Registrar/Managing Director of APCON, acknowledged in her keynote speech at the event that COVID-19 has disrupted the entire BNK landscape.
He noted that the council organized the event as a thought-provoking session to propose solutions to some of the challenges facing the industry and promised that the regulator would continue to look for innovative ways to support the industry.
The APCON registrar explained that the webinar has become indispensable for practitioners to chart a new course in a troubled world.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is a shock like no other, disrupting both supply and demand in an interconnected global economy.
“The Nigerian IMC industry has not been left behind by the paradigm shift. We are not immune to this disruption to economic activity. Therefore, our decision will devote valuable time to the CPM and Advertising Panel to review the overall industry performance in 2020 and to project the business outlook for 2021,” he added.
The Chairman of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Mr. Steve Babaeka, expressed his belief that the industry purge by APCON and the AfCFTA (Africa Free Trade Agreement), signed in January, will be a long one. A way to increase the prosperity of the industry in 2021.
He urged agencies to anticipate customer concerns and advised agency owners to always be vigilant to provide timely solutions.
As a key step in regaining momentum, the AAAN leader encouraged cooperation between agencies. Using the example of WPP as a global agency that has fully embraced and cultivated a culture of collaboration, he found that collaboration is the new competition.
On the way back, Babaeka adamantly presented a mathematical formula that explained what he called the 3Cs cost. For the industry to thrive in 2021, he says, practitioners must manage costs, access and use credit facilities judiciously, and manage cash flow.
Former President of the Independent Media Association of Nigeria (MIPAN), Dr. Ken Onyeali Ikpe, also speaking at the event, focused his discussion on the need to train marketers to navigate a disrupted business world. He argued that in order for such a practitioner to remain relevant, it became necessary for practitioners to follow a path they had never taken.
Ikpe, the group managing director of Insight Redefini, added that while there are different types of roads for practitioners, such as busy roads, less-traveled roads, uncrowded roads, he said there has never been such a road. - Travel remains the most viable option, as practitioners trying to navigate a fragmented world have discovered for themselves
He said the disruptions seen in the industry today have forced agencies and professionals to be "solution providers" to their clients.
"Basically what I'm saying is that you have to be willing to offer a 'solution,' a spiritual answer to your client's problems, not just a conventional solution," he said.
He also stressed that practitioners should always try to reflect in order to stay relevant. "If I had given this talk a few years ago, I probably would have talked about how we can consolidate our business and other things. But what's happening today sometimes makes me wonder if we have reason to consolidate. I think our biggest challenge as practitioners is staying relevant,” he added.
One way to do this is for practitioners to prioritize improving the quality of their products.
"What is most important to you as CEO? I know some will say profit. But the fact remains: to stay relevant, your priority must be to improve your product. If you have a product that will hold its own against the competition can, you can stay relevant,” he said.
The former President of MIPAN also believed that agencies need to develop a startup mentality in order to reduce costs and avoid unnecessary waste.
He also urged the agency to encourage its capable employees to earn those employees' "goodwill" rather than their loyalty.
“For example, the health crisis we are experiencing today has forced most employees to work from home. Interestingly, this is not without problems. Some of your highly qualified employees may be working at another organization without your knowledge, so it's best to encourage them to spare you," he said.
Dele Odugbemi, Country Manager of Jc Decaux Gracelake, Nigeria said COVID-19 has disrupted the IMC landscape with outdoor advertising (OOH) being hit the hardest as it pushed businesses to evolve to survive. He said they need to invest in technology to transform their business.
“When you invest in technology, do it with an eye on the future. When we invested in this technology back then, we thought it was just a network and just for office use, we never thought that the time would come so soon when we were using it remotely like we are now,” he said.
For his part, Daar Communications Group chief executive Tony Akiothu explained that the broadcasting industry has been hit hard as revenues have plummeted and the company's survival is at stake, but his organization has weathered the storm through teamwork and mutual trust. Interested. He therefore called on companies to work closely with their stakeholders to navigate a disrupted world.
"In addition to innovating and investing in technology, we also signed a trust agreement with our employees so we could enlist their support for salary reviews to keep the company afloat," he added.