As preparations for the 2015 edition of the African Outdoor Advertising Conference and Exhibition – organized by Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA) – gathers momentum, this report examines last year’s maiden edition, analyzing the major highlights and outcomes.
Featuring over 200 exhibitors, comprising stakeholders across the outdoor advertising and integrated marketing communications sectors, from Nigeria and beyond, the maiden African Outdoor Advertising Conference and Exhibition, was conceived to serve as a platform to network and exchange ideas with a view to explore the relatively untapped economic potentials of outdoor advertising in Nigeria and Africa.
Held at the Convention Centre, Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, the event, attended by over 4,000 participants, ran from June 25th – 27th, 2014 and was attended by stakeholders cut across segments of the outdoor advertising industry. They comprised: industry regulators, professional bodies, installers, outdoor vendors, media buying agencies, fabricators, board owners, branding/communications companies, brand managers, consultants and students of mass communication across tertiary institutions.
Advertising professional bodies and regulators such as the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), Outdoor Advertising Regulatory Association of Nigeria (OARAN) and Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) took part. Others included: Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), Federation European Publicite Exterieur (FEPE) as well as regulators from Cameroun and Kenya.
Thorough presentations, which sought to propagate the cause of outdoor advertising, were delivered by a crop of seasoned experts. They included: George Noah, Managing Director, LASAA; Charles Chijide, President, OAAN; Jimi Awosika, Managing Director, Insight Communications; Amal Slewersten-Chelkh-Lahlou, Director, Rotapanel (Netherlands); Leke Alder, Principal, Alder Consulting; Austin Ufomba, Marketing Director, Guinness Nigeria PLC and Babs Fagade, Publisher, Outdoor Republic.
Other speakers were: Kola Oyeyemi, President, ADVAN; Yinka Adepoju, Director General, Oyo State Signage and Advertisement Agency; Kenny Salami, MD/CEO, Ideas House; Chris Parkes, MD/CEO, Chris Parkes Solutions, Africa; Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye, University of Lagos, Department of Mass Communication; Mark Flys, Secretary General, FEPE and Alhaji Bello Kankarofi, Registrar, APCON.
Abiodun Sobanjo, Chairman, Troyka Group; Bunmi Oke, President, AAAN; Makanjuola Alabi, pioneer MD LASAA; Gerry Costa, CEO, Primedia Africa and Chief Femi Adeniyi-Williams, a veteran advertising expert also addressed participants.
Top public officers from relevant ministries and agencies of Lagos State also addressed participants. They include: Tunji Bello, Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment; Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Lateef Ibirogba; Hon. Abiodun Tobun, Chairman, Lagos State House Committee on the Environment and Dominga Odebunmi, Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission.
In the course of his presentation titled: “Out-of-home in Lagos State: State of the Industry”, Noah gave a historical account of LASAA’s journey since inception in 2006. He also estimated Lagos State’s outdoor advertising industry to be worth N50 billion annually – 60 percent of Nigeria’s out-of-home advertising market share.
Noah listed challenges facing the sector to include: lack of data, loss of market share to other advertising mediums including electronic and online platforms, the public’s wrong perception of the intent of regulators, activities of charlatans and indiscriminate pasting of posters.
Others were: concentration of billboards in certain areas, erratic power supply, jurisdictional issues, security for outdoor structures as well as short-term and long-term contracts. He further disclosed that 146 registered out-of-home advertising companies operate in Lagos, employing not less than 100,000 people in various advertising and signage companies.
Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment, Tunji Bello, who spoke on behalf of the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, said issues such as the lack of empirical data to support media buying agencies as well as power, could be addressed if practitioners look inwards.
Jimi Awosika, Managing Director/CEO Insight Communications, harped on the issue of creativity in the industry, which he identified as a major concern. In his presentation titled: “The Importance of Creativity in Outdoor Campaigns to the Out-of-Home Advertising Industry”, he appealed to practitioners to be ingenious in their approaches towards outdoor displays; as this would engage the audience and offer advertisers’ value for money. He also called for more synergy between stakeholders.
In his presentation titled: “Out-of-Home Advertising in Africa: Prospects & Challenges”, Charles Chijide, the OAAN president, took a critical look at the industry in Nigeria since its early days in 1956, while identifying common challenges facing outdoor advertising practitioners. He listed them to include, multiple taxation, government policies, access to loans and absence of titles on outdoor sites.
He suggested that the government starts issuing outdoor advertising practitioners, Certificates of Occupancy on outdoor sites. This, he opined, would enable them use same as collateral, to access loans. The OAAN president further appealed to the concerned authorities to develop a robust system that would harmonize payment of taxes and levies.
CEO Southern Europe JC Decaux, Jean-Sebastien Decaux spoke on “The Future: Global Trends & Emerging Formats in Out-of-Home Advertising”. He acquainted participants with the latest trends in outdoor advertising, while seeking to depict how it could be employed to improve urban aesthetics, citing examples with progress made in other climes.
Professor Ralph Akinfeleye of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, spoke on the need to include out-of-home advertising courses in the curriculum of tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Mark Flys, General Secretary, FEPE, in a presentation titled: “Out of Home Vs. the World”, informed participants that the future of outdoor was bright as Digital-out-of-home (DOOH) advertising has been proven to drive growth globally. He also noted that emerging markets like Nigeria are bound to witness huge increase in DOOH market share.
Dominga Odebunmi, Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission, placed issues related to safety on the front burner, with the topic: “Safety Standards Industry Best Practices: Are Practitioners Doing Enough?” Amal Siewersten-Cheikh-Lahlou, Rotapanel Sales Director, gave a presentation titled, “Emerging Trends in Out-of-Home Advertising: LED Technology in Africa”. She informed participants that LED (Light Emitting Diode) technology holds the key to the future of outdoor advertising in view of its flexible and cost-effective features.
Babs Fagade, Publisher, Outdoor Republic, spoke on the topic “Using Online Technology to Increase Market Share of Out-of-Home Advertising Sector”. He posited that the internet, could be effectively deployed to stem the tide of dwindling fortunes in the outdoor market share, if practitioners equip themselves with the right online solutions to boost inventory sales and facilitate business.
In his message titled: “Effective Out-of-home Campaigns”, Lolu Akinwunmi, maintained that outdoor advertising would remain relevant in the face of stiff competition from online mediums as long as premium is placed on creativity with regards to outdoor ads.
Following two days of robust engagement at the conference, stakeholders came to a conclusion that the outdoor advertising industry in Nigeria is fraught with a number of challenges including: power supply, high and in some cases multiple taxation and fees, lack of enabling laws and regulation, street urchins, lack of data and credible out-of-home measurement matrix.
Others were: lack of funding and access to single digit interest rate, vacant sites – estimated in excess of 40 per cent in the first quarter of 2014, lack of title for outdoor sites as well as short-term and long-term contracts. Inconsistent enforcement of rules, regulations by government and loss of market share to new media platforms and saturation of some outdoor media markets in Lagos metropolis were also listed.
In view of the aforementioned, participants recommended that government grant outdoor advertising firms tax holidays for their efforts in lighting up cities via alternative power supply provided by outdoor media operators. They appealed to government to grant temporary Certificate of Occupancy on sites operated by OOH (Out-of-Home) companies.
Participants also called on government to provide security for practitioners against social miscreants who extort money from practitioners at outdoor advertising sites. On the issue of data collection, it was agreed that an industry-owned data through joint collaboration from all stakeholders would bring the much-needed solution.
The list of exhibitors included: Newcrystal Media, Digispec, Branded Vehicles, Mikano, Cadbury, MTN, Pepsi, Nestle, Prismaflex, Romarong, Rotapanel, Outdoor Republic, Medspace, Konica, Wema Bank, Zenith Bank, Watchfire, Moving Media, Hospitality Quest, Guinness, LASPARK and Alexis. Others are: Weatherheads, Saga Ink, NBL, Samsung, Snapp, Xelands, Gold Aluminium, SCOA, LASACO, CMKG, Moveable, MFI Documents, Moore Advice, Solar Dot, Wow Roadshows, BXO, Asmac, NIPCO, Signwriters, Toons and Wools Limited, Visual Design and CFAO.
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