17th July, 2014
Kazeem Ugbodaga
With a population of over 20 million, Lagos, no doubt is Nigeria’s foremost commercial nerve centre. The state plays host to several business empires and controls multi-trillion naira investments. One of the most lucrative business ventures in Lagos and Nigeria is advertising.
Most of advertising practitioners have their base in Lagos, raking in billions of naira annually. At the last count, advertising in Lagos generates over N50 billion annually, making Lagos one of the most fertile grounds for the growth of advertising in Africa. This was why the state played host to the biggest outdoor advertising conference and exhibition in Africa in order to showcase the state’s advertising potentials with a bid to attract advertising investment in the state, thus, boosting its economic base.
The event held between 25 and 27 June, 2015 at the Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, southwest Nigeria. The event was tagged: Signage and Outdoor Conference and Exhibition Africa (Lagos 2014) and it featured over 200 exhibitors and conference participants from Europe, Asia, America and Africa. The event was the biggest of its kind in the West African sub-region and it attracted over 4,000 visitors. Participants from Holland, Belgium, China France, United Kingdom, Dubai, South Africa Kenya, Uganda, and other neighbouring African States thronged the event.
The conference, packaged by the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA), comprised conference and an exhibition attended by participants across Nigeria, Africa and the world at large. It was the biggest ever held in Nigeria since outdoor advertising was introduced in the country over 50 years ago, and it attracted key industry stakeholders, including Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) and the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN). In addition, outdoor regulatory agencies from Ondo, Kano, Ogun, Edo, Cross River and Kwara states took part. Similarly, LASAA’s counterparts from Cameroon and Kenya were in attendance.
While the exhibition held for three days, the outdoor conference held for two days. Both events were held at the Eko Hotel Conference Centre, Victoria Island. The exhibition featured virtually all outdoor formats, including inflatables, vehicle branding, electronic boards, large format printing, experiential marketing items and indoor screens. Exhibitors came from far and wide, including USA, Dubai, Belgium, Holland, USA, UK, South Africa and Nigeria.
LASAA says more would have participated but for the insurgency in the northern part of the country that scared some visitors away. Several exhibitors who had doubts as to the success of the event are now queuing up to take part in next year’s edition. A good example is China’s biggest electronic billboard manufacturer Shenzhen Absen Optoelectronic Co., Ltd. In all, over 500 delegates attended the outdoor conference and about 5,000 attended the exhibition.
Managing Director, LASAA, George Noah set the ball rolling when he disclosed that Lagos, which accounted for 60 per cent of Nigeria’s advertising market, currently generates an annual turnover of N50 billion. A breakdown, according to Noah, shows that outdoor media buying agencies generate about N8.6 billion; fabricators, N1.5 billion; installers, N382 million; large format printers, N8.27 billion. Also, outdoor specialist agencies generate N21.9 billion, outdoor protection services, N370 million; adverts N1.25 billion, while other areas account for N8 billion.
He said job opportunities in the industry are also huge, as the Lagos market alone presently employs over 100,000 people. Noah said that the industry would have grown more, but was hindered by some challenges which include loss of market share to television, radio and social media marketing. According to him, there are 100,000 signs and 800 outdoor structures in Lagos presently.
The three-day conference/ exhibition, he said, became necessary to further demonstrate to the world the potential of Lagos and indeed Nigeria in outdoor advertising, even as he described the opportunities as endless, which explained the role of LASAA in regulating and managing the industry in the state to attain the goal. “The exhibition is also geared towards creating a convergence of stakeholders within the out-of-home advertising industry. We are also focusing on trends, best practices, innovations and challenges within the Nigerian and African contexts,” he said.
At the event, various presentations which sought to chart a new path for the out-of-home sector were also made by seasoned experts. They included George Noah, Managing Director, LASAA; Jimi Awosika, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Insight Communications; President, Outdoor Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, OAAN, Charles Chijide and Jean Sebastian Decaux, Chief Executive Officer, JCDecaux Group, Southern Europe. Some multinational firms that took part in the exhibition included Dutch firm, Rotapanel; Primedia from South Africa, JCDecaux (UK); Prismaflex, Ro-Marong and Agfa.
Highlighting some of the gains of the expo, Noah said that it would bring in foreign direct investments from international exhibitors that took part and expressed readiness to increase their stake in Nigeria. He added that the conference generated a source of income for those that were engaged during the event and in the build-up to the expo, besides serving as a platform for outdoor stakeholders from across Africa to forge a common front and network with their peers across the globe. Noah also pointed out that the event would not be a one-off.
Stakeholders at the outdoor sector at the event resolved to work together with a view to surmount challenges facing the industry.
According to Noah, the future of the outdoor sector held significant benefits, but noted that they would be harnessed if stakeholders worked closely and proffer innovative and creative approaches in dealing with challenges confronting the sector, adding that LASAA had put together incentives as well as new innovations with a view to spurring growth in the sector.
He listed such innovations to include the first water projection digital display sign in Africa. He hinted about plans to designate certain areas in Lagos as sites approved specifically for pasting posters
“It is important we exchange ideas with our counterparts in other African countries and that is the way we can make progress. We need to expand the scope of out-of-home. We need to encourage new innovations in out-of-home platforms and make creativity a continuous exercise because customers are always seeking new innovations,” Noah stressed.
Delivering a presentation titled: The Importance of Creativity in Outdoor Campaigns to the Out-of-Home Advertising Industry, Jimi Awosika, Managing Director/CEO Insight Communications, identified Waka Pass syndrome, a term he used for lack of creativity, as a major challenge confronting the sector. Consequently, he appealed to practitioners to be ingenious in their approaches towards outdoor displays as this would give clients more mileage.
“As professionals, we must introspect deeply on our identity strength and leverage it to make contributions that refine society and define the march of our civilization. This is because we are not mere communications practitioners,” he pointed out.
President, OAAN, Charles Chijide, sought to point out that practitioners played an intermediary role between brands and consumers by availing them choices. “We are consumers’ protector. At the same time, we are also helping manufacturers to showcase their products to consumers. That tells much about the significant role we play in impacting both the consumers and the clients. We are not only working for the manufacturers, we are also working for the public to have choices,” Chijide noted.
Jean Sebastian Decaux, CEO, JCDecaux Group, Southern Europe, in his presentation, set out to highlight the impact a well-structured and regulated outdoor sector could have on the environment and consumers; while expressing the firm’s resolve to increase its stake in the nation’s out-of-home sector.
Some participants, who expressed their views, described it as a success and an eye-opener. They also appealed to the organisers to make it an annual event in the out-of-home calendar.
“LASAA indeed must be commended for its high-level of professionalism in staging world-class events. They pulled it off with the successful organization of two editions of the annual Lagos Countdown and now with the maiden edition of the African Outdoor Advertising Conference and Exhibition. I sincerely hope it would be sustained and made an annual event as this would serve as a platform for we practitioners to chart the way forward for our profession,” said Benjamin Apresai, a participant from Delta State.
A participant at the conference from Plateau State said: ”I have attended outdoor conferences and exhibitions in most parts of the world and this maiden edition by LASAA ranks among the best I’ve attended in recent years.”
Similarly, Mrs O Amal a director at Rotapanel Ltd, an exhibitor from Holland said: ”Our experience this year is very positive. It’s a good development and we had a lot of very good and interested visitors. It will help our business and our partner business that we have a lot more good leads and business coming from LASAA’s Africa Sign Expo.”
Others speakers at the conference include Chairman of APCON, Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi; Prof. Ralph A. Akinfeleye, Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos; Managing Director/CEO Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Peter Amangbo; Mr. Kunle Ahmed, Executive Director Mansard Insurance Plc; Mrs. Bunmi Oke, President Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN); Alhaji Ibrahim Yusuf, Director-General, Abuja Signage Agency; Mr. Adekunle Adeshina, Managing Director/CEO Invent Media Limited; Mr. Lanre Akinsola, Lagos State Ministry of Justice; Managing Director/CEO TMKG Consulting Limited, Mr. Dan Oshodin; Marketing Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Austin Ufomba; Director-General Lagos State Safe Commission, Mrs. Dominga Odebunmi; Managing Director/CEO, Chris Parkes Marketing Solutions Africa, Mr. Chris Parkes; Founder, Trends and Intelligence Network in Nigeria (TINK), Mr. Franklin Ozekhome, among others.