10 exceptional quotes from Nigeria’s marketing communications experts that led 2021
By Zion Rufus
To better understand the sciences as well as arts of marketing and advertising, it has become highly imperative to listen and learn from thought leaders, great entrepreneurs, ad/marketing business gurus, and brand-building geniuses. Although the list of brilliant marketing quotes can never be exhausted, from the wealth of exclusive interviews and researches conducted by MARKETING EDGE this year 2021, we have compiled a list of industry leaders and their thoughts that reverberated through the year.
That the consumer is king is an understatement— Femi Adelusi
The above statement made by Femi Adelusi, Founder/ Group CEO, BrandEye/Mediaplus, and President, Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) during the MARKETING EDGE IMC Quarterly Virtual Summit in March, typically describes how the consumer is the most integral part of any business.
Adelusi explained: “It’s critical to track how customers reassess priorities, reallocate funds, switch brands, and redefine value.”
Consumers create value, and they are the main source of demand for all goods and services. The day to day demand and consumption of these services will lead to expansion or enhancement of the business, service sector, and even the economy. Consumers are the basic economic entities of an economy.
Focusing on the positives of 2020 and COVID-19 is the best way to ride the post-pandemic storm— Lanre Adisa
Speaking at the 2021 edition of the Lagos Advertising & Ideas Festival (LAIF), Lanre Adisa, MD/CEO Noah’s Ark Communications noted that “the things we did with the help of COVID-19 we probably wouldn’t have done it in five years.”
The COVID-19 crisis brought about years of change in the way companies carried out their business operations as notable transformations and technological innovations initially projected for 2025 were fast tracked to 2020. In the same vein, the pandemic also ensured an accelerated rate of digitization and virtualization of businesses, societies, as well as individual lives.
Advertising moves in sympathy with the economy – Dr. Lekan Fadolapo
Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, Registrar, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), submitted that advertising moves in sympathy with the economy during an economic downturn, as it bears the brunt and adverse effect of economic hardship rising from the effect of such period.
“Covid-19 or not, if a company is doing well, it tends to pump money into advertising, and immediately the company has problem, the first thing to cut off in search of cost reduction is advertising instead of investing more.”
In-person experience is never going out of style— Tolulope Medebem
The above statement, made in an exclusive interview with MARKETING EDGE by one of Nigeria’s amazons in the experiential marketing ecosystem, Mrs. Tolulope Medebem, Chief Operating Officer and Lead Strategist at Aster Integrated Marketing Limited (AsterIML), underscores the blended experience which brands across the world now offer their consumers with digital combined with the traditional in-person activations in experiential marketing campaigns.
“In-person experience is never going out of style; humans are social animals in nature; social life activities will always be there; the digital aspect of experiential marketing enhances the experience and the engagement. Live experiences can never go out of style, ever.”
You can’t pay enough for concept—Taiwo Agboola
The long standing argument as to whether clients should pay pitch fees to agencies has stirred serious controversy in the industry. In this regard, the Chief Executive Officer, 7even Interactive Limited, an award-winning marketing and creative advertising agency, Taiwo Agboola pointed that there was no monetary value that could be pegged or used to qualify the concepts, intellectual property and the efforts channeled towards the success of a pitch as “you can’t pay enough for concept”.
Brands in Africa should also be ready for the Metaverse- Oti Ukubeyinje
Oti Ukubeyinje, VP, product marketing and growth at Terragon Group explained: “Mobile has done its time, and humans need to evolve beyond mobile into other types of technology. It is something that African businesses should also be preparing for because it is not going to slow down, the internet is proliferated globally and technology is also making a huge global shift.”
The Metaverse is an alternative virtual world that blends aspects of digital technologies including video-conferencing, immersive games, cryptocurrencies, email, virtual reality, social media, and live-streaming.
Competition must be re-defined to allow collaboration and partnerships to exist— Jude Odia
Charging agencies to expand their tentacles to embrace influencer marketing as an avenue for growth and resource optimization, Managing Director of Starcom Media Perspectives, Jude Odia advised: “We must re-define competition really because sometimes where you really need help, it is those people you perceive as competition that comes to help. It is about understanding how to innovate and know that the person you compete with today is not necessarily your enemy tomorrow”.
When the dust of the pandemic settles, would we still have an industry?— Steve Babaeko
Chief Creative Officer /CEO, X3M Ideas and President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Steve Babaeko said: “When this Exco was sworn in July 2020, I had my fears because we were in the middle of one of the most devastating pandemic the world has seen at least in about a century. My fears were: Would we even be able to deliver against our campaign promises; When the dust of the pandemic settles, would we still have an industry or business; With everyone struggling to stay afloat would our members be able to rally round the Exco to push our association forward?”
The bright future of marketing in Nigeria is dependent on accurate real-time data— Bunmi Adeniba
“The bright future of marketing in Nigeria is dependent on accurate real-time data,” said Bunmi Adeniba, Acting President, Advertisers’ Association of Nigeria (ADVAN).
“One of the challenges is the acquisition of accurate data. We have a very viable opportunity as a community to increase the effectiveness of our marketing outputs with the right data.” Urging for collaboration, Adeniba noted that data should be the opening statement of any conversation and negotiation in the industry.
Enhance skill set to match future business environment — Adia Sowho
Chief Marketing Officer of MTN, Adia Sowho reiterated the need for marketing professionals to build their skill sets and capabilities in order to maintain relevance in an ever changing marketplace.
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