Nigeria’s first Online Advertising School berths @o2 Academy
By Kasim Bakare
With a reputation for several novel feats and initiatives in the integrated marketing Communications Industry, 02 Academy, a leading advertising school in Africa, has added another feather to its cap with the launch of Nigeria’s First online advertising school.
The online advertising school follows several novel and record breaking initiatives of 02 academy which include 02 Academy(First Nigerian advertising school), 3D Zebra crossing, Loeries Awards(First Nigerian Advertising School to win the prestigious Loeries Awards), amongst others.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony of the online ad school, attended by several journalists, students, alumni and staff of the academy, Provost, 02 Academy, Ozoemena Mbanefo, noted that the new initiative, which was borne out of his long-held vision, was further accelerated by the Covid-19 global pandemic
“We have successfully done the physical school for the past fourteen years on the physical platform which is the O2 Academy Lagos academic complex. We have always had this thing for an online advertising school but little did we know that it was going to come so sooner than we expected because Covid-19 came and we felt it’s the perfect opportunity to go online with our training. So in a nut shell Covid-19 was actually what pushed us a little bit faster to set up the online ad school.
He added:”So, I would say the motivation to start an online advertising school is 75% because of the Covid-19 and the other 25% based on the vision that we have always had in mind that we can connect people from different parts of the globe to learn just through the click of a button on their gadgets”.
Commenting on the operational framework of the platform, Ozone, as he is fondly called, explained that the lectures for the school are in form of pre-recorded videos which can be accessed by students at their convenience. He further stated that the app for the platform, which was designed in collaboration with a reputable tech company, was tailor made for the Nigerian market and addresses the challenge of poor internet connectivity.
Hear him:”Whether you have internet at a moment or the internet stops, we have designed the platform with what we call “Video-on-Demand. Whenever you have your internet back, you can continue from where you stopped. It is just like Netflix so you can learn anytime you want to learn and stop anytime you want to stop.
“So, we have put all that into consideration and we have made it so flexible such that you could actually plug into a particular course and even do some kind of combination of several courses. So, it’s just whatever you want to watch, you pay and you watch it. We have pre-recorded bespoke training sessions with course work and test questions. After completing a particular course, you are expected to take the test questions and submit. And the faculty will then attend to it and rate the students’ performance”.
Answering a question on whether the new online advertising school compares favourably with the physical school in terms of content, scholarship and certification, Ozone explained that the “02 Experience”, which signifies excellence, integrity and discipline, is a common denominator of its schools, either physical or online.
He further stated that the integrity of the online advertising school is ensured with a compulsory one-month internship after the completion of the online session.
“The 02 academy online school has two categories of certification. The OXYGEN BRAND EXPERIENCE CERTIFICATION online is the one you get when you have covered all the courses on line. The other certification which is the THE BRAND EXPERIENCE(TBE) regular is the one you get when you complete the entire course modules for the discipline you want to go for and has also attended the one-month compulsory on site internship at the academy and has passed the 02 Academy final.
“The full 02 ACADEMY TOTAL BRAND EXPERIENCE CERTIFICATION will be issued to the candidate upon his or her satisfactory performance in the exams”. He added.
On his own part, the Associate Provost of O2 Academy, Ozor Uche, said the quality of the new product offering compares with other global similar products across the globe. He urged prospective students to visit the website, https://oxygenonlineschool.com/, make payment and begin to enjoy lectures from titans in the integrated marketing communication industry(IMC).
He added that O2 Academy understands the Nigerian market likewise its instructors and they proffer solutions and case studies that students can relate with, stating that other online training platform would not be able to give details and insights like the way 02 academy online school will do. Uche said the prices of the online courses are pocket friendly and urged all to enroll.
Similarly, Lanre Tyson, Chief Errand Officer, Perigon Media Agency, who is an alumnus of the academy and an award winning creative wizkid, commended the new intiative of 02 academy while imploring prospective students to take what they learn at the academy seriously. He noted that his experience as a student in 02 academy greatly helped him in his career and helped him churn out award winning works.
In a similar vein, 02 academy has released the faculty list of instructors for the online advertising school. The list includes, foremost industry giant, Biodun Shobanjo, Lanre Adisa, Feyi Olubodun Nnenna Onyewuchi(Perfect Strategist), Feyi Olubodun, Jude Odia, Dayo Adefila, amongst others.
For fourteen years, O2 Academy has become a resource pool where creative agencies source outstanding talents in the integrated Marketing Communication Industry. Quite recently, two young creatives,Mmesoma Obi and Mcdonald Iheme who are alumni of the academy, were nominated by MARKETING EDGE, Nigeria’s leading Marketing & Advertising publication, for the Young Creative LIAison’s, mentorship programme, an initiative for the mentorship of young creatives by global award ranking agency, London international Award(LIA).
The 02 academy is certified by Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), the industry’s government regulatory body, as well as the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), the creative advertising sub-sector’s umbrella for the purpose of offering training and human capital development for the industry.
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
Comment
No comments found.