Agency heads speak on Covid-19 pandemic and the New Normal
Covid-19 global pandemic, which brought in its wake a global economic lockdown, launched the world into a new way of doing business, especially working remotely from home. Apart from changing the normal way of doing business, lifestyle, consumption patterns and general ways of life across the global community have also been impacted in one way or another.
While some items considered none-essential have since disappeared from lists of basic items in homes, demand for food, drugs, technology, data, internet and related services went sky high as people who worked from home were enabled through their mobile devices and availability of data and internet services.
A major impact of Covid-19 lockdown across global economies was the issue of supply chain disruption and management. As consumables moved from the shelves to homes and production and sale of essentials continued, concerns were raised as supply of raw materials ran out. Over 80 percent of locally used consumer goods are imported from China, the epicentre of coronavirus. While companies adjust to new realities of raw materials shortages and trying to come up with innovative ways of sourcing raw materials locally to forestall future disruptions, scarcity of raw materials have already pushed production cost up with an attendant commodity price increases.
As consumption patterns change, budgets are moving as clients and advertisers themselves re-strategise to find out how best to push their brands and services in the current situation.
Different sectoral groups in the Nigerian Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) mix have different tales to tell as the impact of loss of businesses stare them on the faces, while adjusting and embracing the new norm in their various sectors.
In his reaction on how Covid-19 global pandemic has impacted the media buying business where he plies his trade, Group Managing Director and CEO, Insight REDEFINI Group, Dr. Ken Onyeali-Ikpe said Covid-19 brought with it uncertainty which he described as “most common and biggest threat to business universally’.
“Covid-pandemic bears unprecedented uncertainties and the consequence impacts on businesses in far more reaching ways. These include pressure and disruption in business outlook, structure, modus and models architecture and well being.”
Onyeali-Ikpe listed other negative impacts from the novel pandemic to include existential threat to businesses, revenue pressure, margin pressure, shrinking size of businesses as well as talent loss due to migration.
On how Insight REDEFINI Group is responding to the pandemic impact, he said his agency had deployed what he described as strategic resetting, deliberate reprogramming and equity defence activation plan, which he assured, would guarantee viability as well as ensure business sustainability; a combination of which would deliver shareholder value and maintain market positioning.
On the shape of the new order Onyeali-Ikpe averred that Insight REDEFINI Group was adopting the implementation of a new work life and new way of working, which comprises full-scale Work from home/Anywhere Model, ensuring that the desired level of productivity is maintained with eyes on achieving octane level of creativity in addition to speeding up full digitalisation migration to critical platforms.
He expressed confidence that when all these are put in place, his agency would sure be a game changer as it would be home to multi-super skills innovators, ideas merchants and cost reduction strategists.
In his reaction, President of Outdoor Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (OAAN) and the Managing Director of Opportunity To See, Mr. Emma Ajufo, lamented that the lockdown, occasioned by the global pandemic, had dealt a heavy blow on OOH businesses as people were forced to stay at home and, hence could not enjoy the services offered by the industry.
“One of our strengths is the ability to offer our services to the ever mobile Nigerians. Covid-19 has reduced this strength by reducing the ability to remain active outside the home.
“It was worse when there was total lockdown but since the relaxation of the lockdown, we have started to have a semblance of life gradually returning to our Industry. However, the journey is still far,” he said.
On how his company is responding to the unexpected challenges, he said: “In Opportunity To See Limited, we have chosen the part of reducing cost of operations and stoppage of large projects, while developing new and affordable products that are suitable to the new behaviour of today’s not-so-mobile public. The sum total being that the primary concern is to stay in business, while taking all the necessary precautions to stay safe.”
Also reacting, Managing Director and CEO, Spread Out Media, another OOH firm, Churchill Nwagwu described Covid-19 pandemic as “an unexpected, uninvited and unbudgeted component that crept into the business chain and dislodged all plans and strategies that were already set up and running.”
Despite its crippling effects, however, Nwagwu said it was not entirely a negative trend as its coming changed the entire model of doing and implementing business strategies from business owners to clients and service providers.
“This brought about new ways of doing business and service delivery on both sides of value chains as it encourages new modules of transactions and measuring performances as a lot of cost and time-serving devices and decisions were brought in to meet time and expectations,while still keeping focus on clients’ objectives and returns on investment.”
In a strategic move to contain its impact, Nwagwu said his agency introduced a lot of innovations that enabled it reduce cost and time without altering the structure of the entire business platform and process to still retain staff.
In his words: “We have discovered new styles of customer cum relationships management that suits our clients in their order of peculiarities and priorities. Business decisions and plans have been reviewed to keep in terms with the realities of time, while strategies are being fine-tuned to attract new businesses and meet up business goals and investors’ expectations. In all, we’re in constant review and as we discover new ways, we keep making adjustments.”
On the shape of the new world order, he averred that his business would have to make some huge investment in technology and staff training to brace up for the new ways of doing business.
“Our operations, going forward is going to be more technologically driven, and we would be outsourcing the components of our businesses that we feel ordinarily there’s no need to keep them within the chain.”
For Ideas House, one of the leading experiential agencies, the agency’s business philosophy seemed to have prepared them for things to come. According to the firm’s Managing Director, Kehinde Salami, despite myriad of challenges confronting businesses globally, his agency has fared quite well.
“Our business philosophy has always been guided by best-in-class corporate governance, focus and new thinking. We’ve invested wisely over the years, thereby building strong commercial resistance not to mention development of self run platforms. Our DNA is also further reinforced via the agencys’ innovative mentality which has kept its idea funnel bulging at the seams.”
He said the lockdown has been quite positive for the business in certain quarters as it has given them much needed time to reflect, retool and reduce receivables which has helped its financial position.
On how his agency is reacting to the crisis, he said there was no need for that as his agency has always taken pro-active measures in its business dealings.
Though his agency reacted to the initial panic associated with learning to adapt to the new normal and ways of doing business, Salami added: “We’ve coped quite well by sticking to our core and following the guidelines set by NCDC and our internal talent management team.”
Salami further added: “As part of our culture, we have always welcomed working from home and if you recall three years ago, the agency introduced the 4 days working week with Friday a work free day or work from home if you must. So, the flexibility, accountability, discipline and cultural maturity which promotes the new normal is not new to us in Ideas House. On the crisis within the business, we’ve experienced some slowdown in activities but have used the available time to channel our energies towards creative ideas/solutions which will define and shape our future existence.”
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