Digital transformation, Media companies must deliver on quality contents or die, Says Brenda Nwagwu

Media organisations in the country, especially those in the Television production sector must have to scale up their operations through ensuring constant delivery of top quality contents. Otherwise, they run the risk of experiencing imminent death in the face of the presently unfolding digitalization process.

This was the views of a foremost media advertising Practitioner, Brenda Nwagwu while speaking in an exclusive interview recently with Marketing Edge Publications in Lagos.

According to Nwagu who is CEO / Principal Consultant at QVT Media Limited for the media industry to record meaningful growth, operators in the sector needed to evolve and be in tune with current realities and newly emerging trends in the practice.

In her critical analysis of unfolding developments as well as current challenges in Nigeria’s media market, the agency boss contended that for the much desire growth to achieved in the industry, technology must play a crucial role and be put at the center play.

“I think the people that will lead tomorrow are those that move with the time. If we looked at the media companies, that is media houses, they need to, yes, we’ve talked about deliveries, but secondly, especially Television, as we moved to digitization, if there content is not solid, they are going to die”.

“You have to move with technology, you have to have the right content, you have to have a content that appeals to your consumers. And if they want to take a cue they should look at NITEL and what happened to NTEL”

“Because of the fact that they were never competitive and there was so much government involvement, they just wanted to rely on that and think that they were going to achieve the size, give the people what they need and overtake them. So you have to move with technology, you have to have the right content, you have to have a content that appeals to your consumers and that is it” She stated.

“For me I would like stations and media platforms whether it is newspaper, whether it’s a magazine, or Radio station, whether it is a website to understand that at any point in time that what they are selling is value. So it must have a value to the person that is receiving it”

Commenting further on the basic challenges of the industry, the agency boss decried what she termed as the inadequate funding as well as the high level of debt issues amongst business players in the industry, stressing that the debt situation constituted a major clog in the wheel of progress in the sector.

On how to overcome the funding issues and indebtedness, she suggested the granting of long term capital loans by banks and other financial institutions in the country as a way of support and to galvanize growth of the creative industry.

“Funding is number one thing, and then debts. There is so much debts and that is why funding is rather difficult. Professionalism in that part I think is the biggest issue and it cascades down. If Mr A doesn’t pay Mr B, Mr B cannot pay Mr C and so you will now be wondering who’s telling a story and who is not telling a story”.

“. For me I think money is one of the biggest issues and it depends on where you are, you can expect money. For instance, I’ve had some clients pay me two years after a campaign. How then do you explain to the owner of the media house why he has not received his money two years after” She said.