I don’t see advertising agencies going into extinction, says expert
Oti Ukubeyinje, Head of Operations and Sales, Opera Mini, Nigeria, has dismissed speculations that advertising agencies could go into extinction following the emergence of digital marketing communications.
The digital communications guru made this known during a recent chat with Digital Marketing Professionals of Nigeria.
Ukubeyinje opined that advertising agencies could not go into extinction as advertising will continue to play a crucial marketing role for newly launched products.
“For most companies, making the product takes a lot of their resources. They rely on experts who have sold similar products to help with marketing.
“If you were to launch a shoe company today, your priority would be to make shoes, and then how to market it comes after,” he said.
He noted that while agencies would be needed, there was also a need for them to be relevant, offering value and creativity.
“While more organisations are internalising communication services to avoid bloated agency fees, smart agencies are evolving with tech and fresh talent, combined with the adoption of value-based pricing, replacing time-based billing to provide more value to advertisers,” added Ukubeyinje.
He further stated that there were opportunities for agencies that choose to specialise in specific areas of marketing communications, provided they leverage innovation and collaboration, adding that digital communications was not outgrowing traditional marketing communications any time soon.
“Maybe, but not anytime soon as it currently accounts for less than 10 percent of marketing spend in this country. For digital communications experts to generate more revenue, “value” must be prioritized.
“For others, it is direct sales that matter, so they invest in personnel and equip them to execute this,” Ukubeyinje explained.
The former cybercafe enthusiast said Nigeria as a country lagged behind in digital communications, attributing the factors affecting the slow pace of the industry to population demography, technology advancements and investment.
“The industry is currently valued at $300 million. Compare this to $150 billion in the US, $26 billion in the UK, and around $3billion in South Africa,” he said.
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