Industry experts laud 02 Academy on online ad school initiative

By Kasim Bakare

Against the backdrop of the recently launched online advertising school by 02 Academy, experts in the integrated marketing communications(IMC) industry have applauded the initiative, noting that the digital school would help expand the frontiers of knowledge for aspiring professionals in the advertising industry.

Speaking with MARKETING EDGE, the industry professionals, who are also on the faculty of the new online school by 02 academy, averred that the initiative has further confirmed the place of 02 academy as major stakeholder in the marketing communications industry.

Nnenna Onyewuchi , Director of Strategy, Yellow BrickRoad, said:”I’m very proud of 02 Academy for this initiative. I’ve been a part of the 02 faculty and family, since the very beginning. It’s exciting to see them expand, embrace new ways of delivering quality education and bringing their curriculum to a much wider pool of students. I’m honoured to be included in the first set of master classes and I hope that people find the content,not just mine, but from all the faculty — truly useful and useable.

Speaking on her expectation about the possible impact of the initiative on the advertising industry, the “perfect strategist” as she is fondly called, noted that quality of the faculty and classes will have a huge impact on the industry.

“Anything that helps young people build their capacity is a great thing for the industry. I think the masterclasses will also create opportunities for people who may not be directly involved in advertising, but have an interest, to learn more about the field. I think the 02 Masterclasses will be another great tool in the arsenal of up and coming adwomen and admen

On his own part, Dayo Adefila, Head of Digital, PZ, noted that the timely move by 02 academy to play in the digital space after its huge success in the physical school portends a  lot for the growth of the advertising industry

In Adefila’s words, “The decision to introduce the O2 Academy online advertising school is a timely and necessary step in the efforts to continually raise the bar of advertising practice in Nigeria. By using the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) model, the school offers strong capacity development to both new entrants and serves as a knowledge refresher for mature advertising practitioners in Nigeria and across Africa.

He added:”The potential impact is huge as more people will be able to learn and understand the basics and best practices needed to make a true impact as ad practitioners building strong brands. Strong brands as we know, help to drive economies, so this initiative is to be commended and supported. My call is for qualified advertising practitioners across the full spectrum (creative, strategy, digital, experiential), to be willing to collaborate further with us at O2 Academy online advertising school and help us raise the next generations of brand builders.

Also commenting, Jude Odia MD, Starcoms Media Perspectives, lauded the efforts of the founder , Ozoemen Mbanefo noting that 02  academy is well respected in the industry especially in the area of capacity building and human resources.

In Odia’s words, Human resources is the engine room for any business and particularly a futuristic business. Currently, 02 Academy is producing talents that feed all the creative agencies, in fact,  all the marketing communication agencies in Lagos. They are contributing immensely to the growth of the industry. 02 Academy is a critical player in the sustainability of the industry.

He added: They have been able to achieve that over the years. Now, they have seen the future and realized that not only has digital come to stay. It has come to shape how we live and how we work and they are now introducing 02 academy online advertising school, which is the next level. I want to believe that the same way they have succeeded with the brick and mortar in 02 academy, they would succeed with the online once the principles are replicated or in some instances, improved upon, they would surely succeed.

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