For over a decade, the Marketing Edge National Marketing Stakeholders’ Summit has been a fixture on Nigeria’s marketing and creative calendar. It has hosted policymakers, advertisers, agency leaders, media owners and creators, creating a rare forum where industry ambition meets honest reflection.

Now in its 13th year, the Summit returns on September 25, 2025, with themes that address the industry’s key challenges: “AI Integration: Leveraging New Technologies to Achieve Business Objectives” and “New Creator Value: A Reassessment of Traditional Creative Industry.”
This year, the stakes feel higher. Nigerian brands are grappling with a global economy still under pressure, a fractured media landscape, and consumers whose expectations evolve faster than the industry can keep up. The question is whether this year’s Summit can move beyond rhetoric and deliver frameworks that matter.

Over the years, the Marketing Edge Summit has helped set the tone for the sector. Early editions pushed conversations about agency transformation, digital disruption, and regulation. Later gatherings tackled measurement standards, the rise of influencer culture, and the role of creativity in driving growth. The linked EDGE Awards, held the day after the Summit, have consistently highlighted excellence, helping smaller players find recognition alongside the giants.

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The impact has been real. Connections formed at the Summit have led to partnerships, campaigns, and even regulatory considerations. Perhaps most importantly, the Summit has created a stage for Nigerian voices to debate Nigerian realities, instead of importing frameworks that do not fit.

The 2025 themes cut to the heart of current anxieties. Firstly, AI Integration is no longer theoretical. Brands already use machine learning to target, optimise and predict. The challenge is adoption at scale, ethical use, and ROI. How Nigerian businesses integrate AI into everyday practice will determine whether they lead or lag.

Secondly, New Creator Value tackles a problem that has been brewing for years. Traditional creative industries are under pressure from influencers, digital communities and user-generated content. What “value” means for creators, agencies, and brands is no longer obvious. Reassessing it is urgent if the sector is to remain relevant.

The choice of keynote speakers underlines the seriousness. Baba Awopetu, strategy and marketing consultant, Stragmar, will anchor the AI discussion with a perspective rooted in multinational practice but tailored to local realities. Obi Asika, Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, brings decades of creative entrepreneurship to the debate on creator value. They will be joined by industry heavyweights, including Dr Bada Akintunde-Johnson (Paramount Africa), Femi Odugbemi (Zuri24 Media), Remi Ogunpitan (IBST Ltd), Samuel Onyemelukwe (Trace West Africa), and Dare Art Alade (Liverpool 360), with Ozoemena “Ozone” Mbanefo of 02 Academy moderating.

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The promise is clear. If the Summit delivers, Nigerian brands could accelerate the adoption of AI tools, redefine how creators are valued, and build new bridges between culture and commerce. The potential ripple effects include stronger local IP protection, fairer contracts for creatives, and more efficient use of marketing budgets.

Yet risks remain. Virtual events promise reach but often fail on engagement; sustaining 10,000 virtual attendees will require more than slide decks. Lofty themes can also collapse into jargon if speakers fail to ground them in local case studies and actionable strategies. The Summit must resist the temptation to chase buzzwords and instead provide clarity: how can a Nigerian FMCG, bank or telco realistically apply these ideas tomorrow morning?

The Nigerian marketing industry cannot afford to coast. Consumers are spending more cautiously. Global platforms continue to dominate ad spend. Local agencies fight for relevance. At the same time, opportunities abound: a booming youth population, a vibrant creator economy, and technologies that can flatten barriers to entry.

The Marketing Edge Summit has always been about more than networking. Done well, it has the power to shape how the industry sees itself and how it earns respect in the wider economy. With AI and creator value on the table, the 2025 edition could be its most consequential yet.
The question is simple. On September 25, will the Summit deliver a playbook for the future, or will it be remembered as another well-packaged conversation?