Nigerian agencies are tech-ready to service brands – Experts
By Abimbola Mohammed
As technology continues to evolve so also are brands doing the same with the in-house technology to be able to meet up consumers’ demands. Doing so has made some brands adopt a hybrid mode by managing their digital platform themselves with the use of in-house tech and also having their own in-house agency.
This has compelled some agencies to offer more by delivering a wide range of service, from media planning and buying to experiential, digital, brand development, insight, communication & media strategy, commerce, data analytics, planning optimization, location management, production delivery and so on.
During the Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria’s (MIPAN) 2022 AGM, industry practitioners noted that MIPAN has revised its membership criteria and initiated a digital agency membership category for the group recognizing the technology and digital trend in the industry and how the practice is evolving.
Speaking on this, Femi Adelusi, President of MIPAN said: “Many of our agencies today now have digital agency departments or affiliate digital agencies with specialization in content development, online advertising strategy/planning, social media influencer management, big data positioning/management, AI & Machine learning tools for strategy development & decision making.”
In a separate interview with MARKETING EDGE, Seyi Iwayemi, Senior Group Head/Project Director, Channels Management, Maximedia Global Communication, noted that by law, brands shouldn’t operate its own in-house agency as it’s the work of the experts who are experienced and specialized in doing so.
“Ordinarily by law it shouldn’t be, it should be the agencies doing that, you may have a media person in house in those organizations but just to coordinate not to do what we are expected to do. In the other climes, I mean developed countries that are the standard but be that as it may, we are also upping our standards, we are still the professionals, we are specialized. Our experience transcends different brands. So you cannot buy that experience, it comes to bear in our advisory and delivery that ensures our continuous relevance. It is a symbiotic relationship,” he said.
He continued: “At my agency we procure the technology and necessary proprietary tools that any brand may need and we always improve upon these technologies. We have specialized software tools domiciled within agencies clients do not have because they are not a full-fledged agency that is the global standard practice. For example, clients can only access MPS tools only through agencies who are the authorized subscribers. Hiring media professionals by clients to operate within their system is to coordinate not to take our business away from us.”
“Coordinating from within is good because they need an experienced hand to ensure synergy. Our business is highly specialized and you need certain skill sets for best delivery.
“Some years back, our clients and key stakeholders displayed little or no knowledge of the media. But now, the situation is better due to the presence of media professionals at the clients end. But this should now not mean setting up a full-fledged in-house agency taking over our function,” he said.
On his part, Oludare Ajao, Group Head Finance and Admin, SBIStagwell said: “This approach is not new to our industry. As far back as the mid-90s, some global brands and multinational corporations experimented and operated internal marketing communications teams. However, what we see over time is that competencies and tools needed continue to evolve and some clients tend to see the need to have external expertise and partners to ensure they are delivering superior strategy and execution.”
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