IT
is a known fact that the marketing communication field in Nigeria is an
all-comers affair, with little or no regulation even though there is a
regulatory body set up by government and charged with responsibility to
ensure professionalism. And the argument holds true that quackery exists
in any discipline where people get enlisted into the profession with no
regulations. The impact is usually of lasting effect.
This is partly the case in Nigeria where people who have no academic or job training requirement are charged with the responsibility of managing marketing communication portfolios. They usually have no cultural orientation on the market they are to engage with, yet they sit on top of marketing communication teams of their organisations.
With an awareness of this unsavoury situation in the marketing communication landscape in the country in the last decade, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), the body charged with not just ensuring professionalism but also growing the industry in Nigeria, recently set up a committee to check the trend.
Known as APCON Committee on Advertising Practice Reforms, with representatives from all key sectors associated with marketing communication and advertising in Nigeria, has submitted its report in Lagos.
The chairman of committee Mr. Willy Nnorom, at the event maintained that the new framework put forward by his committee, which is a revised code of council proclamations, would bring about a level playing ground for Nigerian practitioners, as different methods had been adopted for the implementation of the reform.
Nnorom identified key issues such as monitoring and enforcement, local content, scope of practice, entry conditions into the profession and dispute resolution as some of the major challenges in the profession, which were the issues he said the committee worked on.
According to him, the council resolved to stem the growing tide of foreign influence on the cultural personality and business opportunities of advertising in Nigeria. Nnorom argued that the reform was in the best interest of all registered professionals within the advertising industry in Nigeria.
He said, “The council has taken far-reaching decisions to grow local content. Among the reforms is that each firm must have specialised area of operation - advertising, media, full-service advertising, creative, interactive agency, advertising artistes (which include voice-over artistes and modelling agency) and other units.
“On the implementation of the code of conduct, the committee will try as much as possible to achieve one hundred percent compliance and we will be able to do that because of the strategy we are putting in place for compliance.
“The first step is to seek voluntary compliance, which is why we always inform practitioners to comply with our regulations and codes. And we believe that those who have contributed will have no reason than to comply. But those who decide not to comply, there are institutional committees in place, different panels that will make them comply”.
On local content, he was of the view that all practitioners - individuals or corporate organizations - shall consider Nigerian content as an important element for their overall business management, project development and execution. He disclosed that qualified Nigerian practitioners should be given first consideration in any advertising project, while the council of APCON shall be responsible for the verification of compliance.
He also submitted, “APCON is committed to ensuring that as it is done in some countries, no foreigner or foreign group would own a majority stake in any of the components of the industry, and if possible advocate the maximum equity stake that foreigner can hold. In addition, where foreign agencies want to set up, APCON should clearly spell out what percentage of their staff could be foreign, what equity Nigerians should hold and occupy”.
Nnorom argued that while it was important to grow the industry in Nigeria, it was also important to evolve regulations that would promote local content as a means of promoting and protecting Nigeria’s rich culture and way of life.
This is partly the case in Nigeria where people who have no academic or job training requirement are charged with the responsibility of managing marketing communication portfolios. They usually have no cultural orientation on the market they are to engage with, yet they sit on top of marketing communication teams of their organisations.
With an awareness of this unsavoury situation in the marketing communication landscape in the country in the last decade, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), the body charged with not just ensuring professionalism but also growing the industry in Nigeria, recently set up a committee to check the trend.
Known as APCON Committee on Advertising Practice Reforms, with representatives from all key sectors associated with marketing communication and advertising in Nigeria, has submitted its report in Lagos.
The chairman of committee Mr. Willy Nnorom, at the event maintained that the new framework put forward by his committee, which is a revised code of council proclamations, would bring about a level playing ground for Nigerian practitioners, as different methods had been adopted for the implementation of the reform.
Nnorom identified key issues such as monitoring and enforcement, local content, scope of practice, entry conditions into the profession and dispute resolution as some of the major challenges in the profession, which were the issues he said the committee worked on.
According to him, the council resolved to stem the growing tide of foreign influence on the cultural personality and business opportunities of advertising in Nigeria. Nnorom argued that the reform was in the best interest of all registered professionals within the advertising industry in Nigeria.
He said, “The council has taken far-reaching decisions to grow local content. Among the reforms is that each firm must have specialised area of operation - advertising, media, full-service advertising, creative, interactive agency, advertising artistes (which include voice-over artistes and modelling agency) and other units.
“On the implementation of the code of conduct, the committee will try as much as possible to achieve one hundred percent compliance and we will be able to do that because of the strategy we are putting in place for compliance.
“The first step is to seek voluntary compliance, which is why we always inform practitioners to comply with our regulations and codes. And we believe that those who have contributed will have no reason than to comply. But those who decide not to comply, there are institutional committees in place, different panels that will make them comply”.
On local content, he was of the view that all practitioners - individuals or corporate organizations - shall consider Nigerian content as an important element for their overall business management, project development and execution. He disclosed that qualified Nigerian practitioners should be given first consideration in any advertising project, while the council of APCON shall be responsible for the verification of compliance.
He also submitted, “APCON is committed to ensuring that as it is done in some countries, no foreigner or foreign group would own a majority stake in any of the components of the industry, and if possible advocate the maximum equity stake that foreigner can hold. In addition, where foreign agencies want to set up, APCON should clearly spell out what percentage of their staff could be foreign, what equity Nigerians should hold and occupy”.
Nnorom argued that while it was important to grow the industry in Nigeria, it was also important to evolve regulations that would promote local content as a means of promoting and protecting Nigeria’s rich culture and way of life.
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