• Advertising experts project positive growth for 2022 business year.

Advertising professionals across Nigeria’s Integrated Marketing Communications sector have expressed optimism that the industry would surpass growth records of the outgone year and achieve greater performances in 2022 despite debilitating challenges occasioned by Omicron variant of the Covid19 pandemic.

The experts have hinged their optimism on reasoning, that the pandemic have enabled agencies to discover their inherent capabilities and are now able to surmount challenges by seeking creative and innovative means to navigate through daunting setbacks. 

According to the experts some of whom shared their views with The Industry Newspaper, agencies are now more resilient and indomitable than ever before and hence are committed to deploying better communication strategies.

 Chief Creative Officer at X3M Ideas and President of the Association of the Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Steve Babaeko  is of the opinion that the pandemic disrupted businesses and that the advertising industry was not left out of its devastating  impact. 

In his words : “It has been a challenging year no doubt, and again, looking back from 2020, with the pandemic and the lockdown, we are still suffering from the hangover of all of that into 2021, and even though you saw a little bit of more bullish movement of activities in 2021, it was way better than 2020, but the challenges are still there, you saw the virus militating from Delta Virus to Omicron,” 

While acknowledging impacts of the pandemic globally, the Association boss lauded the dogged nature of Nigerians which, he said, was evident in the way agencies adapted to the new normal occasioned by the  pandemic.

“The average Nigerian entrepreneur is one that will stand up and fight despite all of the odds swimming against the tides to still make a global impact. What I will say is that the never say die spirit of the average Nigerian is what has kept us going. We are Nigerians; we know that tough times are going to come” he stated.

The agency boss who noted that advertising agencies in Nigeria recorded outstanding feats in the out-gone year with a plethora of global awards, assured that agencies are more enthusiastic to build on the existing successes in 2022.

He added, “All of the challenges that we didn’t even anticipate at this moment, nature is going to throw at us all kinds of curve balls, but as long as we keep our wits about us, and we have our determination, then we will overcome all of these. We are really positive about 2022. Tough times don’t last, only tough people do,”

Also speaking, President of the Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria, Femi Adelusi observed that running and maintaining businesses in Nigeria had become increasingly more challenging, and  exacerbated by  advent of the pandemic. He noted  that agencies were more resilient now despite the myriads of challenges that accompanied the pandemic year.

“When you think about it, in terms of brand activities on the general level, in terms of marketing activities on a national level, and the opportunities that brands are taking now compared to before, there is a lot of progress. Yes we are not in the pre-Covid19 era numbers, but we are moving gradually towards that and significantly ahead of the numbers. From feedback from key players and some of our partner agencies, the numbers now are getting to the pre-COVID numbers of pre-COVID and even exceeding in 2019 numbers”.

“I think it is safe to say when you look across the sectors; there is a lot more to celebrate right now than what we have had since the last 12 months or prior to now. It is a season of optimism and positivity and things can only get better”

  “For me, I see just more of upward swings, in level of activities from the brand management standpoint, even from the public service standpoint and even government activities as well” he added.

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