By Amechi Obiakpu
Stakeholders in the outdoor advertising industry have been asked to innovate or be ready to lose relevance.
Biodun Shobanjo, Chairman of Troyka Group made this call while delivering a paper titled; The Indices of a Vibrant Economy: Outdoor Advertising as a Catalyst at the 10th annual Poster Awards of the Outdoor Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (OAAN) in Lagos, last Thursday.
The advertising czar said the call became necessary as a result of the proliferation of outdoor agencies in the face of dwindling patronage.
Shobanjo said that one way to survive is to seek mergers and acquisition as was done in the banking industry in order to survive the economic hardship in the country.
He noted that the proliferation will lead to the closure of some agencies and loss of job except there is a concerted effort by agencies to merge.
He said: “When you have an economy that is no longer vibrant, one of the first casualties is the integrated marketing communications sector which is why operators have to innovate or die. There is no reason to have so many outdoor agencies chocking the industry when they could converge to be stronger and more efficient”.
The doyen of marketing communication in Nigeria said France had just five out of home agencies likewise many other civilised countries. Shobanjo said over regulation is also killing the industry noting that no global outdoor organization would want to practice in Nigeria because the regulations would kill them.
(Adapted from a 789 Marketing report)
*Photo shows Biodun Shobanjo.
