E-Motion Advertising Honours New APCON Chairman
The Chief Executive Officer of E-Motion Advertising, Mr. Paul Onyia has urged the new APCON council under Mr Udeme Udeme to address issues of lingering debts and regulation of political advertising. He spoke at a dinner in honour of new chairman of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Mr. Uffot Udeme organized by E-Motion Advertising at Four Points by Sheraton Victoria Island Lagos.
He said, “I do believe that among other very important issues lingering debt issues in the industry which, in all sincerity, is getting worse by the day. Two is the issues of regulation of political advertising campaigns.” He urged APCON to address some of these issues raised for the industry to develop.
Mr Udeme, however, promised to work with critical stakeholders to drive the advertising reform which the previous council chaired by Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi got the federal government to gazette
Also speaking at the event, the special guest of honour Mr Aig-Imoukhuede President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) while addressing the audience on the opportunities the NSE can offer advertising agency note that Unlike one of the world biggest advertising conglomerate, WPP which started its operation as Wire and Plastic Product with $21 billion market capital, the President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), has identified scarcity of capital, strange business structure as some of the challenges militating against listing of Nigerian advertising business concerns on the floor of the capital market.
He said, “Scarcity of capital prevent agency from deploying powerful tool to change. The constraint is not lack of ability and ideas, but capital. That can change by coming to the capital market. I only know the industry some few years ago as a convivial group of people of like minds. It was later I discovered that APCON is an important organ of the government. As you do know our economy is facing challenges and it is tough for business. The principal source of our problem is a very strange structural relevance and foreign exchange. People will talk about import substitution and diversification as the solution to some of our economy challenges, but I think the strongest source of diversification is profession, Nigerian Professional, be it law or advertising.
“Why do we find it difficult to monetise our profession? You will tell me you need an advert. I know what advert has done to Access Bank and some of our business concern but how come you don’t find advertising agency listed on the NSE?,” he querried.”
He said one of the world biggest advertising conglomerate such as WPP started as a business before diversifying into advertising. He said while it will be strange to most people to know that WPP was formally known as Wire and Plastic Product company, it has grown to become one of world biggest agency with $21 billion market capital.
“The question for me is I see talent and ideas in Nigeria agency. I saw the impact of Udeme’s SO&U agency played in GTB with ‘Shouldn’t You Bank with U” advert and Access Bank Bullet Train advert. But I now understand why his agency and Udeme are not receiving Sorrel salary and earning or listed on NSE. There is scarcity of capital. Why do agency shoot advert in South Africa using Nigerian characters, storyline? It is because SA agencies have access to capital to build structure,” he said.
He advised practitioners to use the stock exchange to build their business and expand to compete with global agencies. He said NSE is means of mobilising capital to build their business. “Your industry should use the capital market to develop the industry, build structure, so that no Nigerian advert agency will shoot an advert in South Africa.
