It is rare for industry practitioners to spot a challenge and try to solve it. They often leave it to the government.
However, the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) is treading a new path with a peer to peer learning platform, to fulfil the yearnings of stakeholders.
The chorus is a lack of skill and knowledge in marketing, advertising, communication and brand management on the local scene, which necessitates dependence on expatriates.
From the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) to Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN), inadequate local human resources is the biggest challenge.
And solving this problem is what ADVAN has set out do, according to its executive council member, Onyekachi Onubogu, who is also Promasidor Nigeria Executive Director (Commercial).
Knowledge gap
Onubogu said besides shortage of skill and knowledge, another problem is that ‘advertising knowledgeable’ senior practitioners fail to share experiences with younger ones.
“ADVAN has provided a platform for what we called peer to peer learning and one of the things we have decided to do is look for a ground where we can integrate and share knowledge from different companies and different subject matters so that as advertisers we become better in what we practise.”
He advised practitioners to shift to modern techniques in order to create sustainability in a rapidly transforming global marketing space.
“We are practising in a world that is transforming massively and if we don’t share knowledge and experience, we may run into a stalemate. We want to provide that platform where everybody is free and relaxed to interact, irrespective of their companies, brands or competitions.
“Together we can build marketing expertise and knowledge that would help grow Nigeria, even from advertising standpoint and nation building ideas.”
Frequency
But the mortality rate of this type of learning platform in Nigeria is high. Such initiatives hardly last into the second year. One of the reasons is the unwillingness of senior practitioners to share knowledge and experience.
After the tenure of Chido Nwakanma as the President of Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN), a most sought after PRCAN MasterClass designed as peer to peer learning mechanism was rested.
Initiatives by the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), AAAN, and MIPAN to improve human resources have not survived.
Nonetheless, Onubogu gave an assurance that “one of the things we are trying to do is make it [the peer to peer learning platform] as regular as possible. When we have the right participants, subject matter, and experts we bring them together.
“The idea is that we should have hopefully once a quarter.”
Reluctance of senior practitioners
There are ‘senior colleagues’ in every industry. They are usually accorded the most respect and offered front benches in court if they are lawyers. In medical practice, they get the pride of place.
Front runners in those professions are willing and ready to share knowledge and experience with the greenhorns.
Onubogu urged senior players in integrated marketing communication (IMC) to imbibe the global practice of sharing, saying until this is done the industry will not grow as much as it should
“We have different strata in the marketing space, not just brands and marketing managers.
“I think we should get greater input from marketing directors and managing directors so that this would be a veritable platform to share knowledge and we become better at what we do.
“We can make it a quarterly event to showcase brilliance in advertising and marketing. I think the biggest challenge for us in the space today is learning and development.
“People should have the right skills and knowledge, and this will be a credible platform, irrespective of who you compete against.”
Digital economy
Onubogu reiterated that “the world is going digital and if you don’t understand how to apply and use it you will be lost.”
He said Nigeria is moving in faster speed in digitalisation or use of social media and e-commerce.
“We are moving faster than most countries and that means it becomes a more important platform to grow brands, grow awareness, and drive e-commerce.
“You can’t avoid not knowing about it, making it an integral part of your marketing campaigns and communications.”
Traditional media on the ropes
Onubogu agreed, however, that despite the huge incursion of social and digital media into the traditional space, brands cannot hinge campaigns on them alone.
“I don’t think traditional media should be forgotten, the message is that you should integrate digital marketing into your marketing mix.
“You cannot avoid traditional media; there is no part of the world where traditional media is replaced by digital, even in the very developed climes. What you see is integration.
“So, you take what you have in traditional media and make it workable on social and digital media platform.
“If you bring that together you have a complete coverage of the entire spectrum in terms of how consumers interact with messages. And if you do that, hopefully you can see good value.”