The minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has urged advertising practitioners to improve on value delivery noting that, this would herald the paradigm shift of knowledge optimisation and talent development to further reposition the advertising and marketing communication industry.
The minister said, advertising has come a very long way in contributing and advancing the growth of Nigeria’s economy, while stating that the role of advertising in academia, businesses and in day-to-day life cannot be neglected or underestimated by any economy that genuinely seeks to develop and sustain the development of her economic progress.
The minister gave the assertion at the first Colloquium of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) in Lagos, last week.
The event, which was declared opened by Lai Mohammed, who was ably represented by the director of Communication and Media, Federal ministry of Information and Culture, Sanni Baba lauded the initiative, stressing that, the convergence of academia and industry practitioners will deepen professional knowledge needed for the economic development of the country.
“I am delighted to see the progress the Council has been making to ensure that the advertising and marketing industry in Nigeria is ethically and professionally practiced as it should be. The industry has recently witnessed a series of reforms and other developmental strides aimed to keep it consistent with the dynamic demands of the sector,” he said.
“This colloquium, we trust, will give factual insight to the peculiarities of the systems in the academic ecosphere, which is in actual course of business and practice, and the effects of the regulatory structures on them,” he added.
Also speaking at the colloquium, director general of ARCON, Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, affirmed that, the colloquium is primarily organised to boost stronger synergy and promote effectual congruence between academia and the practitioners in the advertising and marketing communications industry.
He noted that, during the programme, the uncommon challenges and elations on both divides are expected to be conversed, harnessed, and put to mutual benefits, adding that, ‘there are always additional ideas and trends to learn and to share in an ever dynamic industry like ours.’
While delivering his keynote address with the theme: ‘Changing Trends in Advertising Education and Practice in the Era of Globalisation: The Nigerian Perspective,’ the president of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN) and CEO, Corporate Shepherds Ltd, Idorenyen Enang stressed on the need for stakeholders to prioritise the fundamental knowledge of marketing to crystalise initiatives necessary to build capabilities which will spur growth and develop the industry.
He charged professionals on the need to integrate with members of academia to bridge knowledge gap in the practice of advertising and marketing.
The event, which was well attended by government officials, Heads of sectoral groups, industry professionals, students and staff of academia, featured a creative competition where the University of Ilorin clinched the grand prize of N1 million having emerged winner after a keenly contested pitch.
The other contesting institutions, including Lagos State University and Babcock University were rewarded with N750,000 and N500,000 respectively.
