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Outdoor Industry - Growing Amidst Harsh Regulations(AllAfrica Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) After a slight lull in business as a result of some regulatory recklessness on the part of Lagos State Government, things are looking up for the outdoor industry as local and global indices are pointing to advertisers' preference for the platform as the preferred choice for positioning. This seems like a good moment for players in the c sub sector of the advertising industry. Industry players, who were gnashing their teeth a few years ago over what they described as highhandedness of the Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency (LASAA) and similar agencies are now enjoying yet another honeymoon. The recent breakthrough followed the digital innovation and willingness of government to partner the industry for symbiotic gain. At the moment, the industry is said to be in good health, as its digital revenues rises by 30% year on year. On the driving forces behind the breakthroughs, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Outdoor Media Centre, Mike Baker said the outdoor performance at this year's Cannes advertising festival and other creative competitions laid credence to the growth of the platform. Available reports from the competition indicate a busy outdoor media landscape, including large and small format banners, airport welcome signage, wrapped buses and lively roadside activity. According to him, all these and more drove outdoor to healthy growth of 6.4 per cent year on year in Q2. "That was certainly the sponsors' belief during 2012's outdoortastic Olympic Games, and the same view seems to have prevailed in Scotland this summer at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow", he added. Baker also stated that more good news came from Cannes Outdoor Lions, where the UK's poster industry thrived, winning 18 creative awards. Cannes underlined the health of the medium worldwide, with outdoor being the sole traditional medium with more entries than last year, a rather impressive 5,660 in total. In the Cannes Effectiveness Lions Awards 2014, out of home had a spectacular showing, featuring in 44 per cent of campaign entries and no less than 92 per cent of shortlisted entries. According to Baker, outdoor was second only to social media, which featured in every single shortlisted entry, pointing out that for reference, newspapers and TV both featured in 58 per cent of the shortlisted campaigns. He said: "The commentary suggested that Outdoor seems to be increasingly a strategic choice for lower budget campaigns and may be a way to quickly achieve mass coverage in markets where television audiences have become fragmented." The driving force behind the growth, according to Baker was sheer weight of advertisers using some form of outdoor in their media mix. Baker made reference to Nielsen, who claimed that 96 of the top 100 UK advertisers are finding a place for outdoor in their brand communications. Nigerian experience Though the first media vehicle in the Nigeria market, having been around for over 80 years, the out-of-home industry, which has over the years put food on the table of millions of Nigerians and contributed heavily to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was recently troubled by some states governments that suddenly saw it as a money-spinner venture. At the end, the approach only resorted to multiple taxation and frosty relationship between the practitioners and government. In fact, not a few people wondered if the new agencies had taken over the functions of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) and the local government, a tier of government that was constitutionally empowered to collect rates on signage. Top among the new regulatory bodies was the Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agencies (LASAA), which was established twilight of former Governor Bola Tinubu in Lagos. The agency, through its pioneer Managing Director, Makanjuola Alabi allegedly used the instrument of government to frustrate hundreds of practitioners out of market as well as rendering a lot of Nigerians jobless. After he tried unsuccessfully to clear his name off the allegation of fraud leveled against him, Alabi was edged out of the agency after he achieved his aim. He was alleged to have enriched himself at the detriment of practitioners and operated a private outdoor firm -Alt Media, through which he got some of the best sites in Lagos, alongside his job as a regulator. Following his exit, the current Lagos State Commissioner of Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello came in to sanitise the agency. His tenure witnessed robust relationship with the practitioners. Bello resorted to dialogue and mediation to win the practitioners to his side. Then came the current MD of the agency, George Noah, who many believed also had his interest tied more to revenue generation with little or no interest in industry growth. But rather than resorting to force, Noah is said to be playing politics of deception with industry players with his gentle mien and innocent appearance. In Oyo, Kano, Ondo and many other states, Lagos approach was adopted in the last few years but the systems in those states are not as bite as that of Lagos because of the strategic position of the Lagos as the commercial nerve center for Nigeria and home to over 50 per cent of the total outdoor sites. Current growth For many industry players, the honeymoon has begun. With digital innovation and rise in global economic relevance of the industry, business owners and government are now seeing the outdoor as a viable platform that must be nurtured. Many observers are currently establishing with statistics that the platform is responsible for the growth of many brands, within and outside Nigeria. Examples of recent global outdoor campaigns that are making waves are; Coca Cola outdoor marketing posters, Calgary International Film Festival: Crying billboard and Wonderbra: 3D billboard. The Wonderbra in the UK, had recently unveiled its first 3D billboard poster that marked the launch of an integrated campaign by iris to promote its new 'Full effect' bra. The 48-sheet poster kick started a range of brand engagement initiatives to span digital, experiential, media partnerships and PR, which would work together to put the brand directly in touch with its female target audience. In Nigeria, many brand owners are currently falling over one another to showcase their brands on a few iconic billboards in Lagos. Expectedly, the demand has encouraged some practitioners to invest more in the industry. In the last few months, not a few top players had unveiled new platforms. Optimum Exposures, a leading outdoor agency, recently unveiled the biggest outdoor site in Nigeria while Luzomedia Limited, another Lagos based outdoor agency launched a 'Mobile Light-Emitting Diode, (LED). Owners of both platform said they were built with the best equipment in the market and can stand any digital offering anywhere in the world. Challenges Despite the growth, the industry is still faced with some challenges. The President, Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), Charles Chijide, admitted at a recent forum in Lagos that multiple taxation and fees, regulations and clients' relationship management still remained common issues confronting outdoor practice in Africa. Also in a recent interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos, he disclosed that practitioners spent about N1million on diesel monthly. Chijide stated that the cost of doing business in the country was increasing by the day, due to unstable public power supply. He called on practitioners, especially those practicing in Africa, to help out-of-home advertising practice to grow. He said apart from its huge economic contributions, OOH stimulates consumer spending, trade and commerce, which are major economic growth drivers, adding that in West Africa, outdoor advertising is the 5th largest contributor to economic growth and development. Another challenge, he identified facing the practice in Africa, is the involvement of non-professionals in outdoor advertising services. "Across Africa, we shall continue to champion the disengagement of this group. On all accounts, this group constitutes a collective assault on the profession and a compromise on the value offering to the client and brands," he added. Copyright This Day. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). |