Preparations for the maiden National Advertising Conference, have reached top gear, the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), organisers of the conference has disclosed.
APCON made the disclosure on Wednesday in Lagos at a press briefing it jointly addressed with representatives of the various industry sectoral groups.
The conference, billed as the biggest ever Advertising event in the country’s history, will hold at Abuja’s Transcorp Hilton Hotel between 25 and 27 November.
Speaking at the press conference, Mrs. Ijedi Iyoha, APCON’s acting Registrar, said the National Advertising Conference will have as theme “Advertising in the Post-digital age: The profession, the business and Nigeria’s socio-economic development.”
Iyoha stated that the conference aims at drawing the attention of the government, policy makers, business community and the wider public to the importance of Advertising.
“The National Advertising Conference is an initiative of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, which identified the need for the conference as one way of raising the professional standing of Advertising practice in Nigeria and compelling the attention of the government, business leaders and policy makers as well as the general public to the impact and value of advertising.
“You are no doubt familiar with the fact that the Advertising industry in Nigeria is structured around sectoral associations which, apart from self-regulating their member-organisations, cater to the interests of organisations which belong to their respective specialised areas of practice.
“All of these associations have embraced the National Advertising conference and have their members represented in the Conference Planning Committee,” she said.
The APCON Registrar also explained the conference will afford advertising practitioners the opportunity to discuss challenges faced by the profession, proffer solutions and chart a course for the development of the sector.
The conference, according to Iyoha, will be declared open by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, while Mr. Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, will declare it closed.
The keynote address on the conference theme, she added, will be delivered by Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi, Chairman, Prima Garnet Africa and former APCON Chairman.
Speaking further on the conference’s theme, Steve Babaeko, Vice President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), noted that it is pertinent for all advertising stakeholders to discuss the role of technology in the profession.
He explained that stakeholders in the profession have no choice than to adapt to and utilise technological solutions to ensure that their businesses survive and prosper in this contemporary age.
“Even if we choose not to work and take those phenomena you have listed into account, I don’t think that we have any choice than to do that. This is the age we live in, everything is changing. You can see that banking and all other industries are disrupted by all technological phenomenon such as block chain, Artificial Intelligence, machine learning and all of them. So, as advertising people, we have no choice because once you find the ground shifting under your feet, you must also learn the art of balancing to move forward,” Babaeko said.
In attendance at the press conference were representatives of AAAN, Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN), Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) and Newspapers Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN).
Also in attendance were representatives of ACSPN, Experiential Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (EXMAN), Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN) and the International Advertising Association (IAA).
