Official scientific data show that out-of-home advertising usage in the Nigerian media mix has continued on a steady decline in recent years, dropping from twenty-two-point five percent in 2018 to an abysmal low of six-point one percent in 2023.
Worried by this trend which has been observed to have been continuously reoccurring in just less than five years, its impact on the local economy and determined to maximize the potential of the sector in Anambra State in particular, the Anambra State Signage and Advertisement Agency, ANSAA has organized the first ever Anambra Out-Of-Home Advertising Roundtable in Awka.
The event with the theme “Providing the environment for a viable Out-of-Home Advertising practice In Anambra State” and drawing critical stakeholders in the advertising industry, ad firms and agencies, regulatory organizations, brands, government, policy makers, security agencies and community leaders, the roundtable was used to deliver necessary values that are rich enough to grow the industry for the benefit of brands, advertisers and the entire industry in the state.
Speaking at the event, Governor Chukwuma Soludo recounted some of the achievements and plans of his government in creating a safe and enabling environment for businesses to thrive, explaining that already the policies are yielding necessary results and giving birth to new growing industries and industrial clusters in the state.
Governor Soludo, represented by the Commissioner for Industry, Mr. Christian Udechukwu, while charging advertisers not to take their eyes off Anambra, revealed that the state government will unveil the “Made-in-Anambra for Global Exportation” early next year, which will be the policy direction to boost the local businesses in the state, which he said will greatly impact on the advertising value chain.
In a keynote speech, the President of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria, Mr. Sola Akinsiku, underscored the importance of strengthening regulations and practice control, but asked state signage agencies to reinitiate their approach to billings and enforcements by always engaging stakeholders to make evidence-based policies.
Mr. Akinsiku also asked the agencies to be ready to protect the investments of advertisers and their brands from destructions, tampering and possible threats to installations as such incidents discourage ad investments in a particular environment.
Earlier, the Managing Director, Anambra State Signage and Advertisement Agency, ANSAA, and convener of the roundtable, Mr. Tony Ujubuonu said the major objective of the event was to bring together major players in the industry to identify policy changes that must be made in order to attract more investments in the out-of-home advertisement sector and initiate ways to maximize the potential of Anambra State in the sector.
The roundtable also featured panel discussions that looked at some of the different strengths, challenges, weaknesses, and dangers facing the growth of out-of-home advertising sector in the state such as tackling touts, vandalism and extortions in the practice environment; strategies for strengthening community-practitioners’ relationship; standardizing billboard structures and practices and on “Anambra as a premier advertising destination: Unlocking the Anambra potential”.
The agreements during the panel discussions are that there must a synergy between the government and the organized private sector and the two key stakeholders must be involved in strength and potential analyses, and alignment to achieve a better operating environment for out-of-home advertisements in Anambra state.
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