The National Advertising Conference (NAC), which concluded its deliberations mid last month, has released a communiqué alerting the government and key stakeholders that the advertising industry is being left out of ongoing discussions around the culture and creative economy.
Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu had in October 2024 formed Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism, and the Creative Economy, which is an indication of government’s recognition of the sector’s potential as an economic driver.
But NAC which quoted UNCTAD’s definition of the creative economy, to include advertising and marketing as part of the components of the creative economy says advertising industry is missing in conversations around creative economy.
The conference therefore noted in the communique that practitioners need to evolve new business models to work with sub-nationals to create marketing assets around state-branding and cultural assets
“Brands must continue to invest in a critical balance between brand building and short-term benefits and agencies must understand the language of value”, NAC noted in the communique.
In his speech at the conference, Lanre Adisa, Chairman of Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, AAAN emphasized the need for collaboration between the government and marketing eco-system, stating that the ambitious plans to realise the targeted $1 trillion economy for Nigeria in the next decade will be better achieved with marketing strategies.
“Nigeria is speaking about the $1 trillion economy and other plans. Those things cannot happen without proper marketing. And nobody knows Nigeria better than the people around this space”, he said.
The conference had the theme: “Marketing Communications: Transforming Businesses and Creating Growth in Challenging Times”
Looking at evolving trends in technology, the conference also advised practitioners to embrace innovation, technology, data-driven marketing and artificial intelligence. It agreed that it is better to proactively embrace this future than to be caught unprepared.
On the need to constitute ARCON Council, the conference underscored it as a priority which it believed “it is getting the attention of the Minister of Information and National Orientation as the supervising minister”
The conference also said that “The industry must proactively encourage deeper cooperation between the academia and the industry. The engagement must go beyond the superficial level because this is important for the sustainability of the industry”.
On future talent for the industry, the conference said the industry must build sustainable talent pipelines and formal mentorship platforms to create a handshake between the different generations.
On agency business transformation, the conference noted that creativity is the strongest differentiator for the agency business, but value creation must remain at the center of the business model.
The conference underscored Minister of Information remarks that the advertising industry is central in shaping national identity and countering misinformation. That Government would continue to support ARCON’s regulatory framework and adopt a National Values Charter
On the proposal to move the NAC around the country, it was agreed that this is not the right time to try this.
The 2025 National Advertising Conference brought together industry leaders, policy makers, academics, and practitioners and they discussed transformation of Nigeria’s marketing communications industry amid economic uncertainty, evolving talent dynamics, technological disruption, and changing consumer behavior. Over the three days, participants explored how creativity, technology, regulation, and collaboration can unlock growth for Nigeria’s advertising ecosystem.
