Running a successful business in Nigeria: My experience (3)

It should no longer be assumed that in Nigeria it is impossible to conduct business without bribing or doing something dishonest. I was media and client service director in 1988, when the CEO of an outdoor agency came to receive orders for a new business. He didn’t think his visit was complete until he had requested to see me and offered me “something” from the business. I was disappointed that he would do this. Didn’t it occur to him that if I wanted a cut I would have sent for him before awarding the contract? I also felt pity for him; he epitomised my people who have come to believe that except you give something back in business or a transaction, it isn’t complete. I simply counseled him not to do this again as no one needed anything from him. Now why can’t we all have the same attitude?

We once worked for a major very well known multinational oil company, and the contact person was a friend and former schoolmate. Now I knew for sure his salary and conditions of service were very good; and yet he would expect us to give him kickback. Of course we didn’t and it soured the relationship. We would eventually lose the premium business. In my discussions with the head of the new agency later, I was informed this thief would calculate the cost and value of a campaign and ask for his cut upfront, and it hardly mattered to him if the agency was paid in a month or twelve months. And if you look at such an agency, they never grow. Why should those placed in positions to make things work for other Nigerians be the same ones who throw spanners in the wheels? What manner of people are we?

And I have never understood newspapers and magazines doing supplements and citing some people as “men and women of integrity”; and I think it’s only in Nigeria that this happens. You would read the entire supplement and not see the reasons why they are being so celebrated. The very idea of a public and noisy celebration of this virtue is in itself an antithesis to integrity. Rather, let Nigerians identify such people. Let us emulate them. Let them tell us how they have been able to do it. But heck, it should not be because they could afford to pay the price of full page supporting ads in those publications. I have been approached a few times with these empty and fake accreditations, and I have never even dignified any of them with any kind of response. Some of the same people they celebrated as “men and women of integrity” in the past have turned out to be common thieves and felons.

I could go on about this odious malady, but enough; discussing it leaves a vile taste in the mouth, and pollutes the air.
Diversification and Corollary Investments

A critical success factor is that an organisation must continue to review its business and reinvent it as often as the need arises. To stubbornly continue in a business that is undergoing serious changes and calling for a review without taking these steps could be very costly. We are often told that the Dodo became extinct because it didn’t learn to fly.
A few agencies saw quite early that the global trend sweeping especially through the West would soon blow into Nigeria. It was clear some fifteen years ago that advertising as a discipline was being redefined; the days of monolithic agencies were going and specialisation was firmly taking root. A few agencies responded and on time, and today they are the champions of the pack. What did they do? They spurn off many of their departments and branded them as new services, turning them also from cost into profit centres. The others failed to respond; and so today competition has gradually taken their businesses away because they became grossly uncompetitive and costly to run.

We caught on very early. We created MediaShare and another agency from our media department; we created 141 Worldwide from our BAT group in Prima Garnet; we created Lampost from our experiential marketing unit; we created Cutler Communications from our PR department and recently created Cat2lyst, a brand new company to offer measurable digitalised outdoor service because we saw a gap in this area. It has come at a cost but I am happy we took these steps. Certainly we would have been in serious trouble if we did not. We have also insisted in making each company financially independent, so that we would not be tempted to finance unviable ventures from the proceeds of the ones doing well.

We will by the grace of God continue to carefully observe the economy and our operating environment so that we can continue to take advantage of emerging opportunities as the economy opens up.

Managing Adverse Weather
It would amount to professional dishonesty and intellectual ingratitude if I left this podium with the impression that it has all been rosy; indeed it would defeat the purpose for this gathering. We have experienced very tough times and indeed at this present time, one or two of our operations are going through a tough period. Let me tell you some of the reason:
*A long drawn disagreement between us and our foreign partners, which has culminated in an expensive legal battle since 2011. It has also resulted in the loss of some key businesses.

*We have also been susceptible to situations of former trusted staff and associates leaving our services and attacking our flanks, going after our businesses. In one or two situations, the casualty has been high. We have learned new lessons and adjusted to be able to manage such shenanigans in the future.

• Mr. Akinwunmi, Group CEO, Prima Garnet Africa, Immediate Past Chairman of APCON, Pioneer Secretary/ CEO of the Nigerian Rebranding Project and Past President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) presented this paper at the fourth yearly “Yes International!” lecture series, recently in Lagos.