ADVAN’s new boss highlights importance of data in marketing

The newly elected president of Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, has said the biggest reason marketing campaigns fail is due to the wrong application of data in planning and execution. Ani-Mumuney stated this at the 2017 ADVAN Marketing Day.

According to her, “Data presents a very interesting conundrum for us going forward; it provides the insight to make informed decisions. And ultimately, if you do not make informed decision, marketing will not be effective and if it is not effective our return on investments will be challenged and questioned by our chief financial officers.”

She, however, warned that the speed and ubiquity of the internet has come to challenge traditional marketing beliefs and practices. The new boss challenged marketers to scale up the skills needed to remain relevant in the new age.

“Given that we are in the cyber age, where the internet operates and artificial intelligence has come to disrupt what we know as traditional marketing, big data and policies that govern what we do with big data will become more important as time goes on and that will be a key area ADVAN will focus on,” she said.

On ADVAN’s prospects during her tenure, she said the association would focus on knowledge-sharing and the creation of the right atmosphere among stakeholders to deepen the market.

Optimistic Ani-Mumuney believes her executive members would help scale ADVAN to its next level, especially in the area of stakeholders’ engagement, industry collaborations and maximising values for the owners of businesses, adding, “We will achieve our objectives because there is a core objective of ADVAN and that is to ensure that we are coalition builders. We will sustain collaboration among our various stakeholder groups – media, regulators and other sectorial groups.”

Other members of the new regime include Mr. Babarinde Abiona of Coscharis Group, Ex-officio, Mrs. Nkiru Olumide-Ojo of Stanbic IBTC Bank, second Vice President, Mrs. Nnenna Osi-Anugwa of Unilever Nigeria, Treasurer and Mr. Onome Asagbara of Dufil Prima Foods, Publicity Secretary.

While speaking after the inauguration on the new executives, Ani-Mumumey said, “It is extremely rewarding to be deemed fit to run this office by an association I have been part of for a long time. To that end, I am humbled. I will ensure that the period I have to serve, as the ADVAN president, will see positive changes, collaboration and partnership. We will build capacity in the industry and create more value for members.”

Being a seasoned marketer and communicator, who heads the marketing and corporate communications function for FBN Holdings Plc, Ani-Mumumey has over 20 years’ wealth of experience across banking, aviation, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), manufacturing and oil and gas industry sectors.