‘We are set to activate the world’s biggest billboard in October’

The Chief Executive Officer of Lona Media, Mr. Idoko Ilona, in this interview with GBENGA SALAU spoke on the plans to activate the biggest billboard in the world in Lagos in October.

Tell us about one infinity that you have launched
ONEINFINITY billboard is the creation of Lona Media. It is set to be the largest advertising billboard in the world. It is 277.4ms by 38m. It would be activated in October 2022.

Why did you choose Lagos or the Third Mainland Bridge to mount this billboard?
It was supposed to be commissioned in Abuja, but plans changed. We ran into some hitches in Abuja, so, there was a redirection. It is believed that Lagos State is the fourth largest economy in Africa and the most populous city in Africa.

The Third Mainland Bridge has the largest vehicular traffic in Africa, with 245,000 cars traversing the road. It is the bridge between mainland and island Lagos, so, for us, it is the most strategic advertising location anywhere in Nigeria.

The board, for now, is a static board, because of its share size. We can host between five and seven brands on the board, so, it is an advantage. We intend to upgrade it to a Light Emitting Diode (LED) as time goes on. We have spent billions to achieve this and to put up an LED with the current exchange rate would cost us a lot of money and Lona as a company doesn’t have that kind of money for now. So, we have started with the static board, which we intend to upgrade to an LED in the next six months.

How long does it take from conception to commissioning?
The plan was mooted in 2015, got a company Nivafer Engineering and Construction, one of the leading steel fabricating companies in Nigeria and we signed a contract with Nivafer in 2016. From 2016, till the next two weeks, when the project will be 100 per cent completed.

A lot has gone in and it is a multi-billion-naira project divided into two phases. Phase one, for now, is the billboard, which we have accomplished. The phase two will follow after the completion of phase one, which is the entire landmass of about 9.6 hectares. We intend to beautify and bring in some additional recreational activities within the Third Mainland Bridge vicinity.

We are trying to give Nigerians — individuals, big companies, especially indigenous Nigerian companies — opportunity to be on the largest advert board in the world. Any company that advertises on this board for now, anytime in the next five to 10 years, when the story of the biggest billboard in the world is being told, your brand will be there.

In October when we will be unveiling the board, the world would see what we are bringing is dynamic, entirely different and amazing.

Tell us more about Lona Media?
Lona Media was incorporated in 2006. And we introduced the LED boards that are seen all over the country. We installed the first LED in Nigeria in 2006. We also built the first LED in Lagos at the Muritala Muhammad International Airport. We built the biggest board in Africa in 2015 and we are about to conquer the world.

What are the advantages for advertisers to be on the board?
Being on the board means being on the biggest outdoor platform in the world. Though activation is for one month to six weeks thereabout, long after the six weeks activation period, for the next five to nine years, anybody that advertises on this board whenever the story of the biggest board in the world is told, his or her brand would be prominent. And we are going to do extensive marketing for Oneinfinity, so any company that activates on the board would be linked up, whereby the company’s website can be linked to Oneinfinity’s website. It is a forever partnership. Whenever the story of Oneinfinity is told, any company that is part of the activation will also be featured.