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‘Agencies must deliver value, partner clients to stay afloat’

By Gbenga Salau
25 July 2016   |   4:48 am
With an economy in recession and companies cutting marketing communication budget, Chief Executive Officer of Noah’s Ark, Mr. Lanre Adisa, has said that for agencies to keep afloat in these tough time...
Lanre Adisa CEO Noahs Ark Group

Lanre Adisa CEO Noahs Ark Group

With an economy in recession and companies cutting marketing communication budget, Chief Executive Officer of Noah’s Ark, Mr. Lanre Adisa, has said that for agencies to keep afloat in these tough time, they must not only deliver value but also partner with clients.

He spoke recently at the unveiling of the new office of his agency, when he said, “At a time like this, clients would be more demanding but it does not stop them from spending, but they will be asking, ‘where am I spending and who am I spending it with.’ So, it is about how much value the agency delivers. Clients would be looking for the best partner at this time. Agencies thriving at this time mean they are delivering on value.”

He noted that the economy is more demanding and if clients are groaning, agencies might be affected as well, but he is optimistic and hoping that government will pump in some money into the economy, which might help going forward.

Adisa, added, “At the last AGM of Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), some agencies were delisted; it’s not good for our industry. We are only hoping that the economy picks up so that we could do business. I cannot tell you that it is going to be a great year but agencies would have to device a way of surviving this time.”

Adisa said he decided to set up an agency because he felt his generation must do something about telling the Nigerian story, an idea he described as complex, adding, “Our belief from the beginning has been that what we do should speak for us. Our vision is to tell the Nigerian story. We need to bring Nigeria to the table when people are discussing ideas and brands. My personal story, not long ago, is that our generation must do something; the generation before us has done very well.

“If there is anything that dragged me into the complex world of running an agency, it is that our generation needs to make a statement, with the hope that we can inspire other people. And years down the line, we feel that that is beginning to happen. And it has been a very loaded story for us; we started on Allen Avenue in a room, but the dream was bigger than the room and even bigger than where we are today.

“This is symbolic in a sense as we could look back and say, ‘we left Allen Avenue, Ikeja for Motorways, then to Maryland and we needed to move on to a more inspiring place.’ It was not just about moving, but a place that could inspire people and clients and we find that space around here. We believe that the journey continues for us and there is a whole lot more that will happen.”

He said his agency would like to play in a bigger level, and most importantly, represent Nigeria advertising well as the belief that Nigerians are capable of doing great stuff.

As a business, he said they are evolving as a group, adding that it has expanded to public relations, through setting up of Indigo, and then a production company called Underdog.

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