President of the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN, Osamede Uwubanmwen,has called for dialogue among stakeholders to move the industry forward.

Speaking at the ADVAN African Awards for Marketing Excellence held in Lagos recently, he said, “we need to have conversations with ourselves. We need to put the industry right. We need to do what is right.”

Describing ADVAN as the brain and wallet of the industry, he added the association also engages in strategy, thinking and budgeting.

Saying there is need for everyone to read the Advertisers Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) Act, he added, “there is a lot of misgivings in the industry and ADVAN will continue to fight. ADVAN is a trade union. If you a small and medium enterprise, you are already an ADVAN member. We don’t take subscription from such people.”

In his keynote address, Chief Executive Officer of T2Mobile, Obafemi Banigbe, noted culture is the new infrastructure.

To him, “marketing has changed completely. With the rise of social media, control has now become fragmented. We need to build for creators and not only for consumers, knowing that creators will push the brand.

“The brands that will win in the next decade are the ones that will build community and not just campaigns. They must participate in shaping the culture, and not just observing it.”

For the very first time, a panel of three international judges was introduced. They include, Chief Communications and Institutional Relations Officer at Bank of Africa, Morocco, Mounir Jazouli; Chief Executive Officer of the Marketing Association of South Africa, Brian Yuyi and Research Consultant at Revelator Research Inc. USA, Emmanuela Milne.

Members of the local jury are, Prof. of Marketing & Decision Sciences Bolajoko Nkemdinim Dixon-Ogbechi; Aderemi Victor Ademilua of Covenant University’s Business Management Department; Director & Lead, Creative Domain at Kantar Abidemi Junaid; Director at Marketing Heritage Limited Toruka Osadunkwu; and Vice President, Communications & Events Association of Digital Marketing Professionals (ADMARP) Zion Rufus.