Advertising industry can provide 2m jobs annually – Stakeholders

An advertising practitioner, Mr Tunde Afolabi ,said that the advertising industry could generate over two million jobs annually and boost the nation`s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) if properly funded.

Afolabi, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of “Create Ur World Agency’’, said in Lagos on Tuesday.

He, therefore, urged the three tiers of government to provide conducive and enabling environments for both local and foreign practitioners to operate.

With that, the practitioners would be willing to invest their funds into the sector to expand it and generate more jobs, he said.

Afolabi also said that there was the need for advertising practitioners to collaborate with modeling agencies for the sector to realise this objective.

The stakeholder said that the sector would achieve this by improving the welfare package of their models as a means of sustaining their careers.

Afolabi alleged that models were under remunerated despite the good job they were doing to boost the industry, and this had been affecting them in advancing their careers, he said.

He appealed to advertisers to give commensurate payment to models in line with their inputs to the sector.

Afolabi said that advertising practitioners were the intermediary between corporate organisations and models.

“Advertisers hunt for job for models but the models, who executed such jobs, are paid below expectations. The models complained to their modeling agents about the poor wages paid to them for a job well done. This shows that they are displeased. If they continue to be poorly remunerated , it will frustrate them out of the business which can kill the modeling industry, “ Afolabi said.

The practitioner said that models were individuals that used their talents, creativity, images and intellect to advertise products to the outside world.

Afolabi urged advertising practitioners to partner modeling agencies to develop the industry.

He said that modeling agents groomed individuals before they become models.

“We train, educate and groom individuals to discover and bring out the modelling talents in them. They are being trained to fulfill their dreams and earn a living,’’ he said.

The CEO advised advertising practitioners against entering into contractual agreement with individual models, saying that it was against the ethics of the profession.

“Agents are supposed to sign contractual agreements with advertising practitioners on behalf of models. That is the rule in the profession; and the reverse must not be the case’’, he said.