IAA berths in Nigeria seeks UN approval of World Communication Day

International Advertising Association, IAA a global umbrella body of all individuals and organisations in the business of advertising, marketing, branding, communication, PR and related disciplines recently established the Nigerian chapter.

The executive members of the global body led by its president, Felix Tataru from Romania inaugurated the Nigerian chapter in Lagos with the Group CEO of Verdant Zeal, Tunji Olugbodi voted as the new President of the Nigerian chapter.

The body, established in 1938 with headquarters in New York which  have unprecedented international network in over 76 countries serves as a platform for practitioners in marketing communication industry not only to network and share industry best practices but to share experiences on industry issues and possible solutions.

The country chapters of the global body are seen as significant, especially in Nigeria where there is segmentation of associations representing various players in the marketing communication industry. In Nigeria, there have been attempts to bring representatives of all associations under one roof to highlight and address myriads of challenges confronting the industry which one segment of the association cannot handle alone. They believe that the associations are inter-connected with the challenges such as media debt, unhealthy competition and multiple taxations.

In a chat with BusinessDay, Felix Tataru commended the founding fathers of IAA for the great idea of putting together agencies, media and clients at the same table to work together for the overall interest of the industry.  He believed that local chapters will continue in that direction.

Speaking specifically on what local chapters stand to benefit from the global association, Tataru said it is for every chapter to be connected with the best practices within the world. “It is most important thing for progress as we have a lot to learn from African experiences and I am sure African countries have a lot to learn from other experiences in the world. The most important thing is that when we are meeting , we share experiences.

“Secondly, the main role of IAA is to raise standards of marketing communication industry in any territory we are in.

This means externally and inside the industry we have to raise the level of people working in the industry. But more importantly it’s raising standard in relation with consumers. Our industry needs image improvement for the consumer and to show that we are much more responsible. We have the power to make the world a better place for everyone. You need inspiration, tools and courage to express it. We need to understand what is happening in the market as we are here to serve the consumer.

The industry needs forum to get inspiration and learn. In this time of dynamism and changes you need a compass”, he said.

Assessing the importance of Africa and dominant Nigerian economy on the continent, Tataru regretted that IAA Nigerian chapter did not come earlier. He however said “The importance of your market within Africa is clear. It will be an interesting partnership between IAA global and Nigeria on how to help expand in to Africa, for us it is a priority”.

On the present goals of the association, Tataru wished to see UN recognise a day for World Communication Day. “We support this idea because we need to increase the equity of our industry. It is our role to increase the appreciation for our industry”

Looking at the issue of dearth of talents in the marketing communication industry, Tataru said the association is addressing it from different levels “Five years ago we launched a project called the Apprentice.

It is designed for the students and we are bringing students from all over the world for 2 days in one place because they need to be connected to the world reality.. We have Africa Rising. We have a lot of forums for debate and events which put us together”.

In his comment, Sirinavasan Swamy, the incoming president of IAA who was impressed with level of energy and entrepreneurship in Nigeria likened IAA to a buffet. “There are various people coming to have the buffet. Nigerian chapters will be coming to tap into association for marketing experiences.

“We are going to learn a lot from each other. We believe that sharing of information, ideas, expertise and collaboration is very important. The world is moving forward so should IAA”.

Vice President ,Development Africa of IAA, Norkor Duah from Ghana who played critical role in seeing Africa has footprint in IAA said Africa has been evolving. There was a time Africa was going through democratic challenges and the economy mirrored the state of the nations. “When there is no democracy the economy does not thrive. Today, Africa is seeing stability, growth and opportunity and therefore in IAA,we are mirroring that stability and development by ensuring that there is somebody responsible within IAA to make sure Africa is well represented”

The new president of Nigerian Chapter, Olugbodi said IAA is not just about the advertising industry but all-encompassing to include everyone that has business with advertising and marketing . “In Nigerian chapter we have made conscious effort to have representatives from other organisations such as AAAN, ADVAN, EXMAN, OAAN, MIPAN etc. When we talk of unity of purpose it is very important we focus on that unity, not in that amorphous sense but to ensure that we collaborate to ensure our vision is unified to propel ourselves for the future”

Daniel Obi