Friday, July 20, 2012

Larry Annetts is MTN Nigeria new CMO After Bola Akingbade exists which started effect on June 30 2012, Larry Annetts, an accomplished professional with more than 16 years cognate experience gained in multinational organizations is replacing him as the new Chief Marketing Officer at MTN Nigeria. This development brings to rest months of speculations by onlookers and industry watchers on who succeeds the veteran marketer. In 2004, Annetts served as MTN Nigeria’s General Manager, Products and Services Development in the Marketing & Strategy Division. In this role he designed, implemented and launched the first Mobile Virtual Private Network (VPN) platform in Africa. He also led the team that customised, implemented and launched GPRS and MMS technology for the first time in Nigeria. In 2005 as Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer, at MTN Irancell, he set up and developed the Marketing & Strategy Division there, launching the entire suite of products and services including 30 first-to-be-launched products that spearheaded MTN’s regional growth. He contributed immensely to the accumulation of over 36.2 million customers for MTN Iran in slightly over 5 years of operations in that country, setting the MTN Group record for the highest numbers of activations per day. MTN Nigeria clearly intends to maintain its leadership position and capacity to provide innovative products and services earmarked to enrich the lives of its esteemed customers.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Quadrant, CentreSpreadFCB Clinches New Accounts The Nigeria marketing communications industry is getting robust as more brand owners engage the services of account handlers for proper projection of their brands. The latest of such engagement is the signing on of CentrespreadFCB to handle the advertising angle of Keystone Bank and The Quadrant Company (TQC), one of the companies within TROYKA Group to now work on Dana Group. Following the recent crisis of Dana Airline, the Dana Group employed the services of Quadrant to project the public relations angle of both the airline and the group. The account, which was managed in-house by the company was said to have been clinched by Quadrant without opposition. This accounts joined the leagues of other notable brands such as Etisalat, Standard Chartered Bank, Virgin Nigeria, Emirates Airline, Nigerian Breweries Plc, iTouch, Champion Breweries, TSKJ Oil and Gasn in the agency collections. The Bolaji Okusaga-led Quadrant Company recently won an award from the largest PR awards competition in the world, 2012 Superior Achievement in Branding and Reputation (SABRE) Award. The Quadrant Company, which started operations in 1990, is Nigeria’s first full service public relations consultancy firm. On the part of CentreSpreadFCB, the Keystone account was clinched after a keen contest among nine agencies. CentreSpreadFCB emerged as the winner and the first job executed was to break a ‘New Dawn’ campaign with an audio/visual commercial of the bank that is presently enjoying massive airplay. The Kola Ayanwale-owned CentreSpreadFCB also has accounts such as SkyeBank, Moneygram, and some state governments in Nigeria among others.
Sesema PR wins Etihad Account In a keenly contested marketing communications industry where accounts are hard to come by, Sesema PR, a Lagos-based public relations consultancy agency with a –UK based associate, has clinched the mouth-watering Etihad Airways public relations account. A statement on the agency’s website reads: “Sesema PR is delighted to announce that the agency has been awarded the PR contract for Etihad Airlines, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, ahead of its launch in Nigeria, in July 2012.” When contacted, the Managing Director of the Sesema PR, mrs Alima Atta confirmed the development and added that “In an effort to consolidate the brand strategy of global penetration, Etihad Airways, decided to pick Lagos as it first entry point into the West Africa market. Sesema PR would be expected to support the airline’s PR activity in Nigeria, and promote its hub in Abu Dhabi and its global network to African leisure and business travellers wishing to fly to key North and Southeast Asian destinations and markets in the Indian sub-continent and Australia. The direct flights will link Abu Dhabi and Lagos six times a week and will be operated by a two class A330-200 aircraft with 22 Pearl Business class and 240 Coral Economy seats”. Lagos becomes the 83rd destination in Etihad Airways’ global network and the return flights will create a new link between Nigeria, Africa’s third largest economy, and the United Arab Emirates. Following the launch of services to the Seychelles in November 2011, Tripoli last month and Nairobi in April, the addition of Nigeria marks another milestone in Etihad Airways’ African expansion plans.
Rufai
Ladipo Bows Out from STB McCann The STB-McCann group, one the nation’s advertising group of companies, chairman by Sir Steve Omojafor is currently facing one of the most challenging times in the group’s two decades of operations in the industry. Information has revealed that Rufai Ladipo, the Managing Director, STB McCann, has resigned his appointment. Investigation also revealed that Ladipo’s resignation must have resulted from the company’s recent loss of many accounts, the situation which now put him in the bad book of Omojafor, the company’s chairman. Insider claimed the Chairman requested Ladipo to resign his appointment as managing Director due to his recent attitude towards work. Sources disclosed that the latest development is traceable to Ladipo’s possible distraction from being the President of Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), a post he chose not to be re-elected into in the last election of the association. It was gathered that he chose not to re-contest for the post of AAAN president in his bid to concentrate on the agency, STB McCann only for him to be serve a letter by the management to resign from the agency honorably. It would be recalled that STB-McCann used to be a frontline agency which had been the cash-cow of the group, but recently, it has become a drain pipe, losing most of its businesses. After the retirement of Sir Omojafor from the day-to-day management of the company as the MD/CEO, the firm’s fortune was said to have started waning. The agency lost its best paying clients – Coca-Cola, Unilever, Nestle and Swift Nsetwork among others recently.
Austin Ufomba, Coca-Cola Marketing Director Resigns Coca-cola Nigeria has lost one of its versatile and capable hands; Austin Ufomba. It was gathered that Mr. Ofomba resigned his appointment as Marketing Director after working on coca-cola brand for close to three years. As Marketing Director, Mr. Ufomba drove the marketing vision and strategy of the Coca-Cola Company in Nigeria after succeeding Kofi Amegashie who left the post he later occupied. Ofomba rejoined Coca-Cola in 2010 as Marketing Director after a two-year stint at FCMB where he served as vice president and head of brand marketing. Ufomba began his marketing career at Guinness in 1995, as a management trainee in the sales and marketing function and rose to occupy several positions in the marketing department including Brand Support Manager, Brand Manager in charge of Malta Guinness and the flagship brand, Guinness Extra Stout. In 2002, he was seconded to Diageo Plc in the UK, the parent company of Guinness Nigeria as a Global Marketing Manager. He first joined Coca-Cola Nigeria & Equatorial Africa Limited in 2005 as Strategic Marketing Manager (Flavours). In 2006 he was appointed Strategic Marketing Manager (Colas) and subsequently Strategic Marketing Manager for all Sparkling Beverages, with responsibility for building brands Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Schweppes, Limca and Gold Spot. Close source hinted that he might be going back to Guinness.Efforts to confirm his next move before press time proofed abortive.
Oyo State Set To Rebrand The Senator Abiola Ajmobi led Oyo state is set to rebrand with new identity. The change will be in the state colour, logo and payoff. The State Government is set to reposition the state as an investment destination for both local and foreign investors with the plan to unveil its rebranding campaign any moment from now. In an exclusive chat on the objectives of the rebranding campaign, the State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Bosun Oladele who gave a lecture at the AAAN 39th AGM/Congress which was held in Ibadan last weekend explained that the government intension is to blend the state’s cultural identity with its unique trade and investment strengths. He disclosed that what prompted the rebranding is the Governors’ bid to re-orientate the people of Oyo state on what to expect from the government and what they must all do to make the state a place to live. “Our intention is to sell Oyo state through a composite approach that reignites our people’s sense of pride in their state while at the same time emphasizing our key strengths in terms of our innovative trade, industrial, solid minerals, and tourism and investment policies. Morese we need to change the perception of the people in state about what they should expect form the government and how they must contribute their quota to enjoy the dividends of democracy” He added that “considering our peaceful atmosphere, efficiency of government business and an evolving regime of solid social and physical infrastructure, Oyo state is today one of the most favorable to private investment in Nigeria. We intend to sell that attribute to the world through our branding campaign” He indicated that advertising as well as other marketing platforms like outdoor, online and mobile communications would be deplored to reach the people and friends of the state within and outside Nigeria. Oyo state which the Times Magazine of London referred to as the Best Emerging place for business in Africa, is presently the state of choice when it comes to investment
AAAN: Rufai Ladipo’s Wobbly Tenure Heaps Pressure on New Executives. In a society where smooth succession is always a big challenge even among professional bodies, the surprise decision of the immediate past president of Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), and former Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director of STB McCann, Rufai Ladipo not to seek re-election as the AAAN President could be considered an achievement. However, close observers reveal that this “unNigerian” refusal of an incumbent executive to seek re-election might not be exclusively linked to turbulent electoral atmosphere peculiar to the Nigerian environment as most stakeholders struggled to decipher some semblance of achievements within the bland one year tenure of the Rufai Ladipo led executive . A year ago, Rufai Ladipo’s emergence had set a new industry record as he became the first employee Manager elected, as president of AAAN. This development was received with high hopes. His agency, STB- McCann also made history as the first agency in the Nigerian advertising industry to produce two presidents with Sir Steve Omojafor, Chairman, STB-McCann being a former president of the association. Regrettably, last week’s emergence of Bunmi Oke, the COO/ Executive Director of 141 worldwide, another employee manager, as the new president of the regulatory body marked the end of Rufia’s drab tenure. The election which took place in Premier Hotel in Ibadan after the 39th AGM/congress with the theme “Strategic Marketing communication and governance” was attended by industry top executives. The 2-day program had in attendance the executive governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi among other speakers who delivered pertinent issues on the marketing communication industry. A year ago when Rufai was coming into Office, top industry players like the Registrar, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Alhaji Garba Bello Kankarofi bubbling with expectations, commended the election of Mr. Rufai Ladipo as the President, (AAAN). He specifically pointed out that his antecedents which include his years of experience as former executive member of AAAN, Fellow of the Advertising Profession and Chairman, APCON Education Committee would ensure that AAAN would go places during Rufai’s tenure. He contested alongside Erhabor Emokpae, Executive Vice Chairman, Lowe Lintas and Longley Evru, MD/CEO, Angels Communications and won convincingly. At his inauguration last year, Ladipo promised to consolidate on the achievement of his predecessors, to ensure the take off of the Advertising Academy. He also promised to restructure and repackage AAAN to promote corporate responsibility, to support APCON’s reform project and to improve the human capital development in the industry through training and retraining of practitioners. From his valedictory presentation, none of the above promises was delivered; rather, what was listed as achievements was the admittance of three agencies- Fuel Communications, Creativexone Limited and Prize Communications into the body. Pundits wonder if the number was the unique factor or it was AAAN that midwifed these three agencies. Another achievement listed by Ladipo’s team was that they brought down the level of unethical conduct amongst AAAN members to a bearable level. Unarguably, the major feat of Rufai Ladipo’s administration was the effort to ensure that media stakeholders agree to resuscitate the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) project expand the scope and improve on its present deliverables. Despite all the promises, the assessment of Ladipo’s tenure by industry analysts indicate that he had a botched performance in key areas like establishing a functional Advertising Academy which he set up a board headed by Mr. Biodun Shobanjo, couldn’t hold to his promise to join AAAN with APCON in the efforts to sanitize the Advertising Profession in Nigeria. More so, he could not fulfill his major campaign promises that he is going to make sure that brand owners pay pitch fee, a practice that it is held in high esteemed in other climes among other vital issues that tally with the objective of the body that says …… It’s not far fetched why Ladipo could not go for the second term; the agency he sits atop of has consistently deteriorated since he took over from his Chairman, Sir Steve Omojafor. STB-McCann group, one of the nation’s top advertising group of companies that comprises STB-McCann Advertising and Universal McCann, a media specialist agency is now a shadow of its former self after losing most of her clients and businesses. Accounts like Coca-Cola, Unilever, Nestle and Swift network among others fell off the agency’s shelves while its managing director was busy attending to the services of a regulatory body. Though, insiders claimed Ladipo had the backing of the group, especially the Chairman to run for the office of the AAAN president, his involvement at the top echelon of AAAN has not in any way improved the lots of the agency. The situation in the agency according to investigations has attracted that attention of the senior Partner- McCann global agency and insiders confirmed that a major reorganization was imminent. Just last week, exactly two days after Rufai stepped down as AAAN President; he was pushed out unceremoniously as CEO of STB MacCann. The shaky performance of the immediate past AAAN executive has put tremendous pressure on the new executive led by Bunmi Oke. Practitioners’ expectation on what Bunmi Oke’s tenure will look like is also on the high side. Most practitioners are of the opinion that her reign will full of discipline considering her calm mien among other great managerial asserts she possesses. The Social Sciences graduate from the University of Lagos began her Advertising career at Grant Advertising, where she worked as a PR Executive/Account Management trainee between 1986 and 1989. Her unique organizational and presentation skills resulted in her being moved to client service department where she worked on multinational brands like Unilever’s Blue Band Margarine, Berec Batteries, UTC, Coca-Cola amongst others. Bunmi moved to LTC Advertising (now LTC-JWT Lagos), in 1989, and spent 10years (before a brief stint as head of Account Management in Advertising Techniques (Nig) Ltd in 1991. She moved to England UK in 1992 where she worked at the West End Job Employment Centre, London. She eventually returned to Nigeria in 1993 to rejoin LTC Advertising in 1994. In 1995, Bunmi became the 1st female Client Service Director of LTC-JWT Advertising and in 1997 she became the Director/Head Client Services and Media department. She left LTC-JWT in 2000 for a “career adventure” with her family to Abuja for 4years, working in an NGO and eventually, the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) as the pioneer Chief Public Affairs Officer .Bunmi has been and is still on several AAAN committees including LAIF Management Board (2006 – 2010). She has been the Chairman for LAIF Awards since 2010. She is currently the only female member of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) Executive Board.