Revolutionary works will drive the creative industry in 2013.

The spate at which the creative industry in Nigeria is growing has given course for observers to reflect on the industry as we settle into the New Year. Meanwhile, the preceding year 2012 was relatively challenging in all facet of the Nigeria economy owning to the nation wide strike that greeted the year courtesy of the subsidy removal from petroleum products by the apex government.

The business space in the country was almost a shadow of its self with no thanks to scary level of insecurity in the North, which yielded horrible scenarios. This created a coolly environment in the business as vibrancy was impaired by fear of the unknown across the country.

Epileptic power supply has not actually allowed companies and agencies alike to function at full  capacity. More worrisome is the unhealthy nature of our roads and  the late depreciation  in the nation’s aviation industry. Fear of the unknown looms at the mention of distant travels for pitches and other business transactions.

To this end, experts in the creative scene are keeping fingers crossed that 2013 is going to blossom as it will unveil the silver lining at the end of the tunnel.

According to Tunji Abioye, CEO, Fuel Communications, “the ad industry’s advancement in 2013 and beyond is tied both to the growth in the larger Nigerian economy as well as a return to professionalism by players in the marketing communications industry”.

He pointed out that “revolutionary works that stand out of the ordinary will stand the industry tall. Such works can only be sponsored by revolutionary Clients. Clients who understand adventure as a window to growth”.

While in his opinion, creative bigwig, Steve Babaeko, CEO/Creative Director, X3M Ideas, revealed that challenges in business could be well managed and ameliorated when your works speak for you. He characterised 2012 as a challenging year that saw some agencies shrinking or folding up their operations.

On the way forward, “agencies should dwell on doing every works that come their way with all credibility. It is not by how many accounts your agency handles, it is how credible and creative your work is that will help in taking the Nigeria ad industry to the acme of perfection”, he said.

Business growth and efficiency lies on effective communication in all ramification, says Muyiwa Akintunde, CEO/LeadConsultant, Leap Communications. He further stated that “the prospects and opportunities are enormous given that communication is essential to business growth and governance. With the market becoming more competitive, businesses need to drive their messages with clarity exploiting PR and advertising to sway the consumer who has mounting needs but dwindling resources. But the time requires creativity from the communications profession for every brief”.

For Tunji Olugbodi, CEO, Verdant Zeal, “though the petroleum subsidy protest early in 2012 posed a lot of challenges in the economy, however, 2013 will be a mixed bag of fortunes as the economy will blossom”.

From a sample survey, agencies look forward to a drastic improvement in the economy of the nation. Agency heads opine that when there is a boom and when more investments come in, there will be more business for marketing agencies.

It is however pertinent that the government is in the position to facilitate the improvement in the economy by focusing on attracting more investments through enhancing the image of the country. The private sector is always ready and willing to contribute to the process as it boosts their business.

While in his input, Tola Bademosi, CEO, BD Consult, a PR firm, described 2012 as mixed with various business opportunities and challenges, saying “what defines 2012 for us as a company was continued ability to help our various clients achieve their overall marketing objectives.” BD services brands like Indomie, a foremost noodle brand.

Looking ahead, he says some of the challenges expected in 2013 includes-Lack of power, increase cost of doing business, access to fund, saying 2013 will be a very busy year as companies will continue to strive for superiority over competitors.

However, for brands that would desire to be seen and heard in the market place, they should seek the available opportunities provided by marketing communication agencies who will take the burden of being heard and being visible upon themselves to ensure that brands that pay the bills are put in the lime light.