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2015 Business Outlook: Marketing Communication Experts Project

RESEARCH analysts and marketing communication professionals have started adjusting their analytical telescope in a bid to anticipate the business prospects, challenges and projections as 2015 creeps in. This may not be an easy task owing to the cloud of uncertainty that hovers over the business climate in Nigeria and the marketing communication sector. 

 In order to put this in perspective, Brand Intelligence reached out to some industry experts on the performance of marketing communications, politics, sports, oil and gas, telecoms and FMCGs industries in the outgone year and forecast what should be expected in 2015.

  According to Mr. Akonte Ekine, CEO of AbsolutePR, politics, sports, oil and gas will be some of the facts that will change IMC industry and the economy of the country at large. “From where I stand, I can say it is good so far, but it can be better. Next year will be better as the elections will shape the first quarter of 2015, thereafter there will be other activities that are almost traditional for marketing.

  “Agreed the Super Eagles are not in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) and it will affect marketing spend in the first quarter, but I think the election will boost spends and other activities of the year. Wise IMC experts will increase spend against the austerity speech of the coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to drive sales. In that way the IMC will be able to carry out its traditional role of creating awareness, building understanding and eliciting brand association and subsequent sales,” he said.

  Commenting on the performance of IMC industry this year, pop culture strategist and founder of TINK, Mr. Franklin Ozekhome, said “This year, we had huge turnouts at Cannes Lions and the Loeries, and more agencies recognised by Lurzer’s Archive, African Cristal and at the Lagos Advertising Ideas Festival (LAIF) Awards. I believe marketing practitioners stepped confidently into the global spotlight this year with a superb showcasing of new-world creativity. And the brands were the better for it.”

  He stated further that “On the marketing side, especially within the third and fourth quarters, there were launches of new products, campaigns and lifestyle platforms that were more engaging than in previous years. It’s a good sign for the industry as advertisers, collaborating with their agencies, are beginning to see the positive effects of ‘baking marketing’ in their products and services. We are seeing more storytelling techniques being used to differentiate how brands communicate with consumers.”

  On expectation for 2015, he pointed out that the invasion of wearable technology will be more prevalent, 
stressing that the future of online shopping will largely be determined by the Internet of Everything (IoE). That is, a combination of smart devices, people - located with certain contexts - and social intelligence.

  In telecom, oil & gas, politics, and FMCGs, Mr. Ozekhome said there are quite a lot those marketing communications agencies can bring to the table, especially for brands within these categories. There’s only so much that clients can advance towards developing their brands when they’re looking to solve immediate issues like sales, distribution, marketing, product innovation etc.

  He added that “It’s the responsibility of IMC agencies to be proactive by mapping the future of these industries, and sharing innovative ideas on how organizations can tap into current trends to create sustainable solutions.”

  While giving his view on the subject, Mr Philip Odiakose, Media Analyst of Mediacraft Associates Limited, said “From my vantage point as a leading player in the PR sector specifically, I would say that aggregately it has been a good year. Of course, it will be different strokes for different folks, in a manner of speaking, but I think that there has been some growth in terms of the volume of business available, especially given the upsurge in Foreign Direct investment into Nigeria.” 

  He added “Next year is an election year, and so it stands to reason that we should expect a boom, especially in the area of political communication. I’m sure you can already see all the signs and indicators unfolding. Definitely not all agencies will have the privilege of partaking of this imminent ‘windfall’ but it is safe to assume that billings will grow significantly industry-wide.”

  Also, Mrs Anurika Azubuike of Terragon Group Marketing & Corporate Communications described 2014 as a good year for the industry, stating that it was the year where more firms embraced and adapted digital marketing.

  “It was the year of data-driven and more targeted marketing through digital media channels. Social media became the most effective way to reach more audiences than traditional methods of marketing, allowing businesses to differentiate themselves and get ahead of competition. There was a daily measurement of tweets, likes and shares. By using strong and compelling content marketing strategies on social media channels, companies were able to create and build a strong relationship with customers and inevitably stronger brand equity,” she said.

  On 2015, Mrs Azubuike stated that the concept of Mobile-first will be amplified as more people are spending their time on their mobile more than any other device, and also access the Internet via that channel. 

  “Key to the coming year also is that content will continue to be king. Even more with how hard it is to produce quality content in quantity. Content must be relevant, meaningful, engaging and informative. 2014 witnessed a rise in viral videos and the magic of using videos as a viable content marketing tool. Facebook announced that it had more video views than YouTube this year. In 2015, marketers need to be smart about how content can be leveraged and repurposed. Find ways to use videos to tell the story. Social audiences themselves can be a source of inspiration for authentic content when moderated and presented in a creative way.

 “In 2015, even more attention will be made to measurement metrics. There will be a call for performance on every digital marketing activity. Brand owners will demand actual cost of conversation as against just being online. What the question then will be is: how much does it cost to convert one individual to take an action on a brand’s marketing message? This is a question that smart marketers need to be proactive about going into the New Year,” she concluded.

  Though the economic forecast for 2015 my look gloomy following the fall in oil price, analysts however believe this is good in some sense because it will enable the country to look inwards for additional sources of revenue thereby opening up dormant sectors like solid minerals and agriculture. These would need to be communicated and that is why the industry comes in.(Saturday Guardian)
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