Kelechi Nwosu, vice president, of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), has said with confidence that the industry has been able to grow various sectors of the Nigerian economy.
Speaking with journalists recently at a funfair organised at Elegushi Beach in Lagos by the advertisers’ association as part of the 40th anniversary of the advertising industry in Nigeria, Kelechi said “I can tell you that most of the biggest brands you have seen in this country have been grown by different advertising agencies. At 40, advertising has grown telecommunications, banks, FMCG and other industries and notably, have been a purveyor of our culture.”
Also assessing the industry’s contribution to the economy, he said “if you look at employment generation, over all, we employ a large number of people, including those not in core advertising but in related disciplines, like radio and television production, and even modelling, photography and outdoor advertising. We have all of them in terms of indirect employment.”
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The leadership of the AAAN had said recently that the advertising industry contributed over $2 billion (over N300 billion) to Nigeria’s economy annually.
Also speaking at the event tagged “Boosting Loose at 40,” he talked about the relevance of the funfair, saying “every year, we have a funfair when advertising agencies people who work very hard come together to let loose and this year is not different. This year’s funfair is unique because we have a combination of the funfair and anniversary celebration and that is why we call it boosting loose at 40.”
As a core creative sector of the economy, the choice of convening at the beach brings to the fore the notion that creativity comes from a relaxed mind.
“Advertising is a hardworking business, we work pretty hard. So, we think there should be an opportunity for us to do more of this, where we come down, calm down, take a deep breath, relax, interact with each other, learn from each other and have fun. We will play volleyball, beach soccer and other games like scrabble, chess, ludo and others,” he further said.
