Jenkins Alumona is the CEO of Strategic Outcomes Limited, an integrated marketing communication firm that has deep understanding of the Nigerian market. The consummated marketing communication professional, established Strategic Outcomes 15 years ago to approach the business differently but principally to achieve marketing objectives of clients. In this interview, he underscored ego as reason agencies and other companies are not embracing M&As to form stronger organisations in the face of contracting economy. He addressed other issues in the industry. Excerpts
When you look at Nigeria’s integrated marketing communication industry, what picture do you see?
Isee an industry that has great potential, has access to great talent but it is tormented by the slow growth of the economy. With a population as large as ours, we have access to a huge talent pool but the challenge is that we can’t do much if the other aspects of national development are not in place. If those guys in Aba, for instance have infrastructure such as electricity and make more shirts, distribute successfully and export, that means they will grow and have the need for expansion and also have the need for marketing communication activity. Everything is interlinked, if one thing is not working, others will not work.
The IMC industry is bleeding over elongation of payment period by clients, what is the way out of this logjam?
It is still about the strength of the economy. If the economy was strong enough it will not be like this. Presently, there could be companies that want to take advantage of the service provider and there are those elongating payment period because they are bleeding from cash flow challenges. The harsh economy is also forcing the media industry with no option than take the payment period offered. In this circumstance, clients and agencies should see themselves as partners and there should be sincerity of purpose between them on cash flow and payment period.
Companies are cutting marketing communication budgets, how is the industry coping with this?
You cannot control other peoples spending but we must always continue to highlight the fact that in the most difficult times it is when clients need to seek the opportunities that marketing communications presents. The question is how are you able to find those opportunities. What marketing communication does is to help clients see and understand markets better and issues that they may not have considered and also help clients understand the consumer more. Some brands have become successful in the Nigerian market through insight provided by marketing communication experts.
Some people allege that foreign marketing communication companies’ entry into Nigeria is a threat to the local operators, do you agree?
I don’t think so; instead their coming is a boost to the business if they come in the proper way. Once a foreign company can fit into a particular country’s system, it is fine. This is a global market and we should live within it but they should follow the rules in our country.
Today, your firm, Strategic Outcomes Limited, is celebrating 15 years of doing business in Nigeria; could you tell us how the company came to be?
This company is a product of a desire to make a contribution to the marketing communication industry and also a desire to fulfill a lifetime goal of empowering others. I took a bold step to establish the company to approach marketing communication in a different better way. The name of the company is in itself a statement that we desire to achieve outcomes that meet the strategic objectives of our clients. When I worked with Troyka and telecom firms, Econet and Glo, I saw a lot of things done with a poor attitude, especially where some people took a contracting attitude to delivering jobs to clients. I came to the conclusion that solutions could be better delivered to the benefit of both the client and the provider if the approach is more of a partnership. Our attitude in Strategic Outcomes is that the client is our partner. Achieving clients’ business objectives is important to us as it is to them.
Which other propellers are helping the company to weather the storm in the last 15 years?
The quality of people we engage in the business is an impetus. They are not necessarily employees but partners in the business. They understand the DNA of the company, where the company is coming from, where it is going and what it is all about.
When you were establishing this company, were you sure that things will go 100% as planned?
You can be as positive as you wish but there are other variables that affect the plan. You can go into anything believing that everything will go well, but you need to be in it with 99% positive mind. At the establishment of the company, my mind was to bring different positive approach to doing things. We are always interested in finding solution that will satisfy the objective than the payment for the job. We have retained that core essence to partner with clients across sectors from manufacturing to service industry and the public sector and we continue to provide the best for them.
What would you consider as the most challenging in the last 15 years of your business operation?
From a broader perspective, if the economy does not grow and the number of businesses doing the same thing keeps increasing, we will get to a point when growth gets stunted. Though the economy has started growing now but not at the pace to satisfy players in the economy? Today, the business aspect is obviously not as good as it used to be and secondly, the SMEs are not transiting to medium and big companies. Thirdly, how many SMEs understand or have the need for advertising activity as their businesses are not growing. For Strategic Outcomes, the challenge we face is sometimes being pidgin-holed in to a particular area. The industry erroneously thought we are more of public sector but in the early stages of the life of this company, we did many jobs for non-public sector. We were at the heart of insurance sector consolidation working with quite a number of Insurance companies. The other challenges are rising cost, keeping up with technology which we are coping with.
Where do you see Strategic Outcomes in the next five years?
We will continue to exist to provide solutions to firms who will also grow. If the economy does not grow, the IMC sector will not grow. If we assist companies to grow, then we will have the opportunity to grow too. We want to help small brands grow and medium firms become bigger.
