How to use investigative journalism to enhance advertising reporting, by stakeholder

Forum

Investigative journalism is not mainly about unearthing the misdeeds and corrupt practices of public officer holders, but also helping to build the country as a good brand. The Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), in fact has urged journalists in the country to always employ the power of investigative journalism to lift the coverage of marketing communication.

The regulatory body anchored its admonition in the strength of social responsibility functions that advertising is mandated to render in the society.

And unless journalists understand these statutory mandates, especially the role of the Advertising Standard Panel (ASP), their reportage and coverage of advertising environment may remain shallow.

At a one-day forum organised by the APCON for journalists covering advertising and marketing issues, participants were urged to always abide by the tenets of the profession with emphasis on the need for them to always balance their reports.

The forum frowned at the exposure of non-vetted and unapproved advertisements in the media because any misinformation arising from such unlawful exposures may be difficult to retract where damage had been done.

In his welcome address, the chairman of APCON, Lolu Akinwunmi, explained why the special forum was initiated to help journalists in their practice.

He said, “Over the last few years, you have succeeded in creating a distinct identity for yourselves by specifically reporting on developments within the marketing communication segment of our economy. If today advertising and allied disciplines attract unprecedented attention, it is because of the commitment journalists and stakeholders in the industry over the last couple of years, and for this, APCON is appreciative. The more attention you draw to the profession, the more you inform and educate ordinary Nigerians and our stakeholders, the easier it will be for a body such as APCON to fulfill government expectation in the quality of the message that goes out daily to the consumer”.

Knowing that communication involves two groups: the sender and the receiver, APCON’s task at the forum was to ensure that the sender sends the right and correct message to the receiver.

“We are to ensure that messages are not misleading,” he added. “This regulatory role makes us offer public service by ensuring that all upholds the basic principles of advertising. The implication is not only that ads must be legal, decent, honest, truthful and mindful of Nigeria’s culture and not impair public confidence in advertising, but those who practice it must do so in strict observance of its ethics and statutory provision, sincerely promoting international goodwill and cementing world comradeship”.

Hammering on the unfair influx of charlatans who see nothing beyond the quick money they can make in this economy, he said the task was to jointly insist on true partners from any part of the world, and not those who want to come in and supplant people.

In his words, “Journalists have a big responsibility as our economy continues to grow. Your group is especially trained and empowered to support the communication industry, reporting truth and discouraging the publication or dissemination of falsehood. Again in the words of Williams, I believe that the brand of journalism, which succeeds best, and best deserves success fears God and honours man, is stoutly independent, unmoved by pride of opinion or greed of power, constructive, tolerant but never careless: self controlled, patient, always respectful of its reader but always unafraid, is quickly indignant at injustice, is unswayed by the appeal of privilege or the clamor of the mob; seeks to give every man a chance, and as far as law and honest wage and recognition of brotherhood can make it so, an equal chance; is profoundly patriotic while sincerely promoting international goodwill and cementing world comradeship; is journalism of humanity, of and for today’s world.”

Admonishing journalists on the practice of Advertising Standard Panel (ASP), it’s chairman Mr. Ade Akinde, said all adverts, no matter their kinds, are meant to be vetted by the panel.

Any that is not vetted, if found wanting, incurs the wrath of the countries involved. He said, “Our line are open to complaints and we act immediately if any case is reported. But if they are critical, cases we refer them to the APIP that takes in depth look into the issue and proffer solution. There is the need for APCON to publish the names of registered members who are found liable by the APDC for the violation of the code and for professional misconduct”.

According to the chairman of APDC and president of AAAN, Funmi Onabolu, an enabling legal instrument Act 55 of 1988 was empowered to adjudicate infringements related to the advertising profession in case of unprofessional conduct, infamous conduct in a professional respect and fraudulent registration. It is made up of AAAN, ADVAN, MIPAN, OAAN, BON and NAPAN.

He stated that many stakeholders within the industry had come before this arm to answer cases that is to the best interest of the practitioner.

“It is charged with the duty of considering and determining any case referred to it by the APIP, a statutory panel established by the provision of the Act. It observes rules of evidence and procedure and has equivalent status of a High Court. It is thus apparent that disciplinary proceedings and quasi–criminal matters and the principles of fair hearing bind the committee”.

He added, “If a respondent who appears before the APDC is found guilty, he will probably face any or some discipline ranging from caution, fine, reprimand and acquittal. In the event of imposition of a penalty, any appeal arising from there shall go to the Court of Appeal. The law further avers that ‘no proceedings before the disciplinary committee shall be set aside by reason only of informality in those proceedings, which did not embarrass or prejudice the appellant. This is to say, when a verdict has been pronounced, it is binding on the respondent; should the respondent be aggrieved his only option is to file an appeal within specific time to the Court of Appeal”.

The registrar, Alhaji Bello Kankafofi, also stated that the secretariat was working with the police and LASSMA to carry out sanctions.

In a communiqué at the one-day deliberation, the forum noted that media houses should demand for the Advertising Standards Panel’s Certificate of Approval from advertisers or advertising agencies before the exposure of advertisement materials. Where such certificate is not produced, the media house shall reject the advertisement and write APCON/ASP in confidence to enhance effective monitoring should another media house publish, transmit or display the rejected advertisement without ASP approval.

The forum noted that the level of compliance with the Nigeria Code of Advertising Practice and Sales Promotion has improved considerably, but APCON should double its efforts in this regard. Participants commended the ASP for improving the time of vetting process in respect to the provision of 12 hours and 48 hours of accelerated vetting respectively to meet the demands of urgent advertisement campaigns. It further stated that APCON should improve and publicise the benefits of being registered member of APCON in order to enhance membership drive; journalist should be acquainted with the process of vetting of advertisements, and sanctions of violators to enhance their understanding of the functions of the ASP, APIP and APDC.

Bluebird wins Multi-Trex advertising account

An integrated marketing communications outlet, Bluebird Communications Limited, has won the advertising account of Multi-Trex Integrated Foods Plc. The win, after a competitive pitch involving notable agencies, is coming on the heels of securing yet another blue-chip account, Skye Bank.

The privilege of assisting the aggressive launch of Multi-Trex’s assorted consumer brands with impressive advertising underscored Bluebird’s meteoric rise in the industry and its enviable track record of developing consumer-led and award winning and innovative campaigns for leading brands in diverse business sectors within and outside the country.

The feat is expected to fast track Bluebird’s objective of becoming far more active in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector of the manufacturing industry. The management of Multi-Trex has expressed full confidence in the ability of Bluebird to effectively launch its full range of 100 per cent cocoa based products into the competitive market.

Kayode Ebatamehi, General Manager of the Agency remarked that the Company was excited about winning the Multi-Trex and Skye Bank accounts, because they “will definitely offer opportunity to make bold statements about the premium that the Agency places on developing innovative and effective advertising.”

The ad agency commenced business about 16 years ago and is peopled by young and dynamic professionals.

Bluebird wins Multi-Trex advertising account

An integrated marketing communications outlet, Bluebird Communications Limited, has won the advertising account of Multi-Trex Integrated Foods Plc. The win, after a competitive pitch involving notable agencies, is coming on the heels of securing yet another blue-chip account, Skye Bank.

The privilege of assisting the aggressive launch of Multi-Trex’s assorted consumer brands with impressive advertising underscored Bluebird’s meteoric rise in the industry and its enviable track record of developing consumer-led and award winning and innovative campaigns for leading brands in diverse business sectors within and outside the country.

The feat is expected to fast track Bluebird’s objective of becoming far more active in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector of the manufacturing industry. The management of Multi-Trex has expressed full confidence in the ability of Bluebird to effectively launch its full range of 100 per cent cocoa based products into the competitive market.

Kayode Ebatamehi, General Manager of the Agency remarked that the Company was excited about winning the Multi-Trex and Skye Bank accounts, because they “will definitely offer opportunity to make bold statements about the premium that the Agency places on developing innovative and effective advertising.”

The ad agency commenced business about 16 years ago and is peopled by young and dynamic professionals.

Out-of -Home Media operators explore marketing options

Out-of –Home Media sector needs dynamic system restructuring more than any other advertising medium in Nigeria, says Dr Josef Bel-Molokwu, former Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON).

Dr. Bel-Molokwu made this submission recently at a two day Strategic Marketing and Selling of Out-Of-Home Media workshop organized by Daniels Phritnol Nigeria Limited at Whispering Palms Resort, Badagry. Dynamic system restructuring according to the Senior Research Fellow at the School of Media and Communication, Pan-African University, Lagos, and member of faculty of the ESUT Business School is necessitated by unpredictable government act, outlandish operational costs, and undue risk to the safety of sites, hoardings and appliances as well as shylock undercutting and outright sabotage by industry competitors.

“In a situation like this, Out-of-Home advertising needs to keep abreast if not ahead of the competitors in the first place, and secondly to keep well-informed in today’s fast moving communication world”, he submitted in his paper titled Strategies for developing and deploying market intelligence for enhanced productivity in outdoor advertising.

Speaking on Building profitable outdoor advertising business through strategic marketing, Mr. Chris Doghudje, former Chairman, APCON outlined 12 marketing strategies that could be adopted by participants drawn from outdoor advertising companies. According to him in the current state of the sector, Out-of-Home firms can win with product quality, mass production or national coverage, aggressive selling, customer/market oriented, customer relationship and Unique Selling Point strategies. Other strategies are: image or emotional selling, innovation, positioning, multi-product, going public (Plc) and backward integration strategies.

Beyond dynamic system restructuring, Dr. Bel-Molokwu in another paper titled Identifying Market Opportunities and developing offerings that enhance value delivery submitted that “Out-of-Home media firms must keep searching for the next market opportunity which can be achieved through information sharing, enlightenment and reaching out. “Let us apply our resources more to our businesses and less to our whims. Let us support growth in our industry”, he admonished participants.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the workshop, participants resolved to take advantage of new market opportunities, take service delivery serious and begin to see intelligence gathering as a vital part of the business. They however called on the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) to be at the forefront of building a good intelligence bank as well as data base amenities that would strengthen the sub-sector and the industry.

Lagos hosts lecture on reporting the grassroots

The third Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series holds on Wednesday, July 13, 2011, at the NECA Building, Agidingbi, Lagos at 10am with the theme: Re-evaluating local governance in Nigeria: What responsibilities for the media.

This year, the lecture is organized in collaboration with the Orderly Society Trust (OST) and aims at stimulating the media to deepen local governance reporting towards focusing on democracy at the grassroots in a bid to engage the tools of a downward-upward mechanism to appropriately mould governance in the country even as it essentially triggers discussions around this most critical tier of government on the heels of the Local Government elections in 2012.

Expected as guest speaker is Prof. Bayo Olukoshi, Director of the United Nations African Development and Planning (UNIDEP), Dakar, Senegal. Discussants include representatives of the civil society, academia, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON).

The date of the lecture coincides with the 77^th birthday anniversary of the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, Prof. Wole Soyinka, which is deliberate (since 2009), according to the organizers “to honour this illustrious African whom the Centre is named after, even as we draw attention to current national issues.”

The Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series is designed to periodically examine varying topical issues that have reverberating effects on perceived performance of the media, on the health the country and its democracy. It intends to contribute to the body of knowledge of practitioners as well as increase awareness and debate around the nexus of media practice and socio-political development issues in the country.

Its maiden edition was hosted in 2008 and paraded respected personalities like Prof. Harry Garuba of the African Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa; and Dr. Olatunji Dare, an Associate Professor of Journalism at Bradley University, Peoria Illinois USA and a former editorial page editor of The Guardian Newspaper as guest speakers.

Lagos hosts lecture on reporting the grassroots

The third Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series holds on Wednesday, July 13, 2011, at the NECA Building, Agidingbi, Lagos at 10am with the theme: Re-evaluating local governance in Nigeria: What responsibilities for the media.

This year, the lecture is organized in collaboration with the Orderly Society Trust (OST) and aims at stimulating the media to deepen local governance reporting towards focusing on democracy at the grassroots in a bid to engage the tools of a downward-upward mechanism to appropriately mould governance in the country even as it essentially triggers discussions around this most critical tier of government on the heels of the Local Government elections in 2012.

Expected as guest speaker is Prof. Bayo Olukoshi, Director of the United Nations African Development and Planning (UNIDEP), Dakar, Senegal. Discussants include representatives of the civil society, academia, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON).

The date of the lecture coincides with the 77^th birthday anniversary of the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, Prof. Wole Soyinka, which is deliberate (since 2009), according to the organizers “to honour this illustrious African whom the Centre is named after, even as we draw attention to current national issues.”

The Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series is designed to periodically examine varying topical issues that have reverberating effects on perceived performance of the media, on the health the country and its democracy. It intends to contribute to the body of knowledge of practitioners as well as increase awareness and debate around the nexus of media practice and socio-political development issues in the country.

Its maiden edition was hosted in 2008 and paraded respected personalities like Prof. Harry Garuba of the African Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa; and Dr. Olatunji Dare, an Associate Professor of Journalism at Bradley University, Peoria Illinois USA and a former editorial page editor of The Guardian Newspaper as guest speakers.

EMCOAN partners APCON for rich broadcast content

Members of Electronic Media Content Owners Association of Nigeria (EMCOAN), recently paid the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) a cutesy call to register its grievances over what the body tagged shabbily treatment by some stakeholders in the advertising industry.

Their grouses were mainly with the Radio/TV stations that have allegedly frustrated them by making their members to produce programmes and pay for the programme, which the stations use to entertain their customers. EMCOAN President, Mr. Wale Adenuga who led the delegation therefore appealed to APCON to support in changing what he called anomalies in how stations denigrate and frustrate them in the practice of a profession they love passionately. Continuing, Adenuga said only a conducive environment could give birth to their aspirations of establishing a formidable broadcast industry where cultures, traditions and social values are upheld and showcased to the benefit of the Nigerian viewers.

He however assured the APCON Registrar, Alhaji Garba Bello Kankarofi, that they were determined to tackle the current situation where media monitoring agencies dish out erroneous reports, while decrying also the hostility meted out to them by advertising agencies and media owners in Nigeria.

In response, Bello Kankarofi, told the group that what they pointed out were issues he was conversant with in his days as a broadcaster before his elevation few years ago as chief executive of APCON. He pledged to use his experiences to advance the course of EMCOAN in the APCON Governing Council and the new APCON Committee on Advertising Practice Reforms (ACAPR), whose mandate is to stimulate best practices in advertising. Kankarofi however expressed hope that all their misgivings would addressed as media ownership is changing and he believes that the emerging scenario will definitely change the relationship between independent producers, media owners as well as advertising agencies.

He seized the opportunity to present copies of the Nigerian Code of Advertising Practice and Sales Promotion and the Nigerian Advertising Laws, Rules and Regulations to them. Urging them to encourage their members to be registered with APCON since the law specifies that no one should practice advertising for gain unless he/she is registered with the regulatory body.