The sky is actually not big enough for Nigerian advertising agencies
I’ve been wondering about the size of the agency scene a lot. You know, from how much goes out of it to how much comes into it. In this matter of input and output I’m not talking about the creative angle. I’m talking about the money side, you know, valuation and all.
Depending on who you listen to, you might hear that agencies are making money. But when you look at other indices, especially the consumer ones, you start to wonder where the “money” people talk about is coming from. I mean, the Nigerian advertising space is not even maxing out on clients and the industry’s potential.
Of let’s say a total of 1000 companies in Nigeria, less than 100 of them have ad agencies on retainers. And all the agencies that you know — the ones registered under APCON — are all playing to get the 100.
The result of this is that, for instance, if agency A has client D’s account and agency B likes that account, they have to wait for client D and agency A to fight and part ways. It’s a system of “my turn will come” and most often than not that turn always comes.
Like one red bank like that. Jumping from agency to agency.
This is why it looks like most agencies are recycling clients: Agencies must eat and jumpy jumpy clients are there to make sure the food goes round. I like this kind of thing, but it’s not a sustainable way to guarantee the continued survival of the advertising ecosystem in Nigeria.
One 2019 afternoon in Ikeja, I had the opportunity to listen to the creative director at Ogilvy Nigeria Henry Akpede. Someone had said something about more agencies springing up and he responded that “we actually need more of them”. I believe that we do need more agencies too and people should keep founding them. But while we’re doing so, we must watch the economy and we must watch the my turn culture otherwise we’ll be egging the ecosystem to the point of death.
There was a time where my favourite talk-point is asking which agency owned which account. But I got tired of it because it’s tedious to keep up with. It’s like keeping track of the names of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan’s cabinet that year.
The way agencies are sharing clients, it’s looking to me as though the sky isn’t big enough for everyone to fly. The size of the ecosystem is too small and when many decide they want to fly at the same time, there’s no way their wings won’t clip each other.
Sadly, there’s nothing they can do about it. The sky everyone is trying to fly to is the Nigerian economy. If it doesn’t enlarge to accommodate more players; if it doesn’t prosper; if more companies that’d be needing agency services are not springing up this problem will continue until the ecosystem shrinks completely and presses the agencies die.
I have read a couple hot-takes recommending that agencies start selling things other than advertising because advertising will soon die. There’s a point in there and there’s also no point there at all. The problem is not advertising. If agencies like they should start selling mai shayi noodles because Nigerians are hungry, they won’t prosper until the economy stretches and becomes a true sky that allows everyone to fly at the same time.
Innocent question, which Nigerian advertising agency is worth up to $20 million? Has the ecosystem produced a Naira billionaire yet or we still dey wait?
I’m tired now. I will pick up again whenever I can.
#advertising
