Despite the optimism and excitements surrounding the likelihood of the nation?s advertising industry hitting the N893 billion mark by 2028, activities of some advertisers, if not curtailed, might make such dream a mirage, it has been learnt.

A report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and unveiled by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), the apex regulatory body in the nation?s advertising, had projected the industry, presently contributing N605.2 billion to the nation?s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), to grow by close to N300 billion in the next three years.

However, indiscriminate pasting of unvetted posters, signages and banners at electioneering campaign periods, religious banners, job recruitment posters and even trado-medical signages, on the nation?s cityscape might put paid to such dream, NT also discovered.

For instance, despite the advertising rules, insisting campaigns, signages and ad materials must be vetted by relevant regulatory agencies, and paid for, before exposure, most of these posters and signages, it was learnt, are always surreptitiously hung, thus denying the government and the industry the revenue that should have accrued from such exercise.

NT also learnt it has been difficult, especially for state?s outdoor ad agencies to curtail such activities due to the calibre of the people involved and clandestine way such signages are erected.

Electioneering campaign period, which, ordinarily, should have been a boom time for the industry and practitioners, do not always live up to such expectations in terms of revenue. Substantial number of adverts deployed, are in most cases, done through cronies of those politicians, instead of the registered practitioners.

?That is why it is difficult to get an accurate data on the amount of such impacts electioneering periods, usually have on the industry; since many of these activities are done outside the industry, most times by unregistered practitioners,? an Out-of-Home practitioner has said.

Speaking on the issue, another out-of-home advertising practitioner in the state, who would also not want his name in print, believed the activities of these groups are stifling the growth of the industry, in terms of limiting its revenue potential and their hazards on the environment.

?The agreement then with the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA) was that there would be some public places where posters would be pasted, and removed from time to time. The intention was not to allow bills pasted everywhere in Lagos because whether we like it or not it degrades the environment, and we pride ourselves as being partners with the environment.

So anything that degrades the environment will have a huge impact on us.

?Besides, we believed some of the banners being used, by these obviously unregistered practitioners, would have been used on proper billboards, with the revenue accruing from there going to the purse of the practitioners, the industry and even government in form of regulatory fees,? he stated.

The practitioner, who once oversaw the affairs of the Out-of -Home Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) also believed the indiscriminate pasting of those posters is also causing a ?visual blight? for registered signages; since they make viewers struggle with banners, billboards and other road furniture; a development he described as bad for the industry

Besides their negative implications for businesses, NT also learnt that indiscriminate pasting of posters is also denying government of substantial revenues, running into millions of Naira.

For instance, while some of the materials, expected to pass through the Advertising Standards Panel, the vetting arm of ARCON, before publication, never went through such process, NT learnt.

Akinyemi Olatunde, a practitioner would not want the issue to be on revenue loss alone. The industry is also being negatively impacted especially with the amount of misinformation such unvetted materials usually spread.

?The industry is denied of substantial revenue, government is shortchanged, while the public is most times deceived by the misinformation, usually contained in these banners, especially those from the trado-medical practitioners,? he stated.

But, the Director General, ARCON, Dr. Lekan Fadolapo has said the agency would take necessary actions to ensure individuals and organisations involved in unlawful exposure of unapproved advertisements are sanctioned in line with the prevailing laws and the Code of Advertising.

Fadolapo, whose agency, is presently at daggers drawn with some brand owners over unlawful exposure of series of unethical advertisements on treatment of a range of ailments on Instagram and Facebook, noted that advertisements must be submitted to ASP, established by ARCON Act No. 23 of 2022 to ensure that adverts targeting Nigerian market conforms with advertising ethics, as well as prevailing laws of the federation. (Nigerian Tribune)

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