Babaeko: There is Need to Bridge Knowledge-gap in Creative Industry

President, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Mr. Steve Babaeko, touches on the challenges facing the advertising industry in Nigeria, especially as it concerns the unbridled practice of poaching among agencies and corporate bodies. He sat down for an interview with Raheem Akingbolu

AdCademy recently announced dates for its second masterclass in partnership with Henley Business School. How would you describe the inaugural edition and what are the benefits accruable to participants in the forthcoming edition?

Well, the maiden edition was quite fantastic and it’s a dream that is 20years in the making. Several administrations have talked about the AdCademy, so for us to finally get it off the ground is a huge step in the right direction. And from all the participants we spoke to and feedback that we got, it was quite beneficial to them. For this next one, we think it should be quite exciting. You can see the line-up of experts is very robust in terms of years of experience and the high caliber speakers that we put together. We think this second edition will be very beneficial to the participants.

What category of participants is the second edition designed for?

This edition is designed for people who are already practicing Advertising. The first edition was for beginners, but this is for slightly more experienced people either in advertising agencies or on the client side. For the faculty, we have lined up both local and international speakers who are highly experienced. So, we recommend this course for those who are marketing enthusiasts and those with marketing functions.

The partnership with Henley Business School, a top-tier institution, is an interesting one. What, in specific terms, is Henley Business School bringing to the table?

First and foremost, we are really proud of the partnership with Henley Business School and if you research well, you’ll find out that HBS is one of the heritage business schools across the world with a really robust business portfolio and curriculum, which is the benefit we are looking for. When it comes to advertising and marketing communications, we don’t have a shortage of people who can bring some learnings and experience. But we also realize that for the advertising industry, we need to broaden the business side of things for our people so you are not just learning marketing communications, you are also learning how to run a business. So, with HBS’ robust business curriculum, we believe this is a match made in heaven.

Will the partnership between AdCademy and HBS be an enduring one or one for the short-term?

I speak for both of us when I say we are looking forward to a long-lasting relationship. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship. With the partnership, we can expand HBS penetration into the most populous black nation on earth, which is Nigeria. The partnership will also help us develop human capital here and expose them to the best practices when it comes to business management principles. We see it as a partnership that will go a long way.

Is the AdCademy open to partnerships with other institutions?

We’ll take it one step at a time. For now, we are pretty much happy with HBS and we believe they are the best fit in terms of partnership.

The AdCademy had been in the works for a long time. How did it finally get off the ground?

This is close to how the Wright brothers must have felt after years of trying to fly a plane and finally succeeding. This feeling comes second to what they must have felt at the time. For so many years, a lot of administration used the AdCademy as a campaign point and for 20 years, we never got it off the ground. So, I’ll say a big shout out to the Vice President, Jenkins Alumona, Sunkanmi Atolagbe, acting AdCademy Director, and the entire team in charge of the AdCademy. We have removed one point of the campaign for presidency. We will never have to come with the AdCademy as a campaign point.

Since this is the second edition, can you please share with us the feedback from the pioneer class?

What is good about the pioneer class is that immediately after the successful completion of the training, you become a member of the Alumni program of HBS. You are included into a database of thousands of people who have graduated from the school. This creates an opportunity for participants to connect and interact on a larger platform. So, the AdCademy certificate is like a gift that keeps on giving. The feedback has been fantastic. People really loved it and they gained a lot. A special shout out to Professor Moira Clark, Head of the first masterclass session. We believe this edition will be even more spectacular.

What are the specific impacts you think the academy will have on Advertising practice?

It’s going to be huge and absolutely phenomenal. We might not feel the immediate impact now, but from short to medium term, we will start feeling it. Using a scenario that exists today, Agency A is poaching talent from Agency B, while Agency B also poaches from another agency. That’s how we’ve been poaching each other’s talent because the pipeline supplying talent to the industry has been pretty narrow. Even though there are a few advertising academies around, I don’t think they are able to produce enough talent that will fill the requirement for the industry. On another hand, there is contention with clients also poaching talent from agencies. So, we need a bigger pipeline that will bring more talent into the industry and that is the gap that the AdCademy is hoping to fill. We need younger and fresher talent joining the industry. People with different kind of thinking, so we stop recycling the same.

Beyond the academy, what other achievements can you attribute to the current leadership of the AAAN?

Usually, I would rather let people judge us than me doing self-appraisal. But since you’ve asked specifically, I would mention a few. The first is the massive renovation done at the AAAN secretariat which I’ll also like to thank the current exco for their contribution. I encourage you to come and check it out. Secondly, for the first time in almost 50 years in the history of the association, we have a female as the director. Personally, this is a great achievement and like I always say, women rights are human rights.

I think we are trying to bridge that gender gap and create more equality within the association to increase the participation of women in our affairs. We have also seen an increase in the number of new agencies that have signed up with the AAAN and we are excited to work with young and vibrant agencies

How has your journey been to the AAAN presidency?

Honestly, it has been an exciting journey. Don’t forget there is no individual membership in the association. Agencies constitute the members of the AAAN. The members of the AAAN usually serve the association at one point or the other under different capacities. I started serving as deputy publicity secretary of the association some years ago. Later, I became Chairman of the Lagos Advertising Ideas Festival(LAIF) and I did that for three years. Later, I was elected as the Publicity Secretary at some point. I was Vice-President of the association about two years ago. On July 2, 2020, I was elected (unopposed) as the President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria(AAAN). I feel very privileged to lead the association especially at this critical time.

Would you describe the pundits’ views that your leadership connotes a generational shift in the history of the association?

I must start by giving a big shout-out to all the founding fathers of the advertising agencies in Nigeria. They made giant strides to lay a solid foundation for the association. The association started as Association of Advertising Practitioners of Nigeria(AAPN) in 1973 and it metamorphosed into Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria(AAAN) during an epoch-making Annual General Meeting in 2004. The association has been over forty-seven years old now. How many institutions in Nigeria have lasted for that long? With all the intricacies and complexities of this country, it is not a mean feat for an association to have stayed that long and strong. A lot of credit goes to the founding fathers of the association. I am always of the view that the framework for which the universe was built and erected is that the old shall give way to the new. It is no surprise that we are passing of the baton to the next generation. On the day of my inauguration, I made reference to the fact that this was the first time in the 47 years history of the association that we are having our AGM on a virtual platform. To that effect, you can call me the “digital president”. It is a shift of some sort in the way things are done because it is the new normal. A new dawn beckons. I feel very privileged to lead the association at this time.

As a young president, you came on board with a mantra ‘Advancing Together’. Looking back, will you say you are on course with the goals and vision for the association?

Yes, the theme of my campaign was “Advancing Together”. Though I contested unopposed, I campaigned vigorously. I am not taking it for granted leading the association at this critical period. The association is an honourable body and I did contest for an honourable position. There is no time in the history of this industry that I believe we need to stand together as one body, one people, than now. The ”Advancing Together” campaign theme was premised on a four-points agenda. One of those points include among others, the issue of empowering women who are members of the association. If you count agencies owned by women in this country, you can count them on your fingertips. I am hoping during my tenure as president that can be changed. Even on the board of the association, we have been able to move from having two women to having three women. We have also been able to appoint some women as committee chairmen. Again, there is a small vibrant group in the association called “Women in Advertising”. We would like to support and empower this group. Our aim is to adopt inclusivity in running the affairs of the association and also foster unity among the members.

How far have you gone in achieving all of these?

There is no industry in the world where unity of purpose and team building are not as key and crucial as the advertising industry. If you run an agency, you can’t do it all alone. You can write the copy, do the aggression or be the brand manager yourself. My approach has been to physically take myself in that zone where people know I’m working for the industry and not just trying to feather my nest. I just want to see that the industry survives. If the industry survives, I will survive. When people see that open demonstration, we will make one or two steps forward.

Aside from your goals, what are the specific things you have done for AAAN in the face of Covid-19 global pandemic?

There are lots of things we have started doing already. As I speak, we are deepening our collaboration with other allied associations like ADVAN, OAAN, MIPAN. Our destinies are tied to these allied associations. In fact, my first courtesy call after I was inaugurated was to one of these allied associations. All of those “solos” we used to run should be over. Let us all come to the table and have a seat at the table so we can discuss all the difficulties we are faced with. From there, we can proffer solutions. I know that we will overcome all these challenges. It is just to continue to foster unity and conversation.

Knowing that the industry has evolved for over some decades, how have you been able to reposition the industry during your tenure?

First, we operate in a digital world and I understand how it works. Even though some people might think I am too old to be a digital person. We must be able to tap all the opportunities in digital real estate to help reposition the association and put it on a different pedestal for the world to see. We have started this already and the AdCademy, which is being driven on digital platform for any interested person to access and participate from anywhere in the world.

How will you assess the AAAN as a key and critical sectorial group in the Nigerian Marketing Communication Industry?

Like they say on the street, AAAN is probably the most underrated industry in this country. I remember some IAA ad said “When advertising does its job, other people who have hired us can then do theirs”. Imagine if there is no advertising in the world today, all of the big corporations that hire thousands of people would probably lay off staff because they have not been selling. Nothing to push the brand in the face of the public. Not forgetting the fact that the advertising industry itself hires thousands of young people. It is a powerful association and I hope that the public and government will give us the kind of recognition we desire. What we do is behind the scenes and I guess that is why it is not appreciated. We contribute a lot to the growth of the economy.

How have you and your team midwifed the association in the midst of the Covid-19 creative challenges?

Let me start by admitting that my shout-out goes to the health workers who are on the frontline battling the pandemic. They are our heroes. But if you are looking for the next generation or frontier of heroes, I think it would be the advertising people because of the challenges that advertisers are facing. They have had clients whose entire supply chains have almost cut off or disrupted. Our job happens behind the scenes and we are not the loudest set of people. We have been helping our clients to keep their businesses. We are joined at the hips with our clients. We are fighting for our clients’ survival because our survival depends on their survival. We are fighting every day and night, scheduling meetings, strategising and helping to push communication to the marketplace.

So, it’s been a challenging period for you as the President of AAAN especially with the effect of Covid-19?

Oh yes. Don’t forget that with the way the economy is done, advertising is at the bottom of the food chain. If the client is hemorrhaging, one is almost dead. So, we have had to work extra hard to support our clients at this critical time.

Will you say the new normal has had a positive or negative impact on the advertising industry?

I would say both. It has positively affected us because it challenged us to think of new ways of doing some of the old things we normally do. But at the same time, it has negatively impacted so many agencies economically. It then goes down to, what we should do or what we should not do at this point. If clients are laying off staff, downsizing or rightsizing, the agencies would also be affected. We are excited about some of the things we are doing in a novel and different way.

What are the challenges faced by members of AAAN in this new normal?

We have seen that some clients have already started adjusting to this new normal. If the economy starts to go south, the first thing the client thinks of is reducing the communication budget. Once that happens, clients start telling agencies they can’t pay retainership fees or start complaining about certain fees. At that point, agencies start to bleed.

How have creative agencies responded to new ways of doing things?

Before Covid-19, the tendency was for the agencies to wait for the clients for the brief of solving a marketing challenge. At the moment, we are all drowning in the same ship. We know that what common sense dictates is that you should wait for any client to send you a brief before Covid-19. Agencies are now scanning their environment for marketing challenges and finding creative solutions and pushing it actively and strongly to the client.