-Olusegun Haastrup
Advertising practitioners have been urged to ensure conducive business from the point of negotiation to execution, to ensure growth and sanctity of the industry.
The Registrar, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, APCON, Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, stated this during the presentation of a document to regulate advertising in the country.
This is in response to the directive by the Federal Government early this year that APCON should implement key policies to guarantee the advertising income of media houses by creating a healthy environment for media outfits to operate.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at an event this year said government would support channel owners and content providers through the implementation of the audience measurement system to guarantee a sustained stream of revenue from advertising.
Presenting the regulatory document tagged, “Advertising Industry Standard of Practice”, AISOP, Dr. Fadolapo stated that the regulation would sanitize advertising practice and guard against unethical competition among stakeholders.
“We are setting up a acceptable best practices in terms and condition, media rate, renumeration model”.
According to the APCON Registrar , the document will place Nigeria as one of the progressive advertising environment by establishing a standard manner of practice.
Dr. Fadolapo said the Council would continue to engage players in the industry to ensure smooth running of the new framework.
“It is expected that with the implementation of AISOP, Nigeria will be free from unacceptable practices. Stakeholders are implored to please support this new guidelines”.
He appealed to agencies to comply with contracts made with those in the value chain to prevent unhealthy tensions.
In a remark, the chair of the planning committee of AISOP, Mr. Funmi Onabolu noted that the document would guard against unhealthy business practices, so that stakeholders could achieve their aspirations.
Mr. Onabolu added that an enforcement mechanism would be put in place to sanction erring members.
“This new regulation will help all stakeholders in advertising have fair dealings”
Part of the regulations is a new forty-five-day time frame for payment for advertising business purchase and tidy reconciliation before switching from one advertising agency to another.
