OOH Academy, APCON’s Workshop Focuses on Google Maps, Location Intelligence

Mary Nnah

The focus at the maiden Location Intelligence Workshop organised by OOH Academy in collaboration with the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) held recently was on the value of GPS technology, the power of location intelligence in Out-of-Home business, and gaining audience and location insights from google maps in strategising and planning OOH campaigns.  

The event, which had the theme, “Exploiting the Opportunities in Google Maps for Better Decision Making in OOH Advertising Business”, featured presentations from seasoned experts and professionals from diverse areas to address the subject matter.

Speaking in his welcome address, the Convener of the workshop and Project Coordinator of OOH Academy, Kingsley Onwukaeme, said that organising the workshop was borne out of the need to share knowledge with professionals and to promote the growth of the OOH subsector in Nigeria.

“Google Maps is one of the freely accessible Location Intelligence platforms that has the biggest level of data widely acceptable in the world. 

“Therefore, the need to introduce us to some features of the platform and how to creatively analyse its data sets and use them in proving the values of OOH solution to the clients. 

“Therefore, we came up with the workshop to show how to gain audience and location insights from Google maps when strategising and planning OOH campaigns,’’ he revealed.

Orakwe John who is a professional Google Street View photographer gave participants valuable insights on how to leverage Google products in providing value for the clients they work for.

In his presentation titled “A Tour of Google Maps,” the photographer who is also the Country Manager of Proto leveraged his experience using these products to educate participants on how to put out their billboard locations on the Google maps for easy customer reach.

At the end of the workshop, participants were given certificates of participation which are eligible for an APCON upgrade.

The Location Intelligence Workshop is one of the activities of the OOH Academy, a bespoke platform that provides thought leadership and training in the Out-of-Home subsector in Africa. 

Onwukaeme said the focus of the Academy is on the growth of the fast-evolving subsector in Africa and in Nigeria specifically, adding, “our objectives are to promote the education of the OOH subsector by building knowledgeable practitioners in Nigeria, grow the OOH industry by deepening the credibility of her integrity and recognising and celebrating excellent performances in the OOH subsector.

“That is why we have different programmes such as our monthly virtual webinar called the BOARDROOM, this physical workshop, and many more to”.