Advertising Business: ARCON Plans to Bridge the Gap Between Academics, Practitioners

Raheem Akingbolu

Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), will today (Thursday) at a colloquium in Lagos, lay the foundation for bridging the gap between Academics and advertising practitioners.

The colloquium, which is the first of such in the advertising industry will be held at the Sheraton Hotel, Lagos with the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed as special guest of honour.

The registrar and Director General of ARCON, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo who disclosed this in Lagos last week said, the reason for organising the colloquium is to bridge the gap between the academics and the professionals in the advertising industry.

Dr Fadolapo said, “the knowledge gap between the theory and the practical is wide and as the regulator of the industry in terms of business and practice there is an urgent need for us to bridge the gap.

“Consequently, ARCON has set up a committee with specific assignments. Firstly, in terms of knowledge depth in the industry, how do we integrate the professionals and the academic in such a way that we will break the knowledge gap. We are looking at the situation where we have academic journals on advertising education in collaboration with the professionals to see how we can develop the practice of advertising.

“The second one is to ensure that we have a programme that will speak to this issue. We are planning to hold a colloquium and the first of its kind in this industry and will believe we will achieve all the set objectives.”
The chairman of the Advertising Industry Colloquium and Academic Journal Committee of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, Rotimi Olatunji, a Professor of Public Relations and Advertising, Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, LASU said, the Colloquium is organised by the marketing communication industry sectorial groups and powered by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON).

He said, the primary objective is to provide the forum for academics and students of Mass Communication, Advertising and other components of integrated marketing communication (IMC) to interact with professionals in advertising/other components of IMC; media practitioners, policy makers and regulatory agencies.

He disclosed that the theme of the Colloquium is Changing Trends in Advertising Education and Practice in the Era of Globalisation: The Nigerian Perspective, which will be delivered by the president, National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria, NIMN, Mr. Idorenyen Enanq, frpa.
Also, Professor Umaru A. Pate, Vice-Chancellor, Federal University, Kashere will take a look at the Critical Review of Contemporary Integrated Marketing Communication Education in Nigeria: An Insiders Perspective.
Other speakers and discussants of the day include, marketing director, Jotna Group, Emmanuel Agu; Barrister Charles Odenigbo, Mr. Muyiwa Aleshinloye and Vice President, Media Independent Practitioners’ Association of Nigeria, Dozie Okafor.
According to chairman of the colloquium, “This is a social responsibility (non-fee paying, pro bono) programme widely supported by a plethora of advertisers, marketing communication sectorial groups and regulatory agencies, including ARCON.
He said, the main objective of the colloquium is to deepen knowledge and provide insights into required skill for success in advertising education and practice in contemporary era of globalization through interaction between the Town and the Gown for the examination of current and topical issues in Marketing Communications in Nigeria.
Professor Rotimi Olatunji added that the colloquium will also have creative pitch competition among institutions of learning, with panel of judges drawn also from advertising sectorial groups in the country.