Nigeria’s Ad Industry on Upward Swing
Raheem Akingbolu writes on the growth trajectory of Nigeria’s marketing communications industry
The 2024 ACT Good Report, which marks the 10th anniversary of the global ranking, has again affirmed that Nigeria’s creative industry has joined the international league in the creative sector. Until a few years ago when the trio of X3M Ideas, DDB and Noah’s Ark started clinching trophies at international awards competitions, competing and winning on the global stage was a hard nut to crack. In recent times, Nigeria’s agencies and their founders have featured prominently at the Cannes Lions International Festival, Loeries Creative Week, Luerzers Archive and African Cristal Advertising Festival.
In the ACT Good Report ranking released this week, “Motherhood Sentence” a campaign from the stable of Steve Babaeko-led X3M Ideas secured the 38th place in the best 40 ranked campaigns selected from over 1,250 campaigns reviewed by the editorial team of the ranking institution. The report also indicated that X3M Ideas achieved the 12th place among the best 25 agencies in the world. The ACT Good Report also reviewed and ranked the 20 most successful networks, and the 10 most successful brands promoting Sustainability in the world.
Report/Ranking Process
ACT Good Report is a unique ranking showcasing the world’s most impactful use of creative communications to promote sustainability and social responsibility and raise awareness of significant social and environmental issues. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the report.
The Good Report is compiled by Act Responsible, the international non-profit association and largest source of the world’s best social and environmental campaigns, in collaboration with WARC, the global marketing insights company, and publisher of the WARC Ranking.
The ranking is calculated by combining the performance of campaigns across various initiatives of ACT Responsible Program (such as the ACT Exhibition, the ACT Care Awards, One Minute of Responsibility, The ACT Tributes …), with the results of the recently published WARC Creative 100, the global benchmark for creative excellence. There are no complicated criteria or categories, just great work for Good.
In the report under review, a total of 1,250 campaigns produced by 804 agencies for 995 advertisers (non-profit, public sector, and commercial brands) across 76 markets were evaluated.
Facts And Figures
Of the best 40 campaigns featured in ACT Good Report 2024, 22 are for non-profits, 18 for commercial brands (including one produced in collaboration with a non-profit) and three for public sectors. A total of 37 agencies (20 are part of 15 networks and 7 are independent) across 18 markets are represented.
The best 25 agencies are made up of four independent and 21 networked agencies (from 11 different networks) covering a total of 12 markets. Of the best 20 networks, three are independent and 17 are owned by holding companies. The best ten brands include six non-profit, four for-profit.
However, the highest ranked campaign, ‘The Last Photo’ for mental health charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) by adam & eve DDB London, launched Project 84 in the UK, a landmark suicide prevention initiative that turned the final photographs of 50 victims into striking portraits, to raise suicide awareness and lessen its stigma.
With the tagline, Best campaigns, agencies, and advertisers promoting Good, the organisers stated in their mission statement that they believe that, “Advertising has a major responsibility in educating and raising awareness, and we are proud to celebrate the campaigns that best fulfill this role. These campaigns allow important messages and values to reach larger sections of the public, and therefore deserve to be celebrated, which is why we created The Good Report.”
In the words of ACT Responsible Co-founder, Isa Kurata, with the Good Report, ACT Responsible pursues its mission to promote, inspire and unite the advertising industry around social responsibility and sustainability.
He said: “We truly believe that advertising has the power to educate, inform, and enact positive change. It must consistently serve as a catalyst for good and constructive influence. Collaborating with WARC to produce the ACT Good Report is an honour, and we see it as a valuable resource for agencies to enhance their dedication to social and environmental efforts.”
Corroborating the position of Kurata, the Head of Content, WARC Creative and ACT’ive Partner, Amy Rogers, added: “Creativity as a force for positive change has never been more important. WARC is delighted to collaborate with Act Responsible to continue shining a light on the agencies, brands and NGOs that are creating breakthrough ideas that not only matter to society but can change behaviour.”
While congratulating the management of the X3M Ideas agency on its outstanding performance in this year’s report, the organisers stated that the agency’s campaign ‘Motherhood Sentence’ captures the essence of the report and aligns with social reality.
In his reaction to the global feat, the Chief Executive Officer, X3M Ideas, Steve Babaeko, commended his team for putting up a very strong work that could compete favourably at national, continental and global markets.
“We have done this consistently for about 12 years and we do not intend to rest on our laurels. I also thank our clients for always supporting and challenging us to do our best work. Of course, our team also owes the international publication huge commendation for its diligence to encourage excellent works,” he said.
With the new rating, 3XM Ideas, and by extension the industry it represents, have thus recorded another feat in the global space, which confirms Nigeria’s agencies recent victories at local and international creative awards
From Nigeria to the World
In 2023, after 70 years of its establishment, Nigeria’s X3M Ideas won at the Cannes Lion International Festival. In 2012, one of the creative works from DDB Lagos, won ‘Luerzer’s Archive Print Ad of the Week. But in recent times, Noah’s Ark and X3M Ideas seem to be re-writing the nation’ s advertising story with relevant campaigns and accomplishments of their founders.
In 2018, Nigeria’s advertising industry received global applause and recognition when Noah’s Ark hauled three major awards at the Loeries Creative Week held in Durban, South Africa. Same year, the agency’s Chief Creative Officer Lanre Adisa, emerged the first Nigerian to make the list of Juries for the world’s biggest Advertising Festival-the Cannes Lions Festival. Around the same time, X3M Ideas, also brought a spur to campaigns and marketing communications in Globacom as it recorded three awards at the African Cristal Advertising Festival, held in Marrakech, Morocco. The three awards coming courtesy of X3M TV commercial tagged ‘Unmatched’ won in the categories of Media, Telecoms and Brand Entertainment, for content in TV/cinema and coasted home with a bronze for each category. The agency’s Chief Executive Officer, Steve Babaeko was also on a panel at the Cannes Festival, held in 2023. He was also on the jury of the New York Advertising Festival in 2016, 2017 and 2018, as well as a judge at The Loerie Awards in 2017.
