AAAN’s 51st AGM/Congress Begins Today

The attention of the country’s advertising professionals and industry stakeholders will focus on Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, where the 51st Annual General Meeting (AGM)/Congress of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) begins today.

The three-day event, to be flagged off by the governor of Ogun State, Prince Adedapo Abiodun, will also have in attendance Alhaji Mohammed Idris Malagi, Minister of Information and National Orientation, among other dignitaries.

The AGM/Congress will kick off with courtesy visits by members of the Steve Babaeko-led AAAN executive committee to the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo Aremu 111; and Osile of Oke-Ona, Oba Adedapo Tejuosho.  

Themed “Breaking the Mold-Creativity and National Development”, the event is expected to highlight how Advertising practice can better aid national development, review the activities of the association and feature the election of a new executive committee that will drive the association’s processes over the next two years.

Shedding light on what to expect from the AGM/Congress, Babaeko, the AAAN President, explained that in addition to looking at how creativity can aid the acceleration of national development, the sessions lined up will also provide room for the assessment of the association’s activities over the last one year, the stewardship of the outgoing leadership as well as the election of a new one.

His words: “The 51st AGM/Congress presents advertising professionals the opportunity to assess the impact of what we do and how we can add more value, which informed this year’s theme, “Breaking the Mold-Creativity and National Development.

“The impact of advertising on the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is considerable. The fact of it was recently reiterated by a study carried out by PwC, which was commissioned by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and funded by industry associations.

“The report of the study, presented to the public in Lagos last month, puts the value of the advertising industry at N605.2 billion.”

Tomorrow, the AGM/Congress will host a seminal discussion session by experts from different economic sectors.

Chairman of the events planning committee, Mr. Doyin Adewumi, noted that the association has a tradition of using multi-disciplinary and multi-industry expertise to improve advertising practice, the reason it has, again, invited experts from other fields to speak on the theme of the event.

“The AAAN is a body that is receptive to knowledge from other professions. It is why we have invited accomplished professionals from other fields to lend their knowledge to what we do. We believe that this approach will provide new thinking that Advertising professionals can put to use,” he stated.

The speakers expected at the conference session are Mr. Obi Asika, Director-General, National Council for Arts and Culture; Mr. Femi Odugbemi, founder/CEO, Zuri35 Media; Ms. Chichi Nwoko, CEO and founder, WHAT Media; Mr. Olumide Balogun, Director, Google West Africa; and Mr. Olatunbosun Alake, Lagos State Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology.

Later the same day, candidates for various executive committee positions will have the opportunity to share the ideas with members at the Manifesto Night.

The AGM will come to a close on Saturday with a morning business session, which will feature the induction of new members, dissolution of the executive committee, and election of a new committee, while the Gala/Award Night will see deserving industry figures recognized.