Marketing communication practitioners have called for more collaborative efforts between brand owners and advertising agencies in order to build a brand that would earn the confidence of consumers.Speaking at this year's Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAIF), organised by the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) in Lagos, the Director, Brands and Communications, Etisalat Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Enitan Denloye, argued that it had become imperative for clients and agencies to work together while developing creatives for brands since both are brand custodians.Denloye, who was speaking on the title 'Just Do It The Way I Want', believes the client or brand owners must give room for agencies' input while developing a brief, adding that advertising agencies too should be able to make meaningful contributions since they are expected to understand the brand they are working on.'This I believe makes it imperative for agencies to also understand the brands they are working properly since that is the only way they can offer any meaningful advice on the brand,' he said.He said the time had come for clients and ad agencies to come up with creatives that would differentiate such brands from others in that market segment.|The Etisalat Director believes that today's consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their tastes, hence 'creatives must be designed to have a stopping power to be able to capture their attention'.Speaking from the agencies' side, the Chief Executive Officer, Noah's Ark, Mr. Lanre Adisa, argued that successful brands evolve over a period of time, adding that the client, the agency and the consumer/audience play a very key role in the making of a brand.Adisa said whatever innovation the client and the agency must have for a brand, the customer must be taken into consideration before arriving at such innovation.He said for an effective collaboration to be achieved there is the need for the parties involved to respect each other and allow for a free exchange of ideas and knowledge.He urged advertising practitioners to always strive to equip themselves with new skills, adding that 'this is the only way we can contribute meaningfully to the making of any brand and at the same time earn the clients' respect'Earlier in his speech, the President of the Advertisers' Association of Nigeria, (ADVAN), Mr. Kola Oyeyemi, emphasised the need for collaboration between agencies and clients, while charging agencies to be innovative in order to survive in today's increasingly changing market.Oyeyemi, who was represented by the Marketing Director, Nutricima, Mr. Lampe Omoyele, believes practitioners in the industry must be ready to up their games in order to be in tune with the market trend to be able to meet the insatiable needs of today's highly sophisticated consumersWhile welcoming participants to the seminar, the president of the association, Mr. Rufai Ladipo, explained that the decision to come up with the LAIF Awards was to arrest the increasing decline of standards in the industry.He noted that the Awards had succeeded in arousing the interests of clients and provide a forum for interaction among practitioners.
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