An advice has gone out to the leadership of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) on the need to work out a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the clients’ body, Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) with a view to streamlining the controversial issues surrounding pitch fee payments in the industry.
The suggested MoU when it becomes operational should outline a code of conduct that would ultimately define business relationships between advertising agencies and their principal clients in a way that would make it mutually beneficial to operators on both sides.
Making these proposals recently was the Managing Director of Noah’s Ark, a top flight creative agency in Nigeria, Lanre Adisa, while delivering a keynote speech at the premier workshop on Intellectual Property Rights in Advertising and Media organised by Gee Law firms in Lagos.
According to the agency boss, issues relating to pitch fee payments and its enforcement processes pose a serious challenge, and will continue raise controversies within industry circles.
He noted that AAAN could not act alone in resolving the payment issue, advising rather that the association should urgently reach out to ADVAN and work out an agreeable MoU or a code of conduct that would make it a win-win. .
Making a holistic assessment of what constitutes gains and benefits of Intellectual Property rights, Adisa further admonished the leadership of the association to embark on a review of its internal books and to work in conjunction with IP experts, adding that they should reach out to enlighten agency practitioners on what their Intellectual Property rights are.
“I would like AAAN, working in conjunction with Gee Law or any other IP experts, to take another look at the association’s handbook with the aim of enlightening member agencies on their rights.
“I will expect this revision of the handbook to state the new rules of engagement as regards handling pitches and onboarding new businesses. I know the challenges this may bring as we have seen with enforcing pitch fees,” he said.
He added: “We cannot do this alone. We need to reach out to ADVAN and work out an MOU or a code of conduct as we may deem fit to make this work well for all parties.”
Dwelling largely on the gains and benefits of Intellectual Property Rights, Adisa advised operators in the creative industry, especially advertising agencies, to look inwards and explore the opportunities offered by IP in expanding their business frontiers.
He noted that one thing that was obvious in the industry was the general lack of adequate knowledge on matters of Intellectual Property, hence he said, focusing on the subject of IP, agencies would be in a better state to expand upon the business frontiers, especially in the face of continuously shrinking budgets and debilitating fragmentation currently unfolding in the industry.
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