The Managing Director/CEO, Noah’s Ark Communications Limited, Lanre Adisa has advocated for the establishment of a unified trade body as the surest way towards addressing the lingering inter-sectoral indebtedness and payment challenges rocking the advertising industry business environment in Nigeria.

According to the agency boss, the proposed trade body when fully operational should lay out guidelines for business relationships between players in the industry, monitor the implementation process as well as define sanctions against breaches to protect rights and interests of stakeholders.

Adisa criticised the growing spate of inter sectoral indebtedness and payment breaches amongst business players in the industry, pointing out that there was an existing lopsided in terms of business relationship in favour of the multinational clients.

Reacting specifically to questions on the 120 days credit terms currently being implemented by some multinational clients and the resulting delays in payments to media owners and other vendors, he described the development as one absurdity arising from perceived lack of unity of purpose in the rank of agency practitioners.

The adman maintained that there was an urgent need for critical stakeholders and interest players on all sides of the business divide to come together and work out a favourable business term that would be in the interest of both the clients and agencies alike.

“I think what we need is an umbrella entity that speaks as one for our industry in a way that will let the clients know that we are in this together. We want to succeed as you want to succeed. There is no animosity between us, but we have to do it in a way that allows for leave and let’s leave. Where we are now, there is too much power in the hands of one party than the other one,” he said.

He added: “Unfortunately I don’t know what’s obtainable in other markets, but I think what we are dealing with here is absurd just to say the least, and I think it’s coming out of the fact that our industry is fragmenting. We are all trying to survive and I think to me that is a big issue that we all have to deal with.

“Anywhere in the world, trade bodies exist to protect the interest of their members and they even have their own rules. You can’t do certain things because they will tell you ‘sorry, that’s against the rule’. And the rules would come up based on their own experiences.”

Continuing, Adisa noted: “If we have a rule that says ‘come on 120 days is not healthy for our business and for our industry’; and if the agencies that really make the difference were to come together and say ‘stop! This is not working; we would want to have a conversation with you guys’. I’m sure they would listen.”

Also commenting on insinuations that the continued incursion by traditional marketing and management consultants into spheres of advertising business was endangering the industry’s prospects through outsourcing mechanisms, the agency boss observed that the development was rather healthy to the business, insisting that it was needless for agency practitioners to raise worries on the subject.

“Well, I don’t see anything about advertising being endangered. Personally, I think what it does is that it further brings up the need for us to be more adept at what we do and to be able to distinguish ourselves by our services. If we do what we do and are best at it, I’m sure they can’t deliver what we deliver overnight as regards creating problem-solving solutions.

“I think what it calls for, personally speaking, is that wherever you play you need to be the best at what you do, and that’s what our industry is required to do. There is no space for mediocrity,” he concluded.