Veteran adman, Rufai Ladipo, has been tapped from his job as managing director of big ad agency, STBMcCann to lead the new agency. Ladipo recently had a chat with Sanya Ademiluyi, MarketingDay's editor…
MarketingDay: What is Scangroup's mission,coming into Nigeria?
Ladipo : Scangroup's goal is not different from any other ad agency operating here. Our objective mainly is to do a transparent business that is ethical; and of course, make profit from the enterprise. Scanad, the Nigerian affiliate of Scangroup also has the overall responsibility of training young men and women in advertising, while raising the standards of the practice across sub-sahara Africa as a major Network with African flavor.
Scangroup is the only marketing communications outfit in Africa that is public owned, and listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. This speaks volume. And the company should be commended as this is daring and bold. Not a mere feat. Now, our operational vision as an agency is "To be the sought after Agency in Nigeria". We equally believe that ideas must get consideration to connect with consumers.
Scangroup is a large network in East Africa,with cross-holdings with global networks, since it holds McCann Erikson in East Africa what is business relationship with STBMcCann (where you used to work) here?
Ladipo: There's no business relationship between Scangroup and the local McCann Erickson agency in Nigeria or any part of Africa that 'am aware of. Am not sure what will happen in the future. We operate in a dynamic business environment and things change when business decisions are made in board rooms.
Competitors of today may become partners of tomorrow. That's the nature of business anywhere in the world. It's however unfortunate that most ad agency owners in Nigeria won't let go, even when the environment calls for it. It is my belief that this mindset will change as more business-minded people get into the arena.
Dentsu recently made moves to acquire a large Nigerian agency, while BBDO returned last year, others are making moves, do you foresee more global agencies coming in and what factors do you attribute this to?
Ladipo: What we're witnessing is not a takeover of the Nigerian business, but a complimentary move that will enable us operate on the international stage. Lets face it, global agencies coming into Nigeria is a good sign. Aside from injecting creative capacity and introducing new methods and strategic approaches to creating great advertising, global agencies are also training our people.
It's with this believe that a few of Nigerian agencies are clamoring for global affiliations today. Such agencies want to be different. Now that we have the big players coming, we shouldn't shut our doors. When all the chips are down, we all gain. The market is big enough and it's time to be major players and not local champions that cannot compete on the world stage. Advertising must be local to be relevant, no doubt, but creativity is a universal concept.You either have it, or you don't.
The Nigerian Adland is well divided or segmented --creative, media independent, et la, how does Scangroup intend to navigate
market ?
Ladipo: We are playing in all the fields and will conquer them all through quality delivery, competitive pricing, clear strategic thinking, excellent supplier relationships, ethical practice and unequalled corporate governance. New standards are being set, especially in our relationship with media owners. Every sector will surely enjoy doing business with us. Having worked in the advertising environment here for 18 years, 12 years in executive management, coupled with my international exposure, there are key learnings that will put us on the right footing as we move along.
Our staffers understand the rules of engagement. Aside from keeping our corporate integrity, individuals working here are guided by codes of conduct that define our relationships with everyone we're in contact with in the course of doing business on a daily basis. That's how we work at Scanad. We're different.