Digital Marketing Set for Faster Growth in Nigeria – Adefila

"Digital Marketing Set for Faster Growth in Nigeria – Adefila" by Olaseeni Durojaiye, m2weekly.com


Owing to the huge marketing potentials inherent in digital media as a part of the overall marketing mix, coupled with the increasing use of the internet by Nigerians faster growth in digital marketing has been predicted in Nigeria.

With this projected growth however arises the need for digital marketing campaigns to be carefully planned and executed in line with the objectives of key performing indices (KPI) clearly spelt out.

Dayo Adefila, Controller, Account Planning & Head, Digital Marketing at Insight Communications revealed this in an exclusive interview with M2 when representatives of Habari Group and Wild Fusion paid a working visit to the digital marketing arm of Insight Grey Communications’ office in Ikeja, Lagos recently. Wild Fusion was recently appointed as Nigeria representatives of the social media behemoth, Facebook under license from Habari Group.

While clarifying that digital marketing is not restricted to online marketing, he posits that online marketing is a more convenient platform for engaging in creative conversations with consumers which in turn leads to quality service engagement. He also notes that the current marketing imperatives faced by most brands today is achieving measurable and tangible Returns On Investment (ROI) which explains the already growing interest in the use of online marketing platform by Nigerian brands; a trend certain to be sustained going forward.

“We clearly see a need that exists from the brands’ point of view, a need to achieve deeper connections with consumers and it is this need state that we see digital marketing platforms helping to satisfy. The lifestyle of today’s aspiring Nigerian is leading them more and more to the online space. This is where brands must now boldly but intelligently go, not to advertise in the traditional sense but to engage the consumer.”

Continuing, Adefila contends that, “The holy grail in marketing those days used to be awareness. Not anymore. Today, it is engagement; a reason to notice, a reason to stay with your brand. One key point about engagement however, is that it is not just about a nice new digital platform. It is also about the identified brand challenge and the creativity that is deployed using digital platforms as the consumers must be creatively engaged,” he argues.

He cautions that it is important to have clearly spelt out metrics before starting a digital marketing campaign so that measuring success during and after the campaign is hitch free to avoid mismatched expectations between the client and consumer.

Digital marketing services provided by the digital marketing unit at Insight Communications include online advertising, website design & development, online and mobile applications development such as the one developed for Stylogenic, the Pan-African reality TV show to be hosted by the worlds 1st Black African Miss World, Agbani Darego.

Adefila ended with a note of caution that while he can foresee rapid growth in the use of digital media, he does not see digital platforms like online media replacing the traditional media. He suggests that digital media should be used in a complimentary role alongside traditional media in the real sense of integrated marketing communications to achieve better results.

Culled from m2weekly.com news feature: http://bit.ly/bGb3r7