A COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF THE STAKEHOLDERS MEETING ON STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE FOR OUT OF HOME ADVERTISING IN NIGERIA AT THE SHERATON HOTEL, IKEJA, LAGOS. FEBRUARY 26, 2020

PREAMBLE

A Stakeholders meeting on Standard Operating Procedure for Out of Home Advertising business in Nigeria held at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos at the initiative of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) in conjunction with Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN). At the end of the various presentations and discussions during the meeting, the following resolutions were adopted.

The meeting affirmed that prevailing realities in the business relationships within the Out-of-Home segment of the advertising industry in Nigeria necessitate the adoption of a Standard Operating Procedure that will ensure a sustainable and mutually beneficial business environment for all stakeholders.

Accordingly, it was resolved that:

1.       Parties to an out-of-home advertising business must sign a contract with clear commercial and payment terms prior to executing any job.

2.       Such contracts must specify the expectations of the contracting parties and the time frames for delivering on these expectations.

3.       In the event of default, the contracting parties should explore available internal procedures to remedy the defaults and in the event of failure of the internal procedures, lodge a formal complaint to APCON which shall thereafter take steps to determine the extent of violation of the contract and to apply appropriate deterrent sanctions.

The meeting further recommends that:

1.       Undercutting amongst OOH practitioners must be avoided while professionalism and ethics must be upheld in all transactions.

2.       Regulators should not charge for boards during periods of non advert displays.

3.       Regulators should use measurable indices to determine allocation and charges for boards.

4.       Regular stakeholder engagement should be held so that stakeholders will have opportunity to review operating environment and agree on the way forward.

5.       The industry should invest in data to enhance return on investment in OOH business and particularly to key into the digital technology as it affects the OOH advertising.

6.       OOH practitioners should update their knowledge of media planning, especially the concept of reach, frequency etc. to enhance their business propositions.

7.       There needs to be industry collaboration in establishing a credible monitoring firm to enhance accountability.