ADVAN Expresses Concern over Shortage of Data in Marketing Industry

The President of Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney has stressed the importance of effective data application in marketing campaigns. While pledging the commitment of the association’s new executives towards partnering with relevant stakeholders to build capacity and create more values for industry stakeholders, the ADVAN boss attributed the failure of some campaigns in the past to the wrong application of data in planning and execution of campaigns. Ani-Mumuney is the Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, First Bank Nigeria Plc.

Ani-Mumuney, who replaced David Okeme, as ADVAN’s president at the association’s 2017 Marketing Day, held in Lagos, recently, argued that through data, businesses are able to predict their customers and attract clients to their side.

“Data provides the insight to make informed decisions. And ultimately, if you do not make informed decision, marketing will not be effective, and if it is not effective our return on investments will be challenged and questioned by our chief financial officers,” she argued.

The new ADVAN boss warned that data, riding on the speed and ubiquity of the internet, had come to significantly challenge traditional marketing beliefs and practices, adding that it had become imperative for marketing practitioners to hone their skills to enable them remain relevant and profitable in the new age.

“Giving that we are in the cyber age where the internet operates and artificial intelligence has come to disrupt what we know as traditional marketing, big data and policies that govern what we do with big data will become more important as time goes on and that will be a key area ADVAN will focus on,” she said.

On ADVAN’s prospects during her tenure, she said the association would focus on knowledge-sharing and the creation of the right atmosphere among stakeholders to deepen the market.