The Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria says it has concluded plans to hold its first-ever Conference, Exhibition and Awards both to redefine how practitioners in the industry are perceived and to reward stakeholders in the Nigerian OOH ecosystem for professionalism and creativity.

According to a statement issued by the Association’s Publicity Secretary, Tunde Oyekan, the maiden edition of the three-in-one event is scheduled to hold November 23, 2022, in Ikeja, Lagos

The event which will now replace the OAAN’s Annual Poster Awards, an erstwhile event through which the Association celebrated agencies for their creative endeavours, is conceived to be more encompassing as it will also reward other stakeholders within the entire out-of-home advertising ecosystem.

The statement read in part, “The OAAN Conference also includes an award designed to encourage and stimulate creativity, innovation and overall high quality in planning, production and execution in Nigeria out of home advertising industry”.

According to the statement, the three-in-one event will comprise of the morning session, which is the OAAN conference with exhibition stands open to visitors and delegates while the afternoon session will be the launch of a pioneering advertising industry book by the Association with the title Out of Home Advertising Practice in Nigeria. Thereafter, the Awards Night would take place, as the climax of the day.

The OAAN’s vision, the statement said, was to make the event the most credible Out-of-Home engagement in Nigeria. “We cannot do less, being the only recognised sectoral group for professional and registered practitioners in advertising practicing Outdoor advertising in Nigeria, and duly recognised by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria.”

To give the event the required legitimacy in the industry, the OAAN disclosed that it had obtained the full endorsement of all the relevant industry sectoral groups: the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, the Experiential Marketers Association of Nigeria and Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria.

The sectoral groups have also been given opportunities for full representation on the judging panel and Awards Decision Council.

The theme of the 2022 OAAN Conference, Exhibition and Awards is “OOH At The Edge” while the sub-theme for the conference is “OOH Media Amidst Security, Political and Economic Uncertainties.”