Broadcasting
AI is Changing the Rules of Digital Marketing, Here’s How to Take Advantage of it
By Alistair Errington, Snapchat Partner Director, Ad Dynamo by Aleph
After years of promising advances, the past year has been a breakthrough for bringing artificial intelligence (AI) into the mainstream. Even in creative industries, which many once thought AI would never infiltrate, is starting to have a tangible impact. Nowhere is that more true than in digital marketing.
Alistair Errington,
Always at the forefront of adopting new technologies, professionals in the digital marketing space have embraced a variety of AI tools. Those tools are used for everything from generating creative collateral for campaigns to ensuring that they’re as personalised as possible and, ultimately, to analyse campaign performance.
What’s really great about the current AI explosion, is that it’s made tools that were once the preserve of technical specialists available to ordinary people. So, even if you don’t know the ins and outs of AI, you can use it to boost your digital marketing capabilities. Here’s how.
Know what’s out there
Before fully committing to the use of AI tools, it’s important for businesses to understand what AI tools are out there and how they can be used.
Tools such Midjourney, DALL-E, and Stable Diffusion can, for instance, be used to develop visual concepts for a specific campaign. While the resultant images are increasingly impressive, they’re best used as references that you take to an agency or in-house designer. Doing so can save you significant amounts of time when it comes to campaign conceptualisation.
Other tools, such as current flavour of the month ChatGPT, can be used for a variety of purposes. You might, for instance, get it to generate some suggested taglines based on a few simple inputs or to help draft a customer email. Some companies are even integrating it into their broader customer service offerings, using it for everything from responses to reviews and customer queries to sentiment analysis.
It’s also worth noting that many of the same big platforms that businesses should concentrate their digital marketing spend on are also actively investing in AI tools. Meta, for instance, is experimenting with AI-powered chatbots on Messenger and WhatsApp. While it’s initially rolling out the product to consumers, it will likely start offering it as a customer service option to businesses in the near future. Spotify, meanwhile, has been a pioneer in the AI space for some time and will likely also roll out some features from its latest advances in its advertising offerings. And for its part, Snapchat says that its My AI offering can “answer a burning trivia question, offer advice on the perfect gift for your BFF’s birthday, help plan a hiking trip for a long weekend, or suggest what to make for dinner.”
Run with the right partners
Of course, most business owners’ areas lie in something other than AI and marketing. And as user-friendly as AI tools have become, navigating them can still feel overwhelming to many. Here having the right partners, particularly when it comes to things like digital media buying, can be incredibly helpful.
A good advertising partner will be able to help you navigate what’s possible when it comes to using AI on all of the most popular platforms. Moreover, they’ll be able to help you navigate the regulatory frameworks surrounding AI in your own market as well as international ones. And if they’re really good, they’ll also be conducting their own AI research to find innovative ways of using AI in digital advertising.
Don’t be afraid, but act sensibly
Ultimately, the message to businesses should be not to be afraid of AI. Utilised properly and in partnership with the right people, it can make their digital marketing efforts faster, more personalised, effective, and capable of driving both reach and returns. But they should also act sensibly (much as you would when using GPS in an area you’re not familiar with). The very last thing they should do, on the other hand, is adopt a wait-and-see approach, because that’s a sure-fire way to get left behind.
Federal government, yesterday, said that it will now launch the so-called FreeTV, with over 100 channels for news, sports, education, entertainment and children’s programming in multiple Nigerian languages on June 17.
National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) had initially scheduled for May 15 for the launch.
But the new date was announced by Mohammed Idris, minister of Information and National Orientation, on Wednesday during a facility tour of NIGCOMSAT, alongside Dr Charles Ebuebu, director general of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and other stakeholders.
Idris said the long-awaited migration from analogue to digital broadcasting had finally become a reality after years of failed attempts and delays, describing the project as a major breakthrough for Nigeria’s broadcasting industry.
“I have been grappling with this idea of the DSO for many years. Moving our transmissions from analogue to digital has now happened and is ready to be commissioned by June 17,” the minister said.
He revealed that several channels had already been bundled onto the platform, adding that the digital transition would transform broadcasting, advertising and television consumption across Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to him, the new platform introduces scientific audience measurement tools capable of tracking viewership patterns in real time, thereby giving advertisers reliable data for targeted campaigns.
“Now science is at play. If you are viewing a station, we know who is watching what and how many people are watching. Advertisers can now take informed decisions about the kind of programming Nigerians want to watch across all demographics,” Idris stated.
The minister said the collaboration between NIGCOMSAT, NBC, the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Information had made the digital transition possible, while commending President Bola Tinubu for providing the necessary support and resources.
He described previous DSO efforts as limited and expensive due to encrypted set-top boxes but noted that the new system would be free and accessible to millions of Nigerians.
“In the past, the boxes were encrypted and costly. Now this is free. Government has taken off some of those costs on behalf of Nigerians,” he said.
Idris stressed that unlike earlier pilot phases restricted to a few cities, the new digital platform would have nationwide and regional reach through NIGCOMSAT’s satellite infrastructure.
“Everybody can now watch whatever he wants in real time and painlessly. Free TV everywhere for everybody”, he declared.
The minister also hinted that the platform would challenge the dominance of existing pay-TV operators by offering Nigerians wider viewing options at no cost.
“I don’t want to always use the word ‘substitute’, but this offers opportunities you didn’t get before. You no longer have that monopoly again. Competition is going to set in. Content will grow and viewership will grow,” he said.
He added that the platform would initially launch in standard definition, SD, before quickly transitioning to high definition, HD, bringing Nigerian broadcasting in line with global standards.
“Soon after the launch, we are moving to HD. Nigeria will now compete globally. What you watch here is what you get anywhere,” Idris said.
The minister further disclosed that the service was already available via mobile application and had successfully undergone testing ahead of the official unveiling.
Also speaking during the tour, managing director and chief executive officer of NIGCOMSAT, described the collaboration between NIGCOMSAT and NBC as a strategic partnership that has strengthened service delivery and raised operational standards within Nigeria’s digital broadcasting ecosystem.
According to her, ongoing investments and satellite expansion plans under the current administration will guarantee reliable and continuous service delivery.
“The work has only just started. The work has only just begun,” she said.
Among those who accompanied the Honourable Minister on the tour were Salihu Abdullahi Dembos, director-general, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA); Jibrin Baba Ndace, director-general, Voice of Nigeria (VON); Mohammed Bulama, director-general, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN); and Lanre Issa-Onilu, director-general, National Orientation Agency (NOA), alongside other senior government officials and dignitaries.
Metro Digital Limited, a licenced Indigenous broadcasting organisation, has accused Multichoice, pay television company, of refusing to obey judgements emanating from Courts in Nigeria.
It said the latest of such judgements is the one that was delivered by Justice Chinelo Odili of Rivers State High Court on May 4, 2026 in Suit No. PHC/3943/FHR/2025.
Dr. Paul Osuji, operations manager of Metro Digital, at a press conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State,
said the suit was filed by the organisation and two others against Multichoice and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Osuji stated that Justice Odili has in the judgement described the arrest of a staff member of the company and the carting away of it’s properties and disruption of it’s broadcasting business by the EFCC over a civil dispute of copyrighy as unlawful and violations of the applicants’ rights.
The manager recalled that in October 2025, Multichoice instigated the EFCC to read their office in Port Harcourt, arrested a staff of the company and staff of another company, while the suit was still pending.
“On October 16, 2025, the premises of Metro Digital Limited, a licenced indigenous broadcasting organisation was raided by the Nigerian anti-graft agency, EFCC, instigated by Multichoice Nigeria, purportedly acting on a preservation order made by the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt over the sub licensing of broadcasting content right.
“The preservation order came from a civil dispute already adjudicated by the Court of Appeal No. CA/CS/188/2021 – Multichoice Vs Metro Digital Limited and 20 others, which is a subject of a pending appeal -No. SC/CV/1248/2022 -Multichoice and 20 others before the Supreme Court.
“Instructively, while suit No. PHC/ 3943/ FHR/2025 was still pending, Metro Digital Limited filed an application to set aside the said preservation orders of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt and presided over by Hon. Justice A.T Mohammed.
“In his ruling delivered on December 10, 2025, set aside the preservation orders and it’s legal execution on Metro Digital Limited. The court also ordered EFCC to return unconditionally all the properties and records of Metro Digital Limited, illegally and unlawfully carted away during the raid but the agency has till today not obeyed those orders of the Court,” he said.
Metro Digital Limited is known for operating SLTV, a direct-to-home satellite television service launched to provide affordable, locally-owned alternatives to international pay TV
A Federal High Court in Lagos has restrained the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) from sanctioning or punishing broadcast stations and presenters over the expression of personal opinions, alleged bullying of guests, or failure to maintain neutrality on air.
NBC
Justice Daniel Osiagor granted the interim injunction following an ex parte application filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE).
The court specifically restrained the NBC, its officers, agents and affiliated persons from enforcing its recently issued “Formal Notice” or imposing sanctions, fines or penalties on broadcasters based on provisions of the 6th Edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
SERAP and NGE had approached the court to challenge what they described as an arbitrary and unlawful move by the commission to punish broadcasters for allegedly expressing personal opinions as facts, bullying or intimidating guests, or failing to maintain neutrality during programmes.
The groups also asked the court to determine whether the provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code relied upon by NBC were inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
The suit followed an April statement by the NBC in which it raised concerns over what it described as increasing violations of the broadcasting code across news, current affairs and political programmes.
The commission had warned that presenters who expressed personal opinions as facts or bullied guests during live broadcasts would be sanctioned.
However, Justice Osiagor, in his ruling, held that pending the hearing of the substantive matter, the commission must refrain from using the formal notice to threaten, sanction or punish broadcast organisations and on-air personalities under the contested code provisions.
The matter was adjourned until June 1, 2026, for hearing of the motion on notice.
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