E-Business
ARCON’s New Law has Prevented N120bn Capital Flight Annually – Buchi Johnson
The new advertising regulation law, which transformed the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) to Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has been applauded by some practitioners in the country as one of the best initiatives by the government to the advertising industry in Nigeria.
Buchi Johnson, Chief Ideas Officer Lilvera Group
One of the leading practitioners in the industry and chief executive officer of Lilvera Group, Mr. Buchi Johnson in a recent chat with the media stated that the new law setting up ARCON has prevented a capital flight to the tune of N120 billion.
According to him, “The law provides that, with effect from January 1, 2023, advertisers must use a cumulative 75% of local content in all ads and marketing directed at the Nigerian market. This is exciting because the country has been losing about ₦120 billion annually due to capital flight in the sector where ads targeted at Nigerians were produced externally creating jobs in other economies but not in the targeted economy, Nigeria.”
Mr. Johnson said, this law is expected to create over 500,000 jobs annually. So, this will lead to more multinational brands using Nigerian talents, agencies, and producers in commercials targeted at the Nigerian market.
“On a personal note, I look forward to Lilvera playing a key part in ensuring that the quality that these multinational brands get from local agencies is at par if not even higher than the quality they would get elsewhere,” he said.
Speaking on Lilvera’s audacious moves to make a giant stride in the industry, the CEO of Lilvera mentioned that the agency has designed an effective tool to aid its execution and implementation of clients’ briefs. The tool is tagged 5Rs which simply represents responsiveness, relevance, receptivity, recognition and relationship.
On the potency of this tool, Mr. Johnson said “Our focus is to continue to deliver on the 5Rs that drive Integrated Marketing Communications such as Responsiveness: ensuring rapid and high-quality response to clients’ needs, Relevance: keeping our client communications highly targeted and relevant, and Receptivity: maintaining open communication lines with clients”.
He further stated that “Recognition is about prioritizing brand building and distinction to keep Lilvera the preferred brand for integrated marketing communication in the Nigerian market for multinational and local businesses and Relationship: we are nothing without the key relationships we have with our team, vendors, and clients so this is a vital area of focus for us in 2023 and beyond.”
Highlighting some landmark accomplishments of the agency, he said perfection eludes humankind yet we strive for it and will accept nothing less than the perfection that is within our reach at Lilvera. “So, we deploy every resource within our capacity to ensure the very best outcomes for our clients and our business.
“Our achievements in the last year are testament to the hard work and creativity of our team, the trust of our clients, and, of course, God’s grace and favour.
“We acknowledge Him as our helper and source for everything, even the inspiration that we receive to deliver a great experience to clients.”
He stated that “One area where we definitely need to keep growing is customer relationship management. We have built great client relationships in the past years of our business that we must continue to deepen, and we look forward to building new relationships that we will nurture, grow, and blossom.
Our clients are at the heart of our business so we will continue to focus on this area to ensure the very best experience for them as they continue to choose us for their integrated marketing communication projects,” he added.
The integrated marketing communications industry particularly, the agencies take pride in the awards they have won or the recognition given to them during the course of doing business for their clients. Johnson believes that Lilvera deserves every bit of the accolade showered on it and its minders.
According to him, “It does feel great to be recognised by notable organisations both locally and internationally. Some of the awards we received in 2022 are the Most Client Focused Marketing Agency of the Year – Africa by Global Business Awards; the Industry Influencer Award for Experiential Marketing at the Industry Summit Awards 3.0; and the African Prize for Leadership Excellence under the Experiential Marketing Personality Leadership Prize Category
“We are grateful for these awards and see them as propellers for our business because they challenge us to keep setting the pace, raising the bar, and bringing value to the industry. For us, the way we project ourselves is important to our productivity which is why we take first impressions seriously as this sets the tone of the relationship that follows.
Our team of highly trained professionals understand this too. So, we showcase our intelligence, professionalism, and confidence in how we handle businesses from the first meeting, earning your trust. As you know, trust is the new gold. Then, beyond that first meeting, our strong commitment to building value for our clients ensures that we maintain a high standard of excellence and professionalism in every aspect of the services we render.”
Buchi Johnson however said that his personal goal is to support and nurture startups around the world or globally by using or managing IMC to build profit.
Though the election has come and gone, Mr. Johnson who spoke about the impact of Central Bank of Nigeria cash swap policy and the general election on imc industry said that “We understand that the policy is designed to move the country forward in terms of managing inflation, reducing fraud, and stabilizing the economy. To this end, we support the move and enjoin the government to ensure a smooth transition to the new cashless society that we are building.”
Data plays some key roles in taking marketing decisions and according to Johnson, data is so vital to the IMC industry.
He said, “I see its impact being far reaching in how stakeholders plan and execute campaigns” adding that “Without the right data companies would be unable to take full advantage of the existing opportunities. Furthermore, IMC campaigns would struggle to deliver the most relevant content and offers across all channels to the right target audiences.”
Data plays an important role in IMC because it influences how businesses allocate budgets, how agencies target consumers, and the effectiveness of campaigns. Any player in this space that seeks to win in 2023 and beyond must pay attention to key insights presented by data trends, he enthused.
Predicting 2023 for the industry, CEO of Lilvera revealed that there will be post-pandemic growth and the new ARCON law will help retain at least 75% talents in the industry.
“I see exciting times ahead with the post-pandemic growth continuing as well as the new law requiring businesses to produce at least 75% of their marketing content locally.
“My advice to players in this space would be to position for growth, build capacity to deliver excellent services across the board, and maintain a high standard of quality in team management, service delivery, and customer relationship management,” he said.
Federal government has announced its plans to achieve 95 per cent digital literacy among Nigerians by 2030, with a specific target of training and empowering at least 30 million citizens by 2027.
The announcement was made on Thursday at the grand finale of the Digital for All Challenge 2.0, an initiative of Tech4Dev funded by the UK Government’s Digital Access Programme and implemented in partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
Kashifu Abdullahi, director-general, NITDA, represented by Aristotle Onumo, director of Stakeholder Management at the agency, said that over 30 million Nigerians, particularly in rural areas, are being targeted for training, with digital champions deployed nationwide to facilitate the programme.
“We are integrating digital literacy into school curricula nationwide, from primary to university level, and partnering with the Head of Civil Service to make digital skills a requirement for civil service progression,” Onumo said.
He added that NITDA aims to achieve 70 percent digital literacy by 2027 as a foundation for reaching 95 percent by 2030.
Onumo called on stakeholders to work together, stressing that digital literacy is for everyone — the young, the old, the employed, job seekers, traders, civil servants, and others.
In her welcome remarks, Mrs. Oladiwura Oladepo, Co-Founder of Tech4Dev, described the initiative as a national movement to deepen digital knowledge and inclusion across all levels of society.
She noted that the programme has already impacted over one million Nigerians drawn from all six geopolitical zones.
Oladepo said the Digital for All Challenge 2.0 is not just a competition but a movement to unlock opportunities and close the digital divide for individuals, families, and the nation.
Representing the British High Commission, Mr. Idongesit Udo, Digital Access Programme Adviser, praised the initiative for creating opportunities for young Nigerians to compete globally, enabling civil servants to deliver better services, and helping children begin their digital journey early.
He highlighted the UK’s broader partnership with Nigeria, which includes initiatives in cybersecurity (Africa Cyber Programme), standardization (British Standards Institute), and entrepreneurship (UK-Nigeria Tech Hub), all aimed at fostering a thriving digital economy.
At the event, participants from all six geopolitical zones competed in various categories.
The first prize winner, Miracle Michael, received N15 million. The second prize went to Chinedu Arisa, who received N12.5 million, while Ismail Adam and Uluchi Chibueze received N10 million and N7.5 million respectively.
Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, minister of State for Labour and Employment, who presented the awards, commended the initiative for equipping Nigerian youth with future-ready skills.
She emphasised that digital literacy is vital not only for job creation but also for national development, and encouraged more young people to take part in programmes of this nature.
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has issued an urgent security advisory, warning Nigerians of critical vulnerabilities in Google Chrome that could expose users to severe cyber threats.
The alert, posted on the Commission’s official X handle, underscores the risks of these flaws and calls for immediate action to safeguard personal devices and data.
According to the NDPC, the vulnerabilities could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code on a user’s system, potentially granting unauthorised access to computers.
This could enable cybercriminals to install malicious programs, view, alter, or delete sensitive data, and even create new user accounts with full administrative rights.
Such breaches could disrupt device functionality, compromise personal information, and lead to significant loss of control over affected systems.
“Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Google Chrome. The most severe of these could allow an attacker to take over a user’s system,” the NDPC stated, emphasising the urgency of addressing the issue.
To mitigate these risks, the Commission has advised Chrome users to apply the latest browser updates immediately.
It also recommends operating devices with standard user rights instead of administrative privileges to limit potential damage. Additionally, the NDPC urged Nigerians to exercise caution by avoiding suspicious links, unsolicited attachments, and untrusted websites.
The advisory comes as part of Nigeria’s broader efforts to strengthen data protection.
Microsoft said on Tuesday that it seized nearly 340 websites tied to a rapidly growing Nigerian-based service that allowed users to carry out phishing operations that stole at least 5,000 Microsoft user credentials.
Microsoft obtained an order from the U.S. District Court in Manhattan earlier this month to seize domains associated with Raccoon0365, the subscription service that allowed users to carry out massive phishing campaigns, which sometimes involved thousands of emails at a time, according to Steven Masada, assistant general counsel for Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit.
Raccoon0365’s service, which operates through a private Telegram channel with more than 850 subscribers, enables users to impersonate trusted brands and get targets to enter Microsoft login credentials on phony Microsoft login pages, Masada said in a blog posted on Microsoft’s website.
The service has generated for its small group of operators at least $100,000 in cryptocurrency payments since launching in July 2024, Masada said in the blog. Microsoft said the seizure of the websites occurred over a period of days earlier this month.
Microsoft identified Nigeria-based Joshua Ogundipe as the leader and main operator of Raccoon0365.
Ogundipe did not immediately respond to an email request for comment sent to the email address identified by Microsoft in its court filing.
“Cybercriminals don’t need to be sophisticated to cause widespread harm,” Masada said. “Simple tools like Raccoon0365 make cybercrime accessible to virtually anyone, putting millions of users at risk.”
Raccoon0365 subscribers have targeted a wide swath of industries, Masada said, and separate court filings allege that “a significant portion” of Raccoon0365 activity targets organizations based in New York City.
Masada said Microsoft identified what it said was a Raccoon0365-related effort using tax-themed phishing emails to target more than 2,300 organizations, mostly in the U.S., between February 12 and February 28 this year, according to a company blog posted in April.
Errol Weiss, chief security officer of the Health Information Sharing & Analysis Center (Health-ISAC), which provides cybersecurity services to member health organizations and is a co-plaintiff alongside Microsoft, said Raccoon0365 has been linked to successful credential harvesting through phishing campaigns at at least five unnamed healthcare organizations, while targeting 25 health sector organizations overall. Once hackers gain that access, any number of things can happen, Weiss said.
“So many of the attacks start because somebody gave up their user name and password to a bad guy,” Weiss said in an interview. “Once that cybercriminal has access to the network, then it’s just up to the imagination in terms of what comes next and how they monetize it.”
The Raccoon0365 operators used services provided by Cloudflare to help hide the service’s backend infrastructure, the internet services firm said in its own blog post. Cloudflare worked with Microsoft and the U.S. Secret Service to disrupt Raccoon0365 operations on its platform and prevent the operators from establishing new accounts, the company said.
Blake Darché, the head of threat intelligence at Cloudflare, said in an interview that the Raccoon0365 operators made some key operational security mistakes but were highly effective.
“They’re in people’s accounts, they compromise lots of people, and it needs to obviously be stopped,” he said.
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