Broadcasting
Eskimi Founder, Vytautas Paukstys, Highlights Global Digital Trends to Watch in 2022, Beyond
Today, we can attest to the rise in connected consumers who are demanding almost immediate engagement with brands to satisfy their quests. Companies are now investing in ecommerce, moving into social mostly via mobile.
Considering all that is going on with digital technology and the impacts, it is mind-blowing. So, evolving consumer behaviour is an opportunity for businesses and practitioners in the IMC industry to rethink strategy.
Then, the question: How can the practitioners leverage all these tools to optimize their operations?
This inspired Vytautas (Vytas) Paukstys, Founder/CEO, Eskimi’s presentation at the Marketing Edge IMC Quarterly Virtual Summit under the theme: ‘Maximizing Marketing Efficiency in the Age of Changing Consumer Behaviour’.
For over 15 years, Vytautas has been a noteworthy leader in the digital advertising and technology space.
As the Founder and CEO of Eskimi DSP, one of the leading global programmatic advertising platforms, he understands the trends in the market across the globe.
Before leading this venture, he founded Eskimi Social, one of the pioneering mobile-first communities in Africa and Asia with more than 25M+ users, with the biggest markets in Nigeria, Ghana, Indonesia and Vietnam.
He further led the growth of Eskimi DSP, bootstrapping it to become a globally competitive programmatic ad platform with more than 1.5B+ profiled users worldwide. Vytas is also the CEO of ActiveXT, a technology outsourcing company in Singapore that helps extend engineering teams of solid European IT companies and start-ups by hiring talents in its Asia offices.
His contribution to technology and business growth is un-vacillating especially in emerging markets, leveraging digital tools through programmatic advertising.
Giving insights on how to navigate the challenges, Vytautas, said that traditional creative is being used for digital channels; global apps and content are winning over local; creative is going digital for better engagement in a rapidly changing market, and originally, traditional brands are becoming digital-first
He said tt in some cases Africa is leading the revolution, specifically in mobile payments. Some of the digital trends are felt more in the West and European, Asia Pacific and some African countries.
“Nigeria, to be precise, Statista data shows there are about 85.49 million users online who spend up to 4 hours daily. With 169.2 million mobile phone connections, it represents 83% of Nigeria’s 203.6 population as at 2021”.
“Statistics also show that 27 million Nigerians are active social media users which represent 13% of the population. The country’s internet penetration was pegged at 51.44% in 2021 and projected to reach 59.92% by 2026”, he listed during the Summit.
Interestingly, the internet is one of the highest accessed media in Nigeria as the country recorded 30% growth in digital content consumption during the peak of COVID-19 Pandemic.
Then, the worry, with over 50% of Nigerians estimated to be online, how much of the marketing budget is online.
The Eskimi Founder said it is surprising that some brands are still digital laggards, yet to appreciate the fact consumers are moving to the digital space.
“Globally,” he said, “marketing trends show that digital spends have already surpassed the traditional. Global apps account for 70% of all online consumption hence global platforms are dominating time spend and ad inventory.
“Global and Channel changes in 2020-2021 indicates that e-Sports, online video, social media and e-commerce recorded growths while linear TV, broadcast radio, print, out-door advertising and cinemas are on decline on year-on-year activity and advertising spend.
He added that globally, consumers spend 8 hours on digital media per day compared to 5.5r time spent on traditional advertisement as 50% of global media spends are digital already.
He also urged the participants to pay close attention to the gaming industry as the audiences are growing at a rapid pace.
Sharing the impact of mobile gaming, he said that 50% of mobile usage outside of work is devoted to gaming; 33% of the audience plays games multiple times per day and 23 others are playing new games on their smartphones.
Thus, creative is going digital. “Digital-first rich media creative results in 456% better engagement with the consumers”.
Vytautas made reference to Nigeria where rich media ads are topnotch for visibility, engagement and better results. This also delivers the highest CTR.
Another trend that will define the marketing space in 2022 is that advertisers now use hybrid models including in-house media buying. In other words, Advertisers are moving media buying in-house as a 2021 trend indicated in IAB Europe 2021 study.
Vytautas said that IMC practitioners should understand the trends now as most marketers have begun to take more control of their media and digital technology relationships are changing and client needs continue to provide large scale agency realignment.
Amongst others, one of the major motivators of in-housing is that the move helps brands to cut agency creativity and business under one roof.
While digital leads, he said, the legacy channels can transform their platforms too as ‘all screens are going digital’.
He urged the practitioners to develop capacity on content because global content is winning the local.
The Eskimi CEO said the local platforms drive 10-15% of online consumption while global apps account for 70% of all online consumption by dominating time spent and ad inventory.
He recommended that industry players should focus on the right KPIs to drive market growth trajectory. “KPIs should correspond to your goal”, he advised.
Eskimi is a programmatic and data platform with more than 1.5B+ profiled users worldwide. The platform creates unique audience segments for specific industries like telecoms, FMCGs, mobile phone brands, banking and others.
The company builds geolocation and footfall platforms for retail brands. It also provides a combination of platform and managed creative services to achieve up to 15% engagement rates.
National Communications Authority (NCA) has announced that Multichoice Ghana has agreed with the directive from the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations for the establishment of a stakeholder committee to evaluate DSTV pricing in Ghana.
In a statement issued on Sunday, September 7, 2025 NCA said Multichoice Ghana has also expressed its intention to fully participate in the engagement by the Committee.
NCA noted in its statement that Multichoice Ghana’s agreement comes after further engagements with the company regarding its public statement dated September 5, 2025 in which Multichoice Ghana claimed that it has not agreed to a price reduction in DStv subscription.
NCA said the outcome of the stakeholder committee would be determined at the end of its work.
The first meeting of the Stakeholder Committee will take place on Monday, September 8, 2025.
According to the statement, MultiChoice has “confirmed that it will respect due process and the laws of Ghana and its people.”
It can be recalled that the NCA officially wrote to Multichoice Ghana for a response on the directive by the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations for a suspension of its authorisation and requested DStv to submit its pricing model.
NCA said it has received response from Multichoice Ghana to the notice of intention to suspend their authorisation and request for their pricing model.
The Authority noted that it will provide further updates on the matter in due course.
Sam Goegre held a press conference in Accra on Friday, September 5, where he said the company has written to the Ministry for further discussions on the reduction plan.
“Multichoice has finally agreed to reduce their prices; now they want us to discuss the level of reduction,” the Minister said.
“They realised that Ghanaians fully backed the ministry, the NPP has endorsed it, the NDC has endorsed, Ghanaians are simply saying we won’t pay these exorbitant fees again,” he said when asked a question about the timing of MultiChoice’s decision to reduce the prices which comes just 48 hours to the deadline the government gave to them to comply with the order to reduce the prices.
But reacting to Sam George’s statement, Multichoice Ghana said in a statement that “We have noted the statement made by the Minister for Communications Technology and Innovation, Hon. Samuel Nartey George.
“We continue to engage with the Minister in a bid to find an amicable solution that is beneficial for all parties involved, but does not jeopardise the viability of the DStv service.
We will fully participate in the established Working Committee. However, we wish to clarify that MultiChoice Group has not agreed to a price reduction,” a statement they issued said.
This necessitated a further engagement by NCA with the company after which Multichoice Ghana has accepted to take part in the stakeholder committee to evaluate DStv pricing and respect the laws of the country.
Prior to the press conference, Sam George had issued a September 6 deadline to suspend the license of MultiChoice Ghana should they fail to reduce subscription prices.
The Ghanaian government has issued MultiChoice Ghana an ultimatum to reduce subscription prices by September 6 or face licence revocation and operational shutdown, escalating a months-long pricing dispute.
Samuel George, communications minister, delivered the stark warning during the Digital Africa Summit in Accra, declaring that the DStv operator must comply with government demands for fairer pricing that reflects Ghana’s improving economic conditions.
“They have up to the 6th of September. If by that time there is no resolution, we will shut down the operations of MultiChoice,” George stated.
“No corporate entity is above the collective interest of the Ghanaian people.”
The confrontation stems from the government’s request two months ago for a 30% reduction in subscription fees, citing reduced inflation and stabilizing economic conditions.
MultiChoice Ghana has reportedly resisted the directive, prompting increasingly aggressive regulatory action.
The National Communications Authority (NCA) has already imposed fines between GH¢150,000 and GH¢170,000 on MultiChoice for failing to submit mandatory pricing data required under the Electronic Communications Act. The minister confirmed that authorities are prepared to collect these outstanding penalties.
George announced that officials will conduct a final meeting with MultiChoice representatives Thursday, after which the government plans to take decisive action if no agreement is reached.
The minister framed the dispute as a matter of consumer protection and economic fairness.
“This is about fairness and accountability. Ghanaians deserve to benefit from the improving economy through affordable digital services,” he emphasized.
Ghana’s inflation rate has declined significantly from 23.8% in December 2024 to 11.5% in August 2025, while the cedi has shown increased stability. Government officials argue that these improved economic conditions should translate into lower subscription costs for consumers.
The standoff represents one of the most serious regulatory challenges facing MultiChoice’s West African operations, with potential implications for the company’s broader regional strategy.
A shutdown would affect thousands of subscribers across Ghana who rely on DStv for entertainment and news content.
MultiChoice operates as a dominant pay-television provider in Ghana’s market, making any potential service disruption particularly significant for consumers who have limited alternative options for premium television content.
The dispute highlights broader tensions between multinational corporations and African governments over pricing strategies and consumer protection policies in improving economic environments.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the reinstatement of Mr Salihu Abdullahi Dembos as director-general, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).
The directive was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
Onanuga explained that Dembos, who briefly vacated the position following management changes at the agency, was appointed by President Tinubu in October 2023 and will now return to complete his three-year tenure.
Also recalled is Mr Ayo Adewuyi, executive director of News, who was appointed in 2024. He is to serve out his tenure, which runs until 2027.
According to Onanuga, the directive nullifies the earlier appointments of a new director-general, executive director of news, executive director of marketing, and managing director of NTA Enterprises.
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