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.
DStv has launched a new campaign tagged “We Got You”, aimed at giving customers more entertainment value at the start of the year without additional cost.
DStv
The campaign, which runs from January 1 to February 28, 2026, allows subscribers who pay for their current package in full to enjoy an automatic upgrade to the next DStv package.
The initiative is designed to ease the pressure that often comes with January, a period marked by school resumption, tighter budgets and increased household demands.
Through the offer, DStv is rewarding customer loyalty by unlocking more channels, stories, sports, children’s content, local productions and international programmes at no extra charge.
Speaking on the campaign, Tope Oshunkeye, Executive Head of Marketing, West Africa, MultiChoice, said, “We want our customers to step into the year feeling valued.
“When you buy your package, we upgrade you because you deserve more. This is our way of bringing extra excitement, choice and convenience into your home.”
According to DStv, the offer is open to existing subscribers who remain active during the promotion period, customers who reconnect their decoders, and new subscribers who join between January 1 and February 28.
Under the offer, subscribers who pay for DStv Yanga will be upgraded to DStv Confam, Confam customers will receive DStv Compact, Compact subscribers will be upgraded to Compact Plus, while Compact Plus customers will enjoy access to DStv Premium.
The upgrade applies only to decoder viewing, and subscribers will revert to their original packages at the end of the promotion period.
Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has officially given way to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), signalling a pivotal shift in the country’s revenue administration framework as the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Act 2025 takes full effect from January 1, 2026.
NRS
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the landmark legislation in June 2025, alongside a comprehensive package of tax reforms designed to streamline compliance, expand the tax net and bolster federal revenue for critical infrastructure and social services.
At a colourful ceremony in Abuja on December 30, 2025, NRS Executive Chairman, Dr Zacch Adedeji, unveiled the agency’s new logo and corporate identity, describing it as a beacon of modernisation and efficiency.
Adedeji, who doubles as the pioneer helmsman, stated that the fresh branding embodies “a renewed commitment to a unified, service-driven revenue system” in line with global standards and Nigeria’s economic aspirations.
“The new identity underscores continuity in mandate, enhanced capacity and proactive taxpayer support, fostering trust and shared prosperity,” he added, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Dare Adekanmbi.
The NRS emergence caps decades of advocacy for tax overhaul, repealing the FIRS (Establishment) Act 2007 and vesting the new body with broader powers for revenue assessment, collection and accountability.
Judicial hurdles were cleared when an FCT High Court dismissed suits seeking to stall implementation, paving the way for the four key Acts — Nigeria Revenue Service, Tax Administration, Nigeria Tax and Joint Revenue Board — to roll out seamlessly.
Despite pockets of controversy, including claims of bill alterations, the Budget Office affirmed the laws’ authenticity, prioritising fiscal stability and investor confidence.
For ordinary Nigerians and enterprises, the NRS promises simplified processes, digital innovations and reduced red tape to ease compliance burdens while curbing evasion.
Technical Assistant on Broadcast Media to the Chairman, Mrs Aderonke Atoyebi, reassured that core values of integrity, fairness and professionalism persist, with staff nationwide driving the transition.
Industry watchers anticipate a surge in non-oil revenue, crucial as Nigeria navigates global headwinds, with the NRS positioned to elevate the tax-to-GDP ratio through transparent engagement.
Gold remains one of the most powerful commodities in the global financial architecture. It is widely recognized that, for traders in Nigeria, specifically, currency pressures, inflation expectations, and shifts in global liquidity make up the macro environment more often than not; hence, understanding the correlation of gold with key Forex assets is more of an economic insight than a trading tactic.
The correlation between gold and currencies, equities, bonds, and even energy markets provides a broader framework for interpreting global risk sentiment. A growing number of Nigerian investors use this correlation to hedge against inflation, read capital-flow trends, and adjust trading strategies across major currency pairs.
Why Gold Matters in Today’s Macro Environment
This can be explained by looking at the larger picture and how global factors either positively or negatively impact the price of gold: spiraling inflation, geopolitical tension, tightening by central banks, and the flight-to-safety dynamic that heightens in moments of market stress. African traders, especially those active with international brokers such as JustMarkets, are very sensitive to how gold performs not only as a commodity but also as a macro indicator.
Indeed, the strongest correlations of gold are more often found with the US dollar, major bond markets, equity indices, and energy instruments in periods of high geopolitical risk. Each one of these offers a different angle for Nigerian traders to approach macroeconomic changes.
Gold and US Dollar: The Most Watched Correlation
The inverse correlation between XAU and the USD remains one of the bedrock relationships in global finance. It usually weighs on gold because a stronger dollar raises the opportunity cost of holding the metal. Conversely, the opposite has occurred when the market has priced in rate cuts, rising inflation, or policy uncertainty.
This relationship provides Forex traders in Nigeria with a macro perspective:
USD strength; pressure on gold; bullish signals for USD-pairs like USD/JPY or USD/CHF
USD weakness; appreciation of gold; potential strengthening of the non-USD majors
This dynamic is often emphasized by platforms such as JustMarkets in their markets analytics, allowing traders to match the technical setup with real policy shifts from the Federal Reserve.
Gold and Bond Yields: A Window into Global Risk Appetite
Gold is highly sensitive to real interest rates. When US real yields fell, it sent gold higher because investors saw it as a hedge against inflation and thus a haven. Yet higher yields tend to dampen demand for precious metals.
To traders, this correlation is a reason for short-run volatility around announcements like:
US CPI
FOMC decisions
Results of Treasury auctions
In countries like Nigeria, when domestic inflation is high and Naira pressure amplifies sensitivity to global risk, the movement of gold often proves an early indicator of how capital might rotate between safe havens and risk assets worldwide.
Gold and Equity Markets: The Fear Gauge
While geopolitical tensions or recession fears tend to deflate equity markets, they strengthen gold. This negative relationship is considered helpful for traders looking to deduce spikes in volatility and risk-off flows. Examples include:
Sharp US30 or NAS100 declines coupled with XAU/USD rallies
Broad-based sell-offs driven by political uncertainty or commodity shocks
This dynamic helps explain to the Nigerian analysts focused on policy and political economy how global risk events transmit to the local market through capital-flow sentiment.
Gold and Energy: Transmission via the Inflation Channels
Although gold and oil are not directly correlated, both respond to inflation expectations. Surging oil prices can fuel inflation forecasts that support the price of gold.
This channel is particularly important in the case of Nigeria, a major oil exporter. When crude markets temporarily tighten due to supply disruptions or OPEC policy decisions, gold becomes a complement to hedge against global inflation risk.
Trading with the Use of Gold Correlations
A structured approach allows traders to put gold’s relationships into practice:
Start with the macro driver.
Identify whether inflation, geopolitics, or monetary policy is the primary force shaping markets.Translate the macro event into correlation expectations.
Example: falling bond yields lead to a weaker USD, which in turn supports gold and could lead to upside in EUR/USD.Use correlation clusters instead of isolated signals.
Gold + USD + bonds provide a more reliable picture than gold alone.Apply risk management aligned with volatility cycles.
Gold’s volatility often spills over into major currency pairs.
Market platforms like JustMarkets emphasize these cross-asset links to help traders simplify complex macro interactions into actionable insights.
Why Nigerian Traders Pay Close Attention
The Nigerian economy is highly integrated into global commodity flows; inflation cycles, dollar liquidity, and geopolitical developments tend to reach the local market faster than the pace at which policy adjustments can be made.
Gold serves as a barometer of global risk, a hedge against currency depreciation, and a signal of moves in the key USD pairs that headline Nigeria’s trading activity.
In a region increasingly active in the Forex market, understanding the relationships involving gold is not just about trading but also a strategic tool for analyzing global economic behavior
Fidelity Bank Appoints Onwughalu as New Chairman After Chike-Obi’s Tenure
DStv Offers Instant Package Upgrade for Customers from January to February
HURIWA Demands Accountability from SEDC Over N140Bn Budget Utilisation
FIRS Transforms into NRS as Nigeria Ushers in New Tax Era
MultiChoice Secures 12 Warner Bros. Discovery Channels in New Multi-Year Deal
Banks quietly move to enforce new ₦50 transfer levy from Jan. 1
Financial Sector Faced AI, Blockchain and Organised Crime Threats in 2025 – Report
FIRS says NIN, CAC Numbers to Serve as Tax IDs from 2026
Report Reveals Half of 2025’s Compromised Passwords were Already Leaked
Minister Claims Bandits Exploit Poor Network, Bounce Calls Off Multiple Towers
General News3 days agoNigeria Police suspends tinted glass permit enforcement over court injunction
E-Financial2 days agoFidelity Bank Appoints Onwughalu as New Chairman After Chike-Obi’s Tenure
Broadcasting2 days agoDStv Offers Instant Package Upgrade for Customers from January to February
Broadcasting2 days agoFIRS Transforms into NRS as Nigeria Ushers in New Tax Era
News2 days agoHURIWA Demands Accountability from SEDC Over N140Bn Budget Utilisation
General News2 days agoMultiChoice Secures 12 Warner Bros. Discovery Channels in New Multi-Year Deal